Ambivalent feelings about pentair racer

[vsman]

So the racer appears to be doing a great job- cleaning the floor of visible debris. Every once in a while it get stuck on the steps- hung up on the chassis- reverse or forward - nothing happens.
That’s one strike.
From the forums and the manufactures website I started to learn about the robot cleaners- especially the dolphins-
1- will a dolphin or other robot never get stuck on a stair?
2- will I really NOT have to scrub the walls and floors again?

 

[BowserB]

My Racer climbed the stairs and got beached on the sun shelf (sun shelf was a STUPID idea anyway, but that's another story.) Pentair swapped it for a Kreepy Krauly Platinum. It didn't get on the sunshelf but also didn't climb stairs. After a few months it would only move around the deep end, in spite of numerous attempts to adjust it. Finally I bought a Maytronics M500 for the three-brush system. Truth: It will not climb my stairs or climb onto the bench. When I run it once a week, I first brush the sunshelf and stairs and bench. I also brush the spa and run the pump on spa return only plus the blower--to get stuff in the spa to spill out into the pool. The M500 cleans all the pool floor and the walls up to and generally including the water line. I put it in the spa once it a while but it will only clean the spa floor, not the bench, as the water is not deep enough to run on the bench. After running the M500 for a 3.5 hour cycle, I remove it from the pool, empty the catch baskets and thoroughly rinse the baskets, the cleaner, and the cable before putting it back on the caddy to dry. That sounds like a lot of trouble, but it along with skimmer socks and religious attention to chemistry, assures a clean pool and is worth it.