Doing complete rebuild of pool pad, should I buy a new boost pump, or get a robot?

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PhilTX

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Aug 12, 2017
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Leander, TX
I'm in the process of parting out a new pool pad redo (right now it's looking like a new Pentair VS pump, new Pentair Intellicenter, new Pentair IC40 SWG, new Pentair IntelliPH, keeping my Hayward Sand Filter and old Hayward H400 heater for now).

As part of this I'm looking at two options - replace my existing old (10-ish years I'm guessing by corrosion as the plate is gone) Polaris PB4 boost pump and continuing to use my Polaris 360 floor cleaner (2 years old), or going with a robot.

I'm looking for pro's/con's of either approach. I'm a techie type person so I by default lean towards a cleaning robot with pool panel or smart phone control and it would appear there are several out there that seem decent based on the postings in this forum.

A new booster pump would run me around $300 or I could get a new robot for between $300-$1000 (I'm assuming the $300 robot would not be the best thing in the world).

My pool is roughly 16'x30' with curved edges all around and 3 steps, max depth is 6 feet, 16000 gallons total. I also have a spa with spillover into the pool.

Would I be better served with a robot that I could use in the pool and spa, or should I simply replace my booster pump since I already have a relatively new and functional booster pump cleaner?

Thanks for any advice offered!
 
Remove the 1970s technology boosted pressure cleaner and get a robot. The robot will clean better and use less power as you do not need to run 2 pumps to operate it.

The robot will not be useful in the spa (of course neither is the 360). You just have to run in spa mode occasionally to suck out the dirt.
 
100% robot. In my limited (5+ years) pool experience my robot is my best purchase. My new heater and VS pump are more efficient than their replacements but they perform the same functions as before. With my robot, I spend very little time worrying about keeping the pool clean, as opposed to a couple of hours a week - at a minimum - in the past, so the benefit is immediate and appreciable.
 
Phil,

I have several robots and love them.. If one died tomorrow, I would have another one in the mail before sundown..

That said, I was reminded the other day that not everyone loves them. A few people that changed from a water powered cleaner to a robot cleaner did not like them.. My guess would be that 90% of the member that have switched to a robot find they are better then what they had before.

That still leaves 10%... If possible, I would see if you have a neighbor who will loan you their robot for a day, or so, or maybe a pool store that will provide you a demo. If nothing else, make sure you use our search function (see upper right of your screen) to read the many robot threads here on TFP...

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
If you want app enabled and all those bells and whistles it's a no brainer, go with a electric robot with some type of IoT capability.

Pressure cleaners are still very popular, but having all that app enabled stuff right now is basically being able to remotely turn on/off your booster pump and that's it.

Polaris sell's a ton of 280 cleaners, basically close to a 50 year old design with some minor updates over the years, that people still love. I saw many that were upwards of 15 years old and still going with some misc parts replaced, wear items basically.
 
Ok, I'm convinced a robot is the right way to go, and I have an outlet very near the pool so I think I'm covered there. I've seen enough of Dirk's comments to know that anything battery powered is not likely to satisfy me at this time (I went looking and I'm not up for spending over $2k just for a battery).

After a bit of digging through forum posts and some reading around the Internet, I think my choice is likely to be the Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus (reasonable price, decent reviews), but I have some concerns.

In January we get a TON of leaves in the pool (live oak) - skimming catches most, but a fair amount still drop to the bottom. We also get a ton of miscellaneous debris kicked in by my dogs running around the yard (working on addressing by converting dirt to patio). Is there some robot that might be a better fit for this situation?

Would this particular Dolphin cleaner run into issues picking up a fair amount of leaf debris (and the occasional small dead frog/scorpion)? My Polaris 360 during the early months of the year needs emptying 3x or more a week.
 
Ok, so my sand filter decided to spit out a bit of sand the other day (appears to have stopped, not uncommon from what I've read).

However, the sand apparently finds nice places to wedge itself in my Polaris which has now broken 2 sets of wheel belts.

Would a robot have any issues with picking up a bit of sand (I've vacuumed most of it out, cant' quite get it all)?

If a robot has no issues with a bit of sand, I'm ordering a robot today.
 

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Ok, I've had my Dolphin for a week now. I must say this thing is amazing. My pool is cleaner than it has ever been even with my 2-year-old Polaris 360. For fun I also threw it in my spa, and it cleaned it out also!

I'm definitely a believer now. Thanks for all the help!

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