Hi all, i hope i can find the answers to my questions as i have a hard time finding things on here after i post them . but here goes , we are in the middle of pool build and electrician was here and needed to know info, would have been nice if PB had provided electrician but maybe its better going with someone i trust, but i guess different cleaners require different electric , the Dolphin needs a 110 outlet but the polaris needs its own designated line so my question is which is going to do the better job . my PB is pushing the dolphin m4 robotic and i really dont know ,after reading reviews i am more lost than ever . Thanks
Which Pool cleaner is better? help
- Thread starter vera jane
- Start date
More about pool cleaners here, Pool School - Automatic Pool Cleaners
Robots are all the rage these days. I finally bought one a few weeks ago and it is great. This is the one I bought, First Robotic Cleaner, Doheny's Discovery
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Robots are all the rage these days. I finally bought one a few weeks ago and it is great. This is the one I bought, First Robotic Cleaner, Doheny's Discovery
To find your threads you can click your profile name upper right and then click Find latest started threads to see a list of all of your threads.
I own a Polaris 9550 sport and really like it. Not sure what you mean about needing its own plug as its only about 1.2 Amps @ 120v - but definitely want to plug any robot into a GFI. I run mine 1-2 times/week. It has a very large removable basket that is easy to clean. One reason I got was it had an optional "fine" filter, and there was a lot of red clay in pool originally, and this can get it out. It cleans very well - can select to clean bottom only, sides only, or both. There is selection for normal or intense cleaning. Setting for rectangular or free form pool. I run both sides and bottom, intense, rectangular and it runs for 1:45. I will sweep top steps before I run, as like most, if not all robots, it can clean to or just above the water line.
Very happy with purchase, and would do so again.
Very happy with purchase, and would do so again.
Thanks for helping me out , PB just left and i always feel like I need a cocktail,. wont be back until the end of the week and next week for concrete ,we decided to not do the 18inch stamped around the pool and there is a large grade which he said may require a slight retaining wall unless we do less concrete around the pool. i said i was fine with that and we can save some money , cause we keep having to add on other things.
Have him put in a GFI 120v outlet. Then you can get any robot you want.
I ran a 1.25" conduit to the edge of my pool, under the concrete, and then run the cable through it, and leave my robot in my pool all the time [I have a lot of leaves and it runs at least once per day]. If you think this might be an option for you, it would be very easy to add this now, and very hard later.
Finally, My brother borrowed all of his neighbors robots [7 different kinds], and was definitely sold on the Dolphin, he said it was obviously better for him. So I got the Dolphin, based on his informal trial run of each companies products. I am happy with my Dolphin, however.
What I don't like is I can't set the time when it runs. It will run every day the same time as the first time I set it to run. I also don't like that there is no iPhone app to control it. I believe the new S300i has this, but mine doesn't. Bummer, but not really a big issue because once I get it going approx the time of day I want it, then it doesn't really matter.
What I like about my Dolphin is it's performance. I get a lot of leaves, and it holds a lot, so I can usually just empty it once per week, and that is after running 2 hours per day and 7 days a week.
Also, it scrubs the heck out of the water line. I have not had to scrub the water line in quite a while, because it does such a good job [except see next].
It can't get the waterline above the shallow step because it can't get to the top step, it won't climb that last one. Maybe no robot can do this, but the Dolphin can't. So I have to scrub 5' of waterline each week. The rest is totally taken care of by the dolphin.
It is thorough. It seems to be able to know where it has not yet gotten, and it covers it. there are zero leaves in the pool after it runs, unless it is windy and they keep coming down during the clean cycle.
It is robust. It has been running every day for a year and a half, and the only signs of wear are scratches and scrapes (cosmetic). I expect it
It is user repairable. It is modular, so you can buy the parts and fix it yourself if you like, and are slightly handy with a screwdriver.
I ran a 1.25" conduit to the edge of my pool, under the concrete, and then run the cable through it, and leave my robot in my pool all the time [I have a lot of leaves and it runs at least once per day]. If you think this might be an option for you, it would be very easy to add this now, and very hard later.
Finally, My brother borrowed all of his neighbors robots [7 different kinds], and was definitely sold on the Dolphin, he said it was obviously better for him. So I got the Dolphin, based on his informal trial run of each companies products. I am happy with my Dolphin, however.
What I don't like is I can't set the time when it runs. It will run every day the same time as the first time I set it to run. I also don't like that there is no iPhone app to control it. I believe the new S300i has this, but mine doesn't. Bummer, but not really a big issue because once I get it going approx the time of day I want it, then it doesn't really matter.
What I like about my Dolphin is it's performance. I get a lot of leaves, and it holds a lot, so I can usually just empty it once per week, and that is after running 2 hours per day and 7 days a week.
Also, it scrubs the heck out of the water line. I have not had to scrub the water line in quite a while, because it does such a good job [except see next].
It can't get the waterline above the shallow step because it can't get to the top step, it won't climb that last one. Maybe no robot can do this, but the Dolphin can't. So I have to scrub 5' of waterline each week. The rest is totally taken care of by the dolphin.
It is thorough. It seems to be able to know where it has not yet gotten, and it covers it. there are zero leaves in the pool after it runs, unless it is windy and they keep coming down during the clean cycle.
It is robust. It has been running every day for a year and a half, and the only signs of wear are scratches and scrapes (cosmetic). I expect it
It is user repairable. It is modular, so you can buy the parts and fix it yourself if you like, and are slightly handy with a screwdriver.
