Pool cleaner. Electric or Pressure driven?

SixPapaCharlie

SixPapaCharlie

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My polaris has reached its max gross in Glue, rubber bands, woodscrews, and liquid nails.

I have always had the pressure powered one which works well but it seems like the world is shifting to the electric ones.

Pressure seems like less fuss as it just stays in the pool 24/7 and we take it out to swim.

I am going to feel like the electric one probably shouldn't live its whole life in the water.
Motors, wires, etc submerged in salt water for the next 5 years seems potentially harmful.

So I assume that means putting it in and retrieving it a couple times a week.
Naturally, that means 1 less motor to worry about in the pool equip area.

Pros/Cons?
 
I have a water pressure Polaris also but never use it. I hand vacuum with the hose, and I have Cfypr Myrtles too big and close to the pool so it's gets dirty. That's what I do. YMMV
 
mscard88 said:
I have a water pressure Polaris also but never use it. I hand vacuum with the hose, and I have Cfypr Myrtles too big and close to the pool so it's gets dirty. That's what I do. YMMV
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You HAND VACUUM your Pool??????
That sounds like a beating.
 
If you are already plumbed for pressure driven, it seems like the path of least resistance. I only hand vacuumed when I had to. I now don’t have a pool, only a hot tub. Life is much easier. I just add a little chlorine to the tub once a week and close the cover. I rarely miss the pool and don’t miss the maintenance at all.
 
No No No No No
This isn't an option.

@mscard88 it is 2018.
You go out to amazon and get a Garman Pool cleaner with a magenta line and. All you do is enter your pool plates and it will do the holds, arrivals, approaches for you.

Or just hit Direct to: CLEAN and lay in your hammock.
 
You're not thinking outside the box.

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John221us said:
If you are already plumbed for pressure driven, it seems like the path of least resistance. I only hand vacuumed when I had to. I now don’t have a pool, only a hot tub. Life is much easier. I just add a little chlorine to the tub once a week and close the cover. I rarely miss the pool and don’t miss the maintenance at all.
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True but I also have electricity.
I am leaning toward the pressure route just because it is what I have had and it is cheaper but there are so many robots available I wonder if they are a PITA or non issue.

We are hot tub dwellers as well but the kids love to swim.
When they grow up and move out, I may decide I don't want a pool anymore.
Hot tub is great though.
 
I ain't lazy though see. I like to do things myself. Then I know it's clean. I treat the pool water with chemicals too, but you probably pay a pool boy to do that too huh. Probably so you can ogle him in his short tight short shorts! :rofl:

IMG_3474.JPG
 
mscard88 said:
I ain't lazy though see. I like to do things myself. Then I know it's clean. I treat the pool water with chemicals too, but you probably pay a pool boy to do that too huh. Probably so you can ogle him in his short tight short shorts! :rofl:
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No I am EFFECIENT! Okay, Lazy....
I went the salt water route. Near zero maintenance. The computer keeps the water balanced.
No pool guy/gal needed
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
True but I also have electricity.
I am leaning toward the pressure route just because it is what I have had and it is cheaper but there are so many robots available I wonder if they are a PITA or non issue.

We are hot tub dwellers as well but the kids love to swim.
When they grow up and move out, I may decide I don't want a pool anymore.
Hot tub is great though.
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Yes, my son moved out years ago (he just moved back in though “for just a month or two”). When he was young, the pool entertained him and his friends. I had a big oak tree that hung over the pool. It was lots and lots of work, even with a pool service.
 
Pressure is the way to go, IMO. Particularly if you've already got the plumbing.

The pool stores are on a mission. They sell chlorine systems for 2 decades. Then they choose to push salt systems because it is a $2k cost saving "upgrade" for everyone and helps push their profits. When everyone catches on to the fact that when you have to replace/repair the controller every 3 years, the salt system is no cheaper than chlorine. So you spent $2k for a worthless upgrade.

They are always pushing you to change. Same thing with front-load vs top load washers.
 
Our pool at our beach house is open 5 months a year, but for 3 1/2 of them the house is occupied by weekly renters. Is there any automation out there good enough to replace the $130 weekly fee for the pool guy to come out and clean and do chemicals?
 
Brad Z said:
Our pool at our beach house is open 5 months a year, but for 3 1/2 of them the house is occupied by weekly renters. Is there any automation out there good enough to replace the $130 weekly fee for the pool guy to come out and clean and do chemicals?
Click to expand...

I replace my salt cell about once every 3 years for about $350
All I do is throw Acid and salt in about once a quarter.
It is mostly hands off.
 
