looking to buy a robot (Page 1/2)
maryjane JUN 11, 03:32 AM
A pool cleaning robot.
Wife has decided cleaning a pool is more work than she is ready for, after only one week.

Anyone used one and have positive results?
blackrams JUN 11, 11:18 AM
Only suggestion I can come up with is to hire a "Pool Boy" to help her out.

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Rams

Isn't it strange that after a bombing, everyone blames the bomber, his upbringing, his environment, his culture, his mental state but … after a shooting, the problem is the gun.........

82-T/A [At Work] JUN 11, 12:37 PM

quote
Originally posted by maryjane:

A pool cleaning robot.
Wife has decided cleaning a pool is more work than she is ready for, after only one week.

Anyone used one and have positive results?




Well... there are some robots you can get, but my parents use this "robot" of sorts that's basically just a mechanical vacuum attachment that is connected through the pools skimmer drain. Basically, your skimmer should be on a timer in which the system comes on once or twice a day. When it does, it sucks the water through the skimmers (every pool will have at least one) and goes through a filter which then is pushed out through the various "jets" in the pool that should be directed in a way so that there's a low-speed circular current. Anyway... this little robot attaches to a long tube which allows it to move around, and it's powered by the vacuum. With the current created by the jets, and the "walking" mechanism driven by the vacuum, it goes around the bottom of the pool and cleans it.

It works pretty well, but in the hot sun and depending on how much chlorine you use... they tend to only last a couple of years before they're totally oxidized and start seizing up. As for makes / models, I can't help at all...
maryjane JUN 11, 01:45 PM
I have seen those. The better robots work electrically and will even crawl up the vertical sides of the pool. Some are battery powered, some are 120v corded (sounds crazy don't it?) but the ones that are corded use a transformer and very low voltage.

Vacuming the bottom with thehose/skimmer and a vacum attachment is the easy part. Brushing the sides is the hard part. The robot both brushes and vacums at the same time.

"Pool boy/pool girl" is not going to happen Ron. $200/week and up, one day a week for a couple hours at the most is not going to happen. That does include all the chemicals, filter backflushing, testing and cleaning but the chems, filter backflushing, and testing are easy.

1 month of pool person cost will pay for a basic robot. 2 months of pool person costs will buy a close to top of the line robot.
If i could find one that can fire a mini Mk 48 torpedo or mini Tomahawk , even better.

(In other news, for the 1st time ever in my life, I had to go BUY a NEW never used by humans 5 gal plastic bucket. (to mix pool shock treatment) Even when I was a kid, my father always bought lubricants and even grease (that was before the days of tube grease) by the 5 gal bucket for his auto shop and more recently, I was always buying hydraulic and engine oil for the tractors so had plenty of empty ones laying around. Not any more.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 06-11-2022).]

Hudini JUN 11, 06:06 PM
Go with electric. The vacuum boost pump operated ones are ok, but very unreliable. You can't just turn it on and walk away, they always seem to have issues. And you need an extra boost bump on some models.
Patrick JUN 11, 06:53 PM

...and this is why during my new home hunt (interrupted by the pandemic) that I immediately cross off any potential properties which have a pool. Not worth the hassle... especially this far north where they're only suitable for use maybe four months out of the year.
maryjane JUN 13, 02:02 AM

quote
Originally posted by Patrick:


...and this is why during my new home hunt (interrupted by the pandemic) that I immediately cross off any potential properties which have a pool. Not worth the hassle... especially this far north where they're only suitable for use maybe four months out of the year.



Compared to where I was before, and what I did there, this
is no hassle at all.
Patrick JUN 13, 02:26 AM

Well, it's all relative isn't it? Compared to not having to deal with a pool, it is a hassle.
82-T/A [At Work] JUN 13, 08:17 AM

quote
Originally posted by Hudini:The vacuum boost pump operated ones are ok, but very unreliable.




The one my dad had seemed to do a really good job of cleaning the ENTIRE bottom of the pool, and usually (also) made it about 1/3rd of the way up the wall all around the pool as well.

The problem he ran into a lot was that the tubing that connected the mechanical robot to the skimmer would oxidize, which resulted in the tube cracking at times. This meant it constantly had leaks, which of course meant the robot wouldn't function. He had to replace the tube every year, and the robot at least once ever two years.
maryjane JUN 13, 01:45 PM
One of the reasons it needs to be a good 'surefooted' robot is that this isn't a 'swimming' pool. It's a diving pool, meaning only about the shallow 1/4th is flat bottomed. The rest tapers sharply deeper both bottom length and width wise. At one time, it probably had a diving board but it is no longer there. Top measures 18 1/2' x 36'.
Starts off with 3 1/2' depth, by mid way, it's well over 5 ft and it's almost 9' deep on the last 1/3 of the pool.
Mine is a little different than the one below as mine has 4 distinct depths and an extra slope. Definitely not a pool for real young children or a recreational pool for young adult water games, as the deeper 2/3 is just too deep for most to stand up in.