Do You Really Need an Automatic?

[CoffeeBean]

We have a Doughboy 16X32 w/a 6.5' deep end. I've been successfully using the BBB method for two seasons now.

The pool came with one of those cleaners with the big round discs on it - can't remember its name now. It worked fairly well but somehow developed a crack and wouldn't work so I replaced it with a Polaris Raptor that I was told would work in a vinyl AG pool. It has fittings and a suction gauge and such but it just won't stay in the suction port hole or won't develop enough suction. I'm beginning to think that it wasn't meant for an AG.

Combine that with having to dunk and hook up all that hose and it's a royal pain in the kneecaps.

Can you keep a pool sufficiently clean without an automatic? I've been using a hose suction and rare vac to waste and it seems to have been working but I don't want to court trouble if I should be doing more.

Thanks.

CoffeeBean

[Spensar]

The automatics are for convenience. Manual vacumming will keep a pool nice and clean.

[steveinaz]

I do the "Saturday-morning-vaccuum" thing. Didn't want the "contraption" hanging out of my pool all the time.

[docsobeck]

in my experience, above ground vs. inground makes all the difference in the need for an automatic cleaner. i had an above ground for five years at my first house, and vacuuming once a week was sufficient to keep it nice and clean. then i moved to a house with an inground, and came to a startling revelation: with an above ground, leaves, pollen, flower petals, dirt, etc. either lands in the pool, or it does not land in the pool. with an inground, pretty much EVERYTHING eventually gets in the pool. i was vacuuming 4 times a week to keep it clean, and very quickly decided it was get an automatic, or live with a dirty bottom most of the time.

[CarlD]

You'll get mixed reviews but a GREAT compromise is a PoolBuster. It's manual but it's easier and faster than a hose. Just get the fine filter bag and, if it seems weak, contact them BEFORE the warranty runs out. Sometimes the battery/motor pack has a bad battery that won't hold a charge. But when it's good, it runs for an hour.

Again, some people have had bad experiences with them but I've been delighted with mine, even when I had to change out the battery at my expense because it was out of warranty.