I just ordered a Pool Rover JR

[NWMNMom]

So, we will see how this does. I'm wondering if I should have gone the extra money and gotten the regular Rover for $100 more for when we move the pool in 5 years and go deep end, but I'm thinking it will have outlived its useful life by then and I'll get something new then anyways.

 

[NWMNMom]

Hey the PR came today!!! REALLY fast eh? Pool Warehouse - I tried it out while I was hooking up the pump, hoses and filling. Yay, it works great. Too bad they didn't come up with a better system for removal from the pool. I jury rigged a nylon rope to the handle on the side and strung it up along the power line so it floats along and hangs there but does not impede or pull on the cord. So when it gets to the side and I want to pull it out, I grab the floating rope.

We had a pool full of pine needles after 6 days of winds between 20 and 40 sustained with some 50+ gusts. Yuck. This little blue machine ate everything right up off the bottom - cleaning out the bag was easy too. Wish it would come with the big mesh bag too though. the 2 micron bag does a nice job on the silt. I'm a happy camper!!

 

[tj_shopper]

I got the Pool Rover Junior too. I ordered it through Costco -- no shipping, but there was tax. It was about $350 total.

I don't think it works too good when the water is cold. The water was about 50 degrees and it didn't pick up too much dirt. I didn't have anything big like leaves in my pool, just dirt. I think the dirt was frozen on the pool floor because the water was so cold. I'm having the pool heated right now and hopefully, it'll do a better job once the water is warmer.

What is the temperature of your water? I'm just hoping I didn't get a bad one.

 

[mnormington]

I got the Pool Rover Junior too. I ordered it through Costco -- no shipping, but there was tax. It was about $350 total.

I don't think it works too good when the water is cold. The water was about 50 degrees and it didn't pick up too much dirt. I didn't have anything big like leaves in my pool, just dirt. I think the dirt was frozen on the pool floor because the water was so cold. I'm having the pool heated right now and hopefully, it'll do a better job once the water is warmer.

What is the temperature of your water? I'm just hoping I didn't get a bad one.

I had the same impression as you regarding the dirt. I don't know if it's because the water's cold. Seems like if you leave it in there and forget about it for an hour and come back most everything gets cleaned up.

The only problem I have is my pool's real small and not round so it misses some spots. I guess I can live with it though. It beats vacuuming.

 

[NWMNMom]

OMG, I'm not having that problem at all! Its really getting everything - I have emptied the bag numerous times because the micro Crud is plugging the bag and it slowed to a crawl - I had a layer of silt/tree pollen dust type junk on the bottom and its just a spic n span as could be where the PRJ has gone. As you may have seen from my prior posts, its been COLD here - we had frost on Tuesday morning yet (31 degrees) The water is COLD and one of my ponds had ice that day. I haven't checked the temp but I can tell ya - pretty darn cold.

My pool isn't round either but I have adjusted the dial so that it makes longer arcs and its getting a better pattern that way. This is waaaay better than my Lil Shark, which did a fine job if I babysat it and "directed" it to the sides more often - the edges along the cove are my biggest collectors of Crud so the PRJ has done a really nice job - we have a fairly steep cove and it climbs right up there to get that stuff and the "crease" too. The rope on the handle was an arm saver too - I'm VERY happy with this!!!

 

[tj_shopper]

We got our water up to 88 degrees (yeah, we're woosies, we like our water warm especially when it's still in the low 70's here). I put in the PRJ and it got everything today. I think it was because the water was too cold. It was really clean. I'm really liking it. I put it in the pool this morning at 8:30; did some shopping, came back 2 hours later and the pool was sparkling clean. The kids jumped in right after lunch and they are having a blast. I didn't have to struggle with the old vacuum and the pump. I normally can't get it right the first time. I get air in the hose and then the pressure goes crazy. I have to stop everything and start over. It was a real pain! This thing is great!

 

[budysr]

I've been eyeballing that Rover Jr. for awhile now myself trying to decide if its worth the pricetag. I'm still using a lil shark that was included in my pool package last year and it does OK but does need some "encourageing" like yours did. Is the Rover really that much easier than the lil shark considering the expensive price tag it carries?

 

[thelma]

I think you'll love your Rover Jr. If it's anything like the Rover (that I have) it's terrific. The only draw-backs I've found were mentioned before. It's slow when the water's cold and it stops all-together if the felt bag gets full of leaves or large debris.

I don't know if this has happened to any other Rover owners. During my second pool season with it, the company sent me a complimentary free mesh filter bag for filling out a survey they emailed me. How nice was that!

By the way in case anyone is interested, the Junior is on sale right now for $299 at Namco's which is a Northeast pool shop and online store. I'm not sure of the price with shipping.

