Okay, so I can't speak to the longevity of the robot since I only had it a couple days. But I do have some initial observations (and a "hack") that some might be interested in (skip to the tl;dr section at the bottom if you don't want to read the whole thing):
First of all, there are two types of filters. It comes with the mesh "spring cleaning" ones installed, and a bag containing the pleated ultra fine ones. I have don't have any leaves in the pool, so I thought I would use the ultra fine ones to start. My pool gets a little sandy (the reason for the cleaner... plus the suction style cleaner I have kept getting stuck), and I noticed that it didn't get all of the grit on the bottom of the pool. I went to clean the filter and noticed that the grit was bigger than I thought, and there was more of it than anticipated. So I switched over to the spring filters and it made all the difference. It is stronger without the restriction of the finer filter. It got all of the grit except the ones on the steps and in one corner that is tighter than the rest.
Therefore, no matter how clean you think your pool is, the first time you run this thing, I recommend using the mesh spring cleaning filters to start (and maybe every few times going forward). I did run the cleaner again with the pleated filter, and it put the finishing touches on the bottom of the pool. That isn't to say I could see a difference, just that the filter had picked up some smaller pieces as was evident when I cleaned it out.
Speaking of cleaning the filters: it is REALLY easy. There is one box in front, and one in back. Both are top loaded and easy to remove. They only go in one way, so if it doesn't go back in, turn it around. The front and back filters are interchangeable, so it doesn't matter which one goes where.
As to the "hack" I mentioned... I did not get the caddy. So the recommendation is to store the robot upside down so the front and rear rollers do not flatten or become misshapen. I noticed that the width between the rollers is similar to that of a small kickboard. So I put it on the kickboard and the rollers are high enough that they do not touch the ground. I will still have to deal with the chord and moving it into place, but I am not to worried about that. For now, I will save the 100 bucks even though the caddy looks nice.
tl;dr version: So far, I recommend this cleaner. Use the spring cleaning filter the first time you run it. It is easy to clean. A kickboard makes a nice platform so you don't have to store it upside down.
First of all, there are two types of filters. It comes with the mesh "spring cleaning" ones installed, and a bag containing the pleated ultra fine ones. I have don't have any leaves in the pool, so I thought I would use the ultra fine ones to start. My pool gets a little sandy (the reason for the cleaner... plus the suction style cleaner I have kept getting stuck), and I noticed that it didn't get all of the grit on the bottom of the pool. I went to clean the filter and noticed that the grit was bigger than I thought, and there was more of it than anticipated. So I switched over to the spring filters and it made all the difference. It is stronger without the restriction of the finer filter. It got all of the grit except the ones on the steps and in one corner that is tighter than the rest.
Therefore, no matter how clean you think your pool is, the first time you run this thing, I recommend using the mesh spring cleaning filters to start (and maybe every few times going forward). I did run the cleaner again with the pleated filter, and it put the finishing touches on the bottom of the pool. That isn't to say I could see a difference, just that the filter had picked up some smaller pieces as was evident when I cleaned it out.
Speaking of cleaning the filters: it is REALLY easy. There is one box in front, and one in back. Both are top loaded and easy to remove. They only go in one way, so if it doesn't go back in, turn it around. The front and back filters are interchangeable, so it doesn't matter which one goes where.
As to the "hack" I mentioned... I did not get the caddy. So the recommendation is to store the robot upside down so the front and rear rollers do not flatten or become misshapen. I noticed that the width between the rollers is similar to that of a small kickboard. So I put it on the kickboard and the rollers are high enough that they do not touch the ground. I will still have to deal with the chord and moving it into place, but I am not to worried about that. For now, I will save the 100 bucks even though the caddy looks nice.
tl;dr version: So far, I recommend this cleaner. Use the spring cleaning filter the first time you run it. It is easy to clean. A kickboard makes a nice platform so you don't have to store it upside down.
