Want to get a automatic pool cleaner....

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When it comes to cleaners a lot of the decision comes down to the type of debris you tend to get in your pool as well as how much you want to spend and what sort of results do you expect.

In the broadest terms there are 3 types of automatic pool cleaners, those are:

Suction side cleaners that plug into your existing skimmer or a dedicated cleaner outlet and are powered by your filter pump

Pressure side cleaners which usually require a separate booster pump and associated plumbing

and Robots, which are electrically powered by a low voltage floating power cord, these are also the most expensive.

Each has advantages and disadvantages, for example pressure side cleaners work primarily by stirring up fine particle debris and letting it be scooped up or filtered out by the skimmer so tend to have issues with heavier debris, tracked robot cleaners can get jammed by small hard debris like acorns, suction side cleaners can get clogged by large sunken leaves, .... So the decision of what type of cleaner you need doe snot have so much to do with the size and type of pool you have, but instead what tends to fall into it.
 
Great insight. As far as debris it's mostly small debris but not hard. It seems like a suction side cleaner is what I need.

Here are the three that are on my radar:
Kreepy Krauly Classic Suction-Side Inground Swimming Pool Cleaner Model K70400
The Poolcleaner 2X Suction PoolCleaner
Baracuda G3 W03000 Advanced Suction Side Automatic Pool Cleaner
 
I had an original Kreepy Krualy for many years, and can attest that they are well built and perhaps more importantly repair parts are available for all of it. The only real down side it it is pricey, you should also be aware that individual pools sometimes have issues with specific pool cleaners getting stuck. I have owned cheap sub $100 suction cleaners that worked great, and expensive $300+ ones that would get stuck in the corner on my pool ladder, the key difference in the cheap ones and the expensive ones is build quality, while a better built unit may last multiple years without doing any maintenance, getting even one season out of the cheap ones may require some creative mending. The cheapest one I ever owned came from Lowes and sold for under $100, within 3 weeks the snap together weight on the base had failed and I had to add a nut and bolt to hold it together, within 3 or 4 months friction fit tube was so loose it would fall apart when pulled out of the water and I had to wrap it with tape to keep it together, etc.

Ike

p.s. also be aware some have silent flapper valves and others make a clack-clack-clack sound while operating, this may be an issue if you want to relax around your pool while the suction cleaner is running.
 
You pay for cleaning power when you buy an auto vac.

If you put a $100 dollar suction side cleaner in a large outdoor pool, it is quickly overwhelmed and will never clean your pool.

You must get a cleaner that has the cleaning power to take care of your pool. Likewise, buying a $4,000 robot for a 13k pool is a complete waste of money.

For a pool your size, a good suction side cleaner will likely work just fine. A cheap one won't give you the cleaning power you need.

One of the smaller robots will work, as well although that may be just a bit overkill for your size pool.

Isaac-1,
Unless my memory has failed, you have an indoor pool and there is simply no way to compare your requirements to those of an outdoor pool. Your pool and mine are similar in size and I have to run a rather large robot for five hours DAILY to keep the debris I get from the surrounding environment out of my pool.
 
FWIW, if you think you might like a robot that's middling in terms of price, I've been happy with the dolphin supreme m4 I got earlier this season. Does a good job, doesn't get stuck, baskets are easy to clean, doesn't really seem to miss any spots. I was super wary but now glad I made the investment. We'll see how it holds up. Fall is tricky around here. I don't expect it to manage the volume of autumn leaves, for example, that I get...but it does and will pick up stray summer leaves without hesitation. I have a very steep deep end that it handles fine and it truly cleans all walls right up to the waterline.
 
Dave, you are correct about my pool being indoors , it is however surrounded by 12 sliding glass doors which when open can allow a fair amount of debris in, particularly in the form of dust in the summer when the high volume exhaust fans are running, but still probably only needs about half the cleaning yours does, at the worst of time (usually 1 cycle by my robot every other day). My point above about cost mainly involves comparing kreepy krauly style units, between the "real thing" as well as brand name knock offs (G3, KingRay, etc) and the made in china clones, that are similar in size and cleaning rate, but far inferior in materials. It was not meant to imply that a larger more expensive brand name cleaner compares with a smaller cheaper brand name cleaner.

Ike
 
I have a dogfoot shape pebble tec pool. I am not sure how many gallons it is but the pool itself is about 400 sq ft. My husband and I bought the Barracuda Mx8 on sale over the summer. It takes some time to adjust and make it perfect but once you know your settings it works like a champ. We've had it for 6 months and it has never gotten stuck and pivots and everything. I checked out a video for the Poolcleaner 2X and it works in a very similar way, where it pivots, turns around, etc. Both seem to be comparable in price. Based on your list above I'd say try that one.
 

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Since you are leaning towards a suction side cleaner, have you given thought that your .5 hp pump might be a bit too small for that?

I have no way of knowing that it will or won't but my gut feeling is that might not be enough "oomph" to drive a suction side cleaner.
 
As Dave said, since your pump is small ... I would lean toward The Pool Cleaner as it is supposed to require the lowest flow rate of any suction cleaners.

Even if you did have a larger pump, that would be my choice, since the reduced suction for the cleaner would allow more suction from the skimmer at the same time ... assuming you have a dedicated suction port for the cleaner and not through the skimmer.
 
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