 

[NWMNMom]

I got mine for $299 WITH free overnight shipping from Water Warehouse - I ordered skimmer socks and some other things too - they, like the others with free shipping, have that "handling" charge of around $9 but whoopdeedoo, thats nothing. I love this thing!!! I can walk away and do other things while it cleans - yesterday I took my horse out riding, came back and it was clean. No encouraging it to go somewhere, no pressure issues on the pump/filter, no hoses - yay!!!! The bag did get full and cause it to stop when I first started due to the silt and pine needles from my spring opening but after that it just goes for the 2 hrs and gets the job done. LOVE IT. But you will want to add a rope or something cuz when the water is this cold yet, I'm not getting in 4' deep water to retrieve it by the handle. The rope thing took 30 seconds to tie on and makes it a breeze to pull out.

 

[jaypb]

Anyone else encounter a tangled/twisted cord as it runs?

Bought my PRJ on Ebay last week. Have used it twice so far and I'm VERY happy with it's performance. I have several large trees in my neighbors yard that fill my pool with Crud on an hourly basis, so hand vacuuming never sat right with me, especially since an hour after I vacuumed I'd have tree debris at the bottom of the pool!

So, anyway-has anyone else had the cord knot up on them (for lack of a better term), where it's all twisted and spun around? The 2nd time I used the unit it did this. I don't know if it affects the performance but I've got to believe the added tension of the unit having to "pull" itself through the kink would cut into the timing of the runs back and forth.

I know that the area of the cord near the power supply has that "spinner" on it's that's supposed to alleviate any knotting/twisting of the line...but mine was all mucked up about 20 minutes after I Put it in. I'm not sure if i need to keep an eye on the cord when I put it in the pool or if something else was going on that caused the knotting.

Thanks!

 

[tj_shopper]

Hi. I have the PRJ too. I love it. There is a thing that you're supposed to pull out and put on the opposite side every time you run it. I don't have my manual with me so I don't remember what you call it. It fits in a hole on the left and right side by the front wheels. You move the peg (for lack of a better word) from one side to the other every time you run it, this way the cord doesn't get tangled. Mine has never gotten tangled because I make sure to move this everytime. The only thing my PRJ does is get caught by the stairs. It's our own fault. We have a mat underneath the stairs and it's pretty thick. I think to correct it, we'll have to change out our mat.

Hopefully, this should fix your problem.

 

[NWMNMom]

I do change the "pin" each time but still have issues with mine getting twisted. I find if I run it on shorter end to end cycles (on the dial) it does not pull then kink as it recoils. I just let it do its thing on one end of the pool and move down to the other end bit by bit instead of running from one long end to the other.

 

[jaypb]

I do change the "pin" each time but still have issues with mine getting twisted. I find if I run it on shorter end to end cycles (on the dial) it does not pull then kink as it recoils. I just let it do its thing on one end of the pool and move down to the other end bit by bit instead of running from one long end to the other.

Sorry I didn't reply to tj_shopper's response earlier---but, yes, I too have moved the pin from one side of the axle to the other--albeit I've only run the unit twice in the week I've had it, but I'll try shortening the cycle to see if it changes anything...or at least making sure that the line is "Straight" before I start it on it's way. I didn't bother to see the line and it's situation/kinkiness before I set it on it's merry way.

Thanks

 

[NWMNMom]

Let us know if it works ok for you! Have fun.

 

[jj]

We love our Pool Rover Jr. too. I started early shopping. Got one and it wasn't what was pictured and no handle on top. We wanted the handle on top to retrieve in chilly weather. We were sent T something. Intricate sending it back.
Got another, paid 50.00 more just for the security of being able to check, test, and send back, easily, if necessary in our rural area.
Didn't work when we got it. In our 12x24 oval pool. Callet company.
Tech said wasn't made for us, but their ad had. I read and read on internet. Info says yes. This pool stuff is so shady. We didn't get a manual, either time. But I found a pdf online.
Hub read it and changed the something (he's asleep) to behind the axel. I'm not talking about the pin arrangement.
And lo and behold it worked.
It's only gotten stuck once on the pad under the steps. But to tell you the truth it really doesn't even matter in such a small pool it sucks everything into it from there
We check it after an hour and change it, if we think about it, but it's really great. Sure beats manual labor. It doesn't get tangled up.
We live in the WOODS so I thought we surely would win a prize on the dirtiest bag but it's not been bad at all. And they said it couldn't be done (where we live). LOL
In April, before swimming weather, hub would say "hey, Jr.'s fixing to clean the pool" and we would sit on the deck and watch him. How sick is that?

 

[Tdog]

NWMNMom,

I saw you also purchased filter bags for your rover. How much did they cost?

I am already sold on the PRJ and will purchase one shortly, however, I am concerned about the price of the bags. $45 on most sites that I have found . I went to REC Warehouse yesterday to see the PRJ in action in their display pool. The salesman told me they could order the bags for $15?? Liar??

Also, is $299/free shipping the lowest price anyone has seen? REC Warehouse wants $349+tax.