Pool Vacuums

[chuck9997]

I have a Baracuda AG Pool Vacuum.. I am not sure which exact model.. but it is very similar to (if not exactly like) the Ranger. I have owned this vacuum for two seasons.. You hook it up to the water intake... and it moves along the bottom of the pool floor.

Last year.. I pretty much just swept the pool manually. I got so tired of the vacuum either... getting hung up.. or just covering a small section of the pool over and over and over.

My friend has a vaccum that floats on top of the water..and apparently blows debris up and into a basket of some sort.. He thinks it's great.

My question.. Are there really any automatic vacuums that are worth much? What are you experiences?

[rdietman]

i have the ranger also on a 40 foot pool. it works but as you said not really great. i have it set as they say and suction is right in the good area on the test guage, seems to always get wound up and stuck somewhere . occasionally climbs up the wall and sucks air causing my pump to cavitate so i hate to leave it alone. but i use it . i would also like one that really works.

[DarbyF]

I have a 40ft free-form IG with lots of trees around it. 1st tried the Hayward Navigator, it would get hung up on anything larger than a dime and both the steps and ladders. Last year I tried the Dolphin and it worked great. I have a mesh safety cover so I have a wonderful layer of "silt" on the bottom every year which took a week or so of vac'ing to waste and re-filling, but the Dolphin had it done in 3 8-hour cycles without any loss of water.

[mac1626]

1st thing to know about the Ranger, or any mat type cleaner: they are random pattern cleaners. Where they go in the pool is determined by a number of factors, but the primary cause of poor coverage is the hose is being pushed around by the jet(s), and the cleaner will be guided by the hose.

2nd item: a properly placed hose weight makes a world of difference with these cleaners. Try placing the weight about 4' back from the head. The cleaner should not list forward or backward when running.

The 3rd point is climbing can be controlled (eliminated) with most of these cleaners. You can add an extra weight, with some cleaners you can turn the mat upside down, and others have optional devices to control climbing.

All that being said, the fact that most AG pools have only one return makes it difficult for a random pattern cleaner to operate well. A cleaner that we have had great success with is the Pentair (formerly Sta Rite) L'il Shark, model GW8000. The cleaner will work well in most AG pools, has only one moving part and is reasonably priced. One note, it will not clean ledges and will not work well in a pool with varying depths.

Good Luck!
Mark

[vinnygnj]

I have the ez vac and it does a good job, it cleans about 85% of the pool. It does get stuck on the ladder.

It does get bothered by the currents in the pool (the return) and I usually have the return shooting up breaking the surface to avoid underwater currents. It comes with a replacement return that's a 90º angle to the pool wall but I'm too lazy to replace my normal return.

I have used it to clean a green pool floor and it does a great job where ever it passes. What usually happens is I put it in the pool, run it for about 3 hours, keep tabs on it to make sure it's not stuck under the ladder and clean the remaining 15% by guiding it to those spots.

I would think any pool cleaner would get stuck in an AG pool unless you remove the ladder.

[HillBoy]

Well I'm completely stuck. I have a 14 year old Polaris 180 that is giving up the ghost. It only cleans in the deep end of the pool and rarely ventures out to the shallow part of my IG pool. It has also completely stopped climbing up the sides of the pool. I have replaced just about everything: hose, backvalve, wheels, floats and it's still acting up. I just figure that it's time has come.

According to poolcenter.com (where I buy most of my parts and equipment), the best replacement would be the Polaris 280 which retails for $499 (youch!). Polaris is really good but their units and parts can be VERY expensive - ex. the replacement bags go for $20 here at Leslie's. Poolcenter.com has the Polaris 380 for $649 while the Polaris 480 runs $1449 (BIG YOUCH!). Leslie's is pushing the Hayward Viper which is an "improved" design over the Polaris but I just don't trust Leslie's who appears to be pushing Hayward as their inhouse brand.

I am somewhat interested in the Mars HP from Barracuda (http://www.poolcenter.com/cleaners_baracuda_mars_poolstor.htm) but cannot find much info on personal experiences with this cleaner. It's a spherical design so it looks like it would not suffer from the hangup problems that plague the Polaris units forcing you to buy that #@&%! backvalve. Has anyone here heard about this cleaner? Any advice I can get will be a big help.

[fog80]

I have a 30k gallon inground pool. I was thinking maybe I would buy a automatic vacuum this year. I have always stepped back because of the cost.

Anyone have any suggestions on a reasonably priced vacuum that can get the job done?

[IMherDad]

We tried one of the robotic cleaners for our 33' above ground pool. We had been given a Barracuda when we got the pool but it just never seemed to work. So we took that back and traded it in for a Robo Kleen.

Man this thing was great. It picked up everything. Problem was when you went to get it out of the pool it weighed 75lbs! We tried one and it worked great for about two weeks. The gears in the wheels kept locking up. We took it back and they gave us another one. Same thing happened to that unit.

Since it was near season's end we just got a refund and we thought we would wait until this year and see what we could find.

[lukester]

I've been using an Aquabot for the last four years in my 36' IG vinyl liner pool and love it. It costs more than most of the vacuums out there but it has some advantages that made it worth the cost to me.

