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Unread 05/10/2017, 12:39 PM   #2906
slief
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Join Date: Sep 2009
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mlb75 View Post
I know the neck cleaners have been a thing for quite awhile but can someone tell me why they're such a good idea?

When I clean my skimmer (2-3 times a week) there is sludge on both sides of the neck of the collection cup and to be honest 65% of it is on the wet side with the lesser amount on the side where the liquid is collected.

I always figured that was just an easy place for the organics to start collecting and am glad they're out of the system. Why would I want to not collect stuff there and wash it back into the skimmer body? Sure some of it will then be picked back up by the foam head and moved to the collection cup but some of it is bound to end up back in the system.

Just trying to understand why people want them...
First the neck cleaners keep the neck clean which allows the foam to rise smoothly up the neck. Excessive gunk on the inside of the neck creates friction which causes some of the bubbles to burst on the way up instead of flowing smoothly up the neck. The consistently clean neck keeps the skimmer performing at optimal efficiency. It also reduces maintenance significantly. Now that said, not all neck cleaners are created equal. Most neck cleaners have the blade vertical which smears the gunk around the neck and allows some of, if not most of the gunk to get into the skimmer body where some of the gunk will get caught up in the foam to be exported but not all of it. The Aquadriver Helix has the blade angled so that when the wiper is rotating, the scum is pulled upward to the top of the neck and doesn't get sent back down into the skimmer. It also has a built in sprayer that draws water from inside the skimmer body and squirts it on the inside of the neck and lid while the wiper is rotating. The constant stream of water that is shot on the the neck and lid (during rotation) improves the wipers efficiency and aids in exporting the grime into the collection cup where it belongs. The Helix is also unique in that it has a dual wiper system which keeps both the neck and lid free of gunk. The underside of the lid where the wiper attaches has a conical shape (see pictures below) which further improves skimmer performance by pushing the rising foam out to the edge of the neck. The Helix uses a powerful high speed gear driven motor that rotates at a very high rate of speed. Mine runs once a day for 15 seconds and my neck is always clean. I only remove my collection cup once every 6-12 months and even then, it's not needed. It reduces the maintenance on the skimmer and really improves the skimmers performance. Between the neck and lid wiper and the shape of the underside of the lid, it's like no other neck cleaner out there.

Here are some pictures of my Helix. Mine has the optional collection cup washdown which I have connected to a hose spigot in the closet next to the tank. I run it once in a blue moon to rinse my collection cup. Frankly, I don't care if my cup has some gunk in it so it's not something I use often at all.

In this picture you can see the shape of the underside that pushes the foam out to the edge of the neck.



You can see the built in gray nozzle that sprays water onto the neck when the wiper is rotating. There is another nozzle hole that you can see that shoots water onto the lid too.


In this one, you can see the complete Helix with the optional collection cup washdown. Also note the long silicone tube that goes into the skimmer body. That is where the water is drawn from for the built in neck and lid spray system. There are rollers under the plastic dome that the tubing is routed through. When the motor rotates, the rollers role across the tubing and draw water from inside the skimmer to be sprayed on the inside of the neck and lid. It works amazingly well.



Here you can see the lid wiper that is curved so that that the wiper pushes the gunk on the lid to the end of the lid where the acrylic ring is so it gets dispensed into the collection cup.



It's also very low profile and is only 1" taller than a tradional skimmer lid which is nice for tight spaces.



This video shows how it works. As I said above, there are other neck cleaners on the market but not all are created equal. This one is unlike no other and if you appreciate Bubble King quality, you would appreciate the Helix. This is the only neck cleaner that is recommended and sold by Royal Exclusiv in Germany. It's truly an engineered solution from the ground up that is built to last and improve the skimmers performance and not just a cheap skimmer lid with a cheap motor and a flimsy wiper blade attached to it. I've been using the Aquadriver neck cleaners for nearly 7 years now and they are truly one of the best neck cleaners money can buy. You can't beat the quality.



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Last edited by slief; 05/10/2017 at 12:44 PM.
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