Robotic pool cleaners -- Need advice on which one?

[msduncan]

Ok Overlords. You have never failed me before, but I reach deep into the collective for this obscure request:

Which Pool Robot should I buy? I have looked online and it's a barren wasteland when it comes to reviews for these products. There are a ton of them online too.

I found 1 review about an Ecojet Plus robot that gave it great marks, but I'm not comfortable going off a review from a site that I'm unfamiliar with when it comes to a $900 purchase.

The Ecojet Turbo was also mentioned as being new in that review, but saw some customer claims that it doesn't climb walls well. Hell I'm so new to this pool thing that I'm unsure how valuable it is to have a cleaner that climbs walls. Big advantage to the Turbo? It's like $600 instead of $900.

THEN I found a pool forum where they had locked a thread asking about these Ecojets. The mods said that they found multiple posts from people that had 'financial stakes' in Ecojet products. They even noted that they usually just delete those posts but that this company was notorious for doing this and thus left the thread and posts up for people to see.

So as you can imagine, I'm totally confused about these pool robots and which to buy. There are many brands, and many prices. I would love to not have to spend $1000 on this thing, but of course I do want something that will actually work. Spending $500 on something that doesn't work is not good either.

Any advice on these things? Anyone have any recommendations? We don't have any trees near our pool, but it gets a ton of pollen, sand, and silt in it. Super hard work to vacuum this stuff by hand.

[Jag]

I've used both a Zodiac Barracuda G3 and Hayward Navigator. Based on the shape of my pool and waterflow, the Barracuda didn't do as well and I went back to the Navigator. The plus for the Barracuda is the lack of moving parts, but I personally think the Navigator does a better job since it has a water powered motor that moves it around the pool. They usually offer rebates, so look into that as well. Not a cheap investment, but a mandatory one since my pool is fairly large and open 365 days.

[Roman]

we have the BARACUDA G3 and it does what I expect it to do. No complaints. Works when I have thes solar blanket on overnight so I can let it run during the times when we are not in the pool.

The BARACUDA G3 climbs the walls adequately IMHO - once and while I do scrub the walls down manually when I am in the pool.

You will have to play with the water pressure the first few times you use it in order to calibrate its movement etc. Too high with the pressure and the unit will move too fast and not really pick up anything. Too light and the unit will fail to move in any great amount at all - also fail to pick up anything.

Something that you need to wary of IMHO is that the automatic pool cleaner does not mean that you can forgo any actual manual vacuuming. Most automatic pool cleaners are not meant to clean out large leaves, sticks etc etc etc. You will need a manual vacuum for that.

Hope this helps - let me know if you need more info / feelings etc.

[Grifman]

One that won't obtain sentience. Skynet is only a pool away.

[Chaz]

Also, don't get the one that comes with a ghost like in Paranormal Activity 2.

[Cylus Maxii]

We have a Dolphin Deluxe 4. It works great and is very easy to clean. It does a good job of climbing and an adequate job on platforms and steps (not great, but no cleaner is great on steps). We've had it for almost 3 years and it still works as well as Day 1.

As far as advice goes -
1. There are very few OEM for pool cleaners. Mine is a store brand from Leslie Pools, but its made by Maytronic, which is an importer from China somewhere. You should shop around and do some research, you may find very similar models and discover they have the same OEM and are basically different colored plastic for the housing. (e.g. Maytronics makes Dolphin, Aquabot, Aquavac, Aquamax etc).
2. Most robot cleaner manufacturers are draconian about supporting the B&M dealers and you may not have a warranty if you buy on the Internet. Be sure to check. Seriously. The vendor may state that it carries a manufacturer warranty for parts, but check the actual manufacturer site.
3. We got the model that was one step below where you get the remote to drive it around the pool. We've had no regrets since it does a good job and had no problem areas. It would have been fun to drive it around, but not for $300. Our choice had to do with the cable length and we probably could have gone one model lower.

[El Guapo]

Also, don't get the one that comes with a ghost like in Paranormal Activity 2.

But it's a free ghost!

[msduncan]

It kinda sounds like these robots all perform rather alike, and that is one reason why I can't find comprehensive reviews on all of them.

In other words -- they all kinda rove around and suck crap up, and occasionally whether they are able to climb a wall or not you have to break down and scrub the side walls yourself.

Is that about right?

[Jag]

Sounds about right.

[Crabbs]

we have the BARACUDA G3 and it does what I expect it to do. No complaints. Works when I have thes solar blanket on overnight so I can let it run during the times when we are not in the pool.

The BARACUDA G3 climbs the walls adequately IMHO - once and while I do scrub the walls down manually when I am in the pool.

You will have to play with the water pressure the first few times you use it in order to calibrate its movement etc. Too high with the pressure and the unit will move too fast and not really pick up anything. Too light and the unit will fail to move in any great amount at all - also fail to pick up anything.

