ThunderThighs wrote:I asked specifically if it was was only for salt water pools and told no, it's for any pool. This was added to the description to explain:

Can be used in any chlorine, bromine-treated or salt system pool, up to 40,000 gallons

Dear woot mods. You might want to check my science here. But I believe to achieve chlorine production with this device you MUST HAVE SALT IN THE POOL.

Certainly you can use the vacuum feature in any pool. But unless I missed something in chemistry class you cannot generate chlorine from just a chlorine or bromide pool. You need the na cl and the electrolysis process temporarily removes the na, leaving the cl in the pool. This later recombines naturally and becomes salt again. And you may reconvert the na cl again and again. Which is why the chemical cost on a salt pool is cheap but you have to purchase eletrolysis plates periodically. And this can be as much as chlorine. But it's a heck of a lot easier. What I can say with certainly woot is you will NOT be making chlorine with this machine UNLESS there is salt in the water. But yes the vacuum will still run, just no chlorine will be made. So yeah it will run but not fully function as advertized. Y'all might want to write a disclaimer.

lstaff wrote:Theoretically, you could close up all the pipes to and fro, use just this device to clean, chlorinate and circulate the water, and winterizing your pool would consist of removing it from the water and bringing it indoors!!! I may run this past DH and see if he thinks it would be good. . .

Depends on the size of your pool. Maybe a 10000 gal and run this 24 7 ?

zadriel wrote:No. They will do stairs but function best when the whole thing is under water. Watch the video. Also, water must be salt water.


[Mod: From the description - Can be used in any chlorine, bromine-treated or salt system pool, up to 40,000 gallons]

C) Mod sorry. I meant the chlorine production would not work in anything but a salt pool. Yea the vacuum would still work.

zadriel wrote:Dear woot mods. You might want to check my science here. But I believe to achieve chlorine production with this device you MUST HAVE SALT IN THE POOL.

Based on what I read on the manufacturer's website, yes, you need to a certain level of salt in the water, but the pool doesn't need to be "salt water." They note that the first step of cleaning is to test the current salt level of the water with included testing stripes and adjust according to the directions.

ThunderThighs wrote:I'm thinking this would help reduce the amount of chlorine tablet used. Chlorine tablets have other chemicals in them that, over time, actually block the chlorine. That's why many people have to do partial or full drain-n-fills on their pools. I had to do it every couple years for the pool at the last house.

Have to jump in here: if you own a pool read this

MOST chlorine tablets do also contain "stabilizer" aka cyanuric acid. Which is actually a good thing, WHEN TABLETS ARE USED PROPERLY. Without cyanuric acid the chlorine gas from a pool can "disappear" within 1 sunny day. "Stablizer" aka cyanuric acid helps keep chlorine in the pool.

IT IS A PROBLEM when people rely soley on tablets to sanitize their pool, as cyanuric acid will be continuously released from the never ending supply of tablets people feed their pool YES talking to you automatic chlorinator people too!!!!!!!

Excessive stabilizer aka cyanuric acid is THE MAIN CAUSE FOR YOUR POOL PROFESSIONAL TO RECOMEND DRAINING. Excessive stabilizer causes "good" and "bad" chlorine levels to remain high causing burning/itching irritation, rash and hurty red eyes.

SOME chlorine tablets also contain a copper based algaecide, which IS what is actually responsible for turning blonde hair green..... not the chlorine itself. ALSO copper can cause many problems for anyone who has heated pool. Copper corrodes the heating units in the heaters. ALSO copper may drop out of solution and stain your liner.

neuropsychosocial wrote:Based on what I read on the manufacturer's website, yes, you need to a certain level of salt in the water, but the pool doesn't need to be "salt water." They note that the first step of cleaning is to test the current salt level of the water with included testing stripes and adjust according to the directions.

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear. Yes you will need at least 3000ppm. In the industry this is known as a salt water pool. It won't use just tap water. In fact it won't turn on the plates if salt levels are too low. And I don't remember but I could sware someone once told me you don't use chlorine in a bromide pool. Is anyone here familiar with that? Is that true? Cause I'd think if so then you wouldnt want to add salt and try to make chlorine with this.

