I have a 4 year old Platinum Legend

[tcat]

I have a 4 year old Platinum Legend that works well, but needs new tires. Rather than investing in tires and future repairs I was going to buy something new. Mine picks up about 20-30 acorns and is pretty much "clogged" at that point. Usually not many more in a day, but I like cleaning it out weekly (which is fine during non acorn drop season). Which of the proposed has the strongest suction and largest volume? Mine does not climb high enough to clean tile.

 

[amegn1000]

Re: Best robot for ~$1000???

Just dont buy a Polaris 9300. They clean very well and are esy to use but break all the time!!!

I got mine for 2 years and had to repair it 9 times!
Not reliable cleaner but great design...

 

[chrisexv6]

Re: Best robot for ~$1000???

On our second season with Blue Diamond and love it. I have a sand filter so running Blue (as we call him) helps get the water a little more sparkling along with pulling out fines that the sand filter would miss.

The bag is fairly easy to clean....Ive tried a Polaris 9300 and the rear propulsion thing just kicked up too much stuff IMHO. The cartridge was nice and easy to clean though.....if I didnt want the extra filtration from the BD I would have picked up the Polaris instead.

 

[tcat]

Re: Best robot for ~$1000???

I just watched this "high speed" video of the Hayward Tigershark. Seems to have good reviews, now thinking about this one. Decisions, decisions....

 

[kyle11]

Re: Best robot for ~$1000???

Just reading over the old posts about the 9300 and wanted to share my thoughts.

I have had mine since last August and have used it through the winter. We did not close our pool because of our climate. Have used it 3 times per week for 3 months last year. One time per week over the winter (3 months) and 3 times per week since March. So i have probably ran it a total of 400-450 total cycles. Most of the time I will run it on both cycles because #1 cleans the bottom better as it does not climb the walls all the way up. In Cycle 2 the 9300 will almost climb out of the pool straight up a 90 degree wall with no problems except in the shallows at times. Does an excellent job at cleaning the water line. We have loads of pollen that can be seen on the skimmer plate and steps. The liner never has a pollen line because of the 9300. It will clean the 1st step in the shallow end and get completely in our cozy cove swim out in the deep end.

Overall I am satisfied with it. I have not had a single problem with it yet almost 10 months in. I have 2 complaints and #2 is probably with all robots.

1. The bag only filters 100 microns if I remember correctly. There is a special dirt bag you can buy for $40 but I think it should come with both.
We have no trees around our pool so a leaf bag is not what I need. I got the dirt bag and it made a huge difference in what it will pick up.
Also a little tip. Use a stocking inside the filter. It will filter down more than just about any robot with a stocking in the canister.
2. The cord gets tangled badly, especially when in cycle #2. I have to spend 5 minutes each time just untangling the Cord when putting it back in the caddy. Most of the time if I know we will get no rain or wind I will just pull it out and leave it on the pool deck so I don't have to mess with it. I think that will be a fail point on mine as a cord can only be tangled so many times before it fails.

Also do not let the control panel get water or rained on. We did when we 1st got it. It came a storm for 15-20 and I just left it out there. It didn't work for a few hours. So now I will tie a bag over the control panel if I think it will rain while it is cleaning.

Other than those somewhat minor complaints I have nothing but praise for it. Especially since I got it for $649 after rebate last year.

 

[titaniummd]

Re: Best robot for ~$1000???

So I am torn. Sounds like all of these robots tend to break or are unreliable. No matter how much I spend, I'm looking forward to buying one every 2-4 years? I'm of the school Buy Once Cry Once but I'm afraid that this not an option?

So is the consensus that Blue Diamond is the way to go? Or Tigershark? Dolphin? Thank you!

 

[duraleigh]

Re: Best robot for ~$1000???

So is the consensus that Blue Diamond is the way to go? Or Tigershark? Thank you!

I think the only consensus you can get is that they are all wonderful when they work but break down far too often for the price. My Blue Diamond did an "OK" job for 3 years and then the motors went South for a $500 repair bill.....I left it at the Service Center.

 

[titaniummd]

Re: Best robot for ~$1000???

So is the consensus that Blue Diamond is the way to go? Or Tigershark? Thank you!

I think the only consensus you can get is that they are all wonderful when they work but break down far too often for the price. My Blue Diamond did an "OK" job for 3 years and then the motors went South for a $500 repair bill.....I left it at the Service Center.

I have a forest for a backyard so I don't know what debris I will be contending with. Should I have one before the pool is completed? Do I just run this 2/week?

 

[tcat]

Re: Best robot for ~$1000???

Man, new robots are too new to get good repair history or there's not many reviews, old ones seem to have repair issues (or pain to clean bag). I'm now leaning towards a Polaris 280 since I'm plumbed for pressure side and my old Platinum Legend works "OK". Just want something that "scrubs" and "sucks" better and climbs walls better.... I guess that's called "I-robot" (or "Me-Robot"), and it's "free"! I put my hand over the Legend intake and don't feel much "suck", but it does seem to put stuff in the bag as it passes, and pool bottom stays clean. A low energy, easy to clean Robot sounds ideal if they would last 10 years (even 5), longer than a week for sure! Of all the researching I've done, the Polaris 280 seems to have the most and best reviews (unfortunately, not a scrubbing robot).

 

[duraleigh]

Re: Best robot for ~$1000???

Do I just run this 2/week?

You run it enough to keep your pool clean and that can vary HUGELY. You just have to see what it takes....mine took 4 hours daily 7 days/week to keep it really nice. I have a large pool that gets a lot of dirt.

No one pays attention to this much, but you pay for CLEANING POWER. The more money you spend, the bigger faster robot you will get.

I believe they will all still break but the bigger ones are made for bigger pools and they carry a bigger price tag.