Best robot for climbing? I have a trench in my pool

[JCD3nton]

New house with a unique pool design that makes maintenance a nightmare.

1. The middle of the pool has some sort of trench running through the bottom about 1-2 feet deep and 2-3 feet wide at the largest point. It starts near the middle of the pool behind the island and runs to the deep end on the right side. I need a robot that will be good at climbing in and out of this. I have heard that the older dolphins with an "arm" on top climb well so I was considering the z5i since it can be had for under $1000 and seems to have beefy specs for that price including dual drives and wifi control.

2. Another consideration is that the pool has an "island" in the middle, so I need direct wifi control in case the cord gets wrapped around it. I know wifi control is bad on these but I think even bad control would suffice just to reverse it back around the island.


3. The pool is also swarming with oak trees so large filter capacity is helpful.


4. Lastly, you might say that a pool like this isn't the best for a robot, but unfortunately it's at least 8 feet deep (not counting the trench) so brushing the bottom is extremely difficult, and one side is inaccessible because of a rock waterfall. Even if the pool doesn't get spotless, a robot can still help a lot by stirring stuff up in the trench and deep end.


I was thinking of grabbing the z5i since it seems like a good deal for the specs, but I don't know how it compares climbingwise to the s2000 type bots or if there is something else i should look at.

 

[JupiterFL]

My Polaris freedom crawls up on my sunshelf so I assume it could get in and out of the trench. It’s also cordless so no issue with the island. I don’t think a pool store would allow you to return it, if it doesn’t work, but Amazon might.

One problem will be if it hits the trench at an angle and flips, does it have the room to flip itself back over. I’ve seen my completely upside down and flip itself back over, but it might struggle with the narrow trench.

 

[JCD3nton]

How do you like the cleaning ability on the Freedom? Wireless would definitely be great for this pool but I had heard that the wireless cleaners in general were not very good. It looks like it comes to the top for 10 minutes after a cycle so you can get it? What happens if you run it at night and it sinks down...is there an easy way to get it out of the bottom of the pool?

 

[JupiterFL]

I don’t have anything to compare it to (first robot) but I am very happy with its cleaning. It gets everything in one cycle. In my research, before buying it, I came to the conclusion that it was probably the first battery robot that could compete with the corded ones. I have a Betta SE skimmer that runs 24/7 so I wanted a cordless one so as not to have to remove the Betta.

It’s super easy to remove. I’ve actually never gotten it out in the 10 minute window. It comes with a hook that you attach to your pool pole, just like you would a net. Dry it off with a towel and set it on the charging docking station it comes with.

 

[JCD3nton]

Well thanks for jumping in with this suggestion. I was able to find an open-box Freedom for $1000 shipped on Mercari which was a pretty good deal in light of the fact that there are no sales running right now and I need it fast. I read around other threads and it seems like you might be right that this is the first good wireless cleaner. I had just written them off. And I also like that it has a filter big box in the middle, as opposed to the dual cartridges on the dolphin I was considering. No wifi driving but I shouldn't need that without a cord, and in a way I like that the charger forces you to be responsible and take it out of the pool after use instead of being lazy and leaving it in for days or weeks. Should help durability.

 

[JupiterFL]

No problem. Let us know how it works out.

 

[kellyfair]

Your pool looks like a lagoon. Beautiful, even though it is a beast to clean!

 

[JCD3nton]

So, I got the Freedom and the results are mixed so far but it has potential.

-Immediate impression: this thing looks pretty cool
-Second impression: questionable build quality. The plastics seem like they came off of a $100 bissel carpet cleaner and I question how they'll hold up to the elements long-term. They definitely aren't as rugged as my OG dolphin nautilus
-Put it in the deep end and it gives immediate cause for optimism by running straight to the side and effortlessly climbing 8-9 feet straight up, then in the coup de grace, reversing and making it halfway down the wall before losing traction
-then it promptly went over to the trench where it spent almost the entirety of the next 2 hours, somehow not even managing to get the small area where it was stuck very clean. Once in a blue moon it would get out, but then promptly back in. I think it struggles to climb if the surface has any curve at all, and there is a round area at the end of the trench that proved to be its nemesis. Somehow after 2 hours mostly in a leaf-filled trench, the filter was only half full.
-I yanked it out with the hook, emptied the filter, and stuck it in a different part of the pool. I was shocked to watch it literally zoom straight up three narrow tiered steps like a dune buggy. It would fly up the step vertical, "jump" straight up and lose contact with it, and then use the jets to turn horizontal again and land on the next step. Easily the most impressive thing I've ever seen a poolbot do. Half an hour later, I checked it again and it was stuck in the trench again, batteries drained.
-the battery life for this thing really is excellent and as I suspected, the filter is really fast to empty and clean
-today i took it out again. It was still getting stuck in the trench, but I saw it get out a couple of times in 10-15 minutes which was a lot better than yesterday. When I went to go fish it out tonight, it was at the opposite end of the pool, not stuck, filter packed with leaves. No idea where it spent its run time but I was pleased with the end result.
-On day 1 I was ready to put it up on facebook marketplace but I thought there was an outside chance it would perform better as the pool got cleaner. Day 2, that outside chance is looking a lot more likely. Overall, I'd say the Freedom would probably be a good choice for MOST pools (recognizing that what I have is not "most pools") and the only reason I'd hesitate to recommend it is long-term concerns about build quality and potential reliability.