Just ordered: Water Tech Blue Diamond RC

[lmeyer55]

First, thanks SO much for this forum....it's so valuable for a single, female pool-novice like me.

I've spent hours researching which robotic pool cleaner would best fit my needs and solve my 'issues'. I decided on the Blue Diamond RC based on postings here -- so I hope you're all right!! I do have some questions though...

Reason I went this route: after a horrendous experience cleaning my DE filter, and a light recurring algae problem, with a Polaris 280 (side booster pump) in the pool that doesn't really get the sidewalls and scrub the algae off, I decided I needed to try something else. The 280 is great at picking up leaves/debris, but I don't have a lot of that except in the fall. Tried Barracuda X7 but I can't adjust the pressure in my two skimmers, and it wasn't strong enough to get the spring pressure sensor to get to the right number -- returned that to the store. That left me looking for a robotic cleaner. While the downside seems to be step cleaning with this model, it seems a decent trade-off for performance and long warranty.

So I'm hoping, praying really, that this little guy will do the trick. It's a big investment for me.

Questions:
1 - how much less should I run my regular filter daily? Here in Houston, it runs 8 hr/day year round.
2 - since I ordered from an online store, rather than Sam's Club (the price was lower from poolsupplystore.com), I'm hoping there won't be any issues, and that PSP has good customer service -- any experience with them?

I'll let you know how everything goes. Wish me luck!

Lynda

 

[lbridges]

Please do post back. I'm in the middle of a build and if there's enough $$$ left over after the landscaping I was intending to purchase the same unit.

 

[lmeyer55]

The Blue Diamond arrived, has had two days in the pool, and I guess I'm happy with it overall. I can say I'm very impressed as to how much power it has compared with my Polaris 380.

It has 2 cycles -- a 'standard' 1-hr cycle, which only cleans the bottom, and a 'super' cycle that is activated with the programming key on the remote that cleans the sides and bottom and runs for 3 hrs. I've run the super cycle twice. The cleaning is very thorough....it seems the bottom of my pool is sparkling. The first run didn't get all the algae (light film) on the walls, so I did a brushing and everything looks really great now. I'm not sure what it did to the bottom of the pool but it looks the best I've ever seen it.

The first day I used the remote to move it to problem areas, and you could spend an hour playing with it...I guess that's the kid in me. The user manuals are quite good, but you have to read the remote manual (printed separately) to learn about the 3 hr walls & bottom power cycle.

And while it doesn't do steps, it does clean the top water line against the tiles nicely. So no big deal really. Everything's a tradeoff.

The only cons are the effort (and the price) -- you have to pull it out of the water after every use, clean the bag (not hard but time is required to get it off and rinse it out), and deal with the cord. To help keep the cord from tangling, you have to pivot the handle to an alternate position before each use, but I can see this only goes so far....

So I expect the effort required will be less as I get a little more experienced and streamlined in the 'put it up' phase.

So all in all I'd give it a B - B+ right now. I hope my satisfaction with it grows over time -- I suspect having a spotless pool will help!

 

[duraleigh]

lmeyer,

Welcome to the forum. I have owned a Blue Diamond Remote for 3 years. I would say your assessment is just about right on the money but there is an important point to discuss.

Cleanesr and vacuums will not remove algae! They may appear to take some off the walls and floor but the algae will come right back. If you have visible alge showing anywhere in your pool, you must increase your chlorination.

Pool School (ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry) will get you started. Please read some of those articles and ask back lots of questions.

My Blue Diamond has been trouble free to this point although I think the remote is rudimentary and not very intuitive....they could've done much better than that.

Anyway, the important part of my post is to emphasize that we can help get your pool water to crystal clear with absolutely no hint of algae but it has to be done thru correct water balance and not the cleaner.

 

[lmeyer55]

Thanks for letting me know that. I've been taking water samples to the pool store for them to read and they tell me my chlorine is fine, I usually need to add acid. Think I'll buy my own kit to test to see what's going on.

