Wondering if anyone has a pool cleaner they would recommend for an inground concrete/pebblecrete pool.
In the past we've had a couple of Zodiac models which lasted 3-4 years each and most recently we purchased a BLWL cleaner which has been a disaster and they now seem to have disappeared from the internet!
Looking for one that cleans well and lasts a reasonable length of time.
No set budget at this stage but looking to purchase ASAP.
Thank you
jv gpt
+1 prowler 920
Runs 3 times a week, and we have problem with leopard tree leaves blowing in from all directions. Goes good.
I tried cheaper ones that suction to skimmer prior to this but the coverage and sucking power was crap. Pay once cry once imo
Can I ask how long you’ve had it for?
i cant find the invoice in my email - but i would say at least since 2020. Got it from pool and spa warehouse.
i found my 2018 invoice for a hayward xl - biggest waste of $529 ever.
I've also got a Pentair Prowler 920. It's effectively a Maytronics Dolphin S200 sans the swivel cable at a significant discount. Does an incredible job of cleaning the pool!
Always quick off the mark jv
I've looked a few times and they ALL seem to have bad reviews.
Many people expect wonders and post a bad review when they dont meet thier unreasonable expections.
Most poeple do not post good reviews if they are satisfied so there is nearly always a bias towards bad reviews.
I suggest you read them all to work out if its a user issue and product fault
We have the previous version of this one:
https://www.zodiac.com.au/pool-spa-cleaners/residential/robo…
Have been really happy with it over the last five years.
The cleaner did have the bearings (I think) replaced once, as well one wheel motor on a separate occasion, but Zodiac warranty was great. No money spent on it since initial purchase and keeps the pool spotless. Service guy comes out to you to do warranty work, so painless.
We run it nearly every day, even in winter, so it gets plenty of use.
Once this one dies will probably get another Zodiac.
Thank you, we found the Zodiac we had worked well but died out of warranty and the pool shop had it for weeks and couldn’t work out how to fix it!
Trying to work out if it’s worth paying 3-4K and trying to get 4-5 years out of it or go cheaper and be happy to get a couple of years!
We contacted Zodiac directly the first time for the bearings, and they sent out a service guy to our house.
Kept his details. 12 months later (last year) one of the motors died, so contacted the service guy directly. He came over and fixed the motor, replaced another bearing and got Zodiac to cover it under warranty. 4 year old machine.
Maybe contact Zodiac direclty and see if they can send somebody out. Pool shop guys deal with all aspects of pool machinery, maintenance, chemicals and sales, whereas the service guy just fixes the pool vacs.
Thanks that's great advice :)
Have had the Dolphin S200 for 4 years now, still going well it seems.
Used about twice a week and no real problems.
Will it last another 4 years? Maybe not if your experience with Zodiac is anything to go by
My Dolphin S200 has been going for around 7 years now, so it should have a few more years left.
I've just got an Aiper S1 after doing similar research - I'm in my 2nd week of owning it. Pool opening weekend this weekend, so will report back as to how it goes following a weekend of actual use of the pool, but I'm feeling confident. Have probably ran it 4-5 times just to test it out, and it cleans up a good amount of crud. I dont get big leaves in my pool (neighbours be gone leaves) - but it has handled them all fine.
Its replacing a suction style cleaner which was more hassle than its worth (didnt get to the one part of the pool that gets lots of dirt/leaves settling). I have a fibreglass pool that is a bit of an odd shape, with stairs, a ledge and a little 'gutter' around most of the perimeter, which means I need to sweep a lot of dirt/debris around before putting a cleaner on anyway regardless of cleaner.
Pros:
* Its a heap cheaper than most robots. Got it for $825 delivered.
* It does a good job on the floors. Is it 100% spotless? No. Does any robot? Probably not. But for the price, I'll live with a tiny bit of schmutz in the pool. 98% clean is better than the suction cleaner, and I'm happier knowing I could replace this 3 times over for the price of some other robots.
* Its ridiculously easy to use and charge. Ridiculously easy.
* Leaves the skimmer open so you dont have to worry about floating debris as skimmer is still effective.
* It does climb the walls and clean them - but I have never had a huge amount of crud on the walls, so not the most relevant for me I dont think?
Cons
* I have to use a broom to sweep the dirt/debris off the stairs/ledge in my pool and also sweep in the corners of my pool as it has quite a wide radius when going from floor to wall. Robot rarely hits it perpendicular, so it misses a lot around this part of my pool. Anything but a suction cleaner will probably do this anyway, and a suction cleaner didnt get to all areas of my pool anyway - so I had to sweep the debris in.
* Online reviews were really mixed, so I took a punt as I couldn't stomach the idea of paying in the thousands for something that might suffer the same problems, but I couldnt bring myself to piss money away on a skimmer suction cleaner.
If I get 2 summers out of it, I'm probably happy to replace it. Anything above this in my eyes is a bonus as saltwater is pretty brutal conditions for anything electrical to survive in. If I decide its no good, I'll send it back within 30 days under their guarantee, so I feel like it was worth a shot. Unless it dies suddenly, I'll probably keep it past this 30 day trial period.
