SEAUTO Crab quick review

[TimTucker]

First, know that I have cleaned my pool manually the last ~10 years (Kreepy before that).
Thought I'd give my quick thoughts on the Seauto Crab cordless pool cleaner. Overall for the price I paid it gets a 2 thumbs up. It arrived partially charged. Once charged, it cleaned for 2 hours and 10 minutes. The unit returned to its original spot once cleaning ended. Cleaning the unit was simple and easy. Instruction book was clear. I won't be using the app that only lets you switch between modes: 'all-cover', 'wall-only', and 'floor-only'. 'all-cover' mode is fine with me. Many users reported an app forced update had bricked their cleaner. The manual does state maximum chlorine of 4 ppm. Seems odd. Mine was at 5 this morning, so we shall see. The pool was cleaned as well as a kreepy would have done it. Not perfect, but presentable. The current price on Amazon is $919.99, I bought on Lightning Deal for $399.99. I wouldn't pay $1k for any pool cleaner. End of cleaning cycle, it moved ~5 feet to its starting position before stopping and the status light turning to red. I will post a longer cleaning video tomorrow. If you should have question, please ask.
missed debris:

 

[needsajet]

Great review, Thanks!! Looking forward to the video and your long term take on it when the time comes. It's very encouraging to hear about the 2-hr run time.

WRT the "max 4ppm FC", I'll posit a guess that a TFPC run pool with FC buffered properly by CYA will not be a problem!

When this is achieved, with acceptable total cycles and battery degradation, or low replacement cost, I'm willing to go AU$800 for a rechargeable robot. Amazon here has them at AU$1040. (around $700)

 

[TimTucker]

UPDATE: My Sea auto Crab is dead. 24 VDC battery voltage OK, unit won't turn on. Customer support MIA. Stored per sea auto instructions. I can hear a tiny amount of water inside (?) where the control board would most likely be. It worked very well for its 1 season.

 

[suzook]

UPDATE: My Sea auto Crab is dead. 24 VDC battery voltage OK, unit won't turn on. Customer support MIA. Stored per sea auto instructions. I can hear a tiny amount of water inside (?) where the control board would most likely be. It worked very well for its 1 season.

Yikes, that's the unfortunate thing with the flood of these cordless cleaners. While most of them work great, the reliability is just an unknown.

 

[TimTucker]

Yikes, that's the unfortunate thing with the flood of these cordless cleaners. While most of them work great, the reliability is just an unknown.

I gambled and lost I will say that it climbed walls well, cleaned well, and cleaned for a bit over 2 hours.

 

[TimTucker]

UPDATE: Seauto has agreed to send me a new unit. We shall see. I hope the electronic housing is better sealed from water on this model. I can hear water inside where I believe the controls are located. It will not drain/dry out. I've turned the unit in every position I can think of.

 

[TimTucker]

Believe it or not, I have received a replacement for the dead seauto crab discussed in the post: My seauto crab It took a month and ~10 emails, videos, photos to convince them it was dead. I just hope this unit is better sealed against water infiltration into the electronic enclosure. Wife loves the new purple color Wish me luck.

 

[TimTucker]

Decided to explore the water that was held up in the 'black box' portion of the seauto crab. I had hopes of a possible repair. I was able to locate the internal rattle...the Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor rolling around . Hard to tell where the leak was. I suspect the motor shaft that pulls the water through the body of the cleaner. I have to give them credit for only using 2 screw sizes and a 8mm, 10mm socket and a phillips screwdriver. The water in the picture is a VERY small portion of what had been in the black box portion of the crab.