More on PoolBusters

[larry2338]

Just a tip:
I notice these regularly sell on ebay for $165-$175. Compare shipping charges as they vary a lot.

[Davenj]

Thanks for the review. I have a spill over spa and this looks like the way to go.

[salinda]

Carl,

I completely agree on the PoolBuster. I have the newer Turbo version. I love it for the spillover spa and the steps. I have a lot of Ca precipitate in my spa and the silt bag captures a lot of it if I go SLOWLY. Very simple, effective design and worth every penny imo.

[jenmenke]

I, too, love my PoolBuster. I've had some issues with water getting inside the "water tight" compartment where the battery is, but as long as I unscrew it and leave it on it's side, it's great. I used to use a manual pump-action vacuum for my steps, now I use this. And since I hate my Polaris 380 misses lots of areas, I just zip it up with my Poolbuster.

[jfalken]

Sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but I am thinking of using one of these as the primary cleaner for my pool and have a few questions. The pool is a 34x14 mostly rectangular fiberglass pool. It takes about 15 minutes exery few days to clean it with the hose and vacuum head that came with the pool. Being in a new subdivision, we get no leaves and just a little dust, grass clippings and lots of little creepy guests in the basket. The pool uses de and the only bummer is that every month or so, I have to backwash and refill the DE because of using the vacuum. Would this pool buster be a good replacement for the hose and vacuum? At less than 30 minutes a week, I certainly can't justify a robot, but $200 is not bad if it would work. Thanks for your help.

[bbb]

Sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but I am thinking of using one of these as the primary cleaner for my pool and have a few questions. The pool is a 34x14 mostly rectangular fiberglass pool. It takes about 15 minutes exery few days to clean it with the hose and vacuum head that came with the pool. Being in a new subdivision, we get no leaves and just a little dust, grass clippings and lots of little creepy guests in the basket. The pool uses de and the only bummer is that every month or so, I have to backwash and refill the DE because of using the vacuum. Would this pool buster be a good replacement for the hose and vacuum? At less than 30 minutes a week, I certainly can't justify a robot, but $200 is not bad if it would work. Thanks for your help.

I haven't "taken the plunge" on a PoolBuster - I budget for 2 pool improvements a year - last year it was for a heat pump and a Polaris 380 rebuild kit; this year it is a SWG and a solar cover reel. . The PoolBuster *may* be on my list for next year. Sounds good for you as an alternative to a robot. However, my secondary cleaner works just about as well - and it also keeps stuff out of my DE filter. It is simply a very inexpensive (under $30) LeafEater - scroll down in the link to see it - that I inherited from the prior owner, with a fine mesh replacement bag that I got at my local pool store. The fine mesh bag converts it into a general purpose cleaner - it's not just for leaves anymore! I stick a little piece of pool noodle in it to keep the bag floating, and the venturi action (which is the same way the Polaris booster vacs work) picks up the same kind of gunk that the Polaris picks up. The bag is over twice the size of a Polaris bag, so it can hold a lot of stuff. The only negative, of course, is that you are using water, but in reality a 5 to 10 minute fill in your pool from a garden hose isn't that huge a deal where I live, since my hose water doesn't play havoc with my pool chemistry.

[poolbuoy]

They now have a replacement battery/motor pack that they sell--it's pricey, about 1/3 of the total price. Had I contacted them during the warranty they would have just given it to me. But I had to buy it. This is no slam on PB--The warranty is 1 year, and I contacted them after 2 1/2 years. Still, they were pretty good about it--I couldn't find my charger so they sent me a used one for free with the battery/motor.

But the new battery/motor is fairly easy to install, and BOY! WHAT A DIFFERENCE! It's running like it's supposed to again. I also ordered the silt bag--it, too, increases the PB's effectiveness.

I don't know about the newer PoolBuster models, but I am still very, very pleased with mine. It's like a new unit again.[/QUOTE]

This is what I meant by the upgrade kit....

[CarlD]

They now have a replacement battery/motor pack that they sell--it's pricey, about 1/3 of the total price. Had I contacted them during the warranty they would have just given it to me. But I had to buy it. This is no slam on PB--The warranty is 1 year, and I contacted them after 2 1/2 years. Still, they were pretty good about it--I couldn't find my charger so they sent me a used one for free with the battery/motor.

But the new battery/motor is fairly easy to install, and BOY! WHAT A DIFFERENCE! It's running like it's supposed to again. I also ordered the silt bag--it, too, increases the PB's effectiveness.

I don't know about the newer PoolBuster models, but I am still very, very pleased with mine. It's like a new unit again.

This is what I meant by the upgrade kit....

It's not an upgrade--it's a replacement motor/battery pack. It runs the way they were supposed to run from the beginning. I think I had one that ran, but was hindered with a less-than-100% battery. You should simply get a 100% motor/battery in your new machine. As far as I can tell, the only change they made was a slight improvement in the on/off switch to reduce the chance of leaking. I don't know if they've upgraded the internal battery--you cannot see it.

[poolbuoy]

I just got one from Poolplaza.com for $185 plus free shipping. plus they take paypal!