I know nothing about auto pool vacs...suggestions?

[dpeat14]

I moved into a house with a pool about 2 years ago, and have spent a lot of that time replacing the inherited equipment and accessories. One piece I haven't replaced yet is the auto-vac. They had one of those little lady bug things, and it just seems to sit and spin in one little 4 foot round area.
I am looking to replace that and wanted to start shopping around for a better one, one that is remote controllable? One that cleans walls? Etc...but don't even know where to start.

Any ideas and/or help?

Thanks,

 

[Patrick_B]

In you case, it sounds like you want an auto/robot type cleaner. The Maytronics Dolphin line is very good. Robot cleaners are expensive, but $$$ equal cleaning power.

What sort of Debris do you mostly deal with in your pool? Leaves, dirt/dust etc.

 

[SunnyOptimism]

Pressure side cleaner, suction side cleaner or robot cleaner...what are you looking for?


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[dpeat14]

I don't have a problem with leaves or the surface, my main issues is the tiny little dirt/algae spots that show up on the bottom. It's a 30 feet diameter pool and with the pole I have on the manual vac I can get just over half way out on the cooler days when I don't want to spend all day in there. Ideally what I'd like is something that just goes and moves around, cleaning up the bottom, but one that actually moves about the whole pool and not just in one spot. And the walls aren't a big concern, but sometimes the bottoms green up and it'd be nice to have something that took care of that to. As I said, not sure what I'm looking for because I have no idea what's out there. I did a google search, but there's too much. Was hoping to narrow it down with some ideas here first.

 

[SunnyOptimism]

Firstly, if you are having algae or green water problems, that is sign that your pool water chemistry is not right and you need to fix that first. No pool cleaning device in the world will fix an algae problem. Here's the links you should read through:

http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/118-solving-problems

Once your water quality is improved, then you should read the quick article here on cleaners -

http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/162-automatic-pool-cleaners

So the choice of cleaner type depends on what pool configuration and equipment you have, what kind of debris you're trying to clean and how much money you can afford to spend.

I have a suction-side cleaner called a KreepyKrauly SandShark by Pentair. It works great for my pool because I have a dedicated 2" vacuum port as well as the 2 1/2 " suction line connected to my skimmer and main drains. Therefore I can run the KK all the time as well as the skimmer without having to sacrifice much suction loss on either. But that may not be suitable to your situation.

If you don't have a dedicated vacuum port or if you'd have to use a splitter on your skimmer line to get a suction cleaner to work, then a robot might be a better choice. However, robots are generally a lot more expensive than a suction side cleaner and there are A LOT of choices nowadays. If you do think you'll go with a particular brand of robot you can always search the TFP forums as I'm sure some of the many thousands of TFP users will have advice and reviews.



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