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Pentair Rebel Questions & Answers
83 questions from our users
Hi, My Rebel is getting stuck at the bottom of the wall where ever i put it in my pool. We have recently had the pump replaced and it worked fine before that. I have tried changing the section level and have checked for derbies. Any suggestions?
the filters are clean, great suction, no blockages, the cogs are all good, the valve in the skimmer box is fully closed to fast BUT the wheels are only turning 5 times per minute . Any advice please!
Cleaner constantly spins in circles; wheels turning in opposite direction. Remedial action ?
My rebel keeps climbing walls too high and sucking air and resetting my pump it is annoying as it happens every 5 min how do I stop this
Why does my pentair cleaner keep turning in circles and then the hose tangles up?
Ours was two years old and was doing this - we got the tune up kit from a pool store as one of the wheels was only going on one direction. It now works well and was cheaper than buying a new one
why does my pentair keep turning in circles
The wheels have stopped turning and seem to be stuck, how do I fix ?
Check there is suction by disconnecting the cleaner head under water and placing your hand near the hose opening to see if yo can feel if there is suction. Make sure the filter is clean. A dirty filte...
Read morer can slow down the flow. You should also have gotten a flow gauge indicator you place at the end of the hose where the cleaner connects to indicate correct suction. If the suction is not right after you have cleaned the filter you can increase/decrease the suction by opening or closing the adjustable valve that is attached to the hose that connects into the skimmer box. If that doesn't help. Disconnect the cleaner and pull out of the water. Check the opening underneath to see if anything is stuck and blocking it. If the bottom opening is clear open the top and remove to see if any debris is stuck in the gears. Check the cogs inside aren't worn. Finally check the the wheel teeth and cogs on the outside aren't worn. If after all that is done and still not working and is under warranty call the company you bought it from to organise a warranty repair. If it's out of warranty call a pool service/repair company to come and have a look.Thanks, there was debris stuck in the gears.
Hi we have a rebel 2 and recently when connected it will not move,if I take the hose of under water it sucks my hand in to the hose but when I reconnect the cleaner it does nothing and bubbles come from round the wheels
It sounds like you have some debris in your turbine.
Open the top and inspect everything, removing anything preventing the turbine wheel from turning, that should fix it.
No, there is nothing in it. It flies around the pool when there is only water in the pool. When there are the same leaves my Astral S5 tm dealt with effortlessly, this pentair just keeps stopping on c...
Read moreonstantly and having to pull out small leaves from the end. It is simply useless for small leaves. Sadly, they dont make the Astral S5 anymore and it is only 3 years old, so i would not buy Astral again.Not a question.. but to share my troubleshooting tips.. still stand by my review, that Rebel Cleaners are the 'least-worst' of all the other cleaner options.. particularly for pools with really heavy leaf matter... They are all horrid in their own way...
I manage 2 pools, 1 has a Rebel Mk1 thats still killing it after 3yrs, my Mk2 is about 1.5yrs and was suddenly 'hanging in the deep end' all the time.. it could turn and go straight.. but it wouldn't explore.. even if I removed hoses to restrict how far it could go.
They have a 3yr warranty, so after reading this thread, I called support.. they try to use language to make it sound like its your fault, as if the pool jets are suddenly the problem, or how many hours did you use it.. get past that.. they will also ask for photos. But once you get past that, they sent out a Left-Hand-Drive replacement kit in the mail, honestly if the old one was worn, it was less than a finger-nail worn.. like barely even perceptible.. but damn I replaced it and it started working again... It actually starts climbing walls again, which I realise it must have stopped doing a long time ago.. so clearly the new parts makes it run like a new one again. This is a shame, but at least you have 3yrs of support...
Now, you dont actually want the Rebel climbing walls.. a) it wastes a lot of time, but b) it will generally go up and suck air and make your pump stall.. the tip is to cut something like a kids eraser into 2 halves, and stick one under each tyre, it makes it so the rebel will lose its traction on the wall and fall back down, and doesn't impact its movement along the floor.
