My Kreepy Krauly inspection and rebuild
Worn Out Pleated Seal
I think my Kreepy Krauly needs an inspection and rebuild. It has not been working well. The Kreepy Krauly is not moving like it should. Generally speaking, it is not doing its job.
At the skimmer, I checked that the Vac-Mate was set correctly. It was. I checked the baskets on the skimmer and the pool pump and everything is clear. They had a little of the flowers that fall in the pool at this time but nothing excessive. I backwash the filter and checked the flow back into the pool. Everything was good. So it’s time to look at the suction hose.
Worn Out Foot
Checking the suction hose
Checking for leaks at the suction hose going to the Kreepy Krauly is pretty easy. I start with the pump running and the skimmer set to be pulling most of the water thru the hose or pool cleaner. Start at the skimmer by lifting one section of hose out of the water. Shake the hose gently. A crack in the hose and you hear the sound of air being sucked in(a slurping sound). If nothing happens I move on to the next section of hose and repeat until I get to the pool cleaner. This time, I didn’t find any cracked hoses. So it’s time to check the pool cleaner.
Checking the main body
So I pulled it out of the pool to check if it had something stuck in its throat. There was something in the throat. Unfortunately, I noticed that the pleated seal was really thin. There are a lot of holes from wear. The foot didn’t have much left of the raised sections. I also noticed that the swivel bearing is almost worn flat so the swivel cone has a large gap where water could be sucked in. With this many bad parts, I think I had better check this thing out thoroughly.
I went back into the only moving part in the cleaner, the wedge, it looked good and not cracked so that piece passes inspection. The baffle plate has a tang broken off but is still holding well and does not have movement. The wing set needs inspection and it is in good shape for being old. The wing set is tight to the main body. Also, there are no tears or rips in the wings.
Swivel Assembly Wear
Checking the swivel head assembly
The dive float looks good no thin spots anywhere and it floats and moves freely. The bumper strap is in good shape but the part it connects to, the swivel head assembly, is looking kind of exhausted. It looks like the part wears against the gunite and is getting kind of thin. The swivel head assembly shows wear at the lower slot. The bumper strap goes thru it at that point. I don’t think I’ll replace it just yet. The swivel head assembly has two slots. The lower slot is worn. The other slot has a lot of life left in it.
Worn Out Swivel Bearing
Closer inspection of the swivel head assembly does not reveal any cracks. It appears ready for more service life once I replace the bearing on the swivel cone.
The final parts needed:
- A pleated seal
- 1 foot
- 1 bearing
Replacing the foot and pleated seal was pretty straightforward. Pry off the foot starting at the flat spot. Then pull off the pleated seal. Putting everything back on in reverse order. If you need help with the foot the video above will show you how to install it.
Related Article: Kreepy Krauly Swivel bearing replacement
Starfish or Pleated Seal?
I use the pleated seal over the starfish seal. The starfish seal is made for gunite pools. I have used them. They don’t wear out like the pleated seal. They just get thinner and thinner. The pleated seal develops holes which are a clear indicator of time to change it out. It is harder to determine when to change out the starfish seal. I believe that the pleated seal picks up debris more easily than the starfish seal. On the plus side, the starfish seal will last much longer than one pleated seal. My choice is one of preference.
Related Article: Suction Pool Cleaner Skimmer Fix
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