More on PoolBusters

[jfalken]

Sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but I am thinking of using one of these as the primary cleaner for my pool and have a few questions. The pool is a 34x14 mostly rectangular fiberglass pool. It takes about 15 minutes exery few days to clean it with the hose and vacuum head that came with the pool. Being in a new subdivision, we get no leaves and just a little dust, grass clippings and lots of little creepy guests in the basket. The pool uses de and the only bummer is that every month or so, I have to backwash and refill the DE because of using the vacuum. Would this pool buster be a good replacement for the hose and vacuum? At less than 30 minutes a week, I certainly can't justify a robot, but $200 is not bad if it would work. Thanks for your help.

[bbb]

Sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but I am thinking of using one of these as the primary cleaner for my pool and have a few questions. The pool is a 34x14 mostly rectangular fiberglass pool. It takes about 15 minutes exery few days to clean it with the hose and vacuum head that came with the pool. Being in a new subdivision, we get no leaves and just a little dust, grass clippings and lots of little creepy guests in the basket. The pool uses de and the only bummer is that every month or so, I have to backwash and refill the DE because of using the vacuum. Would this pool buster be a good replacement for the hose and vacuum? At less than 30 minutes a week, I certainly can't justify a robot, but $200 is not bad if it would work. Thanks for your help.

I haven't "taken the plunge" on a PoolBuster - I budget for 2 pool improvements a year - last year it was for a heat pump and a Polaris 380 rebuild kit; this year it is a SWG and a solar cover reel. . The PoolBuster *may* be on my list for next year. Sounds good for you as an alternative to a robot. However, my secondary cleaner works just about as well - and it also keeps stuff out of my DE filter. It is simply a very inexpensive (under $30) LeafEater - scroll down in the link to see it - that I inherited from the prior owner, with a fine mesh replacement bag that I got at my local pool store. The fine mesh bag converts it into a general purpose cleaner - it's not just for leaves anymore! I stick a little piece of pool noodle in it to keep the bag floating, and the venturi action (which is the same way the Polaris booster vacs work) picks up the same kind of gunk that the Polaris picks up. The bag is over twice the size of a Polaris bag, so it can hold a lot of stuff. The only negative, of course, is that you are using water, but in reality a 5 to 10 minute fill in your pool from a garden hose isn't that huge a deal where I live, since my hose water doesn't play havoc with my pool chemistry.

[kevincad]

thanks, I'll look into it. I've got a Polaris, which does fine unless the stuff is like dust. And what I've done for my round pool, is I have the return eyeball pointed so I get a distinct circular flow around my pool, and all the stuff that goes to the bottom ends up right in the middle, maybe a two foot diameter circle. I think the PoolBuster would be excellent for a quick clean up like that!

[tphaggerty]

To jfalken, I think you can definitely use the Pool Buster as your primary cleaner. We only used our vacuum once this year - to open. Since then it has been the PB. I got the PB Max CG, specificially because I intended to use it as the primary pool cleaner. It is harder to find and more expensive, but it is supposedly 30% more powerful and it recharges in only 2 hours. We have a 20x40 IG. (The CG also comes with a finer slit bag that works quite well).

That said, I did just buy a Pool Rover Plus as well, mainly because we stay open late into the fall (solar heating is great!!) and the leaf load in the pool can get huge! The PB does pick up leaves, but the mesh bag is about the size of a 16oz cup of coffee, so you can only go so long without cleaning it out.

[DCR]

You do need to clean out the filter bag more often than WaterTech says, but we use a small bucket and it is no problem.

How often do you have to clean out the filter bag, and how big is your pool?

I do not have a vacuum right now, and was thinking about buying one of these instead of an aqua bug. What does every one think?

[CarlD]

You can even use the original PB as your main vac. It's easier and faster to use than a hose vac, too. Spend the $25 on the finer filter bag, it's well worth it.

You should clean the bag after every use. First dump out the junk you can, then just take a bucket of water and rinse it. Repeat once on the rinse in a fresh bucket and you're done!

[tphaggerty]

As CarlD said on cleaning. Our pool is a 20x40 IG and I normally have to empty clean the fine mesh bag twice when cleaning. But, we are still building around the pool so we have TONs of millipedes and lots of dirt still getting in plus lots of pollen and such.

But it takes, at most, 2 minutes to remove/clean/reinstall the bag and go.

I didn't realize the fine bag was $25. At that price, I think the extra 50 I spent on the CG model was worth it (it can with the fine mesh bag and the regular bag, plus charges in 2 hours instead of 8 and is supposed to have 30% more power, but who knows on that part).

[CarlD]

I picked up 30-50% more power just by replacing the battery/motor pack. At $79., I wish I had sent it back under warranty. If only I knew then what I know now...

Still, that and $25 for the filter was STILL cheaper than replacing it with a new one, and now it's like new again--better, actually, because I don't think the orig pack EVER ran like this one.

[brent.roberts]

Carl
I've just ordered the Dolphin with the remote control. I think yours does not have this, but maybe you can give an opinion anyway.

Do you think the Dophin with the remote would be good for picking up bits of leaf etc as effectively as the PoolBuster on a pole ??

[CarlD]

Carl
I've just ordered the Dolphin with the remote control. I think yours does not have this, but maybe you can give an opinion anyway.

Do you think the Dophin with the remote would be good for picking up bits of leaf etc as effectively as the PoolBuster on a pole ??

I have the remote. It's not the equivalent of the PoolBuster on a pool.