Robot Recommendations

[David0408]

Hi,
Last year I came out of the dark ages and bought my first multi speed pump. Man, has that been a life changer! Now I’m looking for a robot to potentially replace my Polaris. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Newdude]

Best robot

Thems fightin words !!! Not why I came here today, but if we must.....




I wanted a robot but when I built during the shortages, they spiked 30% or more in price, so I decided to wait. Then they started failing at a high rate and I've yet to see anything to jiggle me off the fence. I have short seasons here so 2 or 3 years isn't much use. Bad seals ruining the expensive motor unit seems to be a time and moisture issue, not how many times the run button was pressed.

@Jimrahbe likes his new Evo, and so far, it's looking good.

New EVO 614i Robot Pool Cleaner Review

About a month ago I needed a new robot pool cleaner and I contacted Margaret at Marina Pool and Spa. My initial goal was to buy another S200 "style" robot as I have been happy with them so far. Margaret suggested that I might want to look at a new line of robot cleaners that Marina is now...

www.troublefreepool.com

Call Margaret at Marina pools and spa in Dever. They are stupid helpful and will give you all the +/-s of what they have. The prices are always great, and fast and free shipping.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

If your Polaris works, why change? Those cleaners can be rebuilt and serviced multiple times over for the cost of a single robot. And you will just be trading one set of difficulties for a different set of annoyances. Believe me, when your $1000 robot dies after three seasons of use or needs an expensive fix that may or may not be covered under warranty (assuming the short warranty period is in force), you are not going to be a happy camper.

Robots are great but they are probably the most expensive way to clean a pool. If you’re someone with a lot of bank and don’t mind dropping $1000 every 3-5 years to buy the latest robot, then they are the right cleaner for you. They are not designed to be DIY reparable so the economics of them basically drives the “trash it and buy new” when it fails.

Unless there is something horribly wrong with using your Polaris, I suggest you stick with that.

 

[Jimrahbe]

David,

I agree with Matt above, up to a point..

I am a very big fan of Robot cleaners... the original very old Dolphins I had would last 5 to 7 years.. The newer ones are much better in how they operate, and clean the pool, but the new design seems to only last 3 to 5 years if you are lucky.

My main reason to use a robot is that I do not like seeing a cleaner in my pool.. This does not bother many people, but I did not build my pool as a 24/7 home for an ugly cleaning device, no matter what kind...

I like that I can clean my pool 2 or 3 times a week and when the pool is not being cleaned, I can easily take the robot out and hide it away.

In any case, I've had some very good luck with my cleaners. I treat them just like I do my Saltwater Chlorine Generators.. Use them up and buy a new one..

If I had to buy a new robot today, it would be the EVO that I reviewed. I like it better than all my old Dolphins, but... at this point I have no idea how long it will last. Only time will tell..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[gkw4815]

I have both a Polaris 280 and an older Dolphin Nautilus robot. The Dolphin is more energy efficient, scrubs the walls better, and does a better job during our 2-3 month heavy leaf drop season.

But I still prefer the Polaris, and if/when the robot dies I won't replace it with another one. I like the convenience of the Polaris (controlled via my iAqualink system, can be left in the pool 24/7), the easy/cheap repairability, and the ease of emptying the bag vs the fiddly cartridges on the Dolphin Nautilus (admittedly, the newer top-load robots are better in this regard).

The venerable Polaris 280 is popular enough that both name brand and cheap third-party replacement parts and cheap and easy to get. Unfortunately robots aren't at that point yet - replacement parts are proprietary and often so expensive as to render repair uneconomic. Hopefully some of the recently-released robots by Evo and others will prove to be more reliable and/or economic to repair.

 

[DrewLG]

Robots are great but they are probably the most expensive way to clean a pool.

... unless you live where electricity is expensive, and then pressure-side cleaners are by far the most expensive. To calculate how many days it takes for a robot to pay for itself after replacing a pressure-side cleaner, divide the cost of the robot by your cost for 1 kilowatt-hour of electricity, then divide by the number of hours/day that your cleaner runs, then divide by 1.5.

