Best Value Robot in Australia?

Dandelion

Member
Aug 23, 2020
19
Brisbane
I see the S200 is often praised here for it's value, though in Australia the price is $2049AUD or $1500 USD. Do I need to just suck it up and pay the Australia tax or are there better options here?

I have a 40,000L fiberglass pool with a vinyl liner. It's rectangular with fairly curved edges and a step at the end.

2 examples of other options:

Baracuda Gotcha Robotic Floor & Wall Pool Cleaner

 
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Welcome to the forum!
Sorry you have not received any replies. Let's see if some of our Aussie members are up yet------
 
Dandelion
I just bought the s200. I looked at the equivalent models like the x30 and Trident but they didn't have the weekly timer or swivel cable. I don't need the caddy so didn't want to pay extra for that.
2year warranty if you buy here. Not sure if you will get that if you buy one OS. I've never had my FG pool so clean, the ultra fine filters are great.
I've only tried the s200 so I can't comment on other Brands.
 
I am also in a similar position to the OP. Looking for recommendations for a robotic cleaner for in-ground concrete pool with glass beading (Jewels 4 Pools to be exact).
Whilst the recommendations I see here (that is, on these forums) is generally the Dolphin S200/Pentair Warrior SE I'd like to hear from fellow Aussies about the following aspects of their robotic cleaner.

1. Efficacy. This one I am not too concerned about as there's plenty of advice already about which ones work best.
2. Longevity. Not keen on the thing carking it after 5 years or so. If I'm paying around $2,000 AUD I want it to last a Dang long time!
3. Customer support. If the robot starts playing up I want a retailer and/or manufacturer to care about my predicament and do something promptly and cheerfully.
4. Ideally I'll be keeping the robot in the pool underneath the blanket, unless I am swimming in which case I'll drag it out. Now I know that's not the proper way to look after your prized toy, but for those of you who are also in this practise, what can you recommend? Or do I just succumb to the weekly in and out exercise? This question sort of is aligned with CRAD_oz post above...what's the point of a weekly timer if you're taking the the robot out of the water and it's unplugged? So by having a weekly timer, does that mean the s200 is designed to stay in the pool?

TL:DR, am looking to buy a durable, efficient robot which wont break down after a couple of years.
 
Guys, I too am an Aussie (Sydney) and in the same boat - renovating a concrete inground pool and looking for a robot.

I have done a fair bit of reading and whilst still undecided have the following observations

1) Warranty in Australia is going to suck - nowhere seems to be longer than 12 months - however it would probably be a good argument that spending $2K it would be expected to last longer and you could have a good case to take them to DFT under statutory warranty laws - however your pool is still getting dirty whilst that is happening !
2) The whirlpool home/garden forum has more Aussies on there so it is another source of information
3) I am leaning towards the Barracuda unit (can be purchased from Bunnings) as they are all part of the Zodiac group and spare parts are easily (and cheaply) sourced - there are also lots of good sourced from 3rd party cheaper parts.
4) The other option which is expensive is the Robo-tek pool cleaners - $1800 still a short warranty but get great reviews on the various sites and their service seems second to none.

Craig
 
Guys, Just a further update - Zodiac have released a new range recently in Australia - seems to hit the mid price mark - around $1600 or so - with a 3 year waranty.

The guy at my pool shop said that strictly you should not leave them in the pool as the chlorine plays havoc with them - in reality he said most people seem to leave them in there without too many issues - as long as you do not dump huge amounts of chlorine in there. I am getting an Enviroswim system so will have no chlorine in mine so fairly confident. My main requirement is to be able to start mine remotely (and stop it) through a smart power outlet that will be part of my home automation system.

I do not want to have to go down and press a button each time i want the cleaner to startup.

Craig
 
The guy at my pool shop said that strictly you should not leave them in the pool as the chlorine plays havoc with them - in reality he said most people seem to leave them in there without too many issues - as long as you do not dump huge amounts of chlorine in there. I am getting an Enviroswim system so will have no chlorine in mine so fairly confident.

Craig
Craig,

Craig, Please spend some time here reading about your new system you think will keep your family safe... not only will it not be safe, after your families hair turns green and your brand new pool has metal in it and starts turning your plaster a nice metal covered color you will need to empty your pool to get the metal out... They are not even certified by any national certification as they say it costs to much money. We get people coming here every day asking how to fix what has happened to there pool when using these systems...

This is from the enviroswim website: just copper and silver ions, electronic oxidisation and ultrasound
 
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Craig, Please spend some time here reading about your new system you think will keep your family safe... not only will it not be safe, after your families hair turns green and your brand new pool has metal in it and starts turning your plaster a nice metal covered color you will need to empty your pool to get the metal out... They are not even certified by any national certification as they say it costs to much money. We get people coming here every day asking how to fix what has happened to there pool when using these systems...

I have spoken to a number of people who have this system and they have all raved about it - i have not had a single person who has said they would go back to a Chlorine or SWG pool again.

I have swum in one that a friend has on a number of occasions and it is a different experience to any SWG or Chlorine based system.

Thanks for pointing out the potential pitfalls but i am confident that we will not have issues with the health of our pool.

Craig
 

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how do you measure the water to know you aren't growing bacteria and virus

In my case i will be taking a sample every couple of weeks to the local pool shop - who know the enviroswim system and understand how it works. Armed with that and the recommend levels i will be able to decide if any closer attention is required.

On top of this they provide a copper test kit which you use on a weekly basis to start with until you get the pool "dialed in"

I wil be using the Blue Riiot floating ORP, PH and Temp sensor which will feed back through the website into my home automation system and will enable me to micro dose acid to keep the PH around the 7.2 level

Time will tell how well this all works - but will report back here.

I have just purchased the Zodiac Evolux 4000i - which has a WIFI interface and is supported through a Rest/API on their website to enable remote start and stop - will see if it provides any additional feedback options as well.

Craig
 
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