battery pool vacuums

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swimcat

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Aug 18, 2012
72
Bethpage (Long Island), NY
Hi, Does anybody have recommendations for the best stand-alone battery pool vacuum for my pool? I have a 12 foot above ground pool (see below). Have a lot of sand as well as small and large debris on the bottom. I can't use a manual vacuum because I've had to bypass my skimmer. (It was a proprietary brand from a pool store here on Long Island that sells its own brands only so I was reluctant to try to replace it mid-summer. I have rigged my intake hose similarly to the way hoses used to be rigged years ago before skimmer weirs were cut into the liner/pool - my hose goes over the rim & directly into my pool. Its weighed down with sand in plastic bottles. Works fine for filtering water but I can't attach a vacuum to the hose.)

Pool Blaster? If so, which model? I have a Jandy venturi leaf vacuum but I think the sand will pass right through the bag and/or knock the bag off.

Thank you, Swimcat
 
I've had a couple of different WaterTech hand-helds, and the biggest one, the "Max", is definitely the best. I started with the smaller ones because they were mostly for my integrated spa, where the Polaris can't go. Turns out the difference in suction is dramatic if you spend for the Max. It is heavier and has an odd power connection which is hard to get properly plugged in until you have some practice. And you still need to buy the accessory fine bags. But for me, in my pool, the performance improvement is worth it.
 
I have the Pool Blaster Max and the Pool Blaster Max LI. I just got the LI version a month ago because I got a good deal on it. I have had my Max for I'm guessing 5 years now. I don't use any other vac method and this keeps alot of debris out of my filter. I just cleaned up after a storm and the Blaster always gives me about an hour run time and I get the whole (24" round) pool cleaned. I use skimmer socks in the Blaster bag and when the load is heavy, like after a storm, I replace the skimmer sock about 4-5 times.
 

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YippeeSkippy said:
Another vote for PoolBlaster Max. Just don't leave it on the charger long after its charged. I think that kills it faster? Not positive....
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Yes, the instructions say not to leave it plugged in and charging 24/7. Maybe because the "Li" in the name means lithium ion batteries which can overheat and catch fire. I have mine plugged into an old mechanical lamp timer which charges the Max 4 hours per day.
 
Lithium Ion batteries seem almost as much art, legend, and magic as they are science. I have some big ones for a lawnmower, string trimmer, and edger. The lawnmower battery and the edger battery are $219 each replacement items only available from EGO, so I study all I can about lithium ion battery life. Frankly, if you do everything that's recommended, the battery is more trouble than a pet Airedale. First, for items you don't use every day, you should not store it fully charged. 30-50% charge is recommended for storage. Before you are ready to use it, charge it up to 100% (allowing enough time to use a slow charge.) Second, if you have a choice of a slow charge or a fast charge, always charge slow. Believe it or not there is mechanical movement at the tiniest levels in that battery, and a fast charge increases the wear. Third, don't store it in your garage in southeast Texas. Keep it indoors between uses (think people comfort and that's best for the stored battery.) Fourth, Lithium Ion batteries are not designed as deep cycle batteries. If you can run it down to 30%, put it away, then charge it back to 100% when you use it again, it will last longer. Unlike Nickel Cadmium or Nickel metal hydride, Lithium Ion has no memory effect requiring periodic full discharge.

Finally, lithium ion batteries wear out. Every time it is charged, it loses a bit from the previous charge. That's why Apple had a "calibration" feature which consisted of full discharge, then full charge. That did nothing good for the battery, but it reset what the phone would call 100%. So it wasn't your imagination that a charge lasted less time than it used to. The point here is that a device with user replaceable batteries may remain useful longer before it goes in the trash than one with internal proprietary soldered in place battery packs. And it's especially nice if the batteries are common off-the-shelf, available from Amazon, batteries. End of rant. The lithium ion battery is one of those things you'd like to give the inventor a medal...then shoot him for not inventing it better!
 
GOONiE said:
Tried the pool blaster. It wasn’t that good.
Ryobi ads have been popping up on my feed. Their vac Looks good. I would try that.
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This looks interesting. First water vac I've seen from a mainstream tool company. The $189 price tag might be a put off for some, but it uses a standard Ryobi 18V battery--a plus to my thinking.
 
I've had very good luck with one of the older Pool Blaster Max versions. It has a NiCad battery and it's about four years old now. I don't use it often but it works great and still takes and holds a charge well with the original battery. My daughter bought a regular Pool Blaster about a year ago and it doesn't compare to the max., barely adequate in my opinion.

I have no experience with the Lithium Ion style Pool Blaster Max. I suspect they function as well as the older NICad style. I'm sure there's positives and negatives with them, time will tell how they hold-up.
 
I have used the Pool Blaster Max for almost two years. Good suction and also using the silt bag which appears to capture the fine debris pretty well. For those of with vinyl, did you leave the wheels on the vacuum head? Im probably too over cautious when I think about it. But I stayed away from robot cleaners to avoid any potential issues my liner for this reason. So to avoid rolling out the hose for cleaning touch ups, I am using this battery operated time saver.
 
easyliftn said:
For those of with vinyl, did you leave the wheels on the vacuum head?
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I left the wheels on. I think I posted here to ask if it was OK. Since I have had a couple of Blasters I have a couple extra heads. The very first one had nice size brushes on the head. Longer than the newer ones. With the wheels on though it gives the head a bit of a lift and that helps the debris to suck right up into the bag.
 

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