Good Robot for Silt?

[Mark Shvitz]

I'm about to give up and get a robot. I have a little 34-foot pool. It's screened, so if leaves get in it, they were usually tracked in. I get a lot of dead spiders and little bits of debris, and right now, there is silt.

I was thinking of an Aqua Products EVO 604. It looks like it's similar to the 614 IQ, but it lacks the weird wifi stuff. I don't understand the purpose of wifi for a machine that has to be put in the water every time you run it.

I don't plan to clean frequently. Maybe once a month.

Is there any hope a robot will get rid of silt? Where it comes from, I don't know, but I have it. Maybe it's from the well water.

I looked at Dolphin machines, but their prices seem to be insane.

 

[Mark Shvitz]

Since no one has answered, I'll post what I know.

I got a Dolphin Nautilus Plus CC with wifi. I think wifi is completely stupid for a pool vacuum, but Amazon did not have the regular version.

I didn't see Maytronics fine filters on Amazon right away, so I bought knockoffs from Sunrra. They do trap silt, but the filtration is not very fine. When the vaccum goes across the pool bottom, a plume of silt shoots up from the top of it, having pass through the screens. I don't know if Maytronics filters are any better.

The robot does a good job of re-suspending the mess so the pool filter can grab it, so things should work out.

 

[alvindo]

I have a Polaris Vrx IQ+. I don’t use half the fancy features it has and I also don’t understand the need for wifi and an app. I had to buy a separate fine filter. Once I did that, I’ve been very impressed with the silt and pollen it sucks out of the pool.

The other alternative might be a pool blaster. It’s still manual, but it has its own separate filtration. You just charge it up and put it on a pole and vacuum away. It comes with a fine filter that also does a good job of sucking up silt. If you’re just going to use it once a month and don’t mind doing it yourself but without having to connect to your pump and filter, then that might be a cheaper alternative.

 

[Mark Shvitz]

My pool has a bunch of problems that are just getting fixed now, so there is quite a bit of crud to be picked up. I have already cleaned the filters three times. It will be impossible to draw any firm conclusions until I can see the bottom.

 

[Mark Shvitz]

To follow up, the Nautilus Plus CC seems to be working fine. It does have one issue: it gets stuck on steps. You have to look at the pool occasionally to find out if it's sitting in one place.

I think the best policy for a person with a nasty pool is to vacuum it first the old-fashioned way, sending the water into the sewer or yard or something instead of the pool filter. This particular robot is not going to get every square inch clean, and emptying the filters over and over is worse than using a pole, vacuum attachment, and skimmer hose.

I have had to run it maybe 20 times, but it is finally getting to the point where not much crud is being picked up. I think my old filter blew DE out into the pool, because the Nautilus has been filling up with white grit. I threw out my DE, so I don't have any to compare it to. I don't think it's sand, because my well has never pumped sand.

I don't think there is much debris left on the bottom of the pool, but it's still cloudy. I installed the Pentair filter cartridge upside down, not noticing the "BOTTOM" warning on one end. Maybe it has been letting dust get by. I hosed the filter out today and installed it correctly. Hoping for good results.