- Jul 29, 2018
- 785
- Pool Size
- 15000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
After having had nothing but disappointment with the Pentair Kreepy Krauly Platinum (pressure side) cleaner that was included with my pool, I came here to hear members' experiences. Also viewed a bunch of YouTube videos. Maytronics seemed to be the manufacturer to consider. Selecting a model within that company's products was another challenge I hadn't expected. This cross-reference list helped:
The Truth About Pool Cleaners: What Your Pool Store Isn’t Telling You
I really liked the extensive features (especially the 3rd active brush), complete remote access, included caddy, and full 3 year warranty of the M500, and also the slightly reduced featured M400. However, their prices of $1,599 and $1,399, respectively, discouraged me a bit...actually quite a bit. Then I read the recurring advice here: Call Marina Pool and ask for Margaret.
So I did. When I got to Margaret I asked about a couple models I was considering. One had been discontinued. The other was an "Internet Only" model. Margaret told me she would check for the same features in another model and call me back. Ten minutes later, she called and gave me a couple models to consider and then asked of waterline cleaning was important. When I said yes, she told me they had the M400 for $999. Curious, I asked about the M500. $1,199 with free shipping and since I'm in another state, no sales tax. Now, let me be the first to say I'm pretty sure I'm still spending too much money for an appliance that will operate in a hostile environment and probably fail three days after the warranty expires. However, after the pitiful performance of the "no charge" Kreepy Krauly Platinum pressure side cleaner, I don't want to skimp on this purchase. The booster pump used for the cleaner will just sit idle, unless I find another use for it.
Addendum (ignore if you already hate pressure side cleaners): First, the booster pump uses 876 watts, plus the Pentair VSF has to be run at 2900 RPM for the booster pump to run. Compared to the normal 1700 rpm, the additional speed of that pump consumes an additional 1211 watts, so total watts during cleaning=2087 watts. Second, the cleaner will not climb the pool walls, much less reach the waterline. Third, when the pump stops, some debris falls out of the bottom of the bag. It will not climb stairs well, and when it does, it ends up on its side on the sun shelf. Fourth. Of late, the thing has lost its ability to get out of the deep end of the pool, and instead just runs to the right in circles in the deep end to halfway up the slope. This is regardless of employing all the fixes I've read here, in the manual, and elsewhere on the Internet, plus some experimental tweaking of my own. So right now, it cleans only the bottom of the deep half of the pool. No walls, no steps, no shallow end.
Time to update my signature.
Bill
The Truth About Pool Cleaners: What Your Pool Store Isn’t Telling You
I really liked the extensive features (especially the 3rd active brush), complete remote access, included caddy, and full 3 year warranty of the M500, and also the slightly reduced featured M400. However, their prices of $1,599 and $1,399, respectively, discouraged me a bit...actually quite a bit. Then I read the recurring advice here: Call Marina Pool and ask for Margaret.
So I did. When I got to Margaret I asked about a couple models I was considering. One had been discontinued. The other was an "Internet Only" model. Margaret told me she would check for the same features in another model and call me back. Ten minutes later, she called and gave me a couple models to consider and then asked of waterline cleaning was important. When I said yes, she told me they had the M400 for $999. Curious, I asked about the M500. $1,199 with free shipping and since I'm in another state, no sales tax. Now, let me be the first to say I'm pretty sure I'm still spending too much money for an appliance that will operate in a hostile environment and probably fail three days after the warranty expires. However, after the pitiful performance of the "no charge" Kreepy Krauly Platinum pressure side cleaner, I don't want to skimp on this purchase. The booster pump used for the cleaner will just sit idle, unless I find another use for it.
Addendum (ignore if you already hate pressure side cleaners): First, the booster pump uses 876 watts, plus the Pentair VSF has to be run at 2900 RPM for the booster pump to run. Compared to the normal 1700 rpm, the additional speed of that pump consumes an additional 1211 watts, so total watts during cleaning=2087 watts. Second, the cleaner will not climb the pool walls, much less reach the waterline. Third, when the pump stops, some debris falls out of the bottom of the bag. It will not climb stairs well, and when it does, it ends up on its side on the sun shelf. Fourth. Of late, the thing has lost its ability to get out of the deep end of the pool, and instead just runs to the right in circles in the deep end to halfway up the slope. This is regardless of employing all the fixes I've read here, in the manual, and elsewhere on the Internet, plus some experimental tweaking of my own. So right now, it cleans only the bottom of the deep half of the pool. No walls, no steps, no shallow end.
Time to update my signature.
Bill
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I am looking forward to a clean pool with less brushing, though, since right now, every couple days, I'm trying to brush shallow end stuff down to the deep end. The whale tail brush helps a lot, though, especially on the sides.