For me ($800 robot, $0.46/kWh, 3 hours/day), the robot pays for itself in one year. If it "only" lasts 3 years, that'll be fine with me because in that time it will have saved me $1600. Plus it does a better job in less time, and it's easier to pull out of the pool whenever it's in the way.

 

[Divin Dave]

Hi David0408,

I use and recommend the Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus. It's great choice if you are looking for something to get the job done and done well. This is my 2nd one and I've had it for for 2 years now. I think they run somewhere around 750 to 800 dollars these days.

First, let me tell you what it doesn't do.
It does not have any bluetooth capabilities, or this and that bells and whistles. It does not do well on steps or narrow tanning ledges. But those are things I don't give a hoot about!

If you want bluetooth and bells and whistles, there are other Dolphin models to fulfill that desire, but as with everything these days, they come at a premium.

However the Nautilus CC Plus is just a bit more than the basic low end robot.

Now I'll tell you what it does do, and does it well:
1. Climbs and scrubs the walls and haphazardly turns sideways and crawl down and cleans the waterline.
2. Somehow it magically cleans every inch of the pool bottom. I have no clue how it knows !
3. It has a "no tangle" 50 ft. cord. It uses a swivel to help minimize the cord twisting up. This 'no tangle' feature does work to a large extent, but now and then, you do need to stretch it out and get the cord sorted back out. If you ask me, the no tangle feature is worth the extra money.
4. The Power Supply allows for a bit of auto-scheduling. There is not a clock or timer on it. It just starts when you push the schedule button and goes from there. The cleaning cycle is 2 hours. By the push of a button, you can schedule to clean:
a) every day
b) every 2 days,
c) once a week
5. According to the manufacturer, the power consumption is 180 Watts, so its very energy efficient.

As a side note, you do not have to use the scheduling functions if you don't want to. Just push the power button ON whenever you want to use it.

As for the quality, based solely upon my personal experience....
13 years ago, I bought the 'standard' no frills Dolphin Nautilus and it lasted me 11 years before it finally wore out. It served me well and I was more than happy with it. It wasn't the motor or any electrical parts that gave up, but the plastic parts did. After being in the water for 75% of the time for 11 years, exposed to the chemicals and sunlight the plastic parts got brittle and started breaking. Anyways, I consider 11 years a pretty good deal no matter how you want to slice it. Because of this, it was a no brainer for me to go with a Dolphin robot again. If my 'new' one lasts even half as long as my old Dolphin, I'll be happy.

I would like to say though, that there are some good brands out there, so pick which ever one suits you the best. I have no doubt you will like it wayyy better than what you have now.

 

[David0408]

Yeah, I’m kind of done with the Polaris and its booster pump, hose, wheelies, circles, and hang ups. I just want to be able to throw a robot in the water, have it clean the pool, and then pull it out and be done for a dews days. I’m really thinking about pulling the trigger on one of these robots!

 

[gkw4815]

Yeah, I’m kind of done with the Polaris and its booster pump, hose, wheelies, circles, and hang ups. I just want to be able to throw a robot in the water, have it clean the pool, and then pull it out and be done for a dews days. I’m really thinking about pulling the trigger on one of these robots!

Are you sure your Polaris is working properly?

We brought our house/pool with the Polaris thrown in and initially it did a terrible job - hose got tangled up, cleaner went around in circles and missed both ends of the pool, etc. I have no idea how old it is, and as this is our first pool I had no idea how it was "supposed" to work. But after replacing the hose and a couple of other wear parts and adjusting everything as per the instructions, it cleans dramatically better and, overall, nearly as well as the robot.

As an aside, I do agree with Drew's point that high electricity costs might tip the balance in favor of a robot even if it only lasts a few years. But where I live, my Polaris costs less than $100/year in electricity to run.

