Re: HELP! Robotic pool VS. in-floor cleaner
- Thread starter jwren
- Start date
Re: HELP! Robotic pool VS. in-floor cleaner
Why kind of pool do you have?
If you ask me, for an average to large residential in ground pool it's hard to beat a Dolphin Supreme M5.
Why kind of pool do you have?
If you ask me, for an average to large residential in ground pool it's hard to beat a Dolphin Supreme M5.
- May 3, 2007
- 16,886
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Re: HELP! Robotic pool VS. in-floor cleaner
IMNSHO, I would never put in an in-floor cleaner. Too many things can go wrong with them that are expensive to fix plus they are very energy inefficient because they require high pressure and flow rates to work properly. Most any robotic is a very efficient solution to cleaning a pool.
IMNSHO, I would never put in an in-floor cleaner. Too many things can go wrong with them that are expensive to fix plus they are very energy inefficient because they require high pressure and flow rates to work properly. Most any robotic is a very efficient solution to cleaning a pool.
Re: HELP! Robotic pool VS. in-floor cleaner
I have to agree with Mark. We never hear good feedback about the in floors, and granted I understand that most will ask about problem ones. Usually, it's nothing but problems we hear about, and they seem to be very problematic. I would never put one in. I am biased having a good robot, but I can't imagine pool cleaning to be any easier, or better. I've been so pleased with mine, and I'm not easily impressed with products typically.
I have to agree with Mark. We never hear good feedback about the in floors, and granted I understand that most will ask about problem ones. Usually, it's nothing but problems we hear about, and they seem to be very problematic. I would never put one in. I am biased having a good robot, but I can't imagine pool cleaning to be any easier, or better. I've been so pleased with mine, and I'm not easily impressed with products typically.
Re: HELP! Robotic pool VS. in-floor cleaner
So, being in the minority, we have the vanquish cleaning system and love it. Now we have a smaller pool. But it works perfect. We have a 10-15 years warranty from my pool company too. It does circulate the water much faster, cleans without any "thing" roaming around your pool too. Now Im by no means an expert, but we have loved ours. And our electric bill doesnt seem that much different from pre-pool.
So, being in the minority, we have the vanquish cleaning system and love it. Now we have a smaller pool. But it works perfect. We have a 10-15 years warranty from my pool company too. It does circulate the water much faster, cleans without any "thing" roaming around your pool too. Now Im by no means an expert, but we have loved ours. And our electric bill doesnt seem that much different from pre-pool.
- May 3, 2007
- 16,886
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Re: HELP! Robotic pool VS. in-floor cleaner
Friguy3, I don't want to hijack this thread so if you are interested in finding out just how much energy and money you are wasting, start a new thread and I'll show you.
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Friguy3, I don't want to hijack this thread so if you are interested in finding out just how much energy and money you are wasting, start a new thread and I'll show you.
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Re: HELP! Robotic pool VS. in-floor cleaner
We have the PCC2000 in-floor cleaning system and we love it. It works very well. We opted for this system because we didn't want to deal with a robot.
Our system is programmed to run a few hours every day. We also run it manually to speed up circulation after adding chemicals. As Mark stated, it's probably not as energy efficient as using a robot, but we enjoy how maintenance free this cleaning option is. Here's another great review of the PCC2000:
My thoughts after using Paramount PCC2000 In-Floor Cleaning system for 6 months
We have the PCC2000 in-floor cleaning system and we love it. It works very well. We opted for this system because we didn't want to deal with a robot.
Our system is programmed to run a few hours every day. We also run it manually to speed up circulation after adding chemicals. As Mark stated, it's probably not as energy efficient as using a robot, but we enjoy how maintenance free this cleaning option is. Here's another great review of the PCC2000:
My thoughts after using Paramount PCC2000 In-Floor Cleaning system for 6 months
Re: HELP! Robotic pool VS. in-floor cleaner
We are also putting in a Paramount PV3 in-floor system. I have seen this first hand in my neighborhood and can attest that this really works in keeping the floor clean without effort. We have a variable speed pump and I am hoping that I have to just run this full speed for a short period of time to get it clean (after the pool is complete, of course
). In Phoenix, the biggest problem is fine dust and the PV3 system seems to effortlessly push these towards the drain. Not sure about other debris, though..we don't plan on having trees around the pool.
