Atlas (Polaris Maxx, Atlas XT) vs "The Pool Cleaner" /Aquanaut / Phoenix

[kd9917]

Looking for a survey / thoughts from people on their performance and maintenance experience has been with these "2" cleaners. Given they come by different names, if you have one of these models (not interested in the MX8) what was your parts requirements and frequency. I plan to buy a new one and like the Atlas for wall cleaning capability, but no not want to get into heavy maintenance/parts requirement.

I have owned TPC 4 wheel (old version) for over 10 years and have put several sets of various gears. Into it. 3 Large drive gear, small drive gears. steering assembly 2 or 3 times, turbine hub once, 1 set of reduction gears, wheel assemblies, and tires. I also found that the steering gear shaft to large drive gear gets worn and causes deflection and main drive gear is pitched forward disengaging it from small drive gear. I started adding a .22 caliber cleaning patch in the splines of that steering gear/shaft to large drive gear connection as a packing to take up the slack vs buying more parts (actually works really good to prevent that gear mesh separation).

My cleaner stays in pool year round and it runs daily, so could just be a mileage issue. I remove it for heavy chemical loads, shocking etc.

I know what I have with parts requirements for TPC - just wondering if the Atlas is worse or better.

FWIW: My cost difference is 90.00 with the Atlas being higher.


30,000 gal
8.5' deep end

 

[needsajet]

Not perfectly matched experience by any means, but FWIW, here's mine...

I'd add Pentair Warrior to your list (may be called Rebel depending where you're from). I've had one for 8 years and leave it in the pool always connected. It's largely a copy of TPC. The tires were nearly worn out and the cost of new tires wasn't much less than the full rebuild kit which includes tires, so I went ahead with that even though the innards were still entirely fine after eight years. Up to that time I had not spent anything on maintenance. It climbs walls at around 1.2 HP pump and above. This style gets fouled the least often - only a certain size of sticks can stop it.

You said not to talk about MX8 yet the cleaner you mention is almost identical, right down to the shape and appearance of the parts. I have two of those or similar - MX6 and AXIO (MX8 with added wall brushes; TBMK "MX8 Elite" in USA). They do have higher maintenance costs and seem to need the rebuild kit after about five years. New tracks needed around 2 years because of strteching a bit longer and then jumping of one drive wheel and becoming jammed. I bought some after-market (cheaper) tracks and they don't have this problem. The AXIO with the little brushes needs new brushes every 2 years, although it works fine without them, so that's also an option (the replacement brushes cost more than they should!). This style of cleaner gets fouled the most often due to more moving parts inside. Fine sticks wrap around the hub inside, and certain sized leaves will even stop it.

The wear and tear and performance varies based on pool finish. Two of the pools I look after have 'glass beads in plaster' style premium pool finish. The tires / tracks last longer but all of the cleaners don't climb walls as well, including a robotic cleaner I have in my arsenal. On the conventional plaster pool which is rougher, all of the cleaners get more wear, but climb better. Seems to be associated with the amount of traction the cleaner gets.

All in all, I would go MX8 elite for best job on cleaning and walls. The Maxx / Atlas XT looks identical, so I suspect it will perform the same. If I want to minimise attention needed, and maintenance cost, it would be Pentair Warrior. I would go MX8 equiv if you want the walls being done on lower pump flow by a variable speed pump. Hopefully you get some comments on the others.

You mention 10 years on "The Pool Cleaner" which should have put your model before Hayward took them over, so the reliability aspects are a bit surprising to me. On the forum here, there were a few discussions about a reduction in reliability a year or so after Poolverneugen sold out to Hayward.

Robotic cleaners have dropped a lot in price, so if you want maximum cleanliness and don't mind taking them in and out, or are happy to leave it in, that's the better option. For me, I'd rather just have everything go to the filter because backwashing is the easiest and least frequent thing I have to do to keep clean. Fair to say there is more in the skimmer or pump basket with a suction cleaner. This may just be personal, but I find the tangled robot cord annoying, both for unsightliness and the way it catches leaves which then don't get skimmed. The suction cleaner hose also catches some leaves; it's just much less. The other advantage of a robot is that you're also always getting the most possible skimming from a given amount of electricity, aside from the leaf-catching cord issue, which is cured by taking it out.

 

[Flboy44]

The Polaris MAXX(Leslie) is going on sale next week. Expected to be around 400$.

 

[SoCalPoolFool]

Update? What did you decide on? I've had the old poolvergnuegen 2 wheel for over 8 years with none of these problems. Fortunately. Just tires replaced. I recently installed the 4 wheel steering cam in it so it will get up to my shallow end more often. Works great! I was considering a new model that has some kind of brushes on it? Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

[Flboy44]

Update? What did you decide on? I've had the old poolvergnuegen 2 wheel for over 8 years with none of these problems. Fortunately. Just tires replaced. I recently installed the 4 wheel steering cam in it so it will get up to my shallow end more often. Works great! I was considering a new model that has some kind of brushes on it? Any thoughts? Thanks.

I went with the Polaris Maxx. Works as advertised.