Automatic Pool Cleaners

A Robotic Pool Cleaner is an automated vacuum cleaner whose sole purpose is to collect debris, sediment, and algae from swimming pools with little human intervention. They are electrical powered without interfering the filter system, no need to hook up any hose to anything. It has built in filter to collect debris and dirt which can dramatically cut down the filter back wash. Unlike pressure side cleaner which requires a booster pump. Big electrical bill makes such cleaner less and less favorable. Electrical robotic pool cleaner runs on plug in electricity which cost pennies per hour to run.

How do Robotic Pool Cleaners compare to suction or pressure side cleaner?

There are 3 major kinds of pool cleaner. Robotic pool cleaner, suction side cleaner and pressure side cleaner. While all of the three types of automatic pool cleaners will help to keep your pool clean, they work in different ways.

Suction Pool Cleaners

The most popular type of pool cleaner in the past is the Suction Pool Cleaner. Suction-side pool cleaners work when your pool pump is running. It gets its name from the suction generated by the pool pump and can be used in both inground and above ground swimming pools.

The first automatic pool cleaners were suction cleaners. These are the least expensive, ranging from $100 – $300. They are powered solely by the main pump of the pool and use the suction action of the pools pump to generate movement to traverse the walls and floor of the pool randomly. They’re easy to use because they attach to your wall skimmer as well as to a dedicated suction port.

They may seem inexpensive, but these machines reduce the suction of the main pool pump as well as utilize the pool’s filter system to remove dirt and debris from the water.

There is minimal maintenance and part replacement costs on these devices over time isn’t bad. However, utilizing these machines will increase electricity costs and will require the main pump and filtration system to be serviced more frequently. They have filter limitation due to the size of the main pool filter since they don’t have a separate filter.

These types of cleaners are easy to install and operate. Moreover, they are also cheap to purchase and have a proven track record when it comes to cleaning your pool. On the other hand, get in and get out from the pool requires a lot of work and hose has to be stored in a good way to avoid any permanent deformation caused by stress and sun heat.

Pressure-side pool cleaners

Pressure-side pool cleaners include a hose (booster pump) that you attach to the dedicated return line of your pool where the water from the pool returns back into the pool after it has passed through the filter. The force generated from this system is used to both move the cleaner around the pool and to create a vacuum that to suck up the dirt and debris into a bag attached at the head of the cleaner. Mostly in these machines, the pool water is pressurized using a secondary pump and helps locomotion and debris suction. It traverses in a random course and using this cleaner makes it the most costly to run since it utilizes the highest amount of power from among the three types of automated pool cleaners due to use of the high pressurized booster pump.

These pool cleaners can cost from $200 to about $700. That doesn’t including the cost of the secondary booster pump – usually an extra $200, plus wear and tear cost. Both the suction-side and the pressure-side cleaners are heavily dependent on the swimming pools main pump and filtration system to help remove impurities. The main disadvantages of these types of pool cleaners are the additional use of electricity, the effort and time needed to attach the device to the ports that connect to the pools main pump and filter, and lastly the added responsibility of maintenance time.

These pool cleaners have their own fine mesh bag to help collect debris. This means that they don’t compromise on the pools main filtration system. The booster pump helps enhance water circulation by creating turbulence. It helps increase the speed of the cleaning and creates efficiency while distributing filtered water across the entire pool. Lastly, because they have their own filter bag to accumulate debris, they won’t clog your skimmer or filter either.

Robotic Pool Cleaners

Powered by an independent power source, robotic pool cleaners are separated from the pools main pump system and the main filter, usually in the form of a step-down low voltage transformer that is often kept on the pool deck, away from the water.

An electrical robotic pool cleaner is a vacuum cleaner for the bottom of your swimming pool. It makes the entire cleaning process automated. In other words, very little if any manual intervention is required to clean the pool.

They usually have two internal motors. One to suck the water through a built-in filtration bag or basket. The second one drives the machine around the pool. There is a new generation of robotic pool cleaner which helps to bring the price down to a much more affordable range, waterjet powered. These waterjet powered cleaners do not have a drive. It utilizes the waterjet created by the built in pump to push the machine forward and backward. Without a drive, no belt to change, no bearing to wear makes these waterjet powered cleaner perfect for pools with sand problems.

Robotic pool cleaners are fully automated and independent from the swimming pools main pump and filtration system. They have their own filtration system which acts as a secondary filter while cleaning the pool. This type of pool cleaner is recently gaining a lot of popularity due to its efficiency and performance. They can automatically self-navigate your pool and are the fastest when it comes to cleaning your pool. These cleaners have built-in bags or cartridges with a self-contained cleaning filter which helps you ease the wear and tear of your pools main pump and filtration system.

Robotic Pool Cleaners are not only cost effective and maintenance friendly, but they are also energy efficient. They help you lower your energy bills and running costs while making sure to clean down your pool of bacteria and algae efficiently. They help save you from requiring any additional pumps and also contain self-contained filtration systems which help reduce the wear and tear of some of your more expensive and existing main pool equipment.

Operating at minimal noise levels than the suction-side and pressure-side pool cleaners, they also circulate chemicals and reduce chemical usage in the long run. With the added ability to scale and scrub walls, along with handy remote controls to clean the direction and area of the pool, it’s easy to see why purchasing a robotic pool cleaner may be the perfect decision.