We are also putting in a Paramount PV3 in-floor system. I have seen this first hand in my neighborhood and can attest that this really works in keeping the floor clean without effort. We have a variable speed pump and I am hoping that I have to just run this full speed for a short period of time to get it clean (after the pool is complete, of course
). In Phoenix, the biggest problem is fine dust and the PV3 system seems to effortlessly push these towards the drain. Not sure about other debris, though..we don't plan on having trees around the pool.
Re: HELP! Robotic pool VS. in-floor cleaner
Not everyone on this site has bad experience with IFC systems. I love my Paramount PCC2000. It works very well, and is literally maintenance-free. At $0.10/kWh, the 90 minutes per day that I run it is essentially invisible on my electric bill. I really like coming home every day to a perfectly-clean pool, and my wife loves not having to take the cleaner out before going swimming. This is especially nice in places like Houston, where our pool says open all year long.
You can really only put something like this into your pool during the initial construction phase, so you'll forever have to live with whatever decision you come up with now.
Not everyone on this site has bad experience with IFC systems. I love my Paramount PCC2000. It works very well, and is literally maintenance-free. At $0.10/kWh, the 90 minutes per day that I run it is essentially invisible on my electric bill. I really like coming home every day to a perfectly-clean pool, and my wife loves not having to take the cleaner out before going swimming. This is especially nice in places like Houston, where our pool says open all year long.
You can really only put something like this into your pool during the initial construction phase, so you'll forever have to live with whatever decision you come up with now.
Re: HELP! Robotic pool VS. in-floor cleaner
I have the in-floor system. It has given me trouble. It hasn't been too expensive to fix because I had very good documentation regarding the set up. The most common point of failure is in the union. Inside the housing is a spinning turbine with many gears with lots of teeth. What you discover is that either no heads are jetting water and your pressure in the filter is obscenely high or one set keeps popping up when the pump turns on and never cycles to the next set. The floor of the pool gradually gets coated with dirt and leaves. Replacing the various gears or turbine isn't too difficult or expensive, but if the parts become unavailable it could require a replacement with a newer design rather than just a part replacement.
The next thing that happened to me was during the replaster. There are 5 pipes carrying water under pressure to the different zones. They tested all of them and one of them had a leak. Thankfully the leak was near the surface in the step, so it didn't require much jack hammering of gunite to repair, and there was plenty of gunite to spare in that area. However, the builder said it can cost $1,000+ to repair when the leak isn't so easily fixed as mine was. I dodged a bullet, but I always wonder with the piping all being about the same age: is another spot going to go?
Another thing I should mention is that the popup heads go bad. Mine had a lifetime replacement warrantee, so I don't much care about the cost, but without the warrantee, those would be about $22 a piece last I checked, and it does take a bit of talent to replace the ones deeper than arms length. I had some that were so old and brittle, that I had to hire a diver to get them out by pretty much destroying them and removing the pieces because I couldn't hold my breath that long to do it. Luckily, my neighbor is a diver and did the job for $50. How lucky is that?
Inspite of everything, I love the way it cleans, but if I had to do it again, I wouldn't.
I have the in-floor system. It has given me trouble. It hasn't been too expensive to fix because I had very good documentation regarding the set up. The most common point of failure is in the union. Inside the housing is a spinning turbine with many gears with lots of teeth. What you discover is that either no heads are jetting water and your pressure in the filter is obscenely high or one set keeps popping up when the pump turns on and never cycles to the next set. The floor of the pool gradually gets coated with dirt and leaves. Replacing the various gears or turbine isn't too difficult or expensive, but if the parts become unavailable it could require a replacement with a newer design rather than just a part replacement.
The next thing that happened to me was during the replaster. There are 5 pipes carrying water under pressure to the different zones. They tested all of them and one of them had a leak. Thankfully the leak was near the surface in the step, so it didn't require much jack hammering of gunite to repair, and there was plenty of gunite to spare in that area. However, the builder said it can cost $1,000+ to repair when the leak isn't so easily fixed as mine was. I dodged a bullet, but I always wonder with the piping all being about the same age: is another spot going to go?
Another thing I should mention is that the popup heads go bad. Mine had a lifetime replacement warrantee, so I don't much care about the cost, but without the warrantee, those would be about $22 a piece last I checked, and it does take a bit of talent to replace the ones deeper than arms length. I had some that were so old and brittle, that I had to hire a diver to get them out by pretty much destroying them and removing the pieces because I couldn't hold my breath that long to do it. Luckily, my neighbor is a diver and did the job for $50. How lucky is that?
Inspite of everything, I love the way it cleans, but if I had to do it again, I wouldn't.
