Need Suggestions for Inground Auto Cleaner

[newpoolguy]

I had a Polaris 165 and was not happy with it. Primarily, because it would not clean the entire pool. I'm looking for suggestions from your experience for something new. I would like something that would operate off of the pressure of the returns. I guess something that would operate of of a skimmer would be ok too. I don't have a dedicated suction line, and don't want to install a booster pump. The pool is 8500 gal. (12'x30'), vinyl liner and SWG.

Look forward to your suggestions.

[Watermom]

bumping back up

[TomC]

Sorry, I don't have any experience with suction or pressure side cleaners. I do have a robotic cleaner though, that has been basically trouble free for 10 pool seasons. The nice thing about robots is that they work independently of your pool filter, so it's like having 2 filters cleaning your pool. Mine is old and takes about 5 hours to clean my whole pool, the newer ones are faster. One down side to robots is that they are kind of expensive, ranging anywhere from $800 to $1600. You can get models that have remote control to spot clean too. Maybe someone with experience with the other types of cleaners can give you some advice on those. Good luck.

Tom

[aylad]

I've always used a Polaris 380, which I'm very happy with, but it does require a booster pump.

Janet

[famousdavis]

I bought a Barracuda G3 -- a popular suction cleaner. I don't recommend it, though. Mine gets stuck too frequently on my softly rounded steps. I've used it about 3 times, choosing to just brush my pool down to the main drain once a week. Surprisingly, my pool is very clear in spite of the lack of using a cleaner. If I had the $$$, I'd probably choose a robot that was smart enough to know when it was stuck.

[Willjay]

I had a Hayward phantom from when the pool was built. It's just a skimmer, which is nice after I mow the grass, but it does nothing for the silt and sand and debris once settled on the bottom. I now have a Polaris 280 now and I love it. I no longer have the problems with sediments on the bottom. It does a great job sucking them into it's net as well as everything else on the bottom. Leaves, small pool toys, goggles, everything that isn't on my top two steps is caught.