Robotic cleaner for a fiberglass pool

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CaptnKebec

CaptnKebec

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May 21, 2009
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Longueuil, Québec, Canada
Hi,

I have a fiberglass pool wich have some kind of steps all over it (see the picture below).
I want to buy a robotic cleaner and I would like to know if it's going to be able to clean the pool's walls with those steps.
I'm considering the iRobot Verro 500 or the Tigershark

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks[attachment=0:hco48u4t]pool.jpg[/attachment:hco48u4t]
 

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Captain.

Welcome to the forum. (That's a beautiful pool, btw!)

The short answer is no. The robot companies would make you think these things have a brain.....they're idiots. (well, at least the robots are :lol:)

In fact, in a pool your size, you could do very well with a suction side cleaner or a pressure side. The robots are generally intended for pretty large pools.

What are you cleaning with now and are you having issues with it?
 
Hi duraleigh,

Thanks for the reply,
I'm cleaning it manually with a conventional vacuum and I'm very tired of doing this a couple of times a week.
I've never used any kind of automatic cleaner, so could you be more precise about those cleaners you talk about. Brand models, ect.

I've seen simple cleaner like barracuda hooked on the pool's pump with the vacuum hose, but I would prefer a more self contained unit so I could just drop it into the pool and watch it do the work for me! :lol:

Thanks
 
Hey, again,

I know brand names are really what everyone wants and we use them here on the forum freely. However, with cleaners, there is no one brand that stands out.

There is an article in Pool School that will give you the basics of pool cleaners so take a minute or two and read that. I'll synopsize by saying that suction-sides (using the pool pump) are the cheapest but provide the least cleaning power. Robots are the most expensive but provide the fastest, strongest cleaning power....something a large pool really needs.

While it's very nice to watch the robots race around your pool, they really need to be cleaned out every single time you use them......about 10 minutes if you do it right. The suctions cleaners never need cleaning......food for thought.

There is a suction cleaner called the poolvernugen (that spelling is probably not right) that owners have a lot of good things to say about. I have no personal experience. Otheres will chime in soon.
 
i have the tigershark, and I love it...i think i might be having problems with it not getting to some places in the pool, but i put on the adaptor for the output, and that seems to be helping...i also have some "bowing" in my pool, and that seems to throw the unit off. The quick clean doesn't get it all, and they can't go up the stairs (the stairs aren't tall enough for the bot to get completely vertical on without part of it being over the stair, thus negating the suction), but the complete cycle is seeming to get the whole pool now...I think...

anyway, I love it...just throw it in every other day or so and I am good to go...
 
Thanks Pappy for your info,

I've looked some videos for the tigershark and the iRobot and I also talk to pool's specialist and the Tigershark is definetively a better choice then the iRobot. The cartridge system is better then the bag for cleaning and the Tigershark is more robust and reliable.

So I'll go for a Tigershark later this summer, I'll post on my experience with it when I get it.
 
I dropped the TigerShark into my pool last night and while I was painting the wall of my house it was cleaning the pool! :goodjob:
That thing is really cool, it even climbed into the SPA part of the pool to clean it.
It can really come out of weird position, at a time it was completely back side, after a couple a seconds, it flip back to it's working position.
I'm really impress, even whith the Quick cycle my pool was sparkling!
I thought the "speps" I got around the pool would not let it go to the waterline, but it goes over it and clean it anyway.
The only thing that's not clean is the steps, but hey, a quick brush to drop the dirt to the bottom and the robot pick it up.

I would really recommend that thing, the only negative point I have is it's price.

I will post my comments on my SWG later as I'm going to install it this week-end.
 

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swg?? Slow moment for me here...

cleaning tip...place the filters on the ground (driveway for me) with the plastic "X" frame down, then spray with the hose. Seems to make more pressure against the filter that way with the driveway fighting back i guess. I then pull each section back a little to open up the creases...takes about 5-10 min to clean...
 
Thanks Papy,

Thats exactly what I've done and it worked well.

By the way "SWG" is my new Salt Water Chlorine Generator I got in the same time I purchase the TigerShark.

I want my pool to be hassle free as I can, so with robot and less chemicals to add to te pool, it will be more fun and less work!
 
i use poolvernugen- love it---works well on pool filter system- easy to use-
here is why i am considering the irobot model-tho-
using the pool filtration, we have to backwash and lose precious water- severe drought here, folks.
i like the idea of separate system keeping our DE filter less plugged w/ dirt.
our issue is DIRT blowing in, since new installation an large area- no yard- drought, again.
eventually with xeriscaping, i think we cn reduce dirt==
also thinking with dog hair- keeping it out of pool system is good idea-
sp looking at separate system
 
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