Apologies! Another pool cleaner robot thread! (Cordless, or...)

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gregch

gregch

Silver Supporter
Apr 26, 2014
114
Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
So per the title, apologies in advance for yet another pool cleaner robot thread - I know there's been a few lately!

I've decided to get a pool cleaner robot. The old suction cleaner I had doesn't work any longer, and it had to be plugged into the only skimmer line we have, which was never ideal; and manual vacuuming gets old fast.

I saw that Maytronics/Dolphin have their new cordless Liberty 200 out, and that seemed perfect - but although they're widely available in the rest of Europe (and I guess the US?), here in the UK I couldn't find them for sale. I spoke with the UK distributor who told me they're not planning to sell them here because "they're not very good" and they want to wait for something better before they'll import any cordless models. I spoke with Maytronics who were very responsive but of course they can't force their distributor to buy a specific model. Apparently I can buy from from a European retailer, but with no warranty.

The Polaris Freedom I saw reviewed on TFP looks great, but also is not sold in the UK. And neither is the Aiper Seagull Pro.

So... it seems I can only choose from some "tried and tested" corded Dolphin models:

S200, which seems well-regarded on TFP, but here in the UK it costs GBP 1,500+ (about 1,900 USD) which is more than I can afford.

SX20 / PoolStyle Plus, which I think is the same as the E20. Which I think will do what I need (clean the floor and a bit of the walls on our in-ground 28' x 14' hopper-shaped vinyl liner pool) and costs about GBP 800 (about 1,000 USD) or more depending where I buy it.

Is that E20/SX20 an OK choice?
 
Greg,

I don't believe that battery robots are "there" yet. Everything new takes time and changes before they are really ready to do what they promise over time.

That said there is one major difference between the two that for now will force users into one path or the other.

With a corded robots you can leave them in the pool and they will run a week without any attention.

With battery powered robots, you pretty much have to charge them after each use.

So, for me, a charge after use would not be a big deal at my house, as I normally only need to run the robot every few days. But, I have two rent house pools where the robots stay in the pools and run every day for a week.

It will be interesting to see how things shake out in the next few years.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Thanks Jim, that's a really useful perspective. Felt like the cordless ones were kind of the "hot new thing" and I'd been thinking that I waited this long, and now these new things are out, so I should take advantage of that and get the new thing! But in fact, I wonder if the cordless would be more hassle, in the sense of having to charge it and make sure it was charged each time, rather than just connecting it and dropping it in (or leaving it in, if we're not going to be around). I think that corded might suit me better actually. Also, on top of the concerns about durability that a few people have voiced here on TFP I guess the cordless ones would add the concern about battery degradation. So thank you!
 
gregch said:
So per the title, apologies in advance for yet another pool cleaner robot thread - I know there's been a few lately!
Click to expand...
Greg, Greg, GREG. You've been around a minute. You know darn well we are happy to assist. :)

I'm sitting anxiously on the fence unable to pull the trigger yet. At the moment, I'm 75% on team 200/20 and 25% on 600/60 for the longer runtimes with a large pool.
 
Haha! Thank you! Yep I think I would have jumped on the Liberty 200 if I could have foind anyone in the UK prepared to sell me one, but on reflection a corded model might suit me better (for now).

So now it seems it's either a "PoolStyle Plus" or a "SX20" which seem to be identical except that the SX20 doesn't seem to have a swivel on the cord, and the PoolStyle Plus looks like it does. Is the swivel important/useful??

Oh, and the PoolStyle Plus is GBP 250 less expensive. Looks like it's designed to look cheaper, but apart from the nicer colours I can't see why the SX20 is so much more expensive (it's 1,000 GBP) and still has the basic straight cord etc....
 
If I saw any hope there, I'd jump on cordless. But none of them seem to last and we have a bunch of members trying to be the one who succeeds.
 
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Agreed. And as it turns out neither of the models I'm looking at has a swivel cable but sounds like the cable's getting tangled anyway! Currently trying to decide whether to pay a crazy premium (on top of a price that's already roughly 2x the US and Europe) to get the one with a nicer colour scheme! (and with ultra fine filters thrown in to the deal!).
 

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Jimrahbe said:
Greg,

I don't believe that battery robots are "there" yet. Everything new takes time and changes before they are really ready to do what they promise over time.

That said there is one major difference between the two that for now will force users into one path or the other.

With a corded robots you can leave them in the pool and they will run a week without any attention.

With battery powered robots, you pretty much have to charge them after each use.

So, for me, a charge after use would not be a big deal at my house, as I normally only need to run the robot every few days. But, I have two rent house pools where the robots stay in the pools and run every day for a week.

It will be interesting to see how things shake out in the next few years.

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
Hi Jim,

For the robots that stay in the pool, how do you keep the control box dry? Would you please post a picture?

I have an outside outlet but I have always just taken the robot in and out of the pool each time, which is a pain. (It is an older model that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, so it's time to look for something else. Not sure if the newer models are any lighter...but that will definitely be a consideration.)

Thanks!
 
Greg,

In theory, the motor box is waterproof, so it should not matter if it stays in the pool or not..

That said, some people say that it will leak sooner if it stays in the pool, and others claim that taking it out of the pool is just as bad, as the seal can dry out or be effect by the heat or cold. I personally have no clue if any of that is actually true.

My personal experience with three pools, all with robots, is that it does not really seem to matter much. My failure rate is about the same between the robot at my house, which tends to only get wet every 3 days, or the ones at my rent houses that stay in the pool 24/7.

I do find that taking the robot out of the pool and laying the cable straight out on the deck, helps keep my cable from becoming 'as' tangled.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Quick update! I've gone ahead and bought a Dolphin SX20 (I believe it's the same as E20/S100). It's a fairly basic corded model that doesn't have a swivel on the cable but even so it cost a lot of money here in the UK. So fingers crossed it works OK.

I won't have a chance to test it right away because the pool opening is waiting on getting the new pump and filter in, which themselves are waiting on the shed floor being re-screeded (this year is Part Two of our pool refurb project!). Sadly we've been let down again by the builders, so everything is behind schedule (of course!).
 
So I have the basic Aiper Seagull and this is year 2. So far, so good. However- we have a SMALL 18 ft above ground pool. I don’t need wall climbing. I do have lots of trees around and get tons of junk on the bottom. The little dude does a decent job. He can get wedged under the stairs, so we attached him to an empty chlorine tab floater as a buoy so we can yank him out. When things are really messy I have pull him out and empty him and drop him back in. It isn’t perfect but it really does help with maintenance.
 
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