I have a TigerShark QC that's a year into a 3-year warranty. Maybe my pool is different or somehow more sandy than most, but I have had nothing but recurring trouble with it.
The TigerShark QC, with the bottom loading cartridge and filters is, IMO, a pain to clean. It does not hold much in the way of leaf-type debris, and the dual filters must be removed and cleaned with a hose and high water pressure. Tedious compared to my current solution. I ended up getting a 2nd cartridge/filter set to simplify and speed-up turn-around. On top of that the cleaner is very heavy and always dumps debris back into the pool when being removed, and must be hauled out and turned upside down to remove the debris cartridge. rpitb.
Failure 1: During the first month the power supply failed (easy to identify, does not put out ~~24V measured on your multi-meter). This was replaced under warranty after about a month of waiting to get a replacement PS from Hayward, the same one you can get from Amazon in 1 or 2 days.
BTW, power supplies are $262+tax from Amazon but I did receive one of these under warranty.
Failure 2: The TigerShark has 10 bearings (white plastic things with ball bearings inside), 4 on the roller ends and another 4 guide bearings, 1 drive bearing, and a idler bearing on the tracks. Over the course of a year all these bearings have broken down and fallen apart/deteriorated, spewing little ball bearings into the pool and binding the tracks - you might find some picked up in the debris cartridge as an indicator one has failed. It is nearly impossible to check these bearings unless you disassemble the unit, which requires removal of 14 torx screws - quite time consuming and inaccessible unless you have a small battery-powered screwdriver. Each bearing is about $20-25 (so $200-$250 for a full set).
Failure 3: Roller bearings failed - 3 more. $75
Failure 4: During this same year, the impeller has also failed, throwing all 3 blades, but it is easy to replace yourself. $12.
Failure 5: The failure of the bearings can cause the drive tracks to bind and lose their drive "cogs", and they are over $20 each. Two Tracks. $40
Failure 6: 1-year-old drive motor seems to be dead and I won't buy that out-of-pocket. Its either that or the cord but I am not going to fix it myself out-of-pocket. The cord is $120 and the drive unit is $350.
Failure 7: I consider this one the "epic fail". In my case I thought the "
3-year warranty" was a good thing, but in my city of 7 million people, there are now
no (zero, nada) Hayward warranty service centers for Hayward robotic pool cleaners - they've have vanished, which causes the "3-year warranty" to become essentially worthless, as Hayward corporate support just refers folks to a local, non-existent, service center. Catch-22. Before you buy something with a warranty, find out how or where you have to go to get service. Manufacturer's warranty is moot if there is no place to go.
All these items have been replaced out-of-pocket (except the PS and the currently dead drive unit/cord). Even if you do have a convenient location for warranty service, when it is in the shop a half dozen times for a month each, and a $75 out-of-pocket not-covered "bench fee", you might want to rethink on a TigerShark.
Interestingly the motor/drive unit is still labled "AquaVac" even though Hayward acquired AquaVac in 2007 - indicating to me the TigerShark's technology and design is at least 12+ years dated behind. Instead of working in the pool, my 2018 TigerShark QC sits on my workbench with 2-years remaining in its warranty and nowhere to obtain it. The TigerShark QC and Hayward's support have not been a good experience at all. I would be happy to report a good experience if there was.
I am currently using a Maytronics Dolphin S200 and it has not exhibited any problems yet, fingers crossed. It is far simpler to remove, clean, and return to service. It is also lighter weight and holds more debris. Seems to clean the pool just as well if not better, and it is less expensive to buy. From what I have seen the parts are less expensive also. I have no experience trying to get warranty service yet, but those that have worked with Marina seem to be happy.
