The Racer cleaned wonderfully, until everything that could break on it pretty much did toward the end of the first year. Clearly not going that rout again. Our pool, including 1.1 hp booster pump is only one year old so my thought is to stick with a boosted pressure side cleaner. I've read robots are the future, but with our sunk costs for the booster, and the additional expense for a robot and the fact that my wife does not like the idea of cords around the pool, I'm leaning away from them this time at least. My first question is, what kind of challenge is ahead of me with switching out wall fixtures if I switch to a Polaris 280? Would it be just as simple as unplugging the Racer fixture and plugging in the Polaris fixture? I've read that Polaris makes specialized boosters for their cleaners. Is there any reason to be concerned that the 1.1 hp booster I'm using would not work well with the Polaris 280? Any recommendations for other similar pressure side cleaners? Reliability is mainly what I'm looking for at this point. I'm happy to replace parts every two or three years, as long as I can count on what ever I end up with working reliably.
Pentair Racer is dying, considering Polaris 280, what do you think?
- Thread starter Austx
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Man I hate to hear that, I love my Robot so much. Sorry I dont know, but there are others here with those cleaners that can likely help.
el duderino
Well-known member
I have a Polaris 280 BlackMax that is nearing retirement. They require a pretty hefty investment each year to keep running, and with the black parts costing 30%+ more than white, mine has become quite the Frankenstein, not to mention he is Gray now as he's faded. I'm looking at a lot of money for repairs right now, so most likely going Robot. I considered the Racer, but the reviews and lack of available parts scared me into more research. Nice looking cleaner though for sure! If you're set on sticking with a pressure side cleaner, I think the 280 is the way to go.
I talked to the Pentair rep on Tuesday because the left fron wheel broke off due to a break on the chasis plate and they said there is a 3 year warranty on the Racer. The materials say 2 years but the representative confirmed it was 3 years. Anyway, I would call them and they will send replacement parts to fix the cleaner. They may even warranty the cleaner and replace it. I called my pool builder and they replaced the entire unit. They said they had to redesign it due to premature breaking of parts. The pool rep who replaced the unit said the redesigned unit is very good. Anyway worth a short. There's a thread here about the Racer.
That is exactly what happened to mine. After hearing your experience I called my pool builder and they are coming out on Monday to fix/replace it. You just saved me $500. Thank you!