 

[nkotch]

Just picked up the Polaris Freedom today. Been in decision paralysis for a while now research various corded and cordless robots. Have always had suction side cleaners, first a Hayward Navigator at our prior house and currently a Zodiac MX6. Neither would clean the walls and they just always seemed finicky in regards to pump speed. Would leave them in the pool all the time due to the hassle of taking them in and out but of course that means they just wear out quicker.

Initially considered a corded robot. Some family members have one and in general like it but it seems the weak link is the cable and again I didn't want to deal with dragging out a cable a few times a week or leaving it in the pool and having a cable draped across the deck most of the time so then moved on to a cordless robot.

Not many options in the cordless department. Among the big name brands it's really between the Polaris Freedom and Dolphin Liberty ones.

A few other cordless models to look at:
Water Tech Volt 550 I think. Little older unit but I think it's a solid unit based on reviews.
Various smaller upstart companies: Aiper, Wybot, Beatbot, etc.... Out of those the Beatbot aquasense pro looks really cool, just really expensive >2k. Looked at Aiper and some of the new ones look attractive such as the Scuba S1 Pro but then I read horror stories about early failures and customer service issues.

Then went back to either the Polaris Freedom or a Dolphin Liberty 300 (400 doesn't seem to be available yet). Dolphin Liberty had a couple features I liked, such as scheduling capability (could throw in the pool for a week and have it do short cleans every 48 hours for a few days), and the ultra fine filter option. Ultimately decided I really didn't need the scheduling feature as I didn't want to leave in the pool and, at least officially, it doesn't advertise waterline cleaning which I wanted. I also don't like having a plug in power charger on these cordless units that you have to unplug and then insert a rubber gasket to seal them before you place them in the water, just seems like a point of failure and much prefer the ones with docking station. Polaris Freedom has a decent charging stand so it's up off the ground with nothing to physically plug in and seems to do a good job and can get the water line.

 

[David0408]

Are you sure your Polaris is working properly?

We brought our house/pool with the Polaris thrown in and initially it did a terrible job - hose got tangled up, cleaner went around in circles and missed both ends of the pool, etc. I have no idea how old it is, and as this is our first pool I had no idea how it was "supposed" to work. But after replacing the hose and a couple of other wear parts and adjusting everything as per the instructions, it cleans dramatically better and, overall, nearly as well as the robot.

As an aside, I do agree with Drew's point that high electricity costs might tip the balance in favor of a robot even if it only lasts a few years. But where I live, my Polaris costs less than $100/year in electricity to run.

I think I need a new hose which is what got me thinking about the bot in the first place. Even when it’s running correctly ties itself up and I was just looking for a new solution. Still undecided.

 

[Newdude]

Just picked up the Polaris Freedom today.

Please keep us updated. Polaris robots either corded or cordless barely get a mention here which is weird as they are a major player. Good, bad, or ugly we should have way more stories about them.

TIA.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I think I need a new hose which is what got me thinking about the bot in the first place. Even when it’s running correctly ties itself up and I was just looking for a new solution. Still undecided.

If it were me, just my opinion, I would do a rebuild on it and pay for the hose replacement. And then I would go through the user manual and online resources for how to optimize and setup the cleaner. I don’t know anything about the Polaris pressure cleaners but I believe there are optional parts for it that don’t come with the base model that improve cleaner performance. It also seems that pool builders just throw these cleaners at the pool owners without any help in the setup, people don’t read the manual, and they get annoyed that the cleaner doesn’t work well. Then we see stories of people that inherit their pool and cleaner, they assume that the previous owner must have set it up correctly and then figure there’s something wrong with it because it doesn’t seem to work right. Even suction side cleaners need an initial setup to get hose lengths correct, hose weights installed at the proper intervals and then a flow rate check to make sure the water flow is optimal. Failure to do any of that will result in a cleaner that just seems to not work right.

Again, just my opinion, but before sinking close to a $1k on “the greener grass on the other side” , I would want to make sure I did everything possible to rule out user error.

@ajw22 knows pressure cleaners, maybe he has some thoughts.

