Great video. Thank you! I ended up using a lock-tie, cut to size for the raised sections of the cam. I sanded the edges, and used thick viscosity super glue. Left it to cure for 30m, and trimmed the edges of the glued lock tie sections, so that theridges were smooth. Worked perfectly!
Excellent video. I diagnosed exactly the same issue. Found an online store that will sell just the cam for a reasonable price. When I replace it I have an idea to weld cable ties onto the raised sections on the old one.
Thank you for the breakdown of the unit. $900 unit here in Australia. The poolshop price for the fix kit was $240 and available for $138 online. The cam and two cogs are available here for $22 online. Your explanation helped heaps. It's all designed to have limited lifespan today. May utilize your soldering iron idea in the future as the economy continues its relentless slip.
Thnaks for the comprehensive video. Ordered the cam as it was only $20 bucks and changed it out according to your instructions. Worked like a charm 😊. Keep the vids coming
Genius! This was driving me mad, and the pool store said to order a new drive shaft, yet that wasn’t worn down at all. Took my soldering iron and this solution worked brilliantly. Thanks!
You're a life saver. Always cheaper to buy the part if you can but after scanning various local suppliers I see that is going to be a mission so I applied the soldering iron fix and, wow, it's working again. Epic.
Instead of building up the cam, I 3d printed a new wheel. 19.8mm od x 6.2mm Id x 10mm thick. Worked well for me. PS print it solid or 100% fill. You may need to adjust your id or do a test print first to check the fit on that 6mm shaft.
Thank you for this video. What's crazy is Pentair sells expensive tune up kits that includes drive shaft and wheels but does not include cam gear! I was ready to order a kit but now I'm going to investigate further to see if a new cam might fix the problem.
Great video, thank you!! Exact same problem here in Australia, after 2 years of operation (Pentair Rebel). I have ordered the Cam for $20 AUD. I will provide an update once I've installed the part.
This actually WORKS! Instead of a sildering iron, I heated up the edge of the high parts of the cam, and squeezed them with pliers, to make the high parts of the cam just a touch higher. And VOILA! It works like brand new. Thanks so much for this hot tip!
Thank you very much for the concise and instructive video. I followed it to the letter and the Dominator is now sorted and not confined to one corner in the pool. After using the soldering iron I didn't smooth the side edges enough which caused a few problems, but some more sanding sorted this out. Awesome! I am so chuffed!
Thanks so much. I built up my cam gear with epoxy putty and worked like a dream. No need to file either, you can mould the putty perfectly before letting it set.
Thank you, had the same problem, applied your fix with a soldering iron and haven't seen the kreepy this mobile in years. One thing I should have done is trace the cam gear before and then after to see the variance in height before filing.
Tried the soldering iron method and I could not get enough buildup to make it work. Then used JB Weld plastic epoxy bonding goop, filed/sanded it down after it cured and the pool cleaner works like it was brand new. I do not know how long this fix will last but it has been a few days and so far so good. It blows my mind that Pentair would use a plastic material that wears out so fast-
I find that it is the interface between the outer race of the plastic bearing in that split housing with springs, and the the split housing that develops slop. If you look close at one that has the “sit and spin” issue, you can grab the bearing inner race and push it radially side to side and watch the outer race move like 20 thousands of an inch within the housing! New one does not move near as much. More than enough slop to cause pinion not to engage wheel. I take the housing apart and cut a little piece of nylon zip tie to act as a shim for between the outer bearing race and the housing on the side that would shove the pinion closer to the wheel gear teeth. Works great.
Great video thanks. Mine was getting stuck at a few spots all the time. After your explanation, I wanted to see exactly what it was doing. Tried keeping it in middle of pool to see direction etc and noticed that it was now swiveling properly simply because I was keeping the pipe vertically. Put in a drifting thingy on pipe (about 1m from end) and now it is no longer getting stuck! I suspect I've just kicked the can down the road a bit since swiveling now has less resistance...
Brilliant It works like a charm Using my old unit. Working perfectly Saving the pro for later. Just an update.. you may now have to buy a full kit at R900 which does Not include the CAM No more loose spares Thank you
Agreed I followed your steps I find the units. To last less than 8 months your fix works well Spares. Are expensive and the mushrooms don't last either Poor quality
Good, helpful problem solving. Thanks! After watching your video, I realized the key issue in my unit was that the two springs in the housing were not providing enough force to push the gear mechanism back into the gear teeth. They were weakened with age. I took out both springs and stretched them out so that they would provide more tension to the gear housing. Problem solved. No idea how long it will remain fixed but it cost me nothing. Hope that’s another viable option for your audience.
thank you. Springs unfortunately will go back to its original position over a short time so plan to do future repairs. To increase the spring tension you could also put something in the hole where the spring sits to raise the spring slightly.
Thanks. This was a very useful video for me. Question: Who stocks the drive shaft. In my case, the cam gear and drive shaft appear to be worn. Probably because it is a very small pool.
I have a Poolvergneugen (same design as this cleaner) that had the same problem. Instead of using the soldering iron on the cam, I took a short section of PVC pipe to sleeve the plastic bearing that runs against the cam gear. I did have to put it in a drill and sand it down a bit because it was a little too thick initially)
Great video. Got the soldering iron out, and now the rebel is charging all over the pool like a maniac...... Has definitely prolonged the life of the creepy for a few years. I wonder if the new model has a cam with a slightly bigger diameter 🤔
lol I’d just buy the replacement part. Much less stuffing around. Not leaving the thing in the pool constantly, washing it down and storing it out of the sun between uses will ensure maximum service life. All machines wear. They wear faster when they aren’t maintained.
This was great, thanks for the added insight on what it takes to get this $450 item to actually work. Couple of added notes I found. I had already replaced the left drive kit so it was fine. To just replace the Cam gear, I used a simple spring clamp to pull that drive forward out of the way once the wheels were off (so I didn't need to remove that spring loaded piece to replace the cam gear). Then pushing that axle rod back just enough to lift out he cam gear was easy. I was able to get the replacement kit at a local store (Pentair #360294 from my original manual) for about $18. The one I was replacing measured about 3.8mm, the new one was not much more at 4.1mm about. Just putting it in helped a little, but I used that soldering iron trick on the old one targeting about 5.1mm on each of the 5 raised sections. I had a flat soldering tip that I used to work up a ridge from each side, smoothed that down a bit with soldering iron (leaving kind of a U shaped buildup on the top of each cam section) then filed to make it smoother on top as well as on each end rising off of the lower cam sections. Putting that back in, it definitely improved the operation - still doesn't get out of the deep end but climbs the walls a bit more. Easy improvement to get a little more life out of these increasingly pricey items. I took the new cam gear and repeated the soldering operation and stored that away for later. Again, thanks a lot for this clear and useful hack on the Rebel.
And actually, I just went out to check it again and it had climbed out of the deep end (pretty steep slope on my pool) for the first time in months - success at last. Getting this already relatively low flow Kreepy to work better leads (for me) into even lower kWh consumption (dialing the Intelliflo pump back a bit on RPM) for effective operation - small victories.
Awesome stuff, thakn you for the tip, one thing, where did you get the sharft only from? All the places I have seen sells the complete kit, and I dinfinately also only need that shaft to completely revamp ours. than you again :)
I'm thinking of buying a replacement for my Hayward Pool Vac Ultra that I have had in my pool for 13 years. It's actually still working, had to replace the cork feet every 2nd year and the flaps once. I probably run it for maybe 12 hours a week. How many years are you all getting out of the Pentair?
Thanks for posting this. This thing is very poorly designed. Appropriate materials selection and tolerance for the cam wheel and the follower would have made this thing an ok product. I have had two of them (marketed as the Pentair Rebel), both failed in this mode within weeks. Will fix it and keep it as a back up to the next one; maybe Zodiac MX8 elite next...
Good morning, thanks for the fix. Do you know where I can buy the Cam locally. Most shops seems to be selling the gears and not the Cam. Thanks in advance.
4:44 - you said not to build up the little wheel in the gear assembly as it will then touch the posts inside the assembly and not turn. Nevertheless, I would try to sleeve the little wheel with some HEATSHRINK TUBING, and sand away the posts that are then touching the enlarged little wheel. The advantage of a RUBBERISED enlarged little wheel with a rubber tube around it, is it will minimize future wear on the large wheel. Plus it would be a much faster fix and the rubber provides a nice spongy and grippy surface to make contact with the larger wheel.
I notice your machine, like mine, does not climb the walls of the pool. Mine does the same. I bought the "Lite" because it's supposed to be for splash pools. Any ideas on how to get it to climb? I'm pulling my hair out and I'm thinking of going back to a simpler, basic Kreepy like the Swimvac.
my walls are too smooth - fiberglass. My kids have said they seen it climbing walls but i have never seen it. Have to brush walls every week so its okay for me.
