Let's Beat the Dead Horse Some More---Pool Cleaner vs MX8 Advice Wanted

Jump to latest Follow Reply
S

spurs21stx

0
May 9, 2012
30
Longwood, FL
I have read countless threads on the pros/cons, like/dislikes, benefits/drawback of the various type of cleaners and models available. Base on the article in pool school on cleaners and from the posts I have read my needs are suction side cleaner that utilizes skimmer port (no dedicated cleaner port) and does the walls and waterline (a plus not a deal breaker ) for under $500. The trends seems to be leaning towards the pool cleaner or barracuda mx8. Are there any others that I should be considering that fit my requirements that anyone recommends? Can I really go wrong with either one? I am sure anyone that has purchased either one of these over the past two years has had this internal debate---what swayed your decision?


"Cyclonic" did a great series of posts on the mx8 and showed all the ups and down of ownership.
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/55180-Why-didn-t-I-switch-ages-ago!-Zodiac-MX8-content


This thread sums up the pool cleaner
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/6175-Poolvergnuegen-The-PoolCleaner
 
Those are the 2 I had it narrowed down to back when I was considering a suction cleaner. Since then I have read more posts on the MX-8 that mention more parts that wear and other problems that I would likely get ThePoolCleaner.

That second link you posted is over 5 years old ... I am not sure I recall reading any real negative things about ThePoolCleaner.
 
For what it's worth, I too have been researching these a bit after reaching the same conclusion as you. Based on all the videos and reviews and tech sheets I've looked at the pool cleaner really looks to be the best bet all around for suction side cleaners (in my novice mind.)

I'm going to wait until my pool is complete and I get some real experience with manually vacuuming the pool before I go to a machine. Unless quite a bit changes, when I purchase, it will be a "The Pool Cleaner".
 
Jason, I see in your signature you went with a Dolphin, what made you go the robot route? Which Dolphin model do you have? Any regrets on going with the robot?

- - - Updated - - -

mrcarcrazy said:
For what it's worth, I too have been researching these a bit after reaching the same conclusion as you. Based on all the videos and reviews and tech sheets I've looked at the pool cleaner really looks to be the best bet all around for suction side cleaners (in my novice mind.)

I'm going to wait until my pool is complete and I get some real experience with manually vacuuming the pool before I go to a machine. Unless quite a bit changes, when I purchase, it will be a "The Pool Cleaner".
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input---manually vacuuming is not that bad, just time consuming, in my opinion. When I had my AGP I didn't mind the vacuuming as much since the size was not that large but with my IG the vacuuming seems like something that can get old quickly. With that said, based on how long it takes me to make purchase decisions I probably will be manually vacuuming for a while also. :rolleyes:
 
I have had ThePoolCleaner 2x Suction side cleaner going on 9 years now without any regrets. It is a really well built cleaner. The only thing I needed to do is replace the treads a couple times because they do wear out but that is not a big deal.
 
I bought The Pool Cleaner. According to FedEx it is sitting by my front door waiting for me (just delivered this morning!). My investigations suggested that the MX-8 requires a bit more maintenance and is a little more finicky. The 2 wheel Pool Cleaner seemed to just cover my pool so I went with that one (furthest point is in the shallow end and will have 1 1/2 length of hose over)

I did consider a robot, but decided against it mainly as I see putting the robot in and then taking it out 3 hours or so later as inconvenient, and at this time I see the robots as overpriced. For my situation as I have a small workload for cleaning (mostly dirt blown in plus generally a small number of leaves), I thought the suction cleaner should be OK, and also I can leave it in during leaf season / windy times to keep removing the dirt / leaves each day before too much chlorine is used up.

I guess over the next few weeks I will get a better picture of the quality of my decision.
 
Previous house had in-floor pop-ups and I never had a cleaner. Current house had nothing when I moved in and I got the remote controlled Dynamic robot. Loved it. Did an awesome job.
It died last year and I was not sure I had the $$$ on another robot so was considering the suction cleaner. Turns out my FIL had the Diagnostic Robot that he did not think worked well enough (although his pool is perpetually green even with a pool service and refuses to see the ways of TFP) so he gave it to me. Seems to be working fine for now.

If it too dies I will have to revist what I want to do, but will likely get another robot since they are improving and the price is coming down.

One advantage is I can run my pump on low speed with the robot which may not have enough flow for a suction cleaner (although TPC seems to require the least amount of flow). This saves my money on electricity on the pump and the pump does not have to be on for the cleaner to run. Also the robot does not fill my filter up with more dirt which would require more frequent backwashing which would require adding more CYA and salt to keep the SWG happy.
 
spurs21stx said:
Jason, I see in your signature you went with a Dolphin, what made you go the robot route? Which Dolphin model do you have? Any regrets on going with the robot?

- - - Updated - - -



Thanks for the input---manually vacuuming is not that bad, just time consuming, in my opinion. When I had my AGP I didn't mind the vacuuming as much since the size was not that large but with my IG the vacuuming seems like something that can get old quickly. With that said, based on how long it takes me to make purchase decisions I probably will be manually vacuuming for a while also. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

HAHA, I understand all of that so well. My wife gets rather tired of my researching everything before I buy. But it has seemed to work pretty well. I'm not really looking forward to the startup of my pool, other than the exercise...which I need.
 
whatsthispoolthing said:
I bought The Pool Cleaner. According to FedEx it is sitting by my front door waiting for me (just delivered this morning!). My investigations suggested that the MX-8 requires a bit more maintenance and is a little more finicky. The 2 wheel Pool Cleaner seemed to just cover my pool so I went with that one (furthest point is in the shallow end and will have 1 1/2 length of hose over)

I did consider a robot, but decided against it mainly as I see putting the robot in and then taking it out 3 hours or so later as inconvenient, and at this time I see the robots as overpriced. For my situation as I have a small workload for cleaning (mostly dirt blown in plus generally a small number of leaves), I thought the suction cleaner should be OK, and also I can leave it in during leaf season / windy times to keep removing the dirt / leaves each day before too much chlorine is used up.

I guess over the next few weeks I will get a better picture of the quality of my decision.
Click to expand...

I would be very interested in finding out how it works for you, as a brand new user, ease of setup, any hiccups---that would make a good post if you have the time.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
My initial impressions of "The Pool Cleaner". Installation as per instructions was simple and easy. Total time from lets get the parts out from the box to set-up and doing a first test run was no more than 20 minutes. In my case I added a leaf canister to the suction line. The floats which are fitted to the suction line came pre-installed so all I had to do was check the position. My pool has a 3 way valve on the suction so I used that to set the flow rate. The setting took just 3 measure and adjust cycles to get the wheel rpm into the recommended range. That's it, just the one adjustment. I monitored the cleaner for the first 15 minutes and was quite pleased to see it run over and even do a turn while over one of the drains without any hesitation. It also found its way into the shallow end and managed to run into the 2 areas where dirt seems to collect. It was able to climb the wall at the shallow end, but not able to do so in the deep end. Note that my pool has a generous curve where the walls meet the floor, and the wall itself is curved (there are no straight walls in my pool!). I think the combination of the two curves means that adequate vacuum cannot be maintained to keep the cleaner "stuck to the wall" and it loses traction then gently floats down to the floor

I did some experiments and found that I had to increase the flow until the wheels turn at 18 rpm to keep it "stuck to the wall" at the deep end. Unfortunately at this level some sort of cavitation happens in the pump because it starts to make a lot of noise. So I will set it back to the recommended range and have to continue manually cleaning the walls. It also seems to miss some spots which is expected as none of the cleaners I investigated had 100% coverage of odd shaped pools.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply