Upgrade from polaris 280 w/ booster to robot pool cleaner?

[Jmcpherron]

My Polaris 280 has a crack in its case which my pool repair tech tells me will spell its doom at some point (something about it being too much pressure to glue it or save it any other way). So it is running fine for now, but I was advised to get a replacement during a sale. Looking into recommendations on TFP posts I see robot cleaners recommended very very strongly (e.g., dolphin active 20) and I am all about the robots! I particularly like the sound of $ savings in operation as well as a much improved job of scrubbing the pool surface. However a few questions.

1. If I already have a booster pump set up and plumbed in, is it still sensible to ditch it and switch to a robot? If so, should I be removing the booster, doing anything with the existing booster pump plumbing to the pool?

2. I am used to having my 280 live in the pool, running on a mechanical timer i set up, so i only mess with it to empty its filter bag or repairs. I am very new to pool robots so please forgive my ignorance, but my vague impression is they do their cleaning and then are best stored outside the pool in a caddy. So is it a daily/regular task to both put the robot in the pool and take it out again? Or can they stay in the pool across multiple cleaning cycles?

 

[rphpool]

I had the same issue and question you have last year. Since I like ti keep cleaner in pool 24/7 I decided on the Polaris Quattro. It has a basket like a robot and the best drive gears design I have seen yet. I formally had a Pentair Racer

 

[Jimrahbe]

J,

It is somewhat of a myth that you have to take your robot out every day...

I do not like seeing a cleaner in my pool.. If you look at any picture advertising a new pool, you are not going to see a hunk of junk at the bottom of the pool.. So for me I like the fact that they are easy to take out or to put in as you want.

At my house, I usually only need to run the robot about every three days.. So, I take mine out when done and just store it under the eve of the house by the equipment pad.

But.. I have two rent house that both have robots that basically live in their pools.. They only come out about once a week or longer to clean the filter basket.

I am not sure that a robot will save you any money, but they will do a better job.. If you don't think that is true, run your pressure side cleaner and then run the robot.. it will pick up what the pressure side cleaner leaves behind. Granted we are not talking about large items, but the robot will pick up stuff that you can't really see until it is in the robots filters.

If you go robot, I would just remove the booster pump and cap off the lines..

While I believe that robots are better, they are not for everyone. Either you enjoy pool maintenance or you don't.. If pool maintenance is not for you, then you would most likely be better off with something that looks ugly, but that you never have to mess with...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[apv]

If you go robot, I would just remove the booster pump and cap off the lines..

While I believe that robots are better, they are not for everyone. Either you enjoy pool maintenance or you don't.. If pool maintenance is not for you, then you would most likely be better off with something that looks ugly, but that you never have to mess with...

That's what I am thinking of doing. Putting a bullet into the Polaris and going to robot only.

 

[bmoreswim]

I did what Jim suggests 3 years ago. PSC was still "working" if you can call it that. It was never good at its job. Pad is much cleaner now as I also took the opportunity to replumb as the original design was done with eyes closed it seems.