We've talked about it almost since we moved into our house coming on 2 years now.

Wanting to look into a good 'buy once/cry once' vacuum/cleaner for our pool.

Trees aren't much of an issue, only time we get a lot of debris in the pool is after mowing the lawn/ It's mostly the dust/pollen/etc that gets in & sticks to the bottom/walls since we have the pebble texture & not the smooth plaster.

So, what do you guys like for a pool vac/cleaner? Not sure if I should be looking into one that scrubs as well?

We run our pool at night (free hours from elec co), if that makes any difference.

I have always used a Polaris, currently Polaris 380.

My pool supply lady uses a Tiger Shark in her pool, which has an actual scrubber and an internal filter that catches the debris.

The Polaris requires an auxiliary pump motor and uses water flow to suck debris into a bag.

I had some work done on my pool deck that ended up getting a lot of sand into the pool. The contractor had the Tiger Shark, but my Polaris with a sand bag worked better in that case.

Not sure the Polaris would get the scrubbing action you want, but most likely the pollen bath tub ring will have to be hand brushed, and that would be faster as well.

Thanks, my boss has a Polaris in his pool.
Not much issue with a 'tub ring's more the stuff that gets stuck in the texture of the pool floor/walls.

Leslie's has a Polaris that looks like a Roomba but requires external power, not a huge deal since we run the pool at night, but we're asleep in the event it needs attention.

I've had a couple pool vacs over time (Navigator and Barracuda) and am over all of them. They all eventually require replacement parts due to scrubbing across the pool bottom. And in the mean time, they don't vac worth a damn until they're repaired. I finally just went back to a pole, vac head, and hose, and vacuum the pool manually once every other week (mine is screened). No muss, no fuss, and it only takes me about 10 minutes from start to finish. Just another possible option.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
I've had a couple pool vacs over time (Navigator and Barracuda) and am over all of them. They all eventually require replacement parts due to scrubbing across the pool bottom. And in the mean time, they don't vac worth a damn until they're repaired. I finally just went back to a pole, vac head, and hose, and vacuum the pool manually once every other week (mine is screened). No muss, no fuss, and it only takes me about 10 minutes from start to finish. Just another possible option.

Did that today with a scub-brush vacuum head & the pole, works better than the wheeled vac head IMO.

Polaris Model 280. Simple, strong, tough. Don't convert it to the tractor belt.

Polaris here...we call him Marvin.

Simple and easy to maintain.

Parts available on Amazon...

When I worked at the pool store 20 years ago, Dolphin was the Cadillac of pool cleaners. Basically a roomba for your pool with an internal filter. They are made in Israel too (at least they used to be) instead of Asia.

I have the Dolphin Triton pool robot. It does a good job, runs up the sides to the tile line. Internal filters Work well. It does get stuck on my drains so I have to keep an eye on it. Had it a year now, so far so good.

Been using the Pentair Great White now for over a year. It does a good job picking up leaves and brushing the bottom and sides of the pool up to the tiles and dives back down. As long ad you have the proper flow (pentair supplies the flow gage) adjust skimmer flow per gage, it's do it's job pretty well. I noticed I need to hose my cartridge filter a little more often as it vacuums up a lot more dirt on the bottom than you can see. It will clean your pool sparkling clean. My sister has the Pentair Dorado and it works very much the same. Both decent auto cleaners.

quote:

Originally posted by JohnCourage:
I have the Dolphin Triton pool robot. It does a good job, runs up the sides to the tile line. Internal filters Work well. It does get stuck on my drains so I have to keep an eye on it. Had it a year now, so far so good.

One of the more expensive options, but looks to do more than just suction debris, the scrub action & finer dust/particle collection is a plus, since large debris isn't an issue.

Some of the reviews say it struggles with curvy pools, ours is quite curved in some places, so not sure if that would pose an issue.

The pool is roughly 30x20 & 5.5ft at the deepest.
Separate hot tub, sloped beach entry w/ stairs.
Step/seat on the far side from the hot tub & a 'seat' under the rocks at the bottom of the photo.

I use a Hayward Navigator and it seems to do a decent job. The one thing I like about it is that is is easily serviceable. In the 8 years I have had it I have had to replace pads, wings and A frames a few times but that it is.