@@ecologicaltime Hope I can help in return here. I have a fibre-glass pool as well and struggled with wall climbing but found that the right combination of motor speed (or suction if you don't have a variable flow motor) and float position does the trick. I think it's also important that the pool is clean - no algae etc which is slippery. What I did was vary the motor speed until the wheel revolution is perfect (there is a number somewhere how many revs per min they should go). It's surprisingly slow - these things are made to crawl not leap. Then, once I had that right, I started with the float position right at the bottom of the hose next to the unit and moved it up by about 5 cm at a time until it was climbing the walls but turning at the scum line. The wrong combination of these either has it not climbing at all or climbing up and sucking air which is deadly for the vsd motor.
This vacuum is a poj. I have had to repair it on so many occasions and still doesn't do what it used to during the first 2-3 months after purchase. Its plastic build is nondurable. It's had it for 3 years now. I've gone to brushing the pool old school which takes 5 minutes and does the job perfectly. Pentair should give me my money back for selling this crap product.
Fantastic. Clear. The best repair video I have seen for ANY "fix" Thank you. 1 May 2023 1800 SA time
Appreciate it 👍
Great video. Thank you!
I ended up using a lock-tie, cut to size for the raised sections of the cam. I sanded the edges, and used thick viscosity super glue. Left it to cure for 30m, and trimmed the edges of the glued lock tie sections, so that theridges were smooth.
Worked perfectly!
Excellent video. I diagnosed exactly the same issue. Found an online store that will sell just the cam for a reasonable price. When I replace it I have an idea to weld cable ties onto the raised sections on the old one.
Thank you for the breakdown of the unit. $900 unit here in Australia. The poolshop price for the fix kit was $240 and available for $138 online. The cam and two cogs are available here for $22 online. Your explanation helped heaps. It's all designed to have limited lifespan today. May utilize your soldering iron idea in the future as the economy continues its relentless slip.
Thnaks for the comprehensive video. Ordered the cam as it was only $20 bucks and changed it out according to your instructions. Worked like a charm 😊. Keep the vids coming
Genius! This was driving me mad, and the pool store said to order a new drive shaft, yet that wasn’t worn down at all. Took my soldering iron and this solution worked brilliantly. Thanks!
You're a life saver. Always cheaper to buy the part if you can but after scanning various local suppliers I see that is going to be a mission so I applied the soldering iron fix and, wow, it's working again. Epic.
SO FREAKIN' HELPFUL!!!! Thank you!!!!!
Excellent breakdown and analysis. I ordered a new cam gear and left drive kit and my unit is as good as new. Thank you!
Instead of building up the cam, I 3d printed a new wheel. 19.8mm od x 6.2mm Id x 10mm thick.
Worked well for me.
PS print it solid or 100% fill. You may need to adjust your id or do a test print first to check the fit on that 6mm shaft.
Thank you for this video. What's crazy is Pentair sells expensive tune up kits that includes drive shaft and wheels but does not include cam gear! I was ready to order a kit but now I'm going to investigate further to see if a new cam might fix the problem.
This was a great help. I just bought the part because it was much easier but you explained the why, how and what! Thank you!
Great video, thank you!! Exact same problem here in Australia, after 2 years of operation (Pentair Rebel). I have ordered the Cam for $20 AUD. I will provide an update once I've installed the part.
Give this man a Bells! This is the exact issue I’m having. On my way to find that gear
This actually WORKS!
Instead of a sildering iron, I heated up the edge of the high parts of the cam, and squeezed them with pliers, to make the high parts of the cam just a touch higher. And VOILA! It works like brand new.
Thanks so much for this hot tip!
thanks, good idea.
what is the cam? is that the large plastic gear that was altered in this video above?
Thanks for this; so clever; just what I needed👍👍👍
Thank you very much for the concise and instructive video. I followed it to the letter and the Dominator is now sorted and not confined to one corner in the pool. After using the soldering iron I didn't smooth the side edges enough which caused a few problems, but some more sanding sorted this out. Awesome! I am so chuffed!
Awesome video. I have had a hundred explanations and knew none of them were correct, at last the true problem surfaces.
Glad it helped!
Thanks for this video! Good explanation of the mechanics! This will help any DIY'er a lot!
Thanks so much.
I built up my cam gear with epoxy putty and worked like a dream. No need to file either, you can mould the putty perfectly before letting it set.
Thanks. I did try epoxy and after being in the pool it came off. Maybe your brand is better. What did you use?
Thank you, had the same problem, applied your fix with a soldering iron and haven't seen the kreepy this mobile in years. One thing I should have done is trace the cam gear before and then after to see the variance in height before filing.
Tried the soldering iron method and I could not get enough buildup to make it work. Then used JB Weld plastic epoxy bonding goop, filed/sanded it down after it cured and the pool cleaner works like it was brand new. I do not know how long this fix will last but it has been a few days and so far so good. It blows my mind that Pentair would use a plastic material that wears out so fast-
Thank you so much worked perfectly for me ,well made video and my kind of fix i like ...thanks again
I find that it is the interface between the outer race of the plastic bearing in that split housing with springs, and the the split housing that develops slop. If you look close at one that has the “sit and spin” issue, you can grab the bearing inner race and push it radially side to side and watch the outer race move like 20 thousands of an inch within the housing! New one does not move near as much. More than enough slop to cause pinion not to engage wheel. I take the housing apart and cut a little piece of nylon zip tie to act as a shim for between the outer bearing race and the housing on the side that would shove the pinion closer to the wheel gear teeth. Works great.
Thanks for this, I really appreciate the detailed explanations.
Great video thanks. Mine was getting stuck at a few spots all the time. After your explanation, I wanted to see exactly what it was doing. Tried keeping it in middle of pool to see direction etc and noticed that it was now swiveling properly simply because I was keeping the pipe vertically. Put in a drifting thingy on pipe (about 1m from end) and now it is no longer getting stuck! I suspect I've just kicked the can down the road a bit since swiveling now has less resistance...
agree, damn good explanation video, thanks for this brilliant content. Thanks
I have the exact same issue. Thanks for the video
Great video. Thank you!
Thanks for this video. I had this exact problem and cause. Eventually bought a new one.
thank you, I just fixed the problem thanks to your video. 👍
Thank you for this. It worked perfectly for me. Great fix!
Brilliant It works like a charm Using my old unit. Working perfectly Saving the pro for later. Just an update.. you may now have to buy a full kit at R900 which does Not include the CAM No more loose spares
Thank you
thanks, but the unit should not have worn out so quickly so i refuse to pay more for a kit, that's why i made another plan.
Agreed I followed your steps I find the units. To last less than 8 months your fix works well Spares. Are expensive and the mushrooms don't last either Poor quality
Good, helpful problem solving. Thanks! After watching your video, I realized the key issue in my unit was that the two springs in the housing were not providing enough force to push the gear mechanism back into the gear teeth. They were weakened with age. I took out both springs and stretched them out so that they would provide more tension to the gear housing. Problem solved. No idea how long it will remain fixed but it cost me nothing. Hope that’s another viable option for your audience.
thank you. Springs unfortunately will go back to its original position over a short time so plan to do future repairs. To increase the spring tension you could also put something in the hole where the spring sits to raise the spring slightly.
I did that exact repair and worked. Expand the springs and worked like new.
I had the same problem. I just lengthened the springs. Back to normal.
Thanks for this very informative video 👌🏻 I watched it a few times and it gave me all the information I needed 👏👏
Thanks. This was a very useful video for me.
Question: Who stocks the drive shaft. In my case, the cam gear and drive shaft appear to be worn. Probably because it is a very small pool.
Great fix. Thanks.
Such a good vid I have the exact problem. It was driving me mad
Thanks for this. Worked like a charm 🙂
Awesome video thank you!!
I have a Poolvergneugen (same design as this cleaner) that had the same problem. Instead of using the soldering iron on the cam, I took a short section of PVC pipe to sleeve the plastic bearing that runs against the cam gear. I did have to put it in a drill and sand it down a bit because it was a little too thick initially)
Great video. Got the soldering iron out, and now the rebel is charging all over the pool like a maniac...... Has definitely prolonged the life of the creepy for a few years. I wonder if the new model has a cam with a slightly bigger diameter 🤔
just get that part, but thanks for showing the process.
lol I’d just buy the replacement part. Much less stuffing around. Not leaving the thing in the pool constantly, washing it down and storing it out of the sun between uses will ensure maximum service life. All machines wear. They wear faster when they aren’t maintained.
Absolutely spot on. Thanks.
This was great, thanks for the added insight on what it takes to get this $450 item to actually work. Couple of added notes I found. I had already replaced the left drive kit so it was fine. To just replace the Cam gear, I used a simple spring clamp to pull that drive forward out of the way once the wheels were off (so I didn't need to remove that spring loaded piece to replace the cam gear). Then pushing that axle rod back just enough to lift out he cam gear was easy.
