The Pool Doctor's
Exclusive
BUYER'S GUIDE
HOW TO BUY A POOL
CLEANER
Choices, Choices,
Choices
By last count there were
over 150 automatic pool
cleaners, a new
assortment of virtually
identical garden hose
cleaners and pool and
spa wands. Add to
this the two or three
central cleaning
systems, plus of course
the old, tried and true,
arduous traditional
manual method. It's a
daunting task.
We are the experts in
the industry having sold
virtually every
automatic cleaner there
is, and researched,
tested and taken
consumer and industry
surveys of dealers and
distributors.
Here's our
recommendations:
1.) Decide What You
Want To Remove From Your
Pool.
Only our
Blue Line,
the Aquabots (which
we do not recommend)
and our
Battery-Powered
Pool Buster
Max CG Gold
and
EC Platinum and Silver
inflatable pool cleaners
can remove microscopic
debris.
Nothing else will work. Not Suction-Side (Kreepy
Kauleys, Baracuda,
Haywards). No
Pressure-Side
(Polaris, Letro and Hayward Viper and Phantoms).
Not Dolphins or
TigerSharks. If you
can live without
out cleaning fine sand, silt, algae,
disease-causing insect
droppings, minutes
stain-causing particles,
then
consider something other than a robotic or
Pool Busters. With
varying success, other
cleaners may remove
larger debris, like stones, twigs, acorns
and leaves.
2.)
Decide How Much You Can
Spend.
When purchasing pool
cleaners, not always,
but most of the time you
get what you pay for.
Our $749 Blue
Pearl is priced competitively with the
least expensive
robotics,, despite being
the # 2 rated pool
cleaner in
the world. Pressure side cleaners require a
separate, energy-wasting
booster pump, together
with the
cleaner (Polaris, Hayward Viper, Letro) can
easily cost $500-$900,
plus the cost of an
electrician. But be
aware! Pressure-side cleaners are not
true vacuums. They
create a small
amount of vacuum which
will trap
larger debris as it passes by. On the low
end of the scale
($129-$450 are
Suction-Side Cleaners
like the
Kreepy Krauly, Baracuda and Hayward
Navigator. These no
not vacuums either, but
simply extended
vacuum heads.
Factor initial
purchase price into your
yearly operational
costs.
Generally, the more
expensive the
the cleaner, the more it does, and the less
your main filter and
pump must do.
Running a main filter
pump can cost up to 30 cents an hour just in
electricity. The more it
works, the more debris
it sucks in that
clogs the filter, and requires backwashing.
Backwashing wastes
hundreds of gallons of
water and the
chemicals in that water. The more you run your
main filter and pump,
the more wear and tear
on it, the
more wear and tear, the greater the chance for
breakdown and need for
maintenance, and the
shorter the
life of your entire system.
See our actual cost
chart. Pressure and
Suction side cleaners
can cost you over
$3.00 a day, just in electricity. 100 days later in the
first year you own your
cleaner, and you've made
up
the $300 difference in purchase price between the
inexpensive cleaner you
purchased and a robotic,
fully
independent cleaner.
3.) Do Your Homework.
Compare. Compare,
Compare!
Pool Dealers and Pool
Service Companies very
often have sell with a
disturbing conflict of
interest.
Manufacturers like Polaris Pool Systems solicit
them all the time, and
offer them sweetheart
deals and even
vacations to Hawaii and other exotic vacations
based on a point system.
They earn points by
selling only
the manufacturer's products. We made a dramatic
change in our system by
deciding not to sell the
150+
brands and models we did in the past, and
concentrate only on the
very best pool cleaners
in each
category. Use our charts!
|
Compare All Types of Automatic Cleaners
Robotic v. Suction Side vs. Pressure-Side)
|
Pool Buster vs. All
Other Types
|
Robotic vs. Robotic
(Aquabot, Dolphin,
TigerShark, etc.)
|
Pressure Side vs.
Pressure Side
(Polaris, Letro,
Hayward, etc.) |
Suction Side vs. Suction
Side
(Kreepy,
Baracuda, Hayward)
|
Commercial vs. Commercial
(Aquamax, Dolphin,
AquaVac.) |
10
Reasons
NOT To
Buy A
Suction-Side
Cleaner
(Kreepy
Krauly,
any
Baracuda,
any
Hayward,
any
Sta-Rite,
etc.)
All: 1.) Require installation; 2.) Or,
Require
staying
in the
pool all
the
time;
3.) Are
not
really
vacuums,
but
extended
vacuums
heads
(they do
nothing
independently);
4.)
Cause
enormous
wear and
tear on
your
main
filter
and
pump;
4.)
Increase
backwashing
needs;
5.)
Reduce
the
suction
power of
your
main
filter
and pump
up to
50%; 6.)
Result
in 2X
the
amount
of
electricity
being
consumed;
7.) Have
cumbersome,
messy
and ugly
hoses,
which
bake in
the sun
and rot
in
chlorine;
8)
Require
constant
inspection
and
frequent
maintenance;
9.) Do
not
remove
fine
debris,
like
algae
and
sand;
10.) Are
all over
the pool
(random
coverage
of areas
that are
not even
dirty)
and do
not
brush
(vibrating
pads are
not
brushes;
to
brush,
you need
brushes!).
10 Reasons NOT To Buy A
Pressure-Side Cleaner (Polaris,
Letro, Hayward Phantom
or Viper, Baracuda Mars
, etc.)
All: 1.) Require installation; 2.) Or,
Require staying in the
pool all the time; 3.)
Are not really
vacuums, but extended
expensive versions of
garden hose cleans,
which have weak,
secondary vacuum-effect
for only the largest
debris; 4.) Cause
enormous wear and tear
on your main filter and
pump (they do nothing
independently); 5.)
Increase backwashing
needs; 6.) Reduce
the suction power of
your main filter and
pump up to 50%; 6.)
Result in
2-4Xs the amount of
electricity being
consumed; 7.) Have
cumbersome, messy and
ugly
hoses, which bake in the
sun and rot in chlorine;
8) Require constant
inspection and
frequent maintenance;
9.) Do not remove fine
debris, like algae and
sand; 10.) Are
all over the pool
(random coverage of
areas that are not even
dirty) and do not brush
(vibrating pads are not
brushes; to brush, you
need brushes!).
AND
10 A.) Require
installation of
energy-wasting (up to 40
amps per hour) booster
pumps!
10 Reasons NOT To Buy An
Aquabot:
All: 1.) Are either unproved new models,
or 20-Year old
technology; 2.) Clean in
a slow,
ineffective, time
wasting and
maintenance-causing
Zig Zag cleaning
pattern. 3.) Use
brittle, poor-climbing,
immediately-deteriorating
old fashioned brushes;
4.) Generally
have a 1 year factory
warranty (a sign of lack
of confidence in their
durability); 5.) Wear
out far quicker than a
Blue Diamond or Blue
Pearl, requiring
expensive repairs or
replacement; 6.) Do not
come with a convenient,
practical caddy cart;
7.) Are extremely
overpriced; 8.) Offer so
many models, that the
company does not
concentrate it's effort
building a few,
well-tested models; 9.)
Lack of one-the-spot,
caring customer service
as that
offered by Water Tech,
manufacturer of the Blue
Diamond and Blue Pearl;
10.) Do
not make periodic turns,
required for full floor
coverage.
)
10
Reasons NOT To Buy Dolphins and
Tiger Sharks:
All: 1.) Are either unproved new models,
or 30-Year old
technology; 2.) Clean in a very slow,
ineffective, time wasting and maintenance-
causing
Zig
Zag cleaning pattern. 3.) Use
brittle, poor-climbing,
immediately-deteriorating
old fashioned
brushes; 4.)
Generally have a 1 year
factory warranty (a sign of lack of
confidence in
their durability); 5.) Wear out far quicker
than a
Blue Diamond or Blue Pearl, requiring
expensive
repairs or replacement; 6.) Do not oil,
hydro-
sealed in motor compartments, which are
necessary for lubrication, cool
operation and
powerful suction; 7.) DO NOT FILTER ALGAE OR
FINE SAND AND SILT' 8.) All parts come from
Israel, delaying repairs for weeks, if not
months; 9.) Drive and Pump Motor share
a common motor case, requiring repair or
replacement of both motors whenever one is
not working properly; 10.) Do not
make periodic turns, required for full floor
coverage.