Recommended pool robot?

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B

bellbound

0
Feb 21, 2012
52
S. California
I just moved to a house with a pool that is surrounded by trees. I'm looking for a pool robot that will be plugged into electrical. I want one that does the following:
- goes up wall and stairs
- has a large capacity bag
- has a well made bag so it doesn't easily fall apart and need to
be replaced often
- has easy access to take out the bag and throw it out
- cost around $1,000 though I'm willing to pay more if necessary
- has a remote control (only if it is something I need)

Can anyone recommend any models?
Thanks!
 
If you hadn't mentioned the trees, I'd recommend the dolphin first and maybe aquabot second. But robots aren't the best with leaves....you can see threads further down in the forum here that focus on that, I think most people are using the polaris pressure cleaners or some kind of net. It depends on what the normal debris in your pool will be..... I've had good experiences with the dolphin deluxe 5, and you can get one from a local pool store normally...the deluxe 4 is closer to the price range youmention, deluxe 5 isn't that more -- it does a thorough job and even gets to most of the stairs and has a remote and caddy included by default. But make sure you understand what type of debris is going in your pool....this is most important determinant of which solution will work best.
 
Hi MattM and RobbieH,

If robots are not good with leaves, than what are they good at? I mainly want one because my pool gets lots of leaves, that is the main debris in the pool. I was hoping for a robot that would do all of the work. Right now I have a pool guy cleaning the pool and right after he leaves there are more leaves in the pool. I was hoping to replace the pool guy with a robot and I would take over the chemicals.

Thanks.
 
I have a Polaris 280 and it sucks! But in a good way! It does a great job and has sucked up everything from frogs, to leaves, to my sock with cya in it, all the way down to little worms and smaller debris. But it is a pressure side cleaner and requires a booster.
 
Some of us are lucky not to have any leaves in our pool :) When my dolphin runs, it scrubs the tiles, gets to the stairs, gets all the dirt and dust, if there are a few small leaves in the pool - it will get that and leave the pool almost spotless...but the bag and suction from what I can isn't designed for a huge amount of debris or large items like leaves. Different environments have different needs.
 
Well, yes, a leaf rake. That answer isn't intended to be as smart-***** as it may sound.

The entire issue with leaves is mass. If you get 30 leaves a day, a robot will pick them up without issue. If you get 300 leaves a day, most cleaners of all types will begin to struggle handling that much mass. If you get 3,000 leaves a day like I do in the fall, there is no machine made that will have the capacity to get them out of your pool......hence the leaf rake.

So if your looking for something to get out just a few leaves, most cleaners can deal with it. If you have a lot of leaves, the machines won't cut it.
 

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robots are cool, but most don't work that well, the best out there is the blue diamond IMHO, plus it has a good warranty, warranty is really only thing that matters because you will use it. my blue diamond will pick up leaves, it will pick up pretty much anything when it works. IMHO you buy a robot because its really cool and you are a geek. Otherwise its probably cheaper to just have a pool guy come. as for cleaning, they do clean well. when mine works, it does an excellent job. I wouldn't worry about it climbing the walls. mine climbs , i've had 3 different types and none of them do that great on the walls. maybe its different in other places but my walls don't really get dirty anyway.
 
We have a Smart Pool Nitro Wall Climber (model NC-51) and it does a phenomenal job at getting leaves, pine needles, and acorns from the bottom of the pool. The bag is sturdy and holds a lot of debris. It climbs the walls and is electric. We did not spend extra for a remote controlled model, just the regular plug in and turn on model. They cost well under $1k and do a great job. Today we mowed the yard for the first time this year and we rinsed all the grass clippings off the solar cover (and into the pool) as we removed it adding to the mess. This time of year here leaves are blowing into the pool from the oaks at a record pace and there were a lot of leaves on the bottom of the pool. In one 3 hour period our Nitro cleaned up about 90% of the leaves. We'll run him again in the morning and probably have the pool ready for the kids to swim by noon. (Solar heater has the water up to 72 now!) The bag is a bit larger than a gallon milk jug and it has a really tight weave that even catches sand and a lot of pollen. When I emptied it this evening it was about 3/4 full of densley packed wet leaves. Cleaning is eaasy enough too. Dump the bag and hose it out, then snap it back in place. There's youtube videos by Smart Pool that show it in action if you want to check it out.

On the down side, We did have to send ours in for repair two times but they covered it all under warranty both times and even covered the return shipping. The second time they sent us a different same model Nitro. We actually bought ours from Smart Pool as a factory refurbisned model for a deep discount off the new price. The replacement Nitro has been running fine ever sine July 2011. We use about 4-5 times a week in the summer and about once a week when it's not swimming season and it keeps out pool looking really good. Every part is available to rebuild it and all you really need to do it is a screwdriver. They even have videos online that show you how to replace everything for total DIY repairs after the warranty period. I don't work for the Smart Pool (I'm not even in the pool industry) and receive nothing for recommending the Nitro. We're just really pleased that ours does a great job and the company stands behind their product. I can't speak for longevity as we've only had ours a little over a year now, but if it lasts as expected then when it finally is time to replace it I plan to get another Nitro. Whatever you choose, best of luck to you in your search for a robot.
 
I too have the Nitro. Ours seems to be very temperamental. When it works it picks up almost everything....but nothing ticks me off more than when it's heading right towards the group of leaves, then makes a u-turn right before the problem area! Lmao!

Guess I'm the small group who should have picked the remote.
 
Is a robot recommended for plaster?
Click to expand...
Not specifically. Any of the three types of cleaners (vacuum, pressure or robot) can be used in most any pool surface.

Even though this is a generalization, you pay for cleaning power.. The larger pool you have, the more cleaning power you need.

Also a generalization, but you will pay more money for more cleaning power.
 
I've been using a Dolphin for a few years and it works pretty well. I used to have a suction-side cleaner, but my debris kept breaking things in it, and it was a new $30 part each time. That gold old, so I decided to get a robot due to the larger openings. My debris is small pine needles, pine cone fragments (which broke the part in my old suction-side cleaner), leaves, and dirt. It works pretty well and I've been pretty happy.

My Dolphin died recently (well out of warranty). The cleaner was working but the power supply died. Since the power supply was half the cost of a new one, I decided to buy a new unit. I got a Dolphin Premier. So far it's working well. I've only had it a few weeks.

As others have mentioned, the bag capacity is limited on these things. When I get a lot in the pool from winds, etc., I try to remove much of the bulk before putting in the robot.
 
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