Lost in the rabbit hole of trying to pick a pool vacuum

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jaguar

jaguar

Member
May 12, 2022
12
DFW,TX
Hey TFP,

I have been researching pool vaccums on and off for the past year and I feel like I haven't made much progress. With the decent ones starting out at $900+, I have a big fear of purchasing one that will frustrate me and regret my purchase. My current cleaner is a dumb Polaris 280. It gets stuck ALL the time in my table area(see attached).

My needs:
- Ability to pickup fine dirt/sand(I get a lot of this in my pool)
- Ability to NOT get stuck in my table area
- Be efficient

I talked to Margaret and she recommended both of the top of their lines (Active 60, Explorer e70). Of course that comes with a hefty price tag of $1600. I don't know what to do.

Does anyone have a similar setup with table/stools that has a positive robot experience they can share?

poolrend.jpg
 
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jaguar said:
I talked to Margaret and she recommended both of the top of their lines (Active 60, Explorer e70). Of course that comes with a hefty price tag of $1600. I don't know what to do.
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She has talked MANY members away from the pricey models, along with myself personally and also a IRL friend. She must have picked up on something you said for her to go against her usual ways.
 
From my research and following robot threads on the forum. There is not much difference in "cleaning performance" between an Active 20 and Active 60. The Active 60 gives you a caddy (if you want that), wifi controls, timers for schedules., etc. The Active 60 does have a little more cleaning power per the specs. So if you do not want the bells and whistles, then go with the Active 20 and see how it performs. Both have a 60ft swivel cable. Either a cable or a hose will find a way to tangle around a seat in a pool. Not sure you can avoid that unless you find a way to block off that area.

There could be a supply issue, which is why it was recommended to go with the Active 60. The cheaper models tend to get scooped up quickly.
 
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Some of the pricey models have longer runtimes also. That's why I was looking at them with a 20X40.
 
I'm going to assume anything with a cable/hose will get stuck at the table area. You might have to look into a battery robot, or shorten the cable/hose so that the cleaner doesn't reach the table area.
 
I found it really surprising when I first started researching these things that NOBODY offered a model with a persistent mapping feature. This feature and the ability to block the table area on that persistent map would be amazing.
 
jaguar said:
I found it really surprising when I first started researching these things that NOBODY offered a model with a persistent mapping feature. This feature and the ability to block the table area on that persistent map would be amazing.
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A pool robot is not as smart as a vacuum cleaner such as iRobot. They just go in a set path (i.e. back & forth) or some do random path (like your 280 Polaris).
There is not as many consumers in the pool industry as there are in the household industry. Consumption drives technology. That is why the pool industry is so far behind in things like robots and general automation.
 
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Look at Aiper and their line of cordless/battery operated robots. Your pool’s overall design is beautiful but it comes at a cost - difficult to clean. That table is going to cause any robot with a cord or hose to get stuck. We’ve seen pool owners try to use submerged baby gates to keep a robot out of a specific area and even that fails.

You may just have to live with it.
 
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jaguar said:
I found it really surprising when I first started researching these things that NOBODY offered a model with a persistent mapping feature. This feature and the ability to block the table area on that persistent map would be amazing.
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The Polaris VRX IQ+ is about the closest you get to this. We have a client that has one for a similar reason, and it stayed out of their stool features.

However, it failed well within a year from water in the left motor. Not a cheap repair once it's out of warranty. :confused:
 

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Cordless is likely your best bet with the table.
The dolphin liberty line of cordless bots is coming - they will be expensive, $1200+ for the base model.
Aiper has cordless models ranging from around $200 up to $1k or so.
They have sales & promo codes sometimes as well.
So far, although rumored, there are no pool bots with lidar currently available which would be ideal for obstacle avoidance in pools like yours.
I am holding out hope that by the time my current corded dolphin bites the dust Wyze will have a cordless pool cleaner, if not, Aiper is a definite contender.
 
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Mdragger88 said:
Cordless is likely your best bet with the table.
The dolphin liberty line of cordless bots is coming - they will be expensive, $1200+ for the base model.
Aiper has cordless models ranging from around $200 up to $1k or so.
They have sales & promo codes sometimes as well.
So far, although rumored, there are no pool bots with lidar currently available which would be ideal for obstacle avoidance in pools like yours.
I am holding out hope that by the time my current corded dolphin bites the dust Wyze will have a cordless pool cleaner, if not, Aiper is a definite contender.
Click to expand...

LIDAR doesn't work under water. It would have to be ultrasonic waves to map while under water ... but be careful, you could wind up with a family of Orca's in your pool ...

killer whale animals being dicks GIF
 
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JoyfulNoise said:
LIDAR doesn't work under water. It would have to be ultrasonic waves to map while under water ... but be careful, you could wind up with a family of Orca's in your pool ...

killer whale animals being dicks GIF
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Sonar?? Maybe 🤔 That could really be a problem for those fancy infinity pools near the coastlines 🐳 🐬 🤣🤣🤣
 
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I posted about 6 weeks ago regarding pool cleaners and said I would give a quick review of the one I went with which was a Jacuzzi JCRX. After 6 weeks, I have nothing but good things to say about it. I was concerned it wouldn't get the finer silty stuff off the pool, but it's just a good job. I really like the way it hugs the walls and bounces up and down on the water line to clean that. I have 3 bar stools and it does get stuck in there about once a day, but there is nothing out there that will not get stuck in those if it's tethered. That being said, it will and often does, get itself out of the stools by backing up and turning etc. I like the tank tracks on it instead of the wheels. All and all, so far, we're very pleased that we went with this one. I also like that it came with a caddy and has the return home feature. After it turns off from my 2.5 hour cycle, I hit a button and it goes to the nearest wall and climbs up and just stops and waits until you come get it, making it easy to reach down and pick it up to replace on it's caddy. The basket is large and very easy to clean. It also had bluetooth so I can use it with my phone. You can even stir it, but I don't see myself playing with it like that. lol. I'm not in any way affiliated with this company btw. I hope this helps someone else who's looking.
 
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