I was able to get the replacement kit at a local store (Pentair #360294 from my original manual) for about $18. The one I was replacing measured about 3.8mm, the new one was not much more at 4.1mm about. Just putting it in helped a little, but I used that soldering iron trick on the old one targeting about 5.1mm on each of the 5 raised sections. I had a flat soldering tip that I used to work up a ridge from each side, smoothed that down a bit with soldering iron (leaving kind of a U shaped buildup on the top of each cam section) then filed to make it smoother on top as well as on each end rising off of the lower cam sections. Putting that back in, it definitely improved the operation - still doesn't get out of the deep end but climbs the walls a bit more. Easy improvement to get a little more life out of these increasingly pricey items. I took the new cam gear and repeated the soldering operation and stored that away for later.
Again, thanks a lot for this clear and useful hack on the Rebel.
And actually, I just went out to check it again and it had climbed out of the deep end (pretty steep slope on my pool) for the first time in months - success at last. Getting this already relatively low flow Kreepy to work better leads (for me) into even lower kWh consumption (dialing the Intelliflo pump back a bit on RPM) for effective operation - small victories.
Awesome stuff, thakn you for the tip, one thing, where did you get the sharft only from? All the places I have seen sells the complete kit, and I dinfinately also only need that shaft to completely revamp ours. than you again :)
My full sized dominator also got this problem just bought a new one because alot of other parts had worn down
God bless you
GREAT advise!! Thanks!! :-)
Brilliant!
Great video, inspired me to draw and print a 3d replacement part for mine, working a treat.
Hey Gareth, can you send me your 3d printer drawing?
You should sell these!
I do :0 @@mtbbiker6401
well done!! make a replacement part for lazy guys like me.
I'm thinking of buying a replacement for my Hayward Pool Vac Ultra that I have had in my pool for 13 years. It's actually still working, had to replace the cork feet every 2nd year and the flaps once. I probably run it for maybe 12 hours a week. How many years are you all getting out of the Pentair?
Thanks for posting this. This thing is very poorly designed. Appropriate materials selection and tolerance for the cam wheel and the follower would have made this thing an ok product. I have had two of them (marketed as the Pentair Rebel), both failed in this mode within weeks. Will fix it and keep it as a back up to the next one; maybe Zodiac MX8 elite next...
where you get the part ?
My dominator just stops moving. Anyone know what might be causing this?
Good morning, thanks for the fix. Do you know where I can buy the Cam locally. Most shops seems to be selling the gears and not the Cam. Thanks in advance.
From the manufacturer. I think they are in Kempton Park or there about
@@ecologicaltime Thank you, will check it out.
4:44 - you said not to build up the little wheel in the gear assembly as it will then touch the posts inside the assembly and not turn. Nevertheless, I would try to sleeve the little wheel with some HEATSHRINK TUBING, and sand away the posts that are then touching the enlarged little wheel. The advantage of a RUBBERISED enlarged little wheel with a rubber tube around it, is it will minimize future wear on the large wheel. Plus it would be a much faster fix and the rubber provides a nice spongy and grippy surface to make contact with the larger wheel.
look forward to seeing how this works out. Please reply for others if it works
So you mentioned that you can buy a replacement cam wheel but I can't find spares anywhere. Do you know where perhaps?
and that is why i fixed mine... the agents are in Kempton Park.
Hi where did you buy the replacement part from?
pool team
I notice your machine, like mine, does not climb the walls of the pool. Mine does the same. I bought the "Lite" because it's supposed to be for splash pools. Any ideas on how to get it to climb? I'm pulling my hair out and I'm thinking of going back to a simpler, basic Kreepy like the Swimvac.
my walls are too smooth - fiberglass. My kids have said they seen it climbing walls but i have never seen it. Have to brush walls every week so its okay for me.
@@ecologicaltime Hope I can help in return here. I have a fibre-glass pool as well and struggled with wall climbing but found that the right combination of motor speed (or suction if you don't have a variable flow motor) and float position does the trick. I think it's also important that the pool is clean - no algae etc which is slippery. What I did was vary the motor speed until the wheel revolution is perfect (there is a number somewhere how many revs per min they should go). It's surprisingly slow - these things are made to crawl not leap. Then, once I had that right, I started with the float position right at the bottom of the hose next to the unit and moved it up by about 5 cm at a time until it was climbing the walls but turning at the scum line. The wrong combination of these either has it not climbing at all or climbing up and sucking air which is deadly for the vsd motor.
This vacuum is a poj. I have had to repair it on so many occasions and still doesn't do what it used to during the first 2-3 months after purchase. Its plastic build is nondurable. It's had it for 3 years now. I've gone to brushing the pool old school which takes 5 minutes and does the job perfectly. Pentair should give me my money back for selling this crap product.
Pentair rebel trouble shooting