Hit me up if you have any specific questions on it. Its hard to find a non-advertised/sponsored review of this thing, so happy to lend an unbiased opinion.
Thanks donbot that’s helpful :)
It’s such a dilemma isn’t is whether to get a less expensive one and take your chances or mortgage the house and spend $4k!
I’ll be interested to here how it goes over the summer.
dont go with Smorobot.
I had 2 fail on my within 8 months. once in the first week, 2nd in 8 months
We've just bought an Aiper Scuba S1 for around $800 from Amazon. Can't really comment too much yet but it does a decent job of cleaning the pool. Longevity is the question, though.
Just bought one for my folks pool after getting a good recommendation from a mate. Worst part is all the ads I keep getting now, youtube, browser etc.
Yeah it's ridiculous
Interesting comment on Zodiac, thought they would be better.
Concrete pool, 70k L, got a maytronics S150 and works well. But only got it about a few months ago so far. Does waterline too.
When I was doing my research it came down to dolphin or zodiac.
I’ll definitely have a look at the Maytronics, thanks :)
What type of trees /bushes do you have around your pool? How much and what kind of debris gets in your pool?
That’s the problem…my husband planted a bunch of ornamental pear trees around the pool so you get the leaves then the petals and then the little stalks the flowers grow on!
So we get heaps of debris in the pool!
We had a cover years ago but they are hard to get on and off and take up a lot of space to store.
The robot cleaners are so much better than the old suction ones but they just don’t seem to last :(
original I had a creepy crawly which seemed to be okay, but when that died (casing cracked) i bought a zodiac MX8
I have Royal poinciana tree near my pool .
it drops these twigs things (about 20cms in length) that usually blocks up the zodiac MX8. the twigs are too long to be swept up by the spinning fins on the bottom. some do get sucked up but usuallt they get caught and the MX8 needs to be cleared out.
I also have some reeds planted that have long thin leaves that occasionally drop off and get blown in to the pool
so I bought a Robo-Tek Robo-PRO Robotic Pool Cleaner (second hand off marketplace for $100 - 2 years old and the people were getting rid of their pool so just wanted it gone - an absolute score when looking at the original price) , it is ok, and it sucks up small crap e.g. dirt, small leaves and stuff, but not the twig things.
i just need to use the suction vacuum thing on a pole to get the majority of the crap -twig things or reed leaves.
I just grabbed a second hand creepy crawler off marketplace (last week) I'm about to try that out again - needs a new diaphragm..
it is really dependent on the type of crap you want to remove.
That’s a good marketplace score! Wow you’ve got a lot of crap going into your pool too!
@Shoppingisfun: It's non stop. And i just had to deal with a slowly dying chlorinator cell which meant the pool went green over winter. I found a bloke (pool guy) on marketplace selling 2 cells , each with the contol computer box , for $80. Same brand as my old chlorinator cell so it was an easy and very cheap swap.
I’ve got a dolphin (not sure which model but it was around $2k 3.5 years ago
We use it pretty much every day during pool season and it seems to be going strong
It does a reasonable job but it’s not like a robot vacuum that maps the pool floor it just randomly drives around
The remote control function isn’t very good but it does ok at cleaning the walls
60k litres concrete pool
Not sure it’s worth the price tag but it largely works as advertised
I have a Zodiac CX20 going strong after 8 years. Works well. Bought for around $800 from Pool and Spa Warehouse during a sale.
There is a nature reserve behind me with lots of gumtrees which drops a lot of leaves in the pool. Picks up the leaves no problem.
Easy to use. Once finished cleaning, remove the filter, tip all the leaves in the garden and clean the filter with a hose.
Gets used every second day during the swim season and once or twice a month outside that.
i opted for the finer water filter due to the NSW drought back then dropping lots of dust on Sydney.
The only maintenance it has required is new rubber tracks (if you have it for that long i assume they will ear out) and i also needed to replace the power cord. However i think this was most likely due to me bringing the cleaner to the surface by pulling the power cord.
Has a setting to do floor only or floor and walls.
Doesn't have all the bells and whistles however does the job.
Thanks for that recommendation, 8 years is an excellent run!
We have a 'pool cleaner ii'. Its a suction model. Lives in the pool 24/7 except when swimming. Runs whenever the pump is running. We dont get a lot of debris, but it covers the pool pretty well (not steps). Occasionally get stuck on a long palm frond but otherwise easy to maintain.
Just replaced it with the same model as the old one was worn out after being in the pool for around 10 years.
Have a Dolphin S400 for nearly a year now. Has done a decent job cleaning the pool but have had the following minor issues which I just brought back to get fixed - 1) WiFi disconnects every couple of weeks where I need to turn on and turn off the robot to reset; 2) get incorrect notification that the waste basket is full; and 3) having difficulties cleaning the waterline.