 

[ajw22]

Yeah, I’m kind of done with the Polaris and its booster pump, hose, wheelies, circles, and hang ups. I just want to be able to throw a robot in the water, have it clean the pool, and then pull it out and be done for a dews days. I’m really thinking about pulling the trigger on one of these robots!

What makes you think that a robot cleaner will not have those foibles?

My Polaris cleaner lives in my pool and runs every morning to ensure a clean pool for the day. Every few days I pull it out of the water, empty the bag, and toss it back in the pool. I probably need to tinker with it some way once or twice a season. I think a robot cleaner could need more attention then that.

 

[ajw22]

I think I need a new hose which is what got me thinking about the bot in the first place. Even when it’s running correctly ties itself up and I was just looking for a new solution. Still undecided.

How old is your 280? They can be rebuilt but wear out. I replace them every 7-10 years.

 

[I_C_Deadpeople]

Please keep us updated. Polaris robots either corded or cordless barely get a mention here which is weird as they are a major player. Good, bad, or ugly we should have way more stories about them.

TIA.

Well, I have had 2 Polaris corded cleaners and bothw orked really well. First one lasted about 6 years biut to be fair, I run it every day. Second one (current one) P825 is a solid unit. Cord can get a bit tangled but not the end of the world. I have replaced the tracks twice as they tend to stretch and then come off. I am currently looking for a new u7nit mostly becuse I am aslo replacing my pool liner so want to start with a new one. My pool is 20 x 40 so these cleaners have worked brilliantly for me. Our area has a lot of trees and some fine dust from a few fields and my current unit picks up all this quite well.
I am leaning towrds a 'wheeled' unit instead of a tracked unit, perhaps the Polaris 9550 or the like.

 

[Josh_Is_Me]

Just picked up the Polaris Freedom today. Been in decision paralysis for a while now research various corded and cordless robots. Have always had suction side cleaners, first a Hayward Navigator at our prior house and currently a Zodiac MX6. Neither would clean the walls and they just always seemed finicky in regards to pump speed. Would leave them in the pool all the time due to the hassle of taking them in and out but of course that means they just wear out quicker.

Initially considered a corded robot. Some family members have one and in general like it but it seems the weak link is the cable and again I didn't want to deal with dragging out a cable a few times a week or leaving it in the pool and having a cable draped across the deck most of the time so then moved on to a cordless robot.

Not many options in the cordless department. Among the big name brands it's really between the Polaris Freedom and Dolphin Liberty ones.

A few other cordless models to look at:
Water Tech Volt 550 I think. Little older unit but I think it's a solid unit based on reviews.
Various smaller upstart companies: Aiper, Wybot, Beatbot, etc.... Out of those the Beatbot aquasense pro looks really cool, just really expensive >2k. Looked at Aiper and some of the new ones look attractive such as the Scuba S1 Pro but then I read horror stories about early failures and customer service issues.

Then went back to either the Polaris Freedom or a Dolphin Liberty 300 (400 doesn't seem to be available yet). Dolphin Liberty had a couple features I liked, such as scheduling capability (could throw in the pool for a week and have it do short cleans every 48 hours for a few days), and the ultra fine filter option. Ultimately decided I really didn't need the scheduling feature as I didn't want to leave in the pool and, at least officially, it doesn't advertise waterline cleaning which I wanted. I also don't like having a plug in power charger on these cordless units that you have to unplug and then insert a rubber gasket to seal them before you place them in the water, just seems like a point of failure and much prefer the ones with docking station. Polaris Freedom has a decent charging stand so it's up off the ground with nothing to physically plug in and seems to do a good job and can get the water line.

They have an AquaSense priced around $1K, dock charging, cordless, able to clean waterline, similar to the Pro version. However, there are limited detailed reviews on YouTube. The only video I found:

 

[David0408]

I bought an Evo 614iQ. It gets delivered on Thursday. Very excited!

 

[kul]

I have the dolphin DX4. It works great. The only thing I don’t like is that the cord has started to get twisted. I straighten it now and then and it finds a way to get twisted again.