I agree, least worst is a good description. At least all the gears and shafts are available as spare parts so after 2 or 3 years, it can be rebuilt.
Pintar pool cleaner staying in same area of Paul
I fixed mine for now. the design is a bit poor with a lot of free play in all of the bearings which adds up to enough to allow the gear on one side to slip and once this starts, further wear happens ...
Read morefast. Tightening up on one of those may fix the issue if you get to it soon enough before wear on the end of the black gear shaft gets too bad. To fix... Open the lid by pulling ononn the tab,... as shown at the start of this video (ignore the video after that).. https://youtu.be/jqEEpgwRXeI Take off only the wheel near the big cam using a 5mm Allen key and then pull out the spring-loaded clutch taking care not to lose the 2 springs that pop out.. the clutch has 2 identical halves.. prise them gently apart by levering a screwdriver inside the spring holes in turn and then work around the perimeter to prise apart.. once an even gap of 5mm forms it will pop open. . Cut a piece of plastic about 5mm x 5mm by about 0.7mm thick (I sacrificed an old credit card) and jam it in the gap between the bearing (with the gear shape inside it) and the housing at a point closest to the other idler wheel. Make sure the shim is not protruding out past the bearing and reassemble. This has reduced the Freeplay in that bearing and that may be enough to stop the gear from slipping and wearing further. Good luck!Hi, my pentair rebel 2 gears (or whatever makes it go) do not appear to be engaging. After it swivels to change direction, it then tries to go in a straight line but just continues to go in tiny circles/swivels.
I fixed mine for now. the design is a bit poor with a lot of free play in all of the bearings which adds up to enough to allow the gear on one side to slip and once this starts, further wear happens ...
Read morefast. Tightening up on one of those may fix the issue if you get to it soon enough before wear on the end of the black gear shaft gets too bad. To fix... Open the lid by pulling ononn the tab,... as shown at the start of this video (ignore the video after that).. https://youtu.be/jqEEpgwRXeI Take off only the wheel near the big cam using a 5mm Allen key and then pull out the spring-loaded clutch taking care not to lose the 2 springs that pop out.. the clutch has 2 identical halves.. prise them gently apart by levering a screwdriver inside the spring holes in turn and then work around the perimeter to prise apart.. once an even gap of 5mm forms it will pop open. . Cut a piece of plastic about 5mm x 5mm by about 0.7mm thick (I sacrificed an old credit card) and jam it in the gap between the bearing (with the gear shape inside it) and the housing at a point closest to the other idler wheel. Make sure the shim is not protruding out past the bearing and reassemble. This has reduced the Freeplay in that bearing and that may be enough to stop the gear from slipping and wearing further. Good luck!Have replaced both left and right drives. Cleaner still only goes in a straight line. What else needs to be replaced. Thank you.
My pentair robot turns in circle I leave it 24 7 in pool what's the solution?
i am having the same thing ..it is the "left drive kit" that is needed.....if you remove the left wheel where the gears are......you will be able to see that it is just a fraction of an ich..like 1/8...
Read moreth or less.. that is.. causing "The wheel drive ..To not engage. Into the left wheel ..When it is to be engaged...So that it will...Go straight.. Before it turns again...It is the wearing down of either the .."Left wheel drive or a combination of that and "The cam" that it rides against.....Down load an exploded view of the cleaner...So you can see the names of the related partsI fixed mine for now. the design is a bit poor with a lot of free play in all of the bearings which adds up to enough to allow the gear on one side to slip and once this starts, further wear happens ...