For what it's worth this is HALF THE PRICE I've seen this model anywhere else. So this is one heck of a deal woot. Please don't take my discussion to say its not great. It really is so long as you know what you are buying and what it will and won't do. I've watched this particular model at least half a year. This is the lowest I've ever seen it.

I can't speak for this particular pool vacuum, but we have the iRobot Verro 500 Pool Cleaning Robot and we LOVE it.

I was getting leery of our pool since there always seemed to be dead bees or other bugs on the floor of it. I was worried I was going to step on one. So I bought ours very slightly used since the price tag for a new one is so steep. My husband was skeptical, but he has since named her Nancy and she's a member of the family.

This one looks even fancier than mine, but if you don't have a salt water pool, I would recommend waiting for a 20% off coupon from BB&B and getting it here:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=15865865&

It will cost you $150 less than this and works like a dream.

And yes, we love our pools in the Golden State!

Oh and pool owners, always remember to BE NICE to your local pool professional. Chances are we didn't green your pool and no matter how much it seems like it the pool also didn,t turn green overnight.

Listening includes advice you're given when you come in with XYZ pool problem. No matter how long you've owned a pool, no matter what grampy jo did in 1883, and no matter how much your brother the chemist insists you do ABC.

We are paid to help you but if you choose not to listen to sound chemical advice from someone trained specifically in swimming pool maintenence, welp it's you thats swimming in it..................... sorry for typos posting from phone. will post basic salt system info in a while.

In the video a guy is dropping a packet of salt into the pool and they say the salt content is less that that of a tear

So it will work on a chlorine pool?

A more indepth explanation on pool sanitization, good knowledge to master if you own a pool, with or without a salt system.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_water_chlorination

wiki gives it the ole unsourced tag but that link is a great starting point for all pool owners to learn from. Read it a few times it can take a while to sink in.

heh.

This device is designed for people whose husbands/wives won't let them hire some eye candy to clean their pool a couple times a week.

zadriel wrote:
They like to comparison this to inline chlorinate systems but I can tell you if u run it 24 hours a day it will only make half or 1 third the chlorine that an inline system will like say the pentair ic40. I can also tell you that if you run this 24 hours a day you will not make enough chlorine with it to rely solely on this device. You will have to add tabs or run a pump with an online system to complete your chlorine draw. Unfortunately so too, as I was hoping to replace a chlorinatir until I did the math. I will tell you these WILL SAVE a ton on electric instead if running your pump.

That is all great info! There are so many times sheeple come in yelling at us because they were told they'd never have to put chemicals in again if they use a salt system.... yeah right. lots of people have to add some type of shock especially after a lot of rain.

also keeping cyanuric at minimum 50 ppm and pH around 7.2 up to 7.8 help keep the system at ideal sanitization levels. salt systems usually have notoriously high pH. but so many other factors come into sanitization including lawn treatments (phosphates) ahem fertilizer to put it nicely.

What? ANOTHER Pool Cleaner? Why don't you ever have TVs or Roombas?

Woot... what HAVE you become!?

I would buy one but honestly in this economy I must opt to keep my pool boy employed.

The maid and butler act as backup when he is out.. okay well.. I must be off now.. I am late for my Polo Match.

ThunderThighs wrote:STABILIZER! That was it! It's been a couple years since I had that pool.

lol gotta love taking work home with ya at 430 am and didn't mean to take your post to start a rant O:-) it seems rare that i can actually contribute some possibly useful info.

Just what I have been needing!

Now I just need a pool. I am crossing my fingers you bring me a pool tomorrow woot.

We've been using salt water in our pool for several years. Two much cheaper systems have proven not satisfactory. The plates have to be manually cleaned every day or two. The chlorine provided is insufficient; we get algae build up unless we add chlorine.

With a much higher cost, this one may be better. I'm not going to risk it.

