Pool Vacuums

[HillBoy]

Well I'm completely stuck. I have a 14 year old Polaris 180 that is giving up the ghost. It only cleans in the deep end of the pool and rarely ventures out to the shallow part of my IG pool. It has also completely stopped climbing up the sides of the pool. I have replaced just about everything: hose, backvalve, wheels, floats and it's still acting up. I just figure that it's time has come.

According to poolcenter.com (where I buy most of my parts and equipment), the best replacement would be the Polaris 280 which retails for $499 (youch!). Polaris is really good but their units and parts can be VERY expensive - ex. the replacement bags go for $20 here at Leslie's. Poolcenter.com has the Polaris 380 for $649 while the Polaris 480 runs $1449 (BIG YOUCH!). Leslie's is pushing the Hayward Viper which is an "improved" design over the Polaris but I just don't trust Leslie's who appears to be pushing Hayward as their inhouse brand.

I am somewhat interested in the Mars HP from Barracuda (http://www.poolcenter.com/cleaners_b...s_poolstor.htm) but cannot find much info on personal experiences with this cleaner. It's a spherical design so it looks like it would not suffer from the hangup problems that plague the Polaris units forcing you to buy that #@&%! backvalve. Has anyone here heard about this cleaner? Any advice I can get will be a big help.

[fog80]

I have a 30k gallon inground pool. I was thinking maybe I would buy a automatic vacuum this year. I have always stepped back because of the cost.

Anyone have any suggestions on a reasonably priced vacuum that can get the job done?

[IMherDad]

We tried one of the robotic cleaners for our 33' above ground pool. We had been given a Barracuda when we got the pool but it just never seemed to work. So we took that back and traded it in for a Robo Kleen.

Man this thing was great. It picked up everything. Problem was when you went to get it out of the pool it weighed 75lbs! We tried one and it worked great for about two weeks. The gears in the wheels kept locking up. We took it back and they gave us another one. Same thing happened to that unit.

Since it was near season's end we just got a refund and we thought we would wait until this year and see what we could find.

[SLS]

I bought a Aquabot Pool Rover Plus last year for my 32,000 IG Vinyl Pool. My 20' x 40' pool has a steady sloped bottom from 3' to 8' deep. The rover plus will only clean the bottom but I seldom have problems with my vertical walls getting algae or dirty. I only brushed the sides twice last season. I paid 500.00 including tax, shipping, and handling. I have been very pleased with it. I like it because it runs independently from my pump/filter with very little electric power. The only issue I have with it is the cord gets tangled up with itself because it is going in a radius pattern but it only takes a few minutes to untangle it. The time it saves me vacuuming it just wonderful!!! I can throw it in after a storm and in a hour or two it is clean again.

[PopcornGirl]

Well, we have had 2 (two) Kreepy Krauly automatic vacuums now, and I have mixed feelings about them.
PROS:
When they are working correctly, they work AMAZINGLY WELL. It keeps our pool completely free of debris. The only thing it has trouble with is when sand gets in the pool. But sand is a pain for manual vacuuming, too.
CONS:
1) I think it's ridiculously expensive and I think the makers are basically milking their buyers because NOTHING on this contraption warrants the price tag. It's pretty cheaply made, which brings me to my next point...
2) They wear out pretty fast -- EVEN IF you take care of them meticulously! The first time I had to replace mine, I just assumed it was a hard lesson learned... Next time, don't leave it lying in the sun, keep water chemicals perfectly balanced when it's in the pool, store hose properly... yadda, yadda, yadda... But with the one I have now, I HAVE done all of those things, it's barely 2 years old and the rubber "floater wings" just broke off for no apparent reason! And every tiny replacement part is ridiculously overpriced as well, so there's no easy maintenance.
3) It gets STUCK. A lot. On the edge of my eyeball jets, on the stairs, in the corner... we're forever going out to "rescue" it and get it going. The hose gets tangled frequently, too. But it's still less time consuming than having to manually vacuum each week, so...
I guess it all depends on what you are willing to put up with.
Right now mine is working and I have 3 very active children, so I'm content to shell out some more cash to replace the wings.

[Prov35]

I've used an Aquabot Turbo for the last 3 years. Been very happy with it. Does a great job cleaning my inground 20 by 40 vinyl. Takes about 6 hours for it to really get the pool clean. I usually throw it in once a week. And I do have to check on it now and again as the robot will get tangled in the cord once in a while. When it's time to replace it, I believe I will get one with the remote control. That would be handy for spot cleaning. You can now buy robotic cleaners with a shorter cleaning cycle, maybe an hour or two.

[NWMNMom]

We use the Lil Shark on our AG and it works pretty darn good. The one thing that we did however, is place a leaf canister in between the shark hose and the intake, eliminating the extra cleaning at the skimmer. It does a very nice job getting the whole pool clean and rarely hangs on anything. I believe it only has the one moving part.

[mwsmith2]

I've got a letro legend. At first, I thought it wasn't all that good, and was thinking along the lines of an aquabot or such. However, after messing with it, I've found out that it really does a great job at taking care of the leaves, sand and grit, once it's adjusted. Only problem is when the water is cold, the hoses get stiff and it's not quite as mobile. Other than that, it works quite well!

Michael

[scottturner]

I purchased a Dolphin 3 seasons ago, when I found I was vacuuming more than enjoying the pool. I (and my family) love it. It is more expensive and this year I need to replace the drive belts, but the return on the investment has been worth it. I also understand they have some newer units that clean faster and don't have drive belts. I have seen diagnostics new for around $650, which is what I paid. They do a great job picking stuff up, and I use it at night to move my chemicals around, instead of running the pump. Just toss it in and turn it on. Mine came with 2 bags, one for spring clean up with larger particles and one that traps very fine particles. I can't recommend it enough. Thanks.

[VOLDADDY]

I have had an Aquabot Turbo for 2 years now and couldn't imagine not having it. I throw it in at night 1-2 x per week or as needed, and come out the next morning to a sparkling clean pool. If you rotate the handle on each use it really helps with the cord tangling issue. When I have to replace it I will get the one with the remote. I didn't think I would need it but there are times it will come in handy. Besides, it's another toy for me to play with!