Mystery Ball Bearings in Pool

[Saturn94]

I found several small ball bearings in the pool (size maybe 2mm or so?). They were a little tarnished, not shiny. My first suspect was my 8 year old Polaris 280 cleaner (wheel bearings?) despite the fact that it’s operating fine. I removed and checked all the wheels, but don’t see any gaps in the bearings where they could have come out. All the wheels operate smoothly. I also checked the shaft bearings, and again see nowhere they could have come out. The shaft spins smoothly as well.

I can’t think of anywhere else around the pool the bearings could have come from.

Any ideas I might have missed?

Thanks.

 

[jtpipkin]

are you saying you're seeing the bearings and they're all accounted for or just assuming they're there because you don't see them? I just did a rebuild of my 280 and was shocked mine was even working half way correctly when i started pulling it apart. Missing bearings, loose bearings, etc...

 

[Saturn94]

Thanks for the feedback.

I didn’t go as far as removing the wheel bearings to verify none were missing since I could not see any way they could have fallen out. There are no gaps large enough and the bearing cases looked fine; ie nothing worn looking, damaged, gaps, etc. The wheels don’t feel loose and operate smoothly.

I guess it’s still possible it is the wheel bearings and I just can’t see where they are coming out.

Since everything seems to be operating smoothly, is there any harm it just ignoring this until I notice actually performance issues?

BTW, except for the debris bag and hose swivels, everything is original on it.

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

The one time I found loose bearings in my pool, they were from one of the autocover pulleys. Do you have one of those or anything else with pulleys or wheels?

 

[JamesW]

Probably Polaris wheel bearings.

 

[Saturn94]

The one time I found loose bearings in my pool, they were from one of the autocover pulleys. Do you have one of those or anything else with pulleys or wheels?

Thanks for the ideas.

No auto cover. The only other pool equipment I can think of with bearings are the main pump and booster pump. Both are operating fine (plus there isn’t any way I can see for pump bearings to make it into the pool).

 

[Saturn94]

Probably Polaris wheel bearings.

Thank you.

That’s the primary suspect, though I can’t figure out how those sneaky buggers would be getting out!

I just had a thought....I wonder if they could be from a pellet gun or something shot into the air? There was alot of racket around here over the holiday weekend, though I assumed it was just fireworks.

 

[jtpipkin]

no harm running it until you're no longer satisfied with its performance. I will tell you that a home rebuild kit is relatively inexpensive and has made my 280 into much more of a workhorse again...

 

[Saturn94]

no harm running it until you're no longer satisfied with its performance. I will tell you that a home rebuild kit is relatively inexpensive and has made my 280 into much more of a workhorse again...

I’ve not noticed any decrease in performance, it still works like a champ, so I’ll leave well enough alone for now.

I did a quick look at rebuild kits; much cheaper than a new cleaner.

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

I did a quick look at rebuild kits; much cheaper than a new cleaner.

Just make sure you know exactly what you're getting in a rebuild kit. I bought one for my Polaris 3900 which did not include any actual wear items like bearings or tires. I was able to buy those separately, but wasted time and money on the kit.

 

[Saturn94]

Just make sure you know exactly what you're getting in a rebuild kit. I bought one for my Polaris 3900 which did not include any actual wear items like bearings or tires. I was able to buy those separately, but wasted time and money on the kit.

I appreciate the tip.

 

[markayash]

Thank you.

That’s the primary suspect, though I can’t figure out how those sneaky buggers would be getting out!

I just had a thought....I wonder if they could be from a pellet gun or something shot into the air? There was alot of racket around here over the holiday weekend, though I assumed it was just fireworks.

I was wondering that or kids..I found a hockey puck in mine once and was confused until I found out the kid behind me places hockey and practiced in his back yard

 

[markayash]

Just make sure you know exactly what you're getting in a rebuild kit. I bought one for my Polaris 3900 which did not include any actual wear items like bearings or tires. I was able to buy those separately, but wasted time and money on the kit.

After rebuilding my Polaris a few times I started just buying the parts I needed like wheel bearings vs the over priced kit

 

[Saturn94]

After rebuilding my Polaris a few times I started just buying the parts I needed like wheel bearings vs the over priced kit

Thanks.

I’ll keep that in mind when it comes time for repairs.

 

[Saturn94]

I ran the Polaris a couple hours or so this morning. Afterwards I checked carefully and didn’t find any ball bearings. I’ll continue to watch for them.

 

[JamesW]

 

[Saturn94]

Thanks for the video.

I watched a couple other videos yesterday as well. I’m glad to see it’s a simple job.

A couple observations about the video you posted:

1. My bearings look more like the new ones he installed; no apparent wear or damage.
2. The loose ball bearings that fell out of the first wheel he removed look just like the ones I found in the pool. So it certainly seems what I found are wheel bearings, but how did they fall out? I certainly couldn’t see any way for them to get out.

 

[JamesW]

There are two set of bearings.

Maybe they fell from the inner set to the inside of the wheel.

 

[Saturn94]

Looking at replacement bearing sets (the 280 has 8 wheel bearings) there’s a HUGE difference in price between OEM (~$70 and up) and aftermarket (~$13)! Inyo Pools charges $10.49 each (so $83.92 for a set of 8)!

Any thoughts about whether or not OEM is worth the huge price premium?

 

[jtpipkin]

Looking at replacement bearing sets (the 280 has 8 wheel bearings) there’s a HUGE difference in price between OEM (~$70 and up) and aftermarket (~$13)! Inyo Pools charges $10.49 each (so $83.92 for a set of 8)!

Any thoughts about whether or not OEM is worth the huge price premium?

In the past, aftermarket lasted significantly less time and didn't perform as well. I'm all for generic, but made sure my recent rebuild parts were OEM.