Read morefast. Tightening up on one of those may fix the issue if you get to it soon enough before wear on the end of the black gear shaft gets too bad. To fix... Open the lid by pulling ononn the tab,... as shown at the start of this video (ignore the video after that).. https://youtu.be/jqEEpgwRXeI Take off only the wheel near the big cam using a 5mm Allen key and then pull out the spring-loaded clutch taking care not to lose the 2 springs that pop out.. the clutch has 2 identical halves.. prise them gently apart by levering a screwdriver inside the spring holes in turn and then work around the perimeter to prise apart.. once an even gap of 5mm forms it will pop open. . Cut a piece of plastic about 5mm x 5mm by about 0.7mm thick (I sacrificed an old credit card) and jam it in the gap between the bearing (with the gear shape inside it) and the housing at a point closest to the other idler wheel. Make sure the shim is not protruding out past the bearing and reassemble. This has reduced the Freeplay in that bearing and that may be enough to stop the gear from slipping and wearing further. Good luck!Hi, how can you tell the difference between a Rebel 1 and 2?
On my Rebel 2, I fitted the Tuneup kit but now the stupid thing pirouettes on one wheel, runs forward a couple of feet then does 360 turns on the one spot before repeating the sequence. One wheel seems to lose traction even though it has new tyres. I have played with the the suction pressures, adjusted the suction pipe weight (plastic), checked for blockages, it refuses to even attempt to climb a wall - small pebbled - the drive shaft and everything was only replaced about 6 months ago. Going to take my chainsaw to it very shortly. Local Rebel dealer says he has seen the tyres run out of tread in less than 6 months and excessive wear on the drive shaft as well. I can adjust the suction from suck-yer-arm-off to no suction at all! Heap of junk it would appear!
check the kit model I fell for that and spent $150 on a tuneup kit but it turned out the kit was for the Rebel1 version hence does not work.
Thanks for that, definitely Rebel 2, it worked fine for a few months but after fitting a new sand filter it has gone nuts!
see answers above.. hopefully it will fix your problem
On my Rebel 2, I fitted the Tuneup kit but now the stupid thing pirouettes on one wheel, runs forward a couple of feet then does 360 turns on the one spot before repeating the sequence. One wheel seems to lose traction even though it has new tyres. I have played with the the suction pressures, pipe weight (plastic), checked for blockages, it refuses to even attempt to climb a wall - small pebbled - the drive shaft and everything was only replaced about 6 months ago. Going to take my chainsaw to it very shortly. Local Rebel dealer says he has seen the tyres run out of tread in less than 6 months and excessive wear on the drive shaft as well. Heap of junk it would appear!
You probably need to replace "The cam" that the drive kit roller rides on.. It is just a fraction of and inch that will cause "The left drive splines to -not- engage "The gear teeth on the left whee" ...
Read morehaving the same problem...But I can see.. It is just missing.. By "The depth of thesplines" amazing how they will design something to fail after.. Just a little use...It is all about the money$$$$$see answers above.. hopefully it will fix your problem
My lil rebel vacuums with the rollers up. How do I make it vacuum with all of them down?
My rebel won’t come out of the deep end of the pool. Just replace both drive shafts and I believe it’s the wheels that need replacement. The wheels seem to be really sloppy. Should I just replace the hub which is a lot cheaper than purchasing two wheels for 100 dollars?
Hi can someone tell me why my rebel cleaner goes onto its side (on one wheel) it was working perfect now just does this continuously, only 5 months old. Thankyou
Buy the Pentair float which fits about 18" from the cleaner head on the vacuum hose. It will solve your problem.
Purchased my Rebel Pentair back in 2013 and have been reasonably happy with it. Have used the tune up kit on a couple of occasion to replace cogs, wheels etc. Have just purchased a new tune up kit but appear to have bought the Pentair 2 kit by mistake. from what I can make out from the adverts, it appears to have very similar, if not the same, components with the exception being the tyre tread. It is in the mail already so I’m likely stuck with it, so can anyone confirm, other than the tyres, what other differences there are with this kit and what likely won’t work/fit in my old machine? Thanks, Mick
My suggestion is to call the manufacturer or if you have a pool 'store' nearby perhaps they can help.
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