BTW, when I cleaned the Blue Diamond just now, there was a very fine silt in the filter -- something my Polaris would NEVER trap, and that would land in my DE filter....So when they say less pool chemicals/other maintenance, I believe it!

Current grade for the BD: B+ - A-

 

[duraleigh]

I agree. There are times when mine picks up stuff that looks like talcum powder when I rinse the bag.

I would have to say B+ for mine as well but perhaps a solid A if I compared it to other robots which I have never owned or tried out.

 

[lmeyer55]

So do you have any tricks to keep the cord from twisting? Or to untwist effectively?

 

[duraleigh]

Mine seems to do okay as long as I alternate the handle position, as you noted.

It does seem like if I forget and leave it in the same position twice, it curls up worse.

If yours is currently pretty curled up, perhaps just leaving it in that position to see what happens. Then, If it gets worse, turn it the other way and leave it there for 2 or more times to see if it will straighten out.

 

[bushdoc]

I've had my Blue Diamond RC for about two months now and have no complaints at all. Actually I am totally amazed at how fast and how well this thing cleans my pool. Maybe this is because this is my first robot and I don't really have anything to compare it to other than the old suction cleaner running off of the pump. As a contractor I tend to over build things and really don't mind spending my hard earned dollars for a good piece of equipment. In my business the guys that know what works the best are the ones who work on it, so my research consisted of finding a service center that actually does the repairs on several brands of the robot vacs. What I found out from a very cool tech (who I felt like I bonded with, and is a big Jerry Jeff Walker fan) is that the Blue Diamond is a very well built machine that doesn't break. Combine this with from what I think is the longest warranty available my buying decision became pretty simple.

 

[rastoma]

The first run didn't get all the algae (light film) on the walls

As mentioned by another poster, your CL levels may not be correct if you have algae. If your CL level is correct for your pool then you will no algae. Don't believe everything the pool store says. Their equipment may not be correct or using old reagents or may be user error. Just like everything else in life just because they work in/own a pool store doesn't mean they know what they are doing as many users have found out thus why they hang around here now Same thing like a restaurant.... just because someone had the money to open one doesn't mean they can cook good

 

[I_C_Deadpeople]

I hope you have better luck than I did. I bought my BD RC last spring and it ran correctly twice, then started stopping after 5 mins. The service depot tested it and found no issues, they even ran it for hours. I received it back last summer but due to a family illness did not get it back in the pool until this spring. It continues to stop after 5 mins. I have no idea what this thing is up to.

 

[lmeyer55]

Actually, they discuss that issue in the manual...I experienced it once....it's due to an ungrounded plug. Try a different socket (on a different outlet) and it may run just fine. It happened to me when I accidentally got a little water on the plug and then it wouldn't run. I moved it to another socket and it ran fine. A couple of days later I put it back on the original socket and all's well.

 

[PoolCleanerMom]

The first run didn't get all the algae (light film) on the walls

As mentioned by another poster, your CL levels may not be correct if you have algae. If your CL level is correct for your pool then you will no algae. Don't believe everything the pool store says. Their equipment may not be correct or using old reagents or may be user error.

Also, one big thing I learned from this forum last year is that if you've been using chlorine tablets and your cyanuric acid levels have built up, your chlorine isn't as effective and you need a higher concentration of chlorine (or need to drain/refill to lower CYA level) to keep the algae at bay - there's a nice chart here: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock

 

[I_C_Deadpeople]

Actually, they discuss that issue in the manual...I experienced it once....it's due to an ungrounded plug. Try a different socket (on a different outlet) and it may run just fine. It happened to me when I accidentally got a little water on the plug and then it wouldn't run. I moved it to another socket and it ran fine. A couple of days later I put it back on the original socket and all's well.

I have run it from a GFI plug and from another plug just in case and it does the same thing. I do have another plug , a GFI some distance away, i guess it would not hurt to try it. FYI - all my outdoor plugs are grounded. I am not sure why this would cause the unit to stop on its own.