-It doesn't rely on the pump so I save money on electricity.
-It does a reasonably good job covering the entire pool.
-It sort of scrubs/brushes the liner rather than just sucking up the loose stuff.

Hope this helps.

[SLS]

I bought a Aquabot Pool Rover Plus last year for my 32,000 IG Vinyl Pool. My 20' x 40' pool has a steady sloped bottom from 3' to 8' deep. The rover plus will only clean the bottom but I seldom have problems with my vertical walls getting algae or dirty. I only brushed the sides twice last season. I paid 500.00 including tax, shipping, and handling. I have been very pleased with it. I like it because it runs independently from my pump/filter with very little electric power. The only issue I have with it is the cord gets tangled up with itself because it is going in a radius pattern but it only takes a few minutes to untangle it. The time it saves me vacuuming it just wonderful!!! I can throw it in after a storm and in a hour or two it is clean again.

[PopcornGirl]

Well, we have had 2 (two) Kreepy Krauly automatic vacuums now, and I have mixed feelings about them.
PROS:
When they are working correctly, they work AMAZINGLY WELL. It keeps our pool completely free of debris. The only thing it has trouble with is when sand gets in the pool. But sand is a pain for manual vacuuming, too.
CONS:
1) I think it's ridiculously expensive and I think the makers are basically milking their buyers because NOTHING on this contraption warrants the price tag. It's pretty cheaply made, which brings me to my next point...
2) They wear out pretty fast -- EVEN IF you take care of them meticulously! The first time I had to replace mine, I just assumed it was a hard lesson learned... Next time, don't leave it lying in the sun, keep water chemicals perfectly balanced when it's in the pool, store hose properly... yadda, yadda, yadda... But with the one I have now, I HAVE done all of those things, it's barely 2 years old and the rubber "floater wings" just broke off for no apparent reason! And every tiny replacement part is ridiculously overpriced as well, so there's no easy maintenance.
3) It gets STUCK. A lot. On the edge of my eyeball jets, on the stairs, in the corner... we're forever going out to "rescue" it and get it going. The hose gets tangled frequently, too. But it's still less time consuming than having to manually vacuum each week, so...
I guess it all depends on what you are willing to put up with.
Right now mine is working and I have 3 very active children, so I'm content to shell out some more cash to replace the wings. ;)

[Prov35]

I've used an Aquabot Turbo for the last 3 years. Been very happy with it. Does a great job cleaning my inground 20 by 40 vinyl. Takes about 6 hours for it to really get the pool clean. I usually throw it in once a week. And I do have to check on it now and again as the robot will get tangled in the cord once in a while. When it's time to replace it, I believe I will get one with the remote control. That would be handy for spot cleaning. You can now buy robotic cleaners with a shorter cleaning cycle, maybe an hour or two.

[NWMNMom]

We use the Lil Shark on our AG and it works pretty darn good. The one thing that we did however, is place a leaf canister in between the shark hose and the intake, eliminating the extra cleaning at the skimmer. It does a very nice job getting the whole pool clean and rarely hangs on anything. I believe it only has the one moving part.

[mwsmith2]

I've got a letro legend. At first, I thought it wasn't all that good, and was thinking along the lines of an aquabot or such. However, after messing with it, I've found out that it really does a great job at taking care of the leaves, sand and grit, once it's adjusted. Only problem is when the water is cold, the hoses get stiff and it's not quite as mobile. Other than that, it works quite well!

Michael

[scottturner]

I purchased a Dolphin 3 seasons ago, when I found I was vacuuming more than enjoying the pool. I (and my family) love it. It is more expensive and this year I need to replace the drive belts, but the return on the investment has been worth it. I also understand they have some newer units that clean faster and don't have drive belts. I have seen diagnostics new for around $650, which is what I paid. They do a great job picking stuff up, and I use it at night to move my chemicals around, instead of running the pump. Just toss it in and turn it on. Mine came with 2 bags, one for spring clean up with larger particles and one that traps very fine particles. I can't recommend it enough. Thanks.

[VOLDADDY]

I have had an Aquabot Turbo for 2 years now and couldn't imagine not having it. I throw it in at night 1-2 x per week or as needed, and come out the next morning to a sparkling clean pool. If you rotate the handle on each use it really helps with the cord tangling issue. When I have to replace it I will get the one with the remote. I didn't think I would need it but there are times it will come in handy. Besides, it's another toy for me to play with!

[cnk]

We love our Dolphin. Look on ebay for good deals.

[chemicalbalance]

We have a Polaris 180 which works off of a booster pump. It works adequately well, but since it cleans to a mesh bag, it is really just driving around stirring debris. It will pick up anything larger than say 1/16" square.

The absolute BEST thing that I have found for cleaning the pool quickly is the 14" RB214 vacuum head that Ben sells for $75 at

PoolSolutions.com....http://www.poolsolutions.com/cart/clean.php

I know it sounds like I drank Ben's Kool-Aid, but this thing works great. It is heavy and steerable so you can vacuum the whole pool in about 15 minutes. Since I bought his vacuum head, I vacuum the pool on Saturday mornings for a few minutes. I actually have become obsessed with how clean it gets the pool.

