Pool Cleaners You Can Leave in 24/7/

[wsamon]

Booster pump driven pool cleaners tend to be very good for mid-sized to small pools. However the booster pump uses a fair bit of electricity, which can be an issue if your electric rates are high.

I don't know if ours are all that high here in FL. They're certainly not CA levels. I'd still like to keep the energy bills as low as possible though.

BTW, I just saw that you're in Silver Spring. I used to live in Alexandria until last January, and went to school at UMD

 

[jmastron]

We have a Polaris 280 with booster pump (was here when we bought the house last year). A quick search seems to show the pump takes 6.4 amps at 240V, so ~1500 watts. Running it 2 hours a day here, which seems like a reasonable time for a daily clean, at .18/kwh marginal rate, costs about $.50 a day. So for $15/month I can leave it in and not worry about it. I don't know how much electricity a robot would consume cleaning daily.

I'd rather not have the boost pump, but from what I can tell none of the other cleaning solutions (robots, suction side cleaners, non-boosted pressure cleaners like the 360, manually vacuuming) are any better for convenience (the robot may clean better, perhaps)

 

[Defgufman]

Fiddy cents a day works fine for me.

 

[wsamon]

We have a Polaris 280 with booster pump (was here when we bought the house last year). A quick search seems to show the pump takes 6.4 amps at 240V, so ~1500 watts. Running it 2 hours a day here, which seems like a reasonable time for a daily clean, at .18/kwh marginal rate, costs about $.50 a day. So for $15/month I can leave it in and not worry about it. I don't know how much electricity a robot would consume cleaning daily.

I'd rather not have the boost pump, but from what I can tell none of the other cleaning solutions (robots, suction side cleaners, non-boosted pressure cleaners like the 360, manually vacuuming) are any better for convenience (the robot may clean better, perhaps)

I looked at my last electric bill. Our higher marginal rate is .086/kwh, so about 1/2 of yours. That's pretty cheap. I thought they'd take more energy than that. Also, is 2 hours / day really enough with one of these cleaners? I thought it needed double that.

 

[wsamon]

I looked up the warranty on the dolphin cleaners and it specifically says 3 years with no limit on usage (as someone else stated earlier in this thread). So I contacted the Maytronics support to ask if it could be left in the pool 24/7 and once per day without impacting the warranty. Unfortunately, the response to my specific questions was a rather vague "you shouldn't do that" (see below). I asked for further clarification regarding both the warranty and what the purpose of the schedule feature was for if you're supposed to remove the robot from the water after every cleaning. While the first response came within an hour or 2, it's now been almost 24 hours since my request for further clarification and I've heard nothing, so that isn't encouraging.

I have some questions regarding the Dolphin cleaners, particularly the M4 and M5, though I'm interested in the other models as well.

1) Can the robot be left in the pool 24/7 (except for filter cleanings and during swimming sessions) without voiding the warranty? I assume it can since several of them come with scheduling programs which would be useless if the cleaner was removed from the pool or disconnected.

2) How often can the robot be run without voiding or shortening the 3-year warranty? Would a robot that is left in the pool 24/7 and scheduled to run every day still be under warranty if something breaks 2 years after purchase?

Hello Warren,

You would need to take the cleaner out of the pool at least weekly in order to perform the cable maintenance. You should never leave the Dolphin in the pool when it is not completing a cleaning cycle. All of the cleaners have very powerful motors capable of completing an extensive amount of hours, however please keep in mind RESIDENTIAL cleaners are manufactured for residential use. If you feel the need for a stronger unit capable of longer motor hours you may want to review the COMMERCIAL cleaners.

Thank You

BTW, does anyone know what the "cable maintenance" is? I know of maintenance regarding emptying the bin and cleaning the filters, but what needs to be done with the cables?

 

[robl45]

I looked up the warranty on the dolphin cleaners and it specifically says 3 years with no limit on usage (as someone else stated earlier in this thread). So I contacted the Maytronics support to ask if it could be left in the pool 24/7 and once per day without impacting the warranty. Unfortunately, the response to my specific questions was a rather vague "you shouldn't do that" (see below). I asked for further clarification regarding both the warranty and what the purpose of the schedule feature was for if you're supposed to remove the robot from the water after every cleaning. While the first response came within an hour or 2, it's now been almost 24 hours since my request for further clarification and I've heard nothing, so that isn't encouraging.



