Not understanding the lure of robotic cleaners..

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I have documented my pool cleaner experience in my signature - started with a suction side cleaner & manual vacuum then purchased a robot. The robot cleaned better than my suction cleaner ever did and switching allowed me to run my variable speed pump at much lower speeds resulting in less money spent on electricity. When you consider that a robot runs at only 200-250W of power and can adequately clean a pool in 2 hours, that blows away the energy use of any suction cleaner or pressure cleaner (which people mostly run all the time the pool pump is on).

As others have said, I’d backfill my pool if I couldn’t use a robot…
 
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I started with the Polaris 380 with a booster pump - wasted a lot of electricity. Then went to a Polaris 360 worked well less cost. Neither was great at the waterline cleaning and no Polaris pump or suction cleaner was getting the fine dirt. My Dolphin not only cleans the waterline but I use one regular and one extra-fine filter ( to get the dirt). You would be surprised my pebble pool look clean then I check the extra-fine filter and there is all this fine dirt.
 
The seriously overpriced Polaris Quattro is essentially a water pressure powered robot. It climbs walls and scrubs. Its fine filter captures tiny particles that other Polarises don't. It took several days to fine tune so it would climb less and clean the floor more, but I succeeded. I can't run a robot due to my setup. (Trust me. Don't ask.) So I have to credit Polaris for their hydraulic wizardry.
 
When we bought our house, the prior owner left the robot for us. In true moron fashion, I destroyed it by leaving it sit out in hot July sun and fried the internal circuits. :cry:.
I manually vacuumed for the month of August and quickly decided that Crud was for the birds. I found an open box Dolphin Quantum for a reasonable price and had it in my hands by September. Now R2D2 has his own little caddy and lives in a space in the garage when not in use. He does an amazing job and I refuse to ever manually vacuum again. I'm hopeful that if I take care of it and don't burn the circuitry again, he'll last at least 5 years.
 
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I went from a Pentair Legend to a Pentair Racer to a Dolphin Active 30i. I've had the Dolphin 3 years. I've not had one iota of a problem with it, and it keeps the debris off the bottom and scrubs the waterline. Only issue related to the cleaner is that it will occassionally bump into the float that controls my fill line and knock it out of whack. That's a 30 second fix.

If you're not ready to drop the cash on one just yet, maybe you could find a TFP friend near you with one that would let you see theirs in action so you can better understand why we love them so much.
 
Saturn94 said:
This I agree with! Any type of automatic cleaner is better than manual vacuuming. 😁👍
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It is better than manual vacuuming when it comes to time and effort. I have found it isn't always better at cleaning certain kinds of dirt and debris. Just like you feel a pressure wave from a car when it drives by you, observing my robot indicates it puts out a small pressure wave as it moves across the bottom. I have observed debris with high surface area to weight ratio (a leaf) get pushed out of the way as the robot approaches it. Right now I have been vacuuming more manually because my daughter's dog gets a lot of fine lightweight mulch particles into the pool. I can run the robot for a cycle and then the fine dirt resettles on the bottom after it finishes. If I vacuum manually, I have to run the vacuum head slowly over the pool. If I move it fast, I see a cloud of dirt move away from the vacuum head. Yes, it is not algae as the water is clear, the FC levels are more than adequate and I have run the OCLT.
 
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So if I want to keep cost to a minimum what is the suggested Robo cleaner? 14 x 33, 4 to 7 feet deep.
I don't need bells and whistles but would like something that cleans well.
Local company Leslies, has the following with several others ..

Aqua Products - EVO 614IQ Robotic Pool Cleaner​

Dolphin - Proteus DX3 Robotic Pool Cleaner​

Aqua Products - EVO 604 Robotic Pool Cleane​


Polaris - P825 Robotic Pool Cleaner
 
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The sad part is, right now, the selection is limited.

I would call Marina Pool Spa in Denver. Talk with Margaret. See if anything they have in stock will fit your needs. Or get on a waiting list for a more appropriate robot.
 
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Homebrewale said:
It is better than manual vacuuming when it comes to time and effect. I have found it isn't always better at cleaning certain kinds of dirt and debris. Just like you feel a pressure wave from a car when it drives by you, observing my robot indicates it puts out a small pressure wave as it moves across the bottom. I have observed debris with high surface area to weight ratio (a leaf) get pushed out of the way as the robot approaches it. Right now I have been vacuuming more manually because my daughter's dog gets a lot of fine lightweight mulch particles into the pool. I can run the robot for a cycle and then the fine dirt resettles on the bottom after it finishes. If I vacuum manually, I have to run the vacuum head slowly over the pool. If I move it fast, I see a cloud of dirt move away from the vacuum head. Yes, it is not algae as the water is clear, the FC levels are more than adequate and I have run the OCLT.
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Nothing is perfect but I'll take 95%. Also the pressure wave that you speak of is a good thing if the filter happens to be on as some fine debris gets suspended in the water and gets carried away with water which passes through the filter so it actually does more then you realize.
 
I paid $560 for a dolphin nautilus six years ago and it just stopped working a few weeks ago. I never replaced anything on it during those six years and used it two to three times a week. That works out to $7.78 a month. I'll take that all day long if I don't have to manually clean the pool. I just ordered a replacement with Marina that should be here tomorrow.
 
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doug527 said:
For the price point robotics do not seem to be worth it. $700 plus and you are lucky to get a couple trouble free years out of them from everything I have read. Maybe it's the cool factor of having new technology clean your pool, but they just don't seem to be there yet and worth of the cost. With such small filters, I can't see them cleaning any good amount of debris. On the other hand looking at the suction vacuums they all seem to have their problems. Units costing $ 400, 500 seem to have issues...Any recommendations? I don't mind spending $500 for something that works, I would spend $700 on a robotic if I knew it would work trouble free for many years.

Thanks
Doug
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I would "gladly" spend $700 every 2-3 years on a robot cleaner that will do all of my scrubbing and cleaning of the pool bottom and sides which may take 2-3 hours a week of my time (in the hot Texas heat) to manually clean. We run ours A LOT! I would say every other day on a 2 hour cycle and usually weekend mornings before we get in. I clean it out 1-2 times a week. Going on 3 years now and it still works as good as new (fingers crossed)!
 
wireform said:
If you get a somewhat shortened life due to it so be it. That's in line with most consumables
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+1 and the same goes for the SWG. If more needs to be done, either you or the unit (SWG/robot) needs to do it. To go halfsies and do some yourself takes away from the sole reason you went electronic in the first place. Use the thing to do what you bought it for. For every bit of shortened life, that’s *LESS* that you had to do. When the time comes, remember how much you didn’t have to do and you’ll be much happier with the replacement costs.
 
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I vacuum once a week normally and and twice if company is expected for a day by pool. $700 every three years isn't worth it to me. Can't imagine if I had to replace everything at that rate, appliances, tires for vehicle, etc. I'm betting they are purposely made to last X amount of time like air conditioners... Home a/c used to last 15 years easily, now you are lucky to get 10...I don't mind paying good money for quality items that last, I,e. I had no reservations spending $1800 on a two channel stereo amp for the home ,but that amp will last 20 years plus easily. Comparing the SWG to a robotic cleaner is apples vs oranges IMO. The SWG is a needed part of the pool. Yes lifespan is relatively short but I would not own a pool without one.
 
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