Polaris Freedom?

[yaurlen]

Has any information or reviews been posted anywhere regarding the Polaris Freedom cordless cleaner? It's quite pricey, but I was curious to know if it was worth the added expense?

I currently have a Aiper Seagull Pro and am mixed on whether or not to keep it based upon it's performance thus far. I have a few weeks to decide and noticed the Polaris Freedom pop-up in a Leslie's promotional email.

I haven't seen any real prices or dates for the Dolphin Liberty cordless cleaners as well. I'm leaning towards a bigger manufacturer at the moment.

Any feedback would be appreciated!

 

[Newdude]

Hey yaurlen !!!! If you don't mind, I'd like to tag along with you here.

I've been frozen on the fence with analysis paralysis. I'd spend $1500 on a robot that lasted, but I refuse to spend $800 on one that likely won't last 5 of my short NorthEast seasons.

 

[NCMike]

This is the first time I have seen cordless cleaners from the big 2 manufacturers. Its about time! Happy to know that once my current robot dies I will be able to get rid of the drop cords, robot cables and robot caddy that is always sitting on the pool deck. If you decide to get one please keep us informed on how it works for you.

 

[yaurlen]

I'm hoping a review pops up somewhere, but I see absolutely nothing out there. I have another 2 weeks with the Aiper before my return window ends, but may investigate the Polaris version here soon enough. I'm with everyone else and would assume that the bots from the bigger brands would last longer. I had a Smorobot late last year that lasted exactly 3 times before it died.

 

[SuperMiguel]

Following saw both at local store, freedom $1500, liberty 200 was $1000

 

[dw886]

For some reason I thought that Polaris and Dolphin are basically variations of the same thing with different labels on them (like rebranded with a few differences to make them different to the consumer), so I'm not surprised that they release at the same time.

Thinking about trading in the "tangled cord" pains for a "robot stuck at the bottom of the pool with a dead battery" pains.

Found this comparison for anyone looking for more information on the versions of the Maytronics offerings:

https://www.eztestpools.com/content/Liberty%20Series.pdf

Clipped here in case the link dies down the road:

 

[JoyfulNoise]

The Achilles Heel for all robots will be their drive and impeller motors. The motor assemblies fail at alarmingly high rates and I’m not sure any of the manufacturers have addressed those issues. Dolphin actually beta-released their Liberty like 5 or 6 years ago (maybe longer) but pulled it off the market almost immediately as the the floating battery pack (it floated up at the surface of the water) was too unreliable and couldn’t handle being exposed to the elements 24/7. Burying the battery inside the robot might solve the overheating problem but I suspect it will create others.

Following along to learn but, so far, the robots still seem like they’ll be disappointing. I had hoped Aiper would be a change-agent for the industry but it looks like they’re turning out to be more smoke than sizzle.

 

[SuperMiguel]

The Achilles Heel for all robots will be their drive and impeller motors. The motor assemblies fail at alarmingly high rates and I’m not sure any of the manufacturers have addressed those issues. Dolphin actually beta-released their Liberty like 5 or 6 years ago (maybe longer) but pulled it off the market almost immediately as the the floating battery pack (it floated up at the surface of the water) was too unreliable and couldn’t handle being exposed to the elements 24/7. Burying the battery inside the robot might solve the overheating problem but I suspect it will create others.

Following along to learn but, so far, the robots still seem like they’ll be disappointing. I had hoped Aiper would be a change-agent for the industry but it looks like they’re turning out to be more smoke than sizzle.

For me its been the cable

 

[NCMike]

Thinking about trading in the "tangled cord" pains for a "robot stuck at the bottom of the pool with a dead battery" pains.

I read this as trading in the "kids tripping over the cords and skinning their knees" for "sending my kids down to the deep end to happily retrieve the dead robot". So yes, I see that as a good trade, haha.

Most of my problems with my robot have been with the power center which sits on the pool deck hooked to an extension cord because the robot cord is not long enough to allow it to clean the entire pool when plugged directly into the house. My power center is on the caddy. It has went for a swim twice due to wind just blowing it in the water or the kids tripping on the cords and pulling it in the water. I have literally had to remove the power cable plug and poor water out of it twice now. I also had to replace the robot cable/cord and motor due to water getting into the end that plugs into the robot/motor. Maytronics replaced this under warranty. However, I want to believe that my kids yanking on that cable to remove the robot from the pool when I'm not around did not help the situation. So my hope is removing all those things from the robot will help the reliability of it. If everything is sealed in the robot itself one would hope that all the issues involving the cable and the power center have now been eliminated. There is still the issues of the motors as @JoyfulNoise pointed out., but that will be an issue no matter which model robot I purchase.

I know I am probably being overly optimistic, but my choices are robot, or manually vacuum. So robot it is! Bring on the wireless models!

 

[dw886]

Yeah, I'm kind of in the same boat - I think I'd give wireless a whirl and see what happens. My Quantum was on the struggle bus at the end of the season last year. The cord needs to be replaced, it's starting to do the peeling thing from being left in the water 24x7, and the suction seems week (and the impeller is clean).

