Is this very expensive robotic pool cleaner worth it?
October 26, 2011 8:32 PM Subscribe
We have a pool and we need a pool cleaner. The pool shop has recommended this Pandora robotic cleaner. It costs a lot – A LOT – of money. And I can’t find any consumer reviews telling me if it’s worth the almost $2000 AUD. Does anyone have any experience with either this particular model, or the other models of robotic pool cleaners that are a step up from the Kreepy Krawly or Baracuda-style suction cleaners, but a step below a commercial pool cleaner?
Complicating factors: the pool is a weird shape and access to the sides is obstructed by beams and fence posts, so we can’t fit a pool cover. We live near a steel works and in a very dusty area so the bottom is perpetually filled with dust and grit. Neither of us has the time to spend 20-plus minutes cleaning the pool every day. My partner has used Kreepy Krawlys and hates them – hose wears out, diaphragm breaks, they require supervision and monitoring, they run through the pool’s skimmer box, they don’t do the steps, corners or scrub.
Allegedly the bot will clean every nook and cranny and scrub the walls without us doing anything other than turning it on and letting it go. There’s a four year warranty on it and, over that time period, I'm thinking it would be worth the money to have a clean pool instead of a pool we don’t use because it’s too much hassle to clean every day.
The scant information I’ve found online suggests they do a good job, but a pain to repair and there might be a problem if it eats something… chunky? Where we live there is a real risk that some such thing will blow in.
I read this thread, but it only mentions Polaris and Dolphin brands.
TLDR: Have you ever used a very expensive robotic pool cleaner and is it worth it? Is there one brand that’s better than the others? We want to expend as little effort as possible to clean our weird-shape dusty pool.
Complicating factors: the pool is a weird shape and access to the sides is obstructed by beams and fence posts, so we can’t fit a pool cover. We live near a steel works and in a very dusty area so the bottom is perpetually filled with dust and grit. Neither of us has the time to spend 20-plus minutes cleaning the pool every day. My partner has used Kreepy Krawlys and hates them – hose wears out, diaphragm breaks, they require supervision and monitoring, they run through the pool’s skimmer box, they don’t do the steps, corners or scrub.
Allegedly the bot will clean every nook and cranny and scrub the walls without us doing anything other than turning it on and letting it go. There’s a four year warranty on it and, over that time period, I'm thinking it would be worth the money to have a clean pool instead of a pool we don’t use because it’s too much hassle to clean every day.
The scant information I’ve found online suggests they do a good job, but a pain to repair and there might be a problem if it eats something… chunky? Where we live there is a real risk that some such thing will blow in.
I read this thread, but it only mentions Polaris and Dolphin brands.
TLDR: Have you ever used a very expensive robotic pool cleaner and is it worth it? Is there one brand that’s better than the others? We want to expend as little effort as possible to clean our weird-shape dusty pool.
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I vaguely remember when my Dad bought it - he bought a succession of pool cleaning robots, but they kept breaking within a few weeks; it turned out the key is to hose down the robot after its cleaning session, so the rubber/plastic bits don't get brittle.
posted by miscbuff at 11:27 PM on October 26, 2011