Pool cleaner - All is new to me

[joe_c]

I purchased a house in December with a 52k gallon pool (at least that's what the old pool guy said). This is my first pool, so I have been learning all of the stuff that goes along with owning one. I've successfully learned all of the pool gear, what valves do what, how to work the heater and the Polaris that was loaned to us. The previous pool guy let us use his 10 year old Polaris 280 and it did a great job of keeping the pool clean, but he just picked it up last week.

My boss' brother had a 2 year old Polaris 280 black version that he was selling because he just purchased a robot, so I tried it over the weekend. There were multiple things wrong with it (only one wheel spinning, constantly getting stuck, swivel leaking water). I know these are all problems that can be corrected, but I'd rather just invest money into a new unit since I don't know how they treated that one, it looked pretty beat up for only being 2 years old.

My brother in law is suggesting that I get a P9550 since that is the same model he has, but it does not get as many good reviews as the others (Dolphin).

I'd like to go the route of a robot that can scrub since I've just noticed little patches of algae.

Cliffs notes:
32k gallon Pebbletec pool
Prefer robot that can scrub and climb walls
No budget constraints, but I don't want to go all in if I don't have to.

Thanks ins advance!

 

[nlindelldc]

I have a Dolphin Nautilus and love it. They are highly rated but not very cheap. More expensive models include a carrier, remote control, etc. (you can do a search and turn up more than you ever wanted to know)

If you have algae you need to SLAM your pool. (you can search for that too). No amount of filtering or robot cleaning will be sufficient until you do.

 

[joe_c]

I have a Dolphin Nautilus and love it. They are highly rated but not very cheap. More expensive models include a carrier, remote control, etc. (you can do a search and turn up more than you ever wanted to know)

If you have algae you need to SLAM your pool. (you can search for that too). No amount of filtering or robot cleaning will be sufficient until you do.

Thanks for the quick reply. Slam if before incorporating whatever robot I get and monitor after that? (Still learning the ropes!)

Also, I used shock right after we moved in and it cleared everything up, is this a similar product?

Did you consider the Triton at all before purchasing the nautilus? I'm comparing the models now.

 

[nlindelldc]

Thanks for the quick reply. Slam if before incorporating whatever robot I get and monitor after that? (Still learning the ropes!)

Also, I used shock right after we moved in and it cleared everything up, is this a similar product?

Did you consider the Triton at all before purchasing the nautilus? I'm comparing the models now.

In order to get of the algae, you definitely need to SLAM (shock level and maintain). You can read about it in Pool School. Also, you should be ordering your own test kit if you don't already have one. SHOCK is a term we don't really use much here but in general if you buy a SHOCK product (I never have) it will usually be Dichlor or Cal-Hypo if I remember correctly and could add more calcium than you want or even worse CYA (need a test kit to measure that also) Also, if you really are battling algae you might want to start a new thread about it in the getting started section--much more help there.

I did look at the Triton, I believe it has a handle which makes getting the robot in and out of the pool a little easier. If I had it to do over, I probably would get one with a remote because I can't tell you how many times mine is just finishing up cleaning and misses like one leaf or something. If I had a remote I could send it for said leaf

 

[Geebot]

I did look at the Triton, I believe it has a handle which makes getting the robot in and out of the pool a little easier. If I had it to do over, I probably would get one with a remote because I can't tell you how many times mine is just finishing up cleaning and misses like one leaf or something. If I had a remote I could send it for said leaf

I believe you're mixing apples and oranges. The robots without the "handle" are floor scrubbers only. The ones with "handles" can climb (and scrub) walls up to the waterline. The handle is a float which senses orientation and tells it to stop at the waterline. Nearly all Maytronics models come in floor-only and floor-and-wall versions so you'll see images of most models with and without handles. So just keep in mind, if there's a "handle" it will only do floors.

 

[nlindelldc]

I believe you're mixing apples and oranges. The robots without the "handle" are floor scrubbers only. The ones with "handles" can climb (and scrub) walls up to the waterline. The handle is a float which senses orientation and tells it to stop at the waterline. Nearly all Maytronics models come in floor-only and floor-and-wall versions so you'll see images of most models with and without handles. So just keep in mind, if there's a "handle" it will only do floors.

I beg to differ. Mine not only does walls, it does my steps also. I just had to adjust the floats accordingly.

 

[turbo997]

I believe you're mixing apples and oranges. The robots without the "handle" are floor scrubbers only. The ones with "handles" can climb (and scrub) walls up to the waterline. The handle is a float which senses orientation and tells it to stop at the waterline. Nearly all Maytronics models come in floor-only and floor-and-wall versions so you'll see images of most models with and without handles. So just keep in mind, if there's a "handle" it will only do floors.

Wait .... What ?
First you say the ones with " handles " can climb and scrub walls up to the waterline .
Then say keep in mind if there's a "handle" it will only do floors ?

 

[Geebot]

Wait .... What ?
First you say the ones with " handles " can climb and scrub walls up to the waterline .
Then say keep in mind if there's a "handle" it will only do floors ?

Good catch. Handle=float=climbs. No handle=no climb.

 

[ned8377]

The handle has nothing to do with whether it climbs or not. Polaris 9400, 9550 has handle in front to grab and take out of water and it climbs. If you are talking about the handles that stick up on the top, they are usually to keep the cord from tangling and actually have to be reversed each time you use it to achieve no tangling.

 

[nutria]

About one year ago I was trying to decide between the nautilus + and the triton. I ended up going for the cheaper nautilus as the additional features of the triton did not matter much to me. I am not sure why people keep saying it does not climb walls and clean the waterline, it DOES. The differences as far as I can tell are: the remote (unimportant for me,I don't want to babysit the thing,that is why I have a robot), the Cady (would not mind, but my robot spends most time in the water or very close by), the longer handle (I don't have any difficulty taking the thing out of the water as an average sized middle aged person). Just another data point for your decision

 

[joe_c]

Fast forward, it wasn't algae, just dirt and debris from a recent rain. My brother in law let me borrow his P955 and in 1.5 hours the pool was as good as new. Found a deal on a 9550 on Amazon so I pulled the trigger since he has experience with that model and can help if there is an issue. Thanks everyone!