Something that you need to wary of IMHO is that the automatic pool cleaner does not mean that you can forgo any actual manual vacuuming. Most automatic pool cleaners are not meant to clean out large leaves, sticks etc etc etc. You will need a manual vacuum for that.

Hope this helps - let me know if you need more info / feelings etc.

I'll throw my weight behind the G3 also. While it's not perfect, it has removed 95% of my pool cleaning duties. I've used it for 3 years now and have never had it break. No moving parts, just a rubber gasket that creates the jumping motion which eventually needs replacement.

[Chaz]

Holy shit, that think looks like it'd be terrifying if a ghost got a hold of it.

[Cylus Maxii]

If you are good about your pool chemistry, you should never have to scrub the walls. Maybe just sweep the steps. I have a saltwater system and use stabilizer - that means my chlorine levels are very steady and I have virtually no algae growth (ever). I rarely have to shock treat either. Every couple of years we will get some black algae spots and I will jump right on that with algaecide and chlorine shock.

It helps if you keep the pool clean from leaves and such that break down into phosphates that feed the algae. So, the pool cleaner may help with that. It also helps if you clean the filter baskets every week, especially the skimmer. Letting leaves rot in the skimmer basket is just as bad as the bottom of the pool. For similar reasons, you should regularly clean/backflush your filters.

I guess what I'm saying is that it's work no matter what you do.

[Jag]

we have the BARACUDA G3 and it does what I expect it to do. No complaints. Works when I have thes solar blanket on overnight so I can let it run during the times when we are not in the pool.

The BARACUDA G3 climbs the walls adequately IMHO - once and while I do scrub the walls down manually when I am in the pool.

You will have to play with the water pressure the first few times you use it in order to calibrate its movement etc. Too high with the pressure and the unit will move too fast and not really pick up anything. Too light and the unit will fail to move in any great amount at all - also fail to pick up anything.

Something that you need to wary of IMHO is that the automatic pool cleaner does not mean that you can forgo any actual manual vacuuming. Most automatic pool cleaners are not meant to clean out large leaves, sticks etc etc etc. You will need a manual vacuum for that.

Hope this helps - let me know if you need more info / feelings etc.

I'll throw my weight behind the G3 also. While it's not perfect, it has removed 95% of my pool cleaning duties. I've used it for 3 years now and have never had it break. No moving parts, just a rubber gasket that creates the jumping motion which eventually needs replacement.

I had a few other pieces on my G3 fail, but it worked ok. Like I said, my pool flow wasn't great which affected the G3's movements, for smaller pools with good flow it should work fine.

[Debris]

I've had a Hayward Navigator for about 2 years now and still have a hell of a time getting the damned thing to work. I've tried all the pressure adjustments, trim controls, etc. and the damned thing still drives me crazy. I'm starting to think that it's just my pool and its shape. While the Hayward (or Howard as my wife calls it) seems to work OK at cleaning, it either gets stuck on the main drain cover or climbs out of the pool, sucks up air and does a number on my pool pump. Believe me, I've tried everything and I just can't seem to find a happy medium.

So now it sits coiled up on the side of the deck and mocks me as I have to manually vacuum the pool.

[TonyBaloney]

Side suction pool cleaners really waste time and energy. They use your pools ginat main filtration system and take alot of setup with long hoses and booster pumps. An automatic pool cleaner is the way to go. I have had 3 pool cleaners since owning my pool and I really have landed on what seems to be the best one thus far ( the ecojet plus). It does a great job, and its fast. It also doesnt need the assistance of my pools main filter. So that means no more backflushing, no more scrubbing sidewalls, and my chemicals get mixed because this type of cleaner mixes the water from the lower (cooler) and the upper (warmer) areas of my pool and it save me about 50 bucks a month on chemicals alone. I had the kreepy krauly before which is similar to the G3 you mentioned and it was just a big hassle. just do a google search for the ecojet plus, tons of great reviews on it

[Odin]

ED 209

"Please put down the swimmie. You have 20 seconds to comply."

[borneye720]

This depends on the type of pool indoor vs. outdoor and the size of your pool. Even though there are more advanced pool cleaners in my experience is the Polaris Pool Cleaner. I have it for the last 5 years and it's been very reliable for my 50ft pool.

[Kraken]

That might just be a robotic endorsement. I'd go with it.

[RuperT]

Pool.. And a pond... Pond would be good for you.

I got the new salt system zeroed in, which is good as the pool is getting lots of kid action this summer. The pool is so sparkly it makes the deck look really shabby.

[Jag]

That might just be a robotic endorsement. I'd go with it.

Well if they've gone sentient, I'm sure they will do a kickass job on the pool after they murder the entire house.