BTW, does anyone know what the "cable maintenance" is? I know of maintenance regarding emptying the bin and cleaning the filters, but what needs to be done with the cables?

I think they are saying to untwist the cable. That really shouldn't be a problem if the robot is functioning correctly. I've only had the cable twist up if something was malfunctioning with a robot.

 

[Patrick_B]

My testimony of leaving my cleaner in for weeks is anecdotal. I did it during this fall and winter a couple of times, out for cleaning and right back in last summer most of the time. There is no cable maintenance. Uncoil it when the robot is on the caddy, plug it in after the robot is in the pool. Coil it up and hang it on the caddy when storing the robot.

 

[wsamon]

The Maytronics rep finally got back to me today. The info provided was a little sparse, but enough. The full response is posted below.

Cable Maintenance = stretching it out and laying it in the sun. This is apparently supposed to be done every week Does anyone actually do this?
Scheduler = designed to occasionally leave the robot in the pool for a week or 2 at a time while you're on vacation.
Warranty = not affected strictly for leaving it in the water or for any amount of use. However, if they see any damage to the unit it will be. Obviously, the longer you leave it in the water and the more you use it, the more likely it is to get damaged.

Cable maintenance is stretching the cable out and allowing to lay in the sun at least once a week to prevent from kinking. The weekly cycle's are for use when you will be away from your home, such as a vacation to allow the pool to be cleaned for it's regular maintenance. The pool chemicals may affect the cleaner if left in the pool on a regular basis, also the cleaner should NOT be in the pool when you are using the pool. The warranty will be affected if the cleaner shows damage.

 

[robl45]

The Maytronics rep finally got back to me today. The info provided was a little sparse, but enough. The full response is posted below.

Cable Maintenance = stretching it out and laying it in the sun. This is apparently supposed to be done every week Does anyone actually do this?
Scheduler = designed to occasionally leave the robot in the pool for a week or 2 at a time while you're on vacation.
Warranty = not affected strictly for leaving it in the water or for any amount of use. However, if they see any damage to the unit it will be. Obviously, the longer you leave it in the water and the more you use it, the more likely it is to get damaged.

as I said, if the robot is broken is spinning in circles is about the only time you should have to do that with the cable. Possibly once every 3 months and good luck with that unless you have a huge yard to stretch it out and leave in the sun. Scheduler I can see their point.
Warranty makes no sense what they said. Damage is what the warranty is for. Sounds like they are trying to say the warranty is valid unless the unit breaks. Kind of silly to me. And honestly, how could they possibly tell its been sitting in the water the whole time or not? Its a device that goes in water. If a seal goes and it gets water logged, that can happen in 1 second of being put in the water.

 

[jblizzle]

I agree the wording is questionable. Although I am sure what they meant is if it looks like it was hit with a sledge hammer then they are not likely to warranty water damage due to a failed seal.

 

[pooldv]

I looked at my last electric bill. Our higher marginal rate is .086/kwh, so about 1/2 of yours. That's pretty cheap. I thought they'd take more energy than that. Also, is 2 hours / day really enough with one of these cleaners? I thought it needed double that.

I run mine 2 hours a day. Those electric estimates are reasonably close. And my cleaner stay in my pool probably 350 days per year. We only take it out when we have several people over for a day of swimming. We almost always leave it in when we swim.

 

[Swampwoman]

I am only entering my second season with the M4 Dolphin, but I do leave it in for protracted periods of time because I also tend to run it daily during parts of the season and every second day when airborne debris has died down a little.
So far so good. But we're in early days

(The OTHER reason I like to leave it in the water more than out is because my neighbor raises honeybees, which during times of drought, periodically find their way to my pool. They are addicted to chlorine as it makes them drunk, but prefer to "drink" it off my robot ....which unfortunately, sits close to my eating area. They leave it alone if its in the pool because honeybees don't like to get their feet wet.)

I love the thing and would buy it all over again in three years if I had to, so OP, you might want to take a look at the Dolphin line.

 

[mas985]

Given the availability of pressure side cleaners that don't require boosters, why would you even consider it? It uses a large amount of energy and it is just one more thing that can go wrong.

 

[wsamon]

I agree the wording is questionable. Although I am sure what they meant is if it looks like it was hit with a sledge hammer then they are not likely to warranty water damage due to a failed seal.

