Hayward Navigator Pro

The Navigator Pro is Hayward's suction cleaner for in-ground pools up to 20 × 40 feet. It runs on the pool's own filter pump through a 40-foot hose, and uses what Hayward calls SmartDrive programmed steering, which Hayward says travels the floor, walls and coves systematically rather than wherever the cleaner happens to point.

It comes in two versions, 925ADC for gunite and 925ADV for vinyl, and each is also sold online with a W3 prefix.

Gunite or vinyl

Hayward's parts list shows exactly what separates the two: the shoes and the access cover. The gunite cleaner takes AXV414P concrete shoes and the AXV603 cover; the vinyl cleaner takes AXV413P vinyl shoes and the AXV603A cover. Every other part on the diagram is listed once, for both.

Hayward's sell sheet lists gunite, vinyl, fiberglass, pebble and tile as surfaces, and notes that different shoe types are available for different surfaces. Buy the version that matches the pool.

Getting the flow right

A suction cleaner lives or dies on how much suction reaches it, and Hayward's installation is built around measuring that rather than guessing.

1. Size the hose. Connect the sections, stretch the hose to the farthest point of the pool, and add two more sections. Make every joint tight, because an air leak costs suction.
2. Fill the hose with water, and fit the flow gauge into the leader hose, under water.
3. Connect to the skimmer with the cone adapter, or push the hose straight into a Hayward Vac-Lock without the cone.
4. Read the gauge. With the pump running, the black disk should sit between MIN and MAX.

If the reading is too high, bring it down with the system's suction valves, the included regulator valve in the skimmer, or an optional skimmer vacuum plate. If it is too low, Hayward is blunt: that points to a problem with the pool's system, not the cleaner, and neither the regulator nor the vacuum plate can raise it.

Hayward's troubleshooting guide adds two conditions. A dedicated suction line should be at least 1½ inches and fitted with a Vac-Lock for safety. And on a skimmer with only one port, the main drain may need to be shut off.

Then remove the flow gauge, submerge the cleaner to purge the air, and fill the hose completely before connecting it.

The rear flap adjuster

Once it is running, one control does most of the tuning:

• Getting hung up on steps, the liner or obstacles: turn the rear flap adjuster to Position I.
• Not climbing the walls, or staying on the floor: turn it to Position III.
• Climbing too high and sucking air: the manual's answer is to set the flap to Position I, and if it still climbs too far, reduce the flow.

Hayward's troubleshooting guide gives Position II as the starting setting.

What it will not do

• Climb every wall. It climbs the walls of concrete and fiberglass pools only where there is at least a 7-inch radius where wall meets floor, and even then, because of the programmed steering, not every time it reaches one.
• Clean steps and loveseats, which Hayward's troubleshooting guide says it will not do. The guide also says it may not work well under a cover.
• Clear a dirty pool. Hayward says not to use it to remove large debris in new pools, and the troubleshooting guide says it is not designed for heavy construction or storm debris. It is built to keep a clean pool clean.

Take it out before adding chemicals and before backwashing, and never swim with it in the pool.

The hang test

Hayward's quickest diagnosis for steering problems needs no tools. With the cleaner connected and the pump running, lift it by the hose and hold it about a foot below the surface. Within five minutes it should turn in both directions with a stop in between, roughly equally each way.

• Turns both ways in the air but circles one way on the floor: play or wear between the A-frames, turbine and pods.
• Turns one way only, or not at all: check the rear screen for debris, then the gearbox and the medium turbine.

The parts that wear

Hayward's maintenance advice is to check the shoes, wings and flaps periodically. The shoes carry a wear line, and the manual's troubleshooting table names worn shoes and worn wings for nearly every movement problem, from slow travel to failing to climb.

When the medium turbine's gears need work, Hayward's troubleshooting guide says to fit the medium turbine kit, AXV079VP, rather than individual parts, and its parts list marks the individual gears and bushings as replaced by that kit.

Store the hose straight

The manual says to store the hose sections straight, never coiled. A coiled hose takes on a memory that stops the cleaner moving properly, and coiled hoses are not covered by the warranty. Disconnect the leader hose from the cleaner whenever it is out of the pool.

Where Hayward's documents disagree

• Loose pods. The owner's manual says to replace the pod and A-frame connection if necessary and not to retighten loose pods. The older troubleshooting guide says to make sure they are tightly connected, and to replace both A-frames and pods if they come loose again soon after tightening.
• The turbine case. Hayward's parts list gives the medium turbine case and axle assembly as AXV009A; its US product pages list AXV009.
• The medium turbine kit. The parts list calls AXV079VP the vinyl kit, but Hayward's US product pages list it for the gunite cleaner too.
• The parts list itself is published by Hayward Australia. The US copy is hosted on a Hayward server whose security certificate had expired when this page was checked, and the part numbers that appear on both the Australian list and Hayward's US product pages match, apart from the turbine case above.

Check the prefix before you buy

• 925ADC or 925ADV, from a dealer: two years of parts and one year of in-store labor.
• W3925ADC or W3925ADV, Hayward's Open Line: one year of parts, no labor.

The cleaner is the same. The Hayward brand page explains the two channels.