Right now I have a Polaris that requires a second pump. I think it is piece of ****. When the frickin' pump isn't acting up the vac itself is.

My house in Vegas had a Pentair Pool Shark. It did not require the second pump, was easy enough to fix that even I could replace worn out rubber or plastic parts, and did the job well. I think in 4 years I spent $50 on wear items.
 
We had a Polaris when we bought the house. The pump seized up and the vac was in bad shape. I was too cheap to replace it at the time and just pulled it and capped off the plumbing. Instead , I installed outdoor speakers and a kegerator. The wife and daughter know just leave me alone for half an hour once pour myself a beer and crank up the tunes. :)
 
Dave Theisen said:
We had a Polaris when we bought the house. The pump seized up and the vac was in bad shape. I was too cheap to replace it at the time and just pulled it and capped off the plumbing. Instead , I installed outdoor speakers and a kegerator. The wife and daughter know just leave me alone for half an hour once pour myself a beer and crank up the tunes. :)
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Ok, well I could get behind some vacuuming in that scenario
 
If you already have the pressure pump, just replace the Polaris. Buy the basic one, not the '3900 Sport'. The fancy one doesn't work any better, the bag is harder to clean than necessary and if you have to fix it you need YouTube videos to figure out in which order to undo the 25 little screws that hold it together.
 
Brad Z said:
Our pool at our beach house is open 5 months a year, but for 3 1/2 of them the house is occupied by weekly renters. Is there any automation out there good enough to replace the $130 weekly fee for the pool guy to come out and clean and do chemicals?
Click to expand...

The renters will just break the Polaris and automation won't replace a knowledgeable person to take a look at the pool once a week. Unless your manager is able to check the pool and call the pool guy if there are early signs of a problem, you are going to have 'the pool is green' calls once a year.

What would they charge if you converted to a salt electrode ? It cuts down on the chemicals required and the newer controllers come with remote monitoring capabilities. The electrode also maintains the chlorination level if there is a day with a higher 'bather load'.
 
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weilke said:
If you already have the pressure pump, just replace the Polaris. Buy the basic one, not the '3900 Sport'. The fancy one doesn't work any better, the bag is harder to clean than necessary and if you have to fix it you need YouTube videos to figure out in which order to undo the 25 little screws that hold it together.
Click to expand...

My Polaris 380 finally wore out. I bought a 3900 Sport, and IMO it is a much better cleaner than the 380. The bag is a bit of a pain, but it also holds twice as much as a 380 bag. The throat is larger, and it has four inflow jets instead of the two on a 380.

I'll say it again...the 3900 is faster, picks up leaves better, has a bigger bag, and is a much better performer than the 380. It's so much better I cut the running time in half from what the 380 needed to cover the entire pool.
 
Spend the G and get the Dolphin. Thank me later.
 
I have repaired many a pool vac in my day as I worked at a pool & patio store back in college. They were usually Polaris, Auquabots, or Kreepy Krauly because those were the popular models around that time. I don't recall seeing too many Dolphin-brand cleaners, but that was in the early-2000's, so Dolphin may not have been popular back then. They all break, usually with the plastic gears on the wheels or other gear case components, the soft rubber components tend to last a bit longer but usually get overhauled at that 3-5 year mark . It doesn't matter which one you have, they all usually go 2-3 seasons before needing repair/overhaul. Pick what you like/what works and go with it.

I'd consider repairing it yourself as parts are pretty cheap and they are all dead simple to repair with basic hand tools. The electric ones are a bit more of a hassle, but still doable, although I never had to mess with control boards or electronics going bad.
 
I bought the overhaul kit and my daughter and I overhauled it yesterday. Seems to be working now.
 
Repair kits are funny. On my Polaris, the kit provided about 95% of the parts to build a brand new unit at 1/3 the cost.
 
kyleb said:
Repair kits are funny. On my Polaris, the kit provided about 95% of the parts to build a brand new unit at 1/3 the cost.
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Yeah, as long as you don't need the main body, the rest is pretty simple to assemble. 3 or 4 wheels, a couple of o-rings/plastic hoses, and a gearbox to turn water flow into motion. Not much to most of them. The Auquabots were a bit more complex, but still easier to repair than most non-aquatic vacuum cleaners.
 
My old pool cleaner was powered by a little cash and bud light, Jesus did good work.
 
Back in Ohio our pool had the pressure driven pump. It seemed like a very appropriate design for a pool - simple and worked well. I would do that again if I had another pool.

But no. We're not getting another pool. No.
 
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