I am just going by what they told me ,polaris runs off of designated line off pump and the dolphin runs off of 110 , he did say they put the line in already ,i guess for the polaris . so again i am not really getting the lingo down . so far hasnt been a fun project like i envisioned it would be, first had to put the pool on the other side of the yard than we had originally planned and i know that wasnt their fault , from them telling me they had too much dirt and i have to pay to haul it off which i do think they should have done ,now with the grade telling us we may need a slight retaining wall ... I keep telling myself we are going to be so happy next spring that we got this done now. Thought picking out a safety cover would be easy ... didnt know there was one that allows the water to run into the pool and one that doesnt . I will just keep looking at the lovely pics of all the completed pools .
Okay, you are speaking of two different things. A robot plugs into AC and does not require connection to pool pump, regardless of brand. My 9550 sport is a robot.
There are automatic pool cleaners which are tied into the pump rather than AC, again, multiple brands.
I have a suction line for a pool cleaner, but I did that knowing I probably would buy a robot, which I did (S300i). But I did it on purpose (1) to have the option of a pool cleaner and (2) I like that I can use the pool cleaner suction for my vacuum, instead of the skimmer, as it is centrally placed in the pool, which means less hose, and I do not need to mess with the skimmer to vacuum.
I also put in the GFI plug near the pool, specifically for a robot. Just covered my bases..lol
I also put in the GFI plug near the pool, specifically for a robot. Just covered my bases..lol
skylar18
LifeTime Supporter
I have both. The robot actually cleans a bit better and scrubs my waterline on the tile really well. However, since we don't close the pool I love having my Polaris in the pool and on my scheduler running every day when the water is cold and I don't want to lug my robot in and out.
Sad thing is I have a third little robot that cleans my spa when the water gets too cold and I want to get all the leaves out.
Guess my point is their are advantages to both kinds you are looking at. Polaris takes less work and you just pull it out when you use the pool, but I feel the Robot does a better job.
Sad thing is I have a third little robot that cleans my spa when the water gets too cold and I want to get all the leaves out.
Guess my point is their are advantages to both kinds you are looking at. Polaris takes less work and you just pull it out when you use the pool, but I feel the Robot does a better job.
Ah. Yes. Comparing a Polaris pressure pump cleaner with a more modern robot cleaner.
Since the plumbing bing is in there, so be it.
I will I'll say that I leave my robot in 24/7. It runs automatically every day. So I get the benefit of the improved cleaning, and don't have the cost of the pressure pump.
The top level answer is -- many people are moving to the robots. They have some nice features, they work really well, they need little to no maintenance (at least mine has not in 1.5 years of continuous ops), and (at least mine) scrubs the heck out of the waterline. I've also found that despite it being more aggressive about cleaning, it has no sign of needing new tires (tracks) or brushes, whereas my vacuum side cleaner needed new tires every year.
so more control, more smarts in the robots.
Another advantage is that unlike vacuum cleaners they can run independent of your pump.
Pressure side cleaners require an independent pump, likely part of the reason they seem to be going out of favor.
And if all things are equal, the robots will use less power, because there are fewer energy conversions. That doesn't mean that a really efficient vacuum sidecleaner can't beat an inefficient robot setup, but It is simple math and physics that no energy conversion is 100% efficient, and cascaded conversions get multiplied. So if you convert from electricity to mechanical rotation, then convert that to pressurized water, then convert the pressurized water back to mechanical energy, even if those conversions are all 80% efficient, the robot is 80% (one conversion), whereas the pressure or vacuum approach has 4 conversions, so in my example that is 0.80*0.80*0.80*0.80=40% efficient. While this is a hypothetical example, it shows how the deck is stacked against you with a pump-based cleaner.
Since the plumbing bing is in there, so be it.
I will I'll say that I leave my robot in 24/7. It runs automatically every day. So I get the benefit of the improved cleaning, and don't have the cost of the pressure pump.
The top level answer is -- many people are moving to the robots. They have some nice features, they work really well, they need little to no maintenance (at least mine has not in 1.5 years of continuous ops), and (at least mine) scrubs the heck out of the waterline. I've also found that despite it being more aggressive about cleaning, it has no sign of needing new tires (tracks) or brushes, whereas my vacuum side cleaner needed new tires every year.
so more control, more smarts in the robots.
Another advantage is that unlike vacuum cleaners they can run independent of your pump.
Pressure side cleaners require an independent pump, likely part of the reason they seem to be going out of favor.
And if all things are equal, the robots will use less power, because there are fewer energy conversions. That doesn't mean that a really efficient vacuum sidecleaner can't beat an inefficient robot setup, but It is simple math and physics that no energy conversion is 100% efficient, and cascaded conversions get multiplied. So if you convert from electricity to mechanical rotation, then convert that to pressurized water, then convert the pressurized water back to mechanical energy, even if those conversions are all 80% efficient, the robot is 80% (one conversion), whereas the pressure or vacuum approach has 4 conversions, so in my example that is 0.80*0.80*0.80*0.80=40% efficient. While this is a hypothetical example, it shows how the deck is stacked against you with a pump-based cleaner.
here is what we are getting , and wondering since it is a lined pool are some cleaners better than other for a lined pool ? 18x36 rectangle lined pool, Hayward AQ -Rite /cell salt chlorinator ,hayward LED color logic light with niche (they tried to talk us out of light originally) not sure why . As far as a cleaner and cover we will probably buy on our own as they charge about 3 times the cost of buying it online . I feel like there isnt very good communication between us and I understood them to say we had to get our own electric but apparently the one guy who has been working on it is an electrician, and I am not sure why they have not given us a price yet . I am still waiting for a quote .But in the meantime i have called an electrician we have used in the past so at least i will have a few estimates to see how they differ . I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel ,now that the 20ft x50ft mound of dirt has been hauled away and i can try and visualize the yard for next spring .