Is a robot worth it for 14k gallon IG under screen room?

[HDClown]

I just had a new pool installed and am investigating cleaners. The pool is under a screen room. I have a dedicated 2" suction port on the side of the pool in the deep end.

There is only 1 tree on my entire property, a sycamore, in the front of the house. Neighbors don't have any trees on their property. The blooms from the Sycamore make it through the screen, but they all float on the surface of the water. The pool is only 2 weeks so I don't have a debris reference. Thus far there is only been some dirt/sand debris, most of it from construction phase. I suspect most of the debris will be this style debris, from built-up of dust/pollen on the screen getting washed through during rainstorms.

Seems like I should pick between suction or robot.

I like that suction cleaners have much lower cost of entry and ability to be able to leave it in the pool 24x7 and kind of forget about it as a whole.

Robotic cleaners are pretty sweet from a technology and true scrubbing aspect, and my power isn't super expensive (13.7c/kwh) but the question is, is a robotic cleaner necessary on a pool of my size with my environment conditions? The need to take them in/out of the pool only when you want to clean doesn't sound appealing compared to a suction cleaner I can just leave in there. And the buy-in cost being at least 2x isn't as appealing. Those are my only 2 thoughts on it at the moment. Hoping to get some opinions from others.

 

[Patrick_B]

As much as I love Robots a good suction cleaner is likely to do ok in that setup.

 

[pooldv]

Agree, think you will be fine with a suction cleaner.

 

[bobodaclown]

What's your pump run time? I like my robotic cleaner. I get lots of debris, uncovered and trees.

 

[Richard320]

It seems to me that a manual vacuum head, a hose, and a pole would be plenty, and the change leftover from not buying a robot would buy a lot of other stuff. My pool is outdoors and open year round. I don't get a lot of leaves, and vacuuming doesn't take all that long.

It also occurs to me that I see very few threads asking for help with a manual head, but a great many about fancy pool cleaners.

 

[HDClown]

double post

 

[HDClown]

It seems to me that a manual vacuum head, a hose, and a pole would be plenty, and the change leftover from not buying a robot would buy a lot of other stuff. My pool is outdoors and open year round. I don't get a lot of leaves, and vacuuming doesn't take all that long.

It also occurs to me that I see very few threads asking for help with a manual head, but a great many about fancy pool cleaners.

I have a 14" flexible concrete vac head, pole, 35' hose, and basic net which was provided as part of my pool build. My PB requires daily brushing for first 30 days so as part of that I brush any debris into a small pile so I can use the manual vac on that small pile, nice and easy (done that twice). I've also been able to simply brush smaller amounts right into the main drain with the pump running on high speed.

What actually sparked my interested is rebate/promo deals being offered by my local pool supply place on Hayward stuff. $100 rebate (visa gift card) from Hayward plus $75 in-store credit, which greatly reduces the price on the cleaner. They were trying to talk me into a Hayward PoolVac XL but if they have the AquaNaut 200 available, the effective price with the rebate/store credit ends up $254, which I figure is pretty cheap over the life of the device.

I've set out to "see how it goes without a cleaner" when I signed my contract, but if I can get a good deal on something, I'm always interested.

What's your pump run time? I like my robotic cleaner. I get lots of debris, uncovered and trees.

8 hours at 2850 RPM's, which is how the guy who did my pool school (works for the PB's pool service unit). From what I've been reading that's very overkill for what I would need with my IntelliFlo pump, so I'm looking to ratchet it down to low 1000's (will base it on whatever speed gives enough flow for the IC40 to work properly). Don't know how many hours I'll run it, 6-12 I guess, have to try some stuff out. I'm only 2 weeks in on the pool, which is brand new, so finish still has a couple weeks to cure as well. Also don't know what speed would be necessary for a suction cleaner to be effective.

 

[Patrick_B]

Having a good cleaner is fantastic. Once you try a good one, you won't go back. Lots of people say vacuum time is therapy, and they enjoy it. I don't mind some Labor, but it 's more fun watching the robot doing it. Or, I find time for other things while he works.

 

[pooldv]

After your cure time, 2-3 hours in AM and 2-3 hours in PM at 1100-1200 rpm is plenty for making chlorine, skimming and filtering. 2500-3000 will probably be good for the cleaner 1-2 hours per day.

 

[HDClown]

I decided to purchase a Hayward AquaNaut 200 (ThePoolCleaner Poolvergnuegen 2x) from my local pool supply store, Pinch-A-Penny.

I got the Hayward branded one even though it sells for more than ThePoolCleaner branded one because it was the best deal. $429 for the cleaner plus $100 for mail-in rebate from Hayward plus $75 gift card from the pool supply store. That brings the effective price of the cleaner to $254 before tax. Even with $30 tax throw on, it's still $41 less than the cheapest place I could find it online with free shipping.

They didn't stock it in the store but are ordering it today and said they should have it this Monday.

I take it there's no real reason to need a leaf canister given the screen room, but is it worth the $35 for extra insurance for any larger debris that may end up in the pool somehow? There is still the pumps catch basket before something would get into the pump impeller, but nothing to stop stuff from getting stuck up in the piping.