That's a very detailed review! I didn't have the patience to watch the whole thing but spot-clicked through it and got the highlights. I'm really crossing my fingers this is the unicorn I'm looking for.
Pool robot woes
- Thread starter gadgetlady
- Start date
-
- Tags
- robot robotic robotic cleaner
craigie
Silver Supporter
- Jul 23, 2023
- 5
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I've been spending way too much time researching cordless pool robots and I've come to a couple of conclusions. 1) Seems like there are issues with almost all of them. 2) I really want one. The BlueNexus, looks promising (I know, looks can be deceiving), and, after playing mind games with myself for the past week or so, pulled the trigger today. Delivery is supposed to be sometime in November. I will post my experience with it after a few weeks of use.
Same. Even after I ordered the Blue Nexus I'm still researching! Can't wait for delivery. The leaves are making me nuts.
Well, my Blue Nexus was delivered ... one day after I left town for two weeks :-/
I'm encouraging my pool guy, who is a relative and lives with us, to unbox it and let me know how it works. I'll update at the end of November if he doesn't!
I'm encouraging my pool guy, who is a relative and lives with us, to unbox it and let me know how it works. I'll update at the end of November if he doesn't!
SuperMiguel
Well-known member
my dolphin finally died lasted a good 5 years... Now looking into a cordless alternative 
Whelp, my initial reports are not favorable. I'm not in love with the app or the lift function (which doesn't always work) and I've been having some other issues with the unit as well. The last two times I put it in the pool, it stayed in one place and did nothing. It also doesn't make it onto my stairs at all. I'm in contact with the company to see if there's a solution; otherwise, I will be returning this product.
Discovered the issue as to why the lift functions haven't been working and why it's just been sitting there: the brush and wheels on one side of the unit are frozen. I don't know why - nothing is stuck in there that I can see. Waiting on the company to let me know what it might be and how it can be repaired. Stay tuned - if this is an easy fix then I might be able to be made happy again.
Just received an email that I am to return the robot and they will send me a new one .. stay tuned!
following. My Polaris 280 is on my last nerve and I'm holding out for a cordless robot if there is a good one.
Sorry for the delay! It arrived while I was out of town (FOR A MONTH) and I just returned back this morning. Digging myself out of all of the mail and unpacking and then I will get it charged up and throw it in the pool. May take me a few days to be back with an update.
Looks like the kickstarter/indigogo campaign is over and their normal price is ~$1400. What was the kickstarter cost?
Also, do you know if the battery is replaceable?
Apparently, the demoed the Blue Nexus Pro at CES but I've not been able to find many details on it. Here's one booth walk through that showed it
Here's another robot candidate for consideration in this thread as it meets the criteria for the original post (along with actually being able to clean the pool surface)
beatbot.com
its discussed in this thread
www.troublefreepool.com
and a review from the guy that reviewed the SubBlu BlueNexus earlier in this thread
AquaSense Pro
Beatbot AquaSense pro Pool Cleaner, REDEFINE SMART POOL CARE -the World's First All-in-one Smart Pool Cleaning Robot
beatbot.com
its discussed in this thread
New pool cleaner for Katodude to review
https://beatbot.com/pages/aquasense-pro
www.troublefreepool.com
and a review from the guy that reviewed the SubBlu BlueNexus earlier in this thread
List at $2200 and discounted by $400 to $1800 is a mighty hefty price. That is a good SWCG for comparison and we know the savings those produce. Be interesting to see the life of this robot. It does look well made and has a separate charging station which are positive features for cordless robots for floor and surface application.
I've been using our Sublue (we call him "Charlie") for a few days without any issue. The newer bot listed a few posts above this seems to solve all of the minor complaints I have with Charlie, although I don't know if those complaints would be worth an $1800 price tag.
1. The app is rather useless, except for the "lift" function. The problem I have with the lift button is Charlie finds the nearest wall and climbs it, (the Beatbot device listed above that brings it back to the place where you dropped it in). This might not be a problem for others, but we have an infinity edge with an infinity edge jacuzzi built into the pool, so sometimes Charlie lifts up the side of the jacuzzi which we can't access at all, or around the infinity edge spill over at the back of the pool, which again we can't access. This is perhaps our biggest frustration with the device.
2. It would be nice if the app could control the device - where it goes and what it does (like a "steering" function). Really all the app does is show you the time the cleaning is supposed to end, what type of cleaning is in process, the battery life, and, at the end, how many gallons were filtered. It's supposed to show the total area cleaned, but thus far it keeps reading zero square feet cleaned, so unless I'm doing something wrong that just doesn't work. The device also takes a while to get reconnected on the app every time you open it up.
3. I really like the docking base on the Beatbot. Charlie plugs in via a regular cord, which is just a little bit of a pain opening up the sealed port and plugging it in. It would be nicer to have a docking station.
4. I always set Charlie to clean at 2 or 2.5 hours. This completely drains the battery, so he needs to be plugged back in after each run. The Beathbot 9.5 hour battery looks very nice.
5. Charlie climbs the walls seemingly without issue.
6. The leaf filter is very easy to clean.
7. The jury is still out on stair cleaning. The problem is I am not watching him for the 2 hours he's in the pool so I have never caught him on the stairs. My husband is going to set up a time lapse for me so I can figure out if he's doing the stairs or not.
8. I would love the Beatbot's surface filtering option to be included in my robot. Right now we have a separate device for surface cleaning.
I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has.
1. The app is rather useless, except for the "lift" function. The problem I have with the lift button is Charlie finds the nearest wall and climbs it, (the Beatbot device listed above that brings it back to the place where you dropped it in). This might not be a problem for others, but we have an infinity edge with an infinity edge jacuzzi built into the pool, so sometimes Charlie lifts up the side of the jacuzzi which we can't access at all, or around the infinity edge spill over at the back of the pool, which again we can't access. This is perhaps our biggest frustration with the device.
2. It would be nice if the app could control the device - where it goes and what it does (like a "steering" function). Really all the app does is show you the time the cleaning is supposed to end, what type of cleaning is in process, the battery life, and, at the end, how many gallons were filtered. It's supposed to show the total area cleaned, but thus far it keeps reading zero square feet cleaned, so unless I'm doing something wrong that just doesn't work. The device also takes a while to get reconnected on the app every time you open it up.
3. I really like the docking base on the Beatbot. Charlie plugs in via a regular cord, which is just a little bit of a pain opening up the sealed port and plugging it in. It would be nicer to have a docking station.
4. I always set Charlie to clean at 2 or 2.5 hours. This completely drains the battery, so he needs to be plugged back in after each run. The Beathbot 9.5 hour battery looks very nice.
5. Charlie climbs the walls seemingly without issue.
6. The leaf filter is very easy to clean.
7. The jury is still out on stair cleaning. The problem is I am not watching him for the 2 hours he's in the pool so I have never caught him on the stairs. My husband is going to set up a time lapse for me so I can figure out if he's doing the stairs or not.
8. I would love the Beatbot's surface filtering option to be included in my robot. Right now we have a separate device for surface cleaning.
I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has.
Very much appreciate your insight @gadgetlady.
Couple points to consider,
Couple points to consider,
- The Blue Nexus retail is $1399 which is actually more expensive than the low end retail price of Beatbot AquaSense (and considerably above its pre-order price)
- The Blue Nexus retail of $1399 is not far away from the pre-order price for the AquaSense Pro.
- Sublue demoed the Blue Nexus Pro at CES but I've not seen any specs or details on it. I'm guessing the Pro Blue Nexus would be closer feature wise to the AquaSense Pro.
BeatBot, BeatBot Pro and Blue Nexus Comparison Table (initial draft, work in progress). Let me know if you need more info on items or would like answers to other questions.
* Sublue either didn't answer the question or provided a very short, terse answer that didn't address the question.
** Waiting on answers
*** controlled lab setting. Will not specify if this is in storage or submerged or both
| Item | BeatBot Pro | BeatBot | Blue Nexus |
| User Replaceable Battery | No | No | No |
| Replaceable Battery | Yes (has to be sent in to service center) | Yes (has to be sent in to service center) | No |
| Expected Battery Lifespan | Maintains 85% capacity after 1000 full charge cycles | Maintains 85% capacity after 1000 full charge cycles | * |
| Battery Capacity | 10,400 mAh | 6,700 mAh | 28,600 mAh (unsure if this was a typo, requesting clarification) |
| Battery Life | Up to 9.5 hours | Up to 3.5 hours | Up to 3.5 hours |
| Battery Charge Time | ~3 hours | ~3 hours | ~3.5 hours |
| Replacement Battery Cost | TBD. Not finalized and not expected anytime soon given the lifespan above | TBD. Not finalized and not expected anytime soon given the lifespan above | * |
| Limit charge to 80% to preserve battery lifespan | Not at the current time. They passed suggestion on to software development. | Not at the current time. They passed suggestion on to software development. | ** |
| Battery Standards/Safety | UL2595 and IEC62133 | UL2595 and IEC62133 | * |
| Docking Stattion | Yes | Yes | No |
| Surface Pool cleaning | Yes | No | No |
| Wall cleaning | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Waterline cleaning | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ultrafine Filter | 150 micrometers | 180 micrometers | 180 micrometers |
| Water clarifying | Yes | No | No |
| Filter capacity | 3.7L | 3.7L | 4.5L |
| Corporate Longevity | Startup which only has the BeatBot and BeatBot Pro for sale. | Startup which only has the BeatBot and BeatBot Pro for sale. | * |
| Water release | Yes | No | No |
| iPad/Tablet optimization | Expected in the May timeframe | Expected in the May timeframe | ** |
| Web apps/desktop browser support | None planned. | ** | |
| Repairs | Typically one week for in warranty repairs (excluding shipping times) | Typically one week for in warranty repairs (excluding shipping times) | * |
| Brushless motors | Yes | Yes | * |
| User replaceable motors | No | No | No |
| Replacement motor cost | TBD | TBD | * |
| User replaceable brushes | Yes | Yes | * |
| Replacement brush cost | TBD | TBD | * |
| User replaceable pump | No | No | * |
| Replaceable Pump | Yes | Yes | * |
| Replacement pump cost | TBD | TBD | * |
| Extended Warranty Option | No | No | ** |
| Service Responsiveness | Excellent. Always within 24 hours | Excellent. Always within 24 hours | Poor. Five days to receive a very short, terse set of answers that mostly didn't answer my questions. |
| Pump Lifespan | 5+ years | * | |
| Battery Lifespan | 3+ years | * | |
| Button lifespan | 100k+ presses | * | |
| Heat | Up to 122F *** | * | |
| Humidity | Up to 85% *** | * | |
| Salt | 168 hours *** | * | |
| Retail | $2199 ($1799 pre-order) | $1299 ($1099 pre-order) | $1399 |
* Sublue either didn't answer the question or provided a very short, terse answer that didn't address the question.
** Waiting on answers
*** controlled lab setting. Will not specify if this is in storage or submerged or both
Last edited: