Polaris Raptor - Not Recommended

[Skillset]

I'm a newbie here and have gotten so much out of this forum in the last few weeks, I wanted to give back a little.

My fiberglass pool was installed about 3 weeks ago. The dealer gave me a Polaris Raptor. It's been a very big disappointment.

The unit likes to hang around the perimeter of the pool (it's oval). Once in awhile it will venture out in the middle. Occasionally, it will get stuck on the main drain for an hour and free itself - I guess after the wind changes and blows the hoses that are skimming the top it can free itself. A few times, it just stopped, meaning the mechanism that makes it move in the pool just quit. Quickly disconnecting and reconnecting the hose turned the mechanism back on. Strange.

I've spoken to Polaris about 4 times, who I might add, provided GREAT customer service. Minimal wait times and very nice folks. They had me try a bunch of things on the unit, but in the end they concluded I had too much flow out of my 2 return eyeballs that pushes the hoses into making the same pattern. I tried monkeying with them for hours, but the result was always the same.

I let this thing go for 10 hours and it probably gets about 80% of the pool, which is unacceptable for that amount of time it runs.

I realize this unit's only about $299, but still, this is not pocket change.

Currently, I'm looking for a serious upgrade to a Aquabot T2 or Blue Diamond. I see a few folks are testing the BD, so I'm anxiously awaiting their follow ups. Doesn't seem like much information is available on the T2's. I've been trolling the internet for good deals on these 2 units, but not a lot of sales!

Anyway, this forum is amazing - I really wish I found it prior to my pool purchase. I could have avoided the Hayward Auto-Chlorinator for one thing.

Thanks everyone!

Marc

[waterbear]

Polaris does make a drain cover that fits over the drain to allow cleaners to move over the drain without getting stuck.
http://www.polarispool.com/products/details.asp?ID=26

You might get good results with a pressure side cleaner like the polaris 360. It does not require a booster pump.

[Skillset]

Thanks, Evan. I'll have to check that model out. They recommended the ATV - a suction side cleaner that does not have the same issues as the Raptor. Still, I think I'd just like to make the investment in the robot.