New to pools - which cleaner?

[fordfampool]

I have read many of the reviews for cleaners on here, but it seems many people have a booster pump or dedicated line for their cleaner. We just have our skimmer (in the middle of the pool) and one return on each side. Our pool is an inground with vinyl liner with some sharp angles - 90 degrees from bottom to side in shallow and about 45 degrees in the deep end with a long slope from shallow to deep...

That being said, we are looking for something to help us keep the pool clean...and not break the bank!!

We have two huge trees over the pool dropping leaves, the little helicopters (seeds), and little worm like things (seeds?) in the spring. We just bought a Pool Skim but haven't received it yet. Hoping that will help keep things clean on top. We want something to help pick up dirt and possibly the leaves that make it to the bottom.

I looked into Polaris ATV F7, Zodiac Barracuda MX8, Barracuda G3, The Kreepy Krauly Krusiser, and The Pool Cleaner 2 Wheel Suction Cleaner.

It almost feels like a gamble on which to get. Will a suction side cleaner work on a pool our size (18x38 - 36,000gal) Also, can I connect a leaf catcher to those so they don't clog our filter basket?

Any suggestions?

Thanks!! This website has been a huge help to us so far!
-Sarah

 

[cbb77]

Well I just picked up the Barracuda MX8 and used it today for the first time. It a pretty good job. It's my first cleaner so I really don't have anything to compare it to expect my manual effort. Again, it does a good job but does take some time. I think that's where the real benefit comes in; you can do something else while it's cleaning. It takes about 1 - 2 hours to cover the entire pool. It will transition from shallow to deep end and climb the walls as well. The only issue I have is that it doesn't climb my steps. Overall I am happy with it. I was going to take the plunge and get an robotic cleaner but from what I read most seem to break down after a while and repair costs seem to be high. This unit is onsale right now for $398 with $100 rebate, thus was hard to pass up.

 

[fordfampool]

cbb77- That one looks good to us too. Does the MX8 seem to get the stuff off the pool - or just loose debris?
-Sarah

 

[fordfampool]

With that MX8, did you look into replacement parts by chance? Sarah mentioned that the parts were not pricey and it looked easy to repair yourself. I have not looked into this myself, but the videos did seem to show numerous moving parts (more to go wrong?). Also, FYI - you probably have, but just in case, BE SURE to follow the instruction manual (for any cleaners).

Sarah and I (mostly Sarah put together a document (attached) of out favorites along with youtube videos to help us compare. While creating this document and reading various reviews, we noticed that most people that complained - with video for proof, were discovered to not have followed the manual's operating instructions. For instance, on one model, a bar on top needed to be diagonal to the direction of the robot. The person complaining that their robot's path was always straight, had the bar straight.

We are currently leaning towards the Kreepy Krauly Kruiser as it seems to have the least moving parts and we have already purchased a pool skim, so we feel the leaf issue will be mitigated by that.

We'll keep you posted on what we do and how it turns out.

-Mike

 

[cbb77]

cbb77- That one looks good to us too. Does the MX8 seem to get the stuff off the pool - or just loose debris?
-Sarah

It does seem to get the stuff off the pool. I was also pleasantly surprised that it climbed the walls and went up to the surface line for a few minutes. This helps to get the rid of the pollen line that occasionally develops. It's not actually scrubbing like a robotic as it only has suction jets and not scrubbers but it works nonetheless.

 

[cbb77]

With that MX8, did you look into replacement parts by chance? Sarah mentioned that the parts were not pricey and it looked easy to repair yourself. I have not looked into this myself, but the videos did seem to show numerous moving parts (more to go wrong?). Also, FYI - you probably have, but just in case, BE SURE to follow the instruction manual (for any cleaners).

I did read the manual, thus no issues so far. Only complaint is time it takes to physically clean, which I knew going into it and the inability to climb my steps. I have fiberglass steps that there is an extra lip on the bottom that prevents it from climbing. Not too bad, I simply place it manually on the steps myself.

I'll be using it again tomorrow as we had a downpour here this weekend and the pool is overflowing and full with Crud from the trees. Hopefully works just as good as the first time.

 

[fordfampool]

a PM with cbb77 confirmed that they still like their new mx8. We have just received our Pool Skim today (top cleaner - it is like an extra skim, but runs on return flow). It was easy to install and it works great. Although it is a bit fragile - remove when kids enter.
-Mike