robotic cleaner options
thanks for the reply.
after doing a lot of research, i discovered that there is not a single model with great reviews. all of them have issues, from the motor's breaking/burning to having to ship them to a dealer to be serviced, to prorated warranties. So, to take the advice of someone on amazon, nomatter what you get you might be in trouble 1 year or so down the line, so get the cheapest that does the work you want and has the least moving parts.
FYI, i am not that hang up on the robot having the ability to brush the pool (i do that myself weekly and it is fun activity with the kids), or to climb walls (most of the residue is at the bottom of the pool anyway).
my top list in order of preference in now listed below:
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Aquabot ABTTJET Turbo T Jet Robotic In-Ground Pool Cleaner $590 (has issues when the bag fills up that make it slow, but it has very few moving parts, relatively good reviews)
Aquabot Jr. Wall Scrubber Robotic Pool Cleaner $500 (so-so reviews online, but it also brushes the pool not just cleans)
Aqua Products APRVJR Aquabot Pool Rover Jr. Robotic Above-Ground Pool Cleaner $280 (2 microns filtration, not that many moving parts to break, good reviews on amazon, seems to also work for in-ground pools)
smartpool robotic cleaners, either smartkleen or nitro (lots of good reviews in here, but almost all are by the same person. online, i saw mixed reviews, cheap compared to others)
dolphin deluxe 3 $600 (2 yr non-prorated warranty by leslies, some repair only done in israel?) or Dolphin Orion $540
Blue Diamond (so-so reviews online, in this forum folks seem to like that, expensive)