Replace overheating booster pump for kreepy krauly or buy new robotic cleaner?

[Nelson U]

Booster pump sounds weaker and keeps shutting down after less than a minute. Repairman says about $800 to replace 'overheating' pump, but suggests to better get a robotic cleaner (from $800 to $1400).
My inground pool is small to medium size: 14,000 gallons, 32 by 20 feet.

Any suggestions?

 

[mas985]

Booster pumps are very inefficient while a robot is very efficient. If it were me, I would definitely go with the robot. Most on this thread are happy with their choice:

Doheny's Discovery, S200, Active20, Triton owners club

Pretty excited, I just ordered my first robotic pool cleaner. I chose the Doheny Discovery, which appears to be the same model as the Maytronics Dolphin S 200 / Active 20 models. As of today, the Doheny's Discovery was on sale for $649.00 with free shipping and no tax, which helped smooth over...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[1poolman1]

Booster pump sounds weaker and keeps shutting down after less than a minute. Repairman says about $800 to replace 'overheating' pump, but suggests to better get a robotic cleaner (from $800 to $1400).
My inground pool is small to medium size: 14,000 gallons, 32 by 20 feet.

Any suggestions?

If you're comfortable with doing the work, the Pentair BoostRite is about $425.00 online, relatively easy install, uses about 40% less energy than a standard booster pump. Since you should only be running it about 1.5 - 2 hrs max in your pool, the cost to run even a standard booster is very small.
Robotic cleaners are something you can buy, read the instructions, drop in the pool and remove when the cleaning cycle is complete. Cost per use is very small. Do some research on reliability as many pool companies don't work on them when the break. Everything breaks.

 

[sktn77a]

These booster pumps have doubled in price in the last 3 years (from around $200 to around $400). Somebody is making a killing from Covid and "inflation"!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Price, lifetime and availability are going to be the biggest hurdles with a robot. The price of robots has doubled over the past 5 years with the “entry level” models costing around $1000. Their lifetimes seem to be in the 3-5 year range. They are not repairable and they are designed that way so when they do die, it makes more sense to buy new. So that gives you, on average, a cost of $200 per season. As of this posting, finding an entry level robot can be a challenge due to supply issues.

I had a suction side cleaner (Pentair Sandshark), went to a robot, and then after it died went back to using a suction cleaner. I came to the conclusion/opinion that robots are not worth the cost in my pool. Even though they may be super efficient and cost very little to run, their overall investment was not justified by the marginal improvement in cleaning. My suction cleaner does just as good a job as my robot and costs a lot less to purchase and maintain.

 

[mas985]

They are not repairable and they are designed that way so when they do die, it makes more sense to buy new.

Can you clarify this statement? I have repaired my Dolphin replacing wheel hubs and tracks. Before the pandemic, I was able to get replacement parts fairly easily but post pandemic it has become more of an issue. I chalk that up to supply chain issues. Marina has all the parts listed on their site but many are currently back ordered. So while they are not available today, my hope is that they will be in the not too distant future.

Are you suggesting something different?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Can you clarify this statement? I have repaired my Dolphin replacing wheel hubs and tracks. Before the pandemic, I was able to get replacement parts fairly easily but post pandemic it has become more of an issue. I chalk that up to supply chain issues. Marina has all the parts listed on their site but many are currently back ordered. So while they are not available today, my hope is that they will be in the not too distant future.

Are you suggesting something different?

If the motor assembly goes bad, there’s no replacement parts for the internal components. There are three motors inside the assembly - the impeller motor, the drive motor, and an actuator that drives the directional thrust shroud that sits over the impeller. The two rotational motors are brushed DC motors. Assuming the windings are not compromised you can rebuild the impeller motor with new bearings and brushes. The drive motor is a brushed DC motor but it is sealed and locked onto the plastic hub, there’s no rebuilding it. None of the components inside the motor assembly are available for sale. The best you can possibly do is find them on eBay, typically from an overseas seller that has scavenged the parts from dead robots. Maytronics charges $450 for a new motor assembly. That’s close to half the cost (or more) of a new robot. So when the motor assembly dies, it’s a better financial decision to simply buy a new robot.

Treads, brushes, wheels, bushings, etc, are routine maintenance parts that honestly don’t go bad very often. You can typically go 3+ years without ever having to touch those and they are relatively cheap.

The power supply is rarely damaged unless there’s a power surge event that takes it out. Those run around $300.

A non-swivel cable can be replaced for $100 whereas the swivel version costs $200.

 

[mas985]

I understand your point. I have been fortunate in that mine is going on 6 years without a major failure.