Pentair Rebel Questions & Answers

ive tried all places, tune up kits ect you name it ive tried it. it just stays in 1 spot and dosnt move. i cant afford to keep buying stuff for this machine

No weight anywhere is go to make this function as Stated. It is flawed in design as the internal plastic cogs wear quickly and it will not do the job as stated. Save your money and avoid this purchase.

Its buggered. You need to buy a repair kit for it. You can get these online for about $160. Pool shops also stock them but they are usually more expensive. They are easy to install with basic tools. Be aware if you are using these in concrete pool you will get 2 years max out of it at the most. Thats why they have a lot of negative reviews

You need to instal a repair kit. Google it. It’s easy!

Repair kit?

Not sure but if you. Call concept pools on the sunshine coast they should be able to answer your question as they are agents for pentair

If it is still under warranty get it checked out. How much tread is left on wheels? You might also need to get parts kit if is older. While I like the pentair they can be fragile and the company are always looking for excuses not to have blame placed on equipment rather put it back on how you look after the pentair hardware.

They tell you not to overuse it?

Mine did this too, but it is around 4 years old. Try turning each wheel manually and see if either spins without the whole mechanism turning. This probably indicates worn parts and it may need a tune up kit. A Tune up kit (cost me $147.00 from BestPoolSupplies) sorted the problem out for me. If this is what it needs, it is quite easy to install and there are Youtube videos showing the process.

Yup, common problem as you can see from all the questions placed about stopping. They have 3year warranty, take it back to shop you bought it from and get the them to talk to pentair. Our supplier had long talk with pentair who eventually admitted it was warranty job and got the full kit installed by supplier for no cost. They billed pentair and recovered their costs.. Good luck..

Needs a kit, sorted mine out. Although I did wonder if $147 dollars was a better investment than just getting a new one. I read from others that kit helps gif about a year extra work. Seems there’s no fool proof long term solution to do this job . Rebel best I’ve seen.

If your system is 2years old or more but less than 3 then you need to get parts kit under warranty . Because parts are plastic they wear out very quickly. Pentair will complain but stick at it because they really obligated to repair under warranty. Just Remember that you don't leave it in the pool continuously and run it every day.. Pentair try these excuses to get out of warranty.. Good luck.

Same symptoms ours began showing around 2 year mark. If you still have proof of purchase, contact pentair agent for replacement of gears and wheels under warranty. If you have no proof you can purchase a kit that has gears and wheels for around $200. Be warned though I know of least another pentair user that also had to really work hard to get a totally legitimate problem fixed under warranty. I am still waiting for pentair to admit fault. Pentair also appear to be very concerned about how much time the unit spends in the pool, they recommend it should be removed between cleans.. Hope this helps

Thanks for your reply. Will have to check purchase date.

All good now. I lengthened the two little springs which hold the spline onto the wheel gear and I think that spring holder was out of place. Going like a charm now. Cost nothing.

I got rid of mine after only a month as it did the same thing in the deep end, it never went up to the shallow end, only suggestion I would have is ensure you don’t have air in your lines as that is the only thing that may affect it.

If it's in the 'circle of doom' this is a long-known problem with both the MKI and MKII Rebel pool cleaners. The left-hand drive spline (it's a long thin dark piece of plastic running the full length of the front of the unit engaging with the LH wheel) is not robust enough to do the job and wears out too soon. It only takes a little amount of wear on the teeth that mesh with those of the wheel. It's simple enough to replace but it shouldn't need replacing so often, and if it were a consumable it should be a lot cheaper than it is. Apparently Pentair says the rubber tyres also need regular replacing as worn tyres can contribute to excessive spline wear. But they are just a blatant rip off at around $85 for two...each 1-2 years. You can get a reasonable car tyre for that! I see there's other advice in this string about the spring tension which seems to make some sense as a possible contributor as well so I'll be looking at that too. I'm in the process of trying to get replacement parts out of Pentair at the moment. Otherwise I think it's a great cleaner and have been really happy with it. Just wish Pentair would fix this problem.

I’ve had my mk1 about 2 years. Same issue as everyone else. Put the kit in but it’s not like it was when new. I’m moving on sorry Pentair. I’m away a lot and need a leave in cleaner to keep the leaves out. Any suggestions?

Yes

I have this problem too. Why are there no answers??

I’m surprised there’s no answers! I have been unable to resolve the problem after trying all solutions I could think of and finally resorted to purchasing a robotic vacuum from Nautilus. It works great while the Pentair Rebel is worthless and a total waste of money.

Agree. Had nothing but trouble with the rebel 2. Believe Pentair now expect the pool shops to cover cost of kits and my particular shop subsequently ditched them. Wish I had paid the extra for a robotic cleaner but not sure I could lift them out of the water on my own any more after pool clean.

That’s an easy fix , you need a small weight about 30 cm from the cleaner head. It mounts on the hide and should come with the machine

Mine was doing the exact same thing. I added two small floats that attach to the suction hose. One about a foot above the unit and the other about 3’ above the unit. Never had the flipping problem again.

I had the same problem. I replaced the float that attaches to the hose and seems to have fixed the problem.

Disconnect the cleaner from the hose and attach the suction meter that came with the cleaner to see if the suction is in correct range. Check that the drive shafts are connecting properly with the gears on the wheels. It could be a spring tension issue.

If it is spring tension then what springs am I looking at? I changed the only 2 springs I can see when I fitted the tune up kit.

See if the old springs are shorter than the new ones? On the LHS wheel, it should either be engaging the inner gear or outer gear dependant on direction. The stops it from free-spinning. The RHS wheel drive stays in the same spot and should be engaged. When you turn the RHS wheel, do all of the gears turn including the central suction section?

Yes. Everything turns well. Out of the water , by hand. I’m thinking maybe too much pressure. I’m going to check the pressure again this afternoon. Maybe it is sucking it too hard to the floor?!? I took all cogs out this morning and cleaned all axles. None worn, axles neither. It moves really well when I open it up. It moves well when I put the cover back on. But in the water, sooooo slow then stops.

What type of surface is it? If it's tiled this cleaner is pretty much useless in a tiled pool. The wheels have no traction even if it has correct suction.

I've stopped selling these cleaners yp customers with tiled pools. Spoke to pentair about it and they just tell you, check suction, check float etc but I reckon it's the new design it's just not suitable for tiled pools

Where can I get a suction meter if I don't have one. Was never introduced to such a device.

It should have come with your vacuum. It is a clear plastic connection that plugs into the end of the hose and has spring in it. Connected to the spring is a plastic disc. On the outside of the clear tube it has MIN and MAX. That tells you what pressure you have. Little up to a lot.pool shops have them.

I have the very same problem with my Rebel cleaner not moving on my tile pool and really cant believe Pentaire does not have a solution. Surly there is a fix to increase the grip of to wheels on the tiles. I plan to try a few things on the wheels as it just does not work on tiles.

If the wheels are moving but they have no grip. Try adding some weight to the end of the hose just above the body. This may give it a chance.

Yes, mine does the same thing. It won't right itself. I have to flip it over and then it does it again minutes later when it gets to the edge of the pool.

Make sure the float is installed on the hose per the manual. That way the hose will always stay vertical and the vacuum will run upright.

Yes make sure float is installed correctly. You may even need a second float. Also check the lead hose is not kinked. If this doesn't work then remove the leader hose altogether and add the float at the correct distance to the normal hose connected to the cleaner

Likely the interval cogs have worn down (known fault based on useage). I’m now up the the 3rd replacement of the internals in 5 years. (My last replacement was meant to be the new components that fixed the problem, sadly not the case). I’m now up for almost $200 as company is not honouring this known problem any more. Previously they admitted fault and replaced for free. Not any more.

I found that if the gears aren't worn, it can be the spring tension on the LHS wheel is not great enough to mate up with the driveshaft correctly. You can pull apart and stretch the springs to rectify. I think the springs aren't strong enough by design.