Auto cleaners..I just don't get it...

[waterbear]

Since I got Zodiac Mars HP pressure side cleaner I have not had to vacuum my pool, I only have to brush the top step and the swimledge since the cleaner can't get to them, and my filter is staying much cleaner since the crud in the pool is being picked up by the Mars! It's cut down on pool maintenence a lot and I can enjoy what little time I have IN the water instead of cleaning the pool! Now if they would just develop a pool cleaner that can empty it's own dirt collection bin I would be set! (I do have to empty the cleaner weekly. I am amzed at how much stuff it picks up. When I was manually vacuuming I only did it about every 3 weeks because that's how long it took for the pool to look dirty. When I see how much stuff the Mars picks up in a weeks time I am amazed!)

[steveinaz]

I guess we are lucky in that there are few leaves (we live in s. Arizona desert), and our pool is not large. Saturday vacuumimg is usually all I have to do, unless we get a serious dust devil that sweeps thru the yard.

[BigStein]

I am sure auto-cleaners are great. But since I don't want to spend the money, I vacuum, generally every time I swim. Since I vacuum often there isn't usually much debris to pick up (but I like it as clean as possible before I jump in), and it is about a 10 minute job. I consider this kind of maintanence fun, although maybe that will fade since we have had our pool for less than a year. And I certainly don't consider it hard work, but if I should happen to break a sweat then the first dive in becomes all the more refreshing.

[tenax]

it's kind of like kids and chores.."neato" to do the first few times..then it becomes another damn chore on the list i thought it was fun and cool the first couple of seasons..by startup of season 3 and having to empty my basket from the winter crap about 25 times while vacuuming..fun was not the word on my mind. now, i've got a leaf net and can say that the amount of setup has reduced considerably..but i'm still not having fun..ok, maybe it was fun for 5 minutes..maybe i'm a good candidate for an auto vac

[aquarium]

If your pool is already set up with a pressure port, it doesn't have to cost a lot to install a cleaner:

http://cgi.ebay.com/POLARIS-VAC-SWEE...QQcmdZViewItem

I have ours set to run a couple of hours each evening and it keeps the bottom clean of debris. I wouldn't ever want to go manual.

[nater]

Benefits for me:
1). Time saver/multitasker. I can mow, sleep, work, cook, drink, etc while the robot cleans the pool.
2). Super clean water. If I throw the robot into my pool when its "clean", the filter bag will still make a cloudy mess of the 5 gallon rinse bucket at the end of the cycle.
3). Completeness of job. I get tired, bored, rushed, etc and miss spots with the vacuum. The robot doesn't. He lives to clean the pool

Are you missing out on any great zen experience by not having one? No. Are you saving some money by not having one? Yes.
Would I buy another one? Absolutely!

[NWMNMom]

I do not want my pool to become a chore and there IS a difference between maintanance and a chore. We also live in the woods, and even with the cover on we still have debri that needs to be cleaned up. I have too much to do and so little time, plain and simple, it saves me time that I can be doing something else.