I think it also heavily implies that if there is visible damage due to corrosion from chemicals, calcium buildup, or the like that will affect the warranty as well.

The scheduling being only for short vacations makes sense I guess... except for 2 things:
1) Nowhere in the website, brochures, or marketing videos does it mention that
2) What is the "bin is full" indicator light for? If you're pulling the thing out of the water every day, you might as well open the container and at least check to see if it's full. If you're on vacation, there's no one to see it...

I get the feeling that they're working their way towards a pretty autonomous machine that you can keep in the water all the time and run on a schedule, like you would a Roomba, but realize they aren't quite there yet, so it's mostly marketing fodder right now that they aren't really willing to stand behind if it doesn't work right and leads to a failure.

as I said, if the robot is broken is spinning in circles is about the only time you should have to do that with the cable. Possibly once every 3 months and good luck with that unless you have a huge yard to stretch it out and leave in the sun.

Thankfully, my yard is big enough that I could stretch the cord out and leave it in the sun (well a lot of it in the sun anyway) I still can't see myself doing that with any frequency

Given the availability of pressure side cleaners that don't require boosters, why would you even consider it? It uses a large amount of energy and it is just one more thing that can go wrong.

I have no experience in such things, but I don't think that the pressure coming out of my returns would be enough to power anything. I did, however, recently have a new, dedicated suction line plugged in, so I can effectively use a suction side cleaner without sacrificing my filter now. Because of that, I'm seriously considering a ThePoolCleaner. They get very good reviews and seem to be substantially cheaper and less prone to failure than any robots. What I don't like is that I don't think they're as good at climbing walls, cleaning the pool surface, or scrubbing...

 

[jvrobert]

I'm a pretty big nerd and usually anything with "robot" in it is very tempting, but I can't (for my pool/needs, YMMV of course) justify a robotic cleaner. I have a ThePoolCleaner and the thing works great, I leave it in 24x7/365, no maintenance, 0 issues so far.

The robots would get up the sides/steps better I assume, but it hasn't been a problem, so other than that I can't see any advantages. On negatives are reliability, more maintenance/work, and of course cost.

Maybe when prices come down, and reliability is super high I would consider it. But I can definitely recommend The Pool Cleaner.

 

[wsamon]

I wound up going with a The Pool Cleaner that I got for a pretty good price on Amazon, along with a Hayward large-sized leaf catcher to keep the junk from getting into my plumbing. I'd like to upgrade to a robot sometime in the future, but I'm waiting for them to become a little more autonomous. Otherwise, they don't really save that much work compared to a regular cleaner and I can't justify the price, especially with how often they apparently break down.

Compared to The Pool Cleaner (and other similar items), most robots are 3 times the cost, apparently have 1/3 the durability (or worse), and, if anything, require more work since you need to put them in and out of the pool every day (according to them anyway), and they have smaller bins. The only benefits I see are that they may do a slightly better job cleaning due to the powered brushes, they clean faster - but if you can leave your cleaner in there all the time so it cleans overnight does this really matter? - , they use less electricity both per hour and with fewer hours - but this will never makeup for the initial price difference over the expected life of the robot, let alone over the expected life of the mechanical cleaner, they do some filtering, and they don't put any extra strain on your pump.

What I'm looking for before buying a robot is one that you can schedule, and either leave in 24/7 or will find its own way in and out of the pool; has a bin & filter large enough to last about a week without cleaning (under normal circumstances for small to mid-size pool), or at least makes it so easy that cleaning is simple and can be done without any "heavy" lifting, etc. (so can pull the filter and bin out the top of the robot while it floats near the side, hose it down quickly and put it back in); lets you know when the bin is full (obvious light or something), stops cleaning, and floats to the surface for you to clean it; lasts at least 3 years on average with only minimal (if any) repairs. Otherwise, what are you really paying all that extra money for?

 

[pragmatic]

Seems like a good choice & great balance of $/performance! I also have a suction cleaner, (PB provided) Navigator XL. After three-years of hard-use (24/7), it required only A-Frame bearing replacement. As preventative measure; a complete A-frame & turbine replacement had that sucker back in action and performing well; parts of $50 with shipping. I'll argue that the Navigator XL is the best bang-for-$ for suction cleaners; both maintenance ease & cost and performance. After my learning curve in proper adjustments that sucker cleans and even climbs the walls and very seldomly hangs-up. The Pool Cleaner may have the same results!