WOW - skinny dipping sure has gone high tech

Yeah... since the Amazon take over this kind of just feels like a different interface for Amazon Gold Box deals, doesn't it? The site has sort of.... I don't know... it has lost a lot of charm and just feels kind of desperate now. Constantly yelling "Buy THIS or THIS or THIS or THIS or ANYTHING, JUST BUY IT!!!"

mkentosh wrote:Someone please tell me what has happened to woot! How did we get here? Will I ever be able to buy a targus cooling pad, sanza mp3 player, vision quest digital phot frame, skill tool set or halftime drill set ever again?

sarahlav wrote:is this a trick to send me to a porno site on my work computer? hehe nastybag.com

Actually it's my way of secretly hoping WOOT! starts selling these bags because 1) I'd buy them and 2) because the copy writers would enjoy making the description.

tsfisch wrote:Does your car need replacing the moment it's out of warrenty? How about your computer?

yes! as well as my stove, dishwasher and microwave. Many things are built to just survive the warrantee. Have you purchased a GE appliance in the last 10 years?

gregbowman wrote:I bulldozed in my pool years ago in favor of a small greenhouse (we kept the sauna and the whirlpool) . . . but a buddy of mine a few doors down has this exact same machine and absolutely adored it, right up until a neighbor kid that was ill took a dip in his pool (no one knew until it was too late) and this system was woefully inadequate to protect against crypto. The whole block got sick.

YMMV.

Your whole block should stop drinking pool water.

alyl wrote:I can't speak for this particular pool vacuum, but we have the iRobot Verro 500 Pool Cleaning Robot and we LOVE it.

I was getting leery of our pool since there always seemed to be dead bees or other bugs on the floor of it. I was worried I was going to step on one. So I bought ours very slightly used since the price tag for a new one is so steep. My husband was skeptical, but he has since named her Nancy and she's a member of the family.

This one looks even fancier than mine, but if you don't have a salt water pool, I would recommend waiting for a 20% off coupon from BB&B and getting it here:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=15865865&

It will cost you $150 less than this and works like a dream.

And yes, we love our pools in the Golden State!

I christened our Polaris, "Cousteau," for obvious reasons. We speak of it as "him" which confuses the heck out of our friends. LOL

i have not wooted in a long time, since the amazon take over woot has gone down down down.

This thing looks suspiciously like the pool robot I bought from Woot several weeks ago. Is this made by the same company? Looks to me the only difference is the chlorine generator thingy for an additional $300. BTW, as a pool cleaner it works much better than I expected it would.

Count me in as someone who would have otherwise been interested, but the lack of decent sources for replacement electrolysis plates scares me off.

If you use stabilized chlorine sources (di-chlor, tri-chlor) then this thing will probably save you money in the long run, when you take into account the costs of the sanitizer itself and the cost of the occasional partial draining when your Cyanuric acid levels get out of control. Plus this certainly seems like a very convenient option (although like other posters, I'm skeptical if it can produce enough chlorine on its own to properly sanitize a larger pool). I do think it's a bit misleading to talk about how much cheaper it is electricity-wise to run this thing as you're still going to need to run your pump every day to filter out particulates and other junk from the water.

However, since I've had a pool, I've just had an old Hayward suction-side cleaning robot, and I pour in some bleach every other day to sanitize my pool, and it's a dirt cheap method to keep it clean. So far it's already almost the end of July (here in Tucson, AZ where the sun eats unstabilized chlorine like candy) and I've spent about 45 dollars in total on bleach to keep it sanitized the entire time. The pool robot runs when the filter is going anyways.

I'm excited about this functionality, but I cannot find a single soul that has actual bought one of these and can review it. Even at $750, if it doesn't do a good job at either cleaning the pool or chlorinating, then it isn't worth it.

TL;DR - Has anybody actually used this?

neuropsychosocial wrote:So far, every state is white - except California, which is a nice moss green. Apparently, large salt-water pools in need of a robotic cleaner are exclusive to the Golden State!

Perhaps you should wait until the rest of the country wakes up to make that comment. Look at the map now! Actually, look at Iowa now. go figure.

I own a swimming pool supply store, so I know a thing or 2 about all this. its a "normal" (excessively high as always) price for a robotic cleaner, but its also a chlorine generator? sounds fishy to me. It has no brushes on it, so i am skeptical how well it will actually scrub and clean your pool. I would not buy.

amikins wrote:I own a swimming pool supply store, so I know a thing or 2 about all this. its a "normal" (excessively high as always) price for a robotic cleaner, but its also a chlorine generator? sounds fishy to me. It has no brushes on it, so i am skeptical how well it will actually scrub and clean your pool. I would not buy.

Why is it fishy? Chlorine generation should be very well known to you if you run a pool supply store. This was the first company I know who tried to put one in a robotic pool vacuum. It plainly lists the output it says it makes in chlorine. I think it's a neat idea. But I also wonder why more vacuum companies aren't adding it. I suspect it's because it's not a significant production.

