Above Ground pool vacs

Hello everyone,
New member here and would like to introduce myself, I have a Lomart above ground pool, it is a 21' Round. My question is and I am sure it has been discussed a million times, but I need to find the best pool cleaner for an above ground pool and I have been searching and have found the pool rover and pool rover jr to be the best? I am sort of between these two models, but not sure what the difference is between to the two? I have been thorough a few vac's myself and have been using the Super Turtle the last few years and have not been at all happy with it. I have got to say this is a great concept for a above ground pool cleaner and it works great when it is working, I love that it works off the return and you can basically just leave it on all the time, but I just find the thing just seems to clean one part of the pool and that is it! It has never cleaned the back side of the pool ever!

I also used another vacuum that came with the pool, kind of a standard thing that went around the bottom, it had a large disk and almost looked like a upright vacuum and like the others, just did not work, this vac was the worst one. So here I am and I want to finally buy a vacuum that works! Can anyone please help me decide, I am ready to place the order and I am willing to spend the money to get the right one. My pool is surrounded by Oaks and just a never ending battle of debris, so I need a tough vacuum as well to pick up acorns, sticks and leaves. So if anyone can help, it would be appreciated!! Thanks

Hi, Reefdiver, and welcome! I am not familiar with the pool rover or pool rover, jr. Hopefully someone will come along and read your post who is, though.

I have two different vacs for my AG pool; each serves a different purpose.

1. Polaris 65 --- good for picking up large debris off the pool floor -- twigs, "helicopters" off the maple trees, etc. Not good at picking up dust, dirt because as its tail swooshes around the pool, it stirs the dirt up into suspension. This is the cleaner I use early in the season when everything is falling from the trees and then late in the summer early fall when some of the leaves start to fall. (This is a pressure side cleaner.)

2. Wanda the whale --- walks slowly around pool floor and does a great job of getting the dust, dirt. This is the one I use most of the time throughout the summer. I can throw Wanda in the pool in the morning and let her do her thing. Then, later in the day when I am ready to swim, the pool is clean! (This is a suction side cleaner.)

i still do use my manual vac, too. It is the fastest way to clean the pool. So, if I get in the pool and notice it is dirty, I can drag the manual vac out and clean it up in about 15 minutes or so. Neither of the other cleaners can do it that quickly.

Thanks for the reply and hello!

I believe that the Polaris 65 is the same as the Superturtle right? Well one of the problems I was having was that the little filter that goes on the end of the hose was missing! I found it on the floor of the shed and reinstalled and it is working a little better now! The Turtle still does not clean the way I wish it would, it seems to stay in one spot and never seems to clean the back of the pool. This is a great concept as I have said, working off the return is just a great way to vacuum! So many things that can happen in the intake if you do not pay attention.

Well as I have said I am going a different route, I am going with either the Rover Hybrid or the Rover Jr. I really cannot find out what separates the Jr from the Hybrid, but there is about a $100 difference so there must be something! I do like the fact that these are supposed to be programable and run off a 120v cord rather than messing with pool hoses! The Superturtle is the best vac I have used to date but for me still lacking that total clean I am looking for. I am hoping a Rover owner can pop in here and give me a little info on whether or not this thing actually works or not!

I have not used either but in researching different ones, I found this ... I hope that helps
Quoted from http://www.poolsupplyworld.com/pools...OOLROVERJR.htm
"regarding the differences between the Aquabot Pool Rover Jr. and the Aquabot Pool Rover Hybrid.

The Pool Rover Jr. is designed for above ground, flat bottom pools, while the Pool Rover Hybrid is designed for bowl-shaped above ground pools (with inclines up to 30 degrees), but can also be used with in-ground pools.

The Hybrid cleans pools up to 40' in one hour, while the Pool Rover Jr. cleans pools up to 30' in 30 minutes. Both cleaners filter down to 2 microns, operate at 24V, have a 19 quart capacity filter bag and include a 40' non-corroding Kevlar power cable."

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Originally Posted by swimlane

I have not used either but in researching different ones, I found this ... I hope that helps
Quoted from http://www.poolsupplyworld.com/pools...OOLROVERJR.htm
"regarding the differences between the Aquabot Pool Rover Jr. and the Aquabot Pool Rover Hybrid.

The Pool Rover Jr. is designed for above ground, flat bottom pools, while the Pool Rover Hybrid is designed for bowl-shaped above ground pools (with inclines up to 30 degrees), but can also be used with in-ground pools.

The Hybrid cleans pools up to 40' in one hour, while the Pool Rover Jr. cleans pools up to 30' in 30 minutes. Both cleaners filter down to 2 microns, operate at 24V, have a 19 quart capacity filter bag and include a 40' non-corroding Kevlar power cable."

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Thanks for taking time to post this. I had a feeling that the Hybrid meant something like it could be used in an above ground pool aswell as an aboveground. I have a flat bottom 54" high Lomart ABG pool, I think the Rover JR will be fine and I think I am going to order it right now! I will be sure to post my review when I get the results! Thanks

Wanda the Whale By Hayward (I think) as Watermom suggested is a great cleaner for AG pools you can usually find them for less than $150 if you shop around. I can't believe that the next higher priced cleaner (like the ones that cost $200 and up) would clean much better. I found that with Wanda (or probably with any pool cleaner), buying the in-line leaf basket is a big help but is sold seperately. I've seen these cleaners go for $500 - $1000, but I own a Wanda the Whale, and I would buy another one in a heartbeat. There is also a Diver Dan and a Lady Bug that are the same thing.

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Originally Posted by BigTallDumbGuy

Wanda the Whale By Hayward (I think) as Watermom suggested is a great cleaner for AG pools you can usually find them for less than $150 if you shop around. I can't believe that the next higher priced cleaner (like the ones that cost $200 and up) would clean much better. I found that with Wanda (or probably with any pool cleaner), buying the in-line leaf basket is a big help but is sold seperately. I've seen these cleaners go for $500 - $1000, but I own a Wanda the Whale, and I would buy another one in a heartbeat. There is also a Diver Dan and a Lady Bug that are the same thing.

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Wow, I find it hard to believe that Wanda the Whale works! I have looked at these in the store, but just thought it was another waste of money. I honestly really love the Polaris SuperTurtle, great concept and I love that it works off the return, I just leave it on all the time! However it just does not clean the whole pool? It may clean an oval better, but just does not do the backside of my pool ever!! I have fiddled with it, taken it apart everthing and still just cleans what it wants. I have been tempted to buy a Polaris 65 and see if it would work better. Maybe a newer model is improved over what I have. I Just hate to waste another $200 bucks and get the same results, I rather pay $300-$500 bucks and getting something that is proven to work.

Unfortunately my pool is surrounded by Oaks, and a few different Oaks. I have a Red Oak, a White Oak and a Black Oak, there is also a maple close by. The Oaks are not directly over the pool, but close enough that they all drop stuff into the pool. These trees are all different and all produce different debris and it drives me nut! Little acorns, big acorns, pollen, leaves, sticks and the White Oak drops these little balls about the size of a BB, they are brown and once they hit the water they smear when you try and remove them, just a mess. I have to close my pool in September because it just becomes a losing battle. If I can buy a cleaner that will actually work, I could probably buy another month or two of swimming!