Where is the best place to buy one of these? I reached out to Marina, and they aren't carrying any of the Dolphin products for at least a year. I'd like the 300 so I can schedule it to run every 2 days and leave it in the pool...

 

[SuperMiguel]

Yeah, I'm kind of in the same boat - I think I'd give wireless a whirl and see what happens. My Quantum was on the struggle bus at the end of the season last year. The cord needs to be replaced, it's starting to do the peeling thing from being left in the water 24x7, and the suction seems week (and the impeller is clean).

Where is the best place to buy one of these? I reached out to Marina, and they aren't carrying any of the Dolphin products for at least a year. I'd like the 300 so I can schedule it to run every 2 days and leave it in the pool...

Somehow i think their claim of 1 week inside pool is BS

 

[yaurlen]

Finally found a review of Polaris Freedom:

It looks to be more well thought out than the Aiper, but at $1400 vs. $800 it does make you question it. I believe Leslie's had the Freedom on sale for $1250 just this past weekend, so at $1250 vs. $800 it might be a strong consideration of the Freedom due to the larger name brand, "wireless" charging and app support.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Polaris did a nice job on the bot. Now we all just need to wait 5 years to see how they hold up

 

[JupiterFL]

In the YouTube video he says it has to be dry to charge. That’s kind of annoying. Does the Apier have to be dry?

Seems like they should have done magnetic charging…

 

[Ahultin]

In the YouTube video he says it has to be dry to charge. That’s kind of annoying. Does the Apier have to be dry?

Seems like they should have done magnetic charging…

The freedom appears to have metal charging plates on the bot and spring loaded risers on the base (ala roomba) . The liberty says it s magnetic induction charging which I would think slower but 2 less potential water intrusions, the aiper is a traditional barrel connector.

 

[DJ KOLA]

Hi All - I’m a newbie pool owner, and it’s my first post on this forum. I was all set to buy the Polaris AquaIQ+ when I heard about the Polaris Freedom, which is the same price as the AquaIQ+. My local pool shop has both in stock and is waiting for me to decide which one to buy. I’m heavily leaning towards the FREEDOM for obvious reasons (no cords), but I heard on this podcast that the iAqualink app could only connect with the robot when it is out of the water since you can not receive wifi signals in water. Hence no spot cleaning, scheduling or canister full notifications.

I’m assuming the wifi connection for the AquaIQ+‘s is through the caddy. Either way, I’m torn on my decision. Does anyone currently have the AlphaIQ+, and do you often use the spot cleaning and scheduling features? I think scheduling would only make sense if you leave the cleaner in the pool all the time, which has its own issues. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[NCMike]

I don't have the aquaIQ+ but I do have a dolphin M600 that can use the app for all the things you listed. As soon as it dies I plan on getting the cordless version of the dolphin or the polaris. I used the app the first week to play with the robot, spot cleaning, etc... But after the first week I haven't really touched the app. We always pull the robot out when people are swimming, so I always clean the basket before I put it back in. My basket has never been full so no need for the notification that the app gives. All of these robots do a great job cleaning so I have never needed to do a spot cleaning. As far as scheduling goes, I don't use that feature either. I normally throw the robot in the pool and hit the button on the caddy/control center to start it and let it work. I will say that sometimes I use the app to start the robot again if I haven't been outside in a few days and I know people will be swimming later. But I think all the advantages of being cordless will outweigh that one convenance that I will lose.

 

[DJ KOLA]

I don't have the aquaIQ+ but I do have a dolphin M600 that can use the app for all the things you listed. As soon as it dies I plan on getting the cordless version of the dolphin or the polaris. I used the app the first week to play with the robot, spot cleaning, etc... But after the first week I haven't really touched the app. We always pull the robot out when people are swimming, so I always clean the basket before I put it back in. My basket has never been full so no need for the notification that the app gives. All of these robots do a great job cleaning so I have never needed to do a spot cleaning. As far as scheduling goes, I don't use that feature either. I normally throw the robot in the pool and hit the button on the caddy/control center to start it and let it work. I will say that sometimes I use the app to start the robot again if I haven't been outside in a few days and I know people will be swimming later. But I think all the advantages of being cordless will outweigh that one convenance that I will lose.

NCMike, this is very helpful information. I suspected that might be the case, with the features being nice to have but not used often. It is good to hear that the advantages of being cordless outweigh any conveniences of more smart features.

I’m happy to say I will pick up my FREEDOM tomorrow. Thanks for the advice.

 

[NCMike]

NCMike, this is very helpful information. I suspected that might be the case, with the features being nice to have but not used often. It is good to hear that the advantages of being cordless outweigh any conveniences of more smart features.

I’m happy to say I will pick up my FREEDOM tomorrow. Thanks for the advice.

Let us know how it goes. You’re probably the first one here to purchase one.

 

[yaurlen]

Eagerly looking to hear the update on a real user owning one! I see that it's once again on sale at Leslie's $1259 + $50 mail in rebate per the email I got. I've got to make a decision on the Aiper this week. I believe at this point, it is likely to go back. It does a decent enough job, but I'm just worried about the longevity of it.