Aquabot xtreme robot

[D_Nyholm]

I was just given an aquabot xtreme robot for a housewarming gift. I was researching suction side vacuums beforehand and never looked at robots. I am wondering if this robot would be good for my application of a 16 x 32 vinyl IG pool? I can't find many reviews on it and don't know much about it. It does say on the box that it doesn't really clean walls unless there is a smooth transition between bottom and wall. Unfortunately, my transitions are pretty angled, I would say much more than 45 degrees.

Should I be looking at another alternative? The pool store sells dolphin, aquabot, and polaris and I am willing to pay an additional $400 on top of this robot (though I have no idea the price) if it is a worthwhile upgrade.

Thanks for any guidance you can give me.

 

[JasonLion]

The Aquabot Xtreme is a fairly good low end robotic cleaner. Just about any robotic cleaner should be better than just about any suction side cleaner. There are always some people who have problems with robotic cleaners, but mostly they work well.

If you want to move up to a fancier robotic cleaner, there are a number of good choices. The Blue Diamond has particularly good reviews on the forum.

 

[D_Nyholm]

Looks like the blue diamond isn't available at my pool store and if I was going to return it, I would only get store credit. So it would have to be an aquabot, polaris, or dolphin.

 

[D_Nyholm]

I went back to the pool store to see what they had. They said that the aquabot supreme would be a better upgrade to the extreme as it would do more than just clean the floor. He then said that the dolphin supreme m4 would be a much better upgrade as it has a longer warranty and also comes with a caddy. He would sell it to me for $999 and thinks I would be happier with it in the long run as the repairs tend to be cheaper and there are less wear items. It would also climb the walls and scrub the scum line. It also has an available remote for an additional $100 if I ever decide I want one.

Does that sound like a reasonable upgrade? He said he could do the supreme m5 for $1300 and it gets around the pool a little better with the split wheels, but he did not think it was a much needed upgrade unless I wanted the wow factor and fun of the remote with the swivel steering. He said it would basically clean the same way.

Ideas?

 

[pete155]

Polaris, Dolphin and Aquabot are all big names in the swimming pool industry. From what I've read, the Polaris robots have problems with the wheels breaking off. Their robots also use a filter cartridge instead of a bag. The cartridge is removed from the top of the unit, instead of the bottom. The Dolphin and Aquabots have re-brand their cleaners so much it's hard to keep up. Both have similar designs. I think the big difference is their motors. Dolphin uses water cooled motors, Aquabot uses sealed oil cooled motors. Other than that I think their pretty much equal. If your pool guy services all three, I'd go for the one with the longest warranty. I think it would be advantageous to have the cleaner serviced right at the dealer instead of having to be sent out.