Pool Rover Junior review-aka Lil Kim

[kimkats]

I just got my robot in! SO excited!

It is cat approved:

Kat approved.JPG

• kimkats
• Mar 18, 2018

Here it is out of the box:

out of box.JPG

• kimkats
• Mar 18, 2018

It was very well packed.

Here is it as it got started. It had already made one pass over the main drain:

Getting started.JPG

• kimkats
• Mar 18, 2018

Here it is after working for 30 mins:

30 mins in.JPG

• kimkats
• Mar 18, 2018

Here is the second bag cleaning. It got up some very fine stuff!

second bag full.JPG

• kimkats
• Mar 18, 2018

I will be making a PVC hook to help get it up as I do not feel comfortable pulling it up with the cord. They say you can but I have been taught to NOT pull cords and it is ingrained I feel the need to make something so I don't have to. Right now I am using a tie down and hooking the end on the handle.

Once I get Lil Kim up to the top of the water I grab the handle. I hold her sidewise and let the water drain out. I have not lost any stuff from the bag doing this.

Once I get her up and out it is easy to turn her over and get the bag off. I did not get a picture of the first bag full but it was full! I had let the pool go a little waiting for Lil Kim to come in.

The bag is easy to rinse out and replace on the grids.

The only complaint I have with Lil Kim is she has "curly" hair just like me I have found I need to go out there after about 30 or so mins and un-twist the cord. It is easy to do but wish I did not have to. It is not a case of it having made a memory on the cord as this was on the first time in the water. I will be working on different ideas I have thought of such as moving the pin for the wheels to see if that will untangle it while it is still working.

All in all I am happy with her! SO much faster and easier than my old suction side cleaner that could not even pick up the leaves without getting clogged

I got her from inyopool.com. The customer service there is AWESOME!!!!! Thanks y'all!

Kim

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Congrats to you and Lil’ Kim. Now Lee will have to find a new emoji for your Lil’ Kim...

 

[riley00dog]

Aww, she’s so cute! Glad that she’s doing a great job earning her keep around the house.

 

[thebombardier]

Make sure you switch the axle pin over to the other side of the machine every run. Otherwise the unit just twists itself into knots and the cable breaks.

 

[kimkats]

I have already started doing that but thanks for the heads up. What do you think about me switching it in the middle of the run? Will it untwist?

 

[thebombardier]

Shouldn't be necessary. You could try, but the newer Rovers have internal timers and the DC motors sense if it's out of water. If you tuned it off and pulled it out mid cycle you'd be starting over from a new cycle when you turn it back on.

 

[kimkats]

I have not pulled it out of the water while it was running or even when I unplugged it. I just unplugged it and un-twisted the cord and plugged it back in. I did this while she was in the water. I am thinking of letting her get to a side of the pool and getting her to the top of the water and moving the key. I worry about how bad it would twist if I do not un-twist it as it got pretty twisted a couple of times.

I am setting my timer to make sure she stays in the water for the whole 20mins cool down before I take her out. I want her to last a good, long time!

 

[thebombardier]

It twists the cable more or less by design, so there's no real way to get around it. Only thing you can really do is switch the pin over every run so it untwists itself.

 

[jimim]

nice kim congrats! glad u like it! it looks like a rover on mars. very cool! good luck with it!

 

[Niksicle]

I’m curious about this. I have had it saved to my Amazon wish list for about a week now. I’m just wondering, do you think it’d do well for an above ground pool? Ours is 15x30ft oval, 52” deep.

 

[kimkats]

That is what she is made for! I also have an above ground pool. She is working on it right now! My husband was watching her the other day and told me "this is the best cleaner ever made"! LOL she is fun to watch and does a fantastic job! I am so, so happy with her. There has not been anything she cannot pick up yet. Kim

 

[todd.brock]

Must be nice to have a pool that needs cleaned

Do “regular” robots - Dolphins, etc not work for above ground pools? Are they too aggressive?

 

[woodyp]

I've had mine going on 10 years now. I've never moved the pin. If I run it twice in a row and I usually do, I just unplug it from the power box and untwist the cable then. Mostly used this time of year for a couple months for all the "treefall". And I think that bag is a pain to clean is why I don't use it more. But it can go in the laundry with most of the gunk raked off it.

 

[kimkats]

I do move the pin after each use as it is easy to do. I also un-coil the cord after each use. So far I have found Lil' Kim cleans my WHOLE pool each and every time I put her in the water even though the hose is coiled at the end. No big deal to me now. Throw her and let her do her thing. Pull her out when I have time after she is done.

Cleaning the bag-I read to not use detergent so only hose it off when I take her out. It is easy to do. I do plan on getting another bag or two so I can just rotate them in the off chance I don't have the time or energy to clean the bag before I put her up.

Todd one day you will have a pool and we will name your cleaner for you LOL I bet the inground cleaners could do the job but I did NOT want it to climb the walls and spray water as some of them do as it would freak my cats out more than things do

Kim

 

[todd.brock]

Thanks for the info! I was curious as there is so much discussion about robots here!

Some day Kim, some day....

 

[mitchellb]

Kim, it's great to see you enjoying your new robot. The price of that unit is incredible!

I have a few observations as a new owner of the big brother of your robot cleaner. I own an Aquabot X4. Granted my cleaner is twice the price of your unit ($600), but they did address some of the flaws found in your cleaner. The X4 has a swivel on the cable. No worries about twisting or kinking of the cable while roaming around the pool. The biggest upgrade appears to be the use of two filter boxes in lieu of the filter bag you remove from the bottom of your unit. The two filter boxes on the X4 lift right out the top of the robot and the screens are rinsed clear with a hose in just a few minutes. No rinsing or laundering of a filter bag is needed.

I thought I would add these observations for those considering a new robotic cleaner.

Enjoy Lil Kim!

 

[Trick]

I really like my Rover Jr. The guy I got it from never switched then pin and complained it didn't work good. He sold it to me for $75 bucks and the thing works awesome!

I agree the bag can be a pain to clean, but relatively not too bad. Hose it off and toss it in the washing machine every now and then. Then my other issue is it will get caught on my ladder sometimes (agp).

 

[kimkats]

An update on Lil' Kim...........I have found that even though she has curly hair she still does a GREAT job! She even picked up some big magnolia leaves!

Kim

 

[kne]

I'm in the good habit now of pulling the bot out after its cycle, removing the bag and switching the pin. Every now and then I will unplug the white cord from the box, and start where the cord meets the rover and pull the cord straight. Kind of like how you used to do with phone cords. For washing the bag, I usually will let it dry then shake off anything left and throw it in the washer on the short rinse cycle. Most of the time on water only, but have put a splash of bleach or baking soda with it from time to time. Replacement bags are expensive so I have had to sew up where the corners unraveled and this year I'll put in a new piece of elastic. This will be year 4 so fingers crossed she starts up when i pull her out of storage!!

 

[kne]

I have the same vac as you, I probably should have mentioned that in my post[emoji6]