I am ashamed to admit it, but now I really do just use the Polaris 180 to stir the pool when I add chemicals.

This is no joke. Don't buy any automatic cleaner till you try this head for your vacuum. Make sure the filter is clean too so you have good suction. This thing really works and works quickly. It is obviously a professional grade device that you wont find at your local store of the same quality.

[brent.roberts]

I've used a Barracuda and latest Kreepy Krawly last summer and gave up on both of them . They got stuck on their own shadows and did not get to all the areas they should have because of the return jets affecting their path.

So I upgraded to a Polaris ATV, which was an improvement but still missed areas because of water currents. Then one day it got really hung up and stripped some internal drive gears. Took it back for repairs under warranty. It still won't move.

After have read a lot of items on these auto cleaners I have come to two conclusions.

1) if the device used a 1 1/2" return or pressure line hose it will be affected by water currents and do a less than perfect job of covering the bottom



2) it seems that everyone who got a Dolphin Diagnostic or similar unit is very happy with them.

I think the writing is on the wall ( not quite on the check yet, but the pen is in hand.)

May 12 update - ordered the Dolphin Diagnostic ... fingers crossed

[mwsmith2]

Since I bought his vacuum head, I vacuum the pool on Saturday mornings for a few minutes.
There's one problem though. It's the use of the word "I". :D

Michael

[waterbear]

I am somewhat interested in the Mars HP from Barracuda (http://www.poolcenter.com/cleaners_baracuda_mars_poolstor.htm) but cannot find much info on personal experiences with this cleaner.
I have to admit that the Mars looks good and it's price looks even better but I seem to remeber several negative reviews on here before the board crashed. If my memory serves me right the general opinion was that it tended to self destruct and fall apart after about 2 years. I am still leaning heavily toward the polaris 380 or the letro legend. I like how the hayward viper looks in their little video on the Hayward site but I do know that there have been some problems with some of the earlier production units. Don't know if they've worked out the bugs yet. The Polaris and Letro units both use a design that has been around for a long time and is pretty well debugged! From what I have been able to find out both are pretty reliable and both do a decent job. Just from looking both units over I think the drive mechanism on the Polaris looks like it might have fewer problem but I am not an engineer so don't quote me on that! If someone wanted to give me either one for Xmas I would be a happy camper!

[jabre]

I'm in early construction phase on my pool right now, pre-gunite. I'm seriously considering having the contractor plumb & wire for the contracted polaris 280, but not install it. Instead, I'm thinking of picking up the Dolphin Dynamic Plus from Costco. My goal is absolutely least hassle in maintenance and electricity. I'll shell out a couple hundred a year extra if it saves me part of that in power (no daily polaris pump) and numerous hours of tweaking/reparing the cleaner. Anyone have the Polaris 280 or recently switched from it? It would be nice to hear their recommendation on going robotic.

[jabre]

Hillboy, my brother just traded in his older Polaris for a MARS. He absolutely loves it! He said it's much more effective and trouble-free than the Polaris. But, it's only one month old. I read a previous review about lifetime being ~2 years. That's why I posted the reply about possibly going with the Dolphin.

[HillBoy]

Hillboy, my brother just traded in his older Polaris for a MARS. He absolutely loves it! He said it's much more effective and trouble-free than the Polaris. But, it's only one month old. I read a previous review about lifetime being ~2 years. That's why I posted the reply about possibly going with the Dolphin.
Thanks for the feedback. I was about to give up and shell out for the Polaris but decided to wait and look for more information on the Mars. That Dolphin looks great but for $750, it had better be so. For now, I think I'll order Ben's vaccum. I've been manually cleaning my pool ever since the Polaris has stopped working properly anyway.

[sailork]

I was about to buy Ben's Vacuum head when A buddy of mine gave me his year old Barracuda G4. (I suspect there are millions of used pool cleaners available at garage sales for cheap.) It wasn't cutting it on his 50,000 gallon pool and he upgraded to an aquabot. I dumped the sucker in the water last Sunday and let it run for three hours. It left a trail of clean wherever it went and completely cleaned the bottom of my 25,000 gallon plaster pool. It ran all the way up the sides to the surface. It misssed quite a bit around the ladder and the top steps. I swept the sides with a Wall Whale and have never seen my pool so clean, even when a pro was doing it.
I suppose if I'd paid for it I'd be annoyed at having to clean the walls, but for free I'm delighted. :D

[joenj]

Hillboy, We are going on our third year with our MARS cleaner. Very happy with it. However, last year the pressure relief value did come apart. Zodiac promptly sent a replacement quick disconnect assy.,,,,which was redesigned!

[us7sail]

I am in the process of blding my new Ig pool and was talking with our local pool guy. Asked about the polaris and other vacums. He recomended the Mars. Said there were less moving parts to break and it was just as efficent if not more than the polaris. Cost was a lot less. They said they recieved a lot of positive reviews from customers that purchasedit vs the polaris. Chris