Regarding brushes, I see foam brushes like these on some if the higher end better known robotic cleaners so I wouldn't freak about that but I will say the cleaner I have now has brushes but they are just rubber and don't actually scrub off much. I have heard that these foam brushes are used to help the cleaners climb the walks of fiberglass pools. Apparently the rubber brushes don't walk up the walls as well on fiberglass?

Actually this device has about the same production as the pentair IC 20 or in other words if you run this for 24 hours straight it will supposedly produce 384 grams of chlorine. Or think of it as 85 percent of one pound of chlorine or roughly 13.5 ounces of pure chlorine per 24 hours. Or if I'm using a standard "shock bag" it would be just a little more than one bag every day. You could just say it would be the equivalent of makin one bag (or pound$ of 68% schock per day.

So if your pool would get by on only one bag if chlorine schock per day and nothing else then this will be adequate IF YOU RUN IT 24 hours a day.

Ok start the attack. I bought one, have two pools and need a new cleaner, so it isn't that much more than a good cleaner.

Does have HDMI? If so, I'm in for 100000000.

zadriel wrote:Why is it fishy? Chlorine generation should be very well known to you if you run a pool supply store. This was the first company I know who tried to put one in a robotic pool vacuum. It plainly lists the output it says it makes in chlorine. I think it's a neat idea. But I also wonder why more vacuum companies aren't adding it. I suspect it's because it's not a significant production.

Actually this device has about the same production as the pentair IC 20 or in other words if you run this for 24 hours straight it will supposedly produce 384 grams of chlorine. Or think of it as 85 percent of one pound of chlorine or roughly 13.5 ounces of pure chlorine per 24 hours. Or if I'm using a standard "shock bag" it would be just a little more than one bag every day. You could just say it would be the equivalent of makin one bag (or pound$ of 68% schock per day.

So if your pool would get by on only one bag if chlorine schock per day and nothing else then this will be adequate IF YOU RUN IT 24 hours a day.

Annnnnnnnnd, THANK YOU for the chlorine math. I think with my 16.5K gallon pool, I actually could get by with 1 shock bag per day, and the fact that it's unstabilized chlorine means no increase in cyanuric acid.

I am concerned about three things with this cleaner.....because the price seems very good for a robot/chlorine generator. One, running it 24/7 seems like a recipe for premature failure, and with no reviews reliability is a question mark. Two, wearing out the plates that willl need replacing at $300 per set. And three, no brooms or any type of sweep device to get sand/silt/etc off the pool bottom.

Still thinking about it, and to me this looks like one of those deals where I can wait until the end, unless Woot only bought 10 of them!

Bruce

We had a home demonstration for my rather large pool by a local distributer.

The biggest downside is this little robot is very difficult to clean. It sucks up leaves well, but if you have a lot of them (or anything else) it fills up quickly and starts to malfunction. Since you can not see the build up in the device, the only way to know is to yank it out of the pool and pull it apart an wash it out. This takes about 30 min depending on how dirty it has gotten.

This IMO is a serious design flaw. We bailed on the thing and got a $300 cheaper unit that has a visible bag

zadriel wrote:Woot, I will buy at least one BUT FIRST HOW MUCH ARE THE REPLACEMENT CELLS that will have to be replaced after 2 seasons if continuous running. (4 months per season?)

I can't find then for sale any place on the web. That can't be good!

These aren't the droids you're looking for. Move along.

[Replacement cells are around 300 bucks, about the same as replacements for your pool cells]

ThunderThighs wrote:I'm thinking this would help reduce the amount of chlorine tablet used. Chlorine tablets have other chemicals in them that, over time, actually block the chlorine. That's why many people have to do partial or full drain-n-fills on their pools. I had to do it every couple years for the pool at the last house.

You are partly correct. chorine in generally will leave residual non-active chlorine in the pool that with regular shocking will be kept in check. if it gets out of comtrol you can use PMPS to get rid of it. You are describing "TDS" or total desolved solids. That generally has more to do with evaporation. Use 99% tri-chlor tabs and shock weekly and you should have much of a problem. Also you would need salt in your pool for the generator to work. like 20 40# bags of salt. (depending on your pool size)