The Ultimate Guide To Buying A Pool Cleaner

Being a swimming pool owner, you want your pool water sparkling clean and ready to use when you want to use it.

So how do you achieve this crystal clear water that is the envy of the neighbourhood without spending all your free time vacuuming and scooping your pool? One idea is you could hire a pool maintenance company to do a regular pool cleaning service, but a more budget-friendly option is an automatic pool cleaner.

So what is considered an Automatic Pool Cleaner?

There are three main types of automated or automatic swimming pool cleaners, each classified by the type of drive mechanism and the source of power used; a suction side cleaner, a pressure side cleaner, and an electric robotic cleaner.

All three types of automatic pool cleaner have their own set of unique benefits, but all have the same goal:

To keep your swimming pool clean while taking some of the burden off you.

Now let’s take a closer look at the three options and which one is recommended by Vital Pool Solutions.

1. Pressure-Side Pool Cleaners

Pressure-side pool cleaners attach to your pool’s filter and uses the pump to create high-pressurised water to move the cleaner around your pool as well as for debris suction.

The pressurised water causes turbulence which stirs some of the debris from the floor and walls of the pool, some of which floated to the pool surface and are then sucked into the main filter through the skimmer inlets. The cleaner also picks up some of the dirt and debris in an attached filter bag. Pressure-side cleaners are better suited for handling a heavy amount of large debris.

It’s important to note that pressure-side pool cleaners move randomly around your pool. The requirement of a booster pump makes this type of automatic pool cleaner the highest consumer of electricity. Pressure-side pool cleaners being reliant on your pools filter cannot remove particles smaller than the pore size of the pool’s existing filter element

Pros:

• Can handle large amounts and large sized debris
• Affordable initial outlay

Cons:

• Reliant on your pools filter, added wear and tear
• Moves randomly around your pool
• Doesn’t remove small particles
• High use of electricity

Examples: Jet Vac Pressure cleaner

2. Robotic Pool Cleaners

Electric or Robotic Pool Cleaners are independent of your pool’s main filter and pump system and are powered by a separate electricity source.

They have two motors; one to suck in water through a self-contained filter bag and eject the filtered water back into the pool and the second is to move the cleaner around your pool on tractor-like rubber scrubbing tracks.

Robotic pool cleaners use micro chips and sensors to navigate your pool’s floor, walls, tile line and steps and are great at cleaning large and small debris.

Pros:

• Can handle both large debris and fine dust like particles
• Cheap to run
• Cleans not just wall and floors but tile lines and steps
• Can be set on timers
• Most models use smart navigation to clean the entire pool

Cons:

• Can be expensive

Examples: Dolphin X 30, Dolphin X 40 Plus and Robo-Tek’s Robo Plus

3. Suction-Side Pool Cleaners

Suction-side pool cleaners are the cheapest option of the three and uses suction from your skimmer to move around your pool and clean up debris. The suction action of the pool’s pump provides the movement for the cleaner to move randomly around your pool suctioning up debris from the floor and walls of the pool.

They are powered solely by the main pump of the pool and utilise the pool’s filter system to remove dirt and debris from the water.

Pros:

• Cheap
• Minimal maintenance and part replacement costs
• Good for light debris like sand

Cons:

• Doesn’t handle large debris well – can clog up
• Can clog and block the pump basket
• Effectively diminishes the suction of the main pump
• Moves randomly around your pool
• The main pool pump and filter system will need to be serviced more frequently

Examples: Pool Rover ‘ST’ Pool Cleaner

What type of Automatic Pool Cleaner do we recommend?

I really depends on your available budget. If you have the money the best investment is a Robotic Pool Cleaner as it takes the strain off your pools pump and filter. We recommend the Maytronics Dolphin X Series, they are great for pools with large leaf, dust, fine dust, dirt or coal dust content. We have found them to be really reliable as well as backed by a great after sales support team who are there if needed.

There is also the Robo-Tek range that is new to the market but is making a big impression! They have some great reviews online, The ROBO-Tek Robo-Plus is the winner of the ProductReview.com.au annual awards for 2021 in the category of Robotic Pool Cleaners.

Choosing the best robotic pool cleaner doesn’t have to be difficult. With proper knowledge and research, rest assured that you’ll end up with a product that works best for your pool and, of course, your budget. If you have any questions about automatic pool cleaners please don’t hesitate to contact us.

PS. We offer free on-site demonstrations to see how they would work in your pool (for customers in the Newcastle and Hunter Valley region only).

Don’t forget we also offer a “do it for me” service where we can come in on a scheduled basis to look after your pool cleaning, chemicals and maintenance at an affordable cost!