Polaris 65 Pool Cleaner

Pros: Cleans Great with Little Effort
Cons: Doesn't get behind the ladder very well

We bought our above ground swimming pool 2 years ago. Our oldest son, worked at pool supply company at the time. He was the one that suggested we purchase the Polaris 65 to clean our pool.

Since we had never had a pool before, we didn't know...

Pros: Haven't needed to vacuum by hand all season! Pool is spotless!
Cons: Works better with ladder out, can't use solar cover with unit running.

After some research I purchased the Polaris 65 several weeks ago for my above ground pool and I'm very happy with the unit. I bought mine on-line for about 200 bucks delivered. The turtle version is the same thing with a turtle bolt on top for another ...

Pros: Cleans extremly well
Cons: Must be removed before you swim

The polaris 65 came with our pool so I cannot comment on the price. It can be ackward removing the hose and unit before swimming, however if you are like me and the though of spending your saturday vaccumeing the pool is dreadfull. This unit cleans...

Pros: Lower price range and saves a lot of work.
Cons: May not reach some spots without help.

Our 65 came in a package deal and at first I was not impressed. As we became more informed by reading the instructions and using it, we found it to do a nice job.
The 65 gets energy from your pump/filter and naturally you want to keep that system...

Pros: Can't say yet...
Cons: Can't use it until the expensive adapter arrives.

Dear Polaris - I recently purchased a Turbo Turtle for our pool. Upon opening the pool for the season, I was excited to finally be able to try out the new Turtle and put an end to the time spent pushing the old manual pool vac. To my utter ...

Pros: Easy to use, Cleans pool well
Cons: sometimes only goes in one direction

The Polaris 65 pool cleaner has been a great addition to my above ground pool. The area behind the ladder sometimes does not get cleaned very well, but otherwise the entire pool does get cleaned very well. To use, you simply drop the unit into your...

Pros: Cleans very well, when it works. Easy to install.
Cons: Mechanical problems.

I bought the Polaris 65 this summer, in June. After 5 years of vacuuming I felt I deserved an automatic cleaner. I asked questions, went to pool displays and watched the Polaris as well as other pool cleaners at work. I was most impressed with the ...

Pros: Cheap, fun to watch
Cons: hard to use, does not clean very well, hard to store

I have had a pool for about 4 years and I have tried many products (everyone who has a pool know its a trial and error experience). I have to say this is the worst product I have every tried. It is very slow, it always has missed certain areas (ie...

Pros: Quick set-up, it just cleans and cleans and cleans
Cons: Sweep bag seems like it will wear out sooner than I would like.

First let me say that this is the only automatic pool cleaner I have had, I was vacuuming manually before. Also, the pool is a round, flat-bottomed pool so it is not a challenge to the Polaris.
That said, this is the greatest pool accessory I have ever bought. All the drudgery of getting out the pole, hoses, vacuum head, and hooking everything up, is gone. The Polaris just quietly goes about its work and the pool looks brand new. I had to tinker with the pressure release on the adapter to get the speed right, but since then it has gone about its work flawlessly.
It is so good, I have to remember to backwash the filter and clean the skimmer, two things which will cut back on the efficiency of the Polaris if not attended to. If the filter back pressure goes up too much, the Polaris will slow down too much to sweep well.
On top of everything else, it was on sale when I bought it and I got 25% off the retail price.

Pros: ease of setup
Cons: reliability is horrible

I've had nothing but bad luck with this pool cleaner. When I first opened it, no problems, it worked like a champ. Made a few modifications, it worked even better.

When I went to use it the second time a few days later, the pump stopped changing directions of the jets. I took it apart, followed the troubleshooting steps and still nothing. The unit went in one direction, eventually hit a corner and just stayed there.

I called customer support and after 3 days finally got to a live body. They then sent me a replacement part. After 3 weeks, I recieved the part.

I put it in the robot, it worked like a champ the first time and the second time ... I'm back at ground zero, dreading making the phone call to customer support ... again!!

Pros: little prep time
Cons: doesn't pick up smaller particles. BROKE VERY QUICKLY!!

Purchased because we were tired of manually cleaning. At first, it worked as well as it was intended (misses most small particles and silt), so we were pleased. Then, after the 5th or 6th use, the jets would only go in reverse. Got stuck on the side of pool or on it's own hoses. Took it apart, but could not figure out the problem. This thing doesn't have many mechanical parts, so how could we have been stumped on what should be an easy repair? Still wont work, ready to call customer service today. Quite a disappointment.

Pros: Easy set up is all I can think of.
Cons: Cheaply made and breaks easily and does not work as advertised.

Has not worked properly since we purchased it.
The piston does not work, water only flows one direction.
Lousy support service.
Cheaply made.

The unit is easy to set up but, not a good reason to purchase one.

When the unit is vacuuming it does pick debris up off the bottom such as leaves and large items but, silt just blows around and the pool filtration system is left to clean this up. It does not seem to pick up everything off the bottom either, spots of silt and dirt are left in small areas after 6 hours of running.

Pros: Saves on water so backwashing not required so frequently. Operates fairly quiet. Rate 6
Cons: Hose always get tangled and cleaning time seems to take much longer than advertised.

Came as part of the above ground package so really no choice. I assumed the retailer was offering the best of the best. Works but with great effort.

Pros: The initial cost is cheaper than most cleaners, but it doesn't work
Cons: Hard to believe I paid to have the wall connection put in for this junk

Does not perform as it is supposed to. Pool dealer told me that it would keep the pool so clean that I would forget how to use the hand vac. Once I got it running, it ran for 2 or 3 cleanings, but it skipped several areas of the pool. The manual says that you can adjust the relief valve to make it clean the entire pool, but that is a total lie--it only controls the speed of travel. On about the fourth cleaning, it started only going in one direction. Took it apart and found a broken piston. Next stop for this thing is the garbage, which is where it belongs.

Pros: Inexpensive
Cons: Reliability

I've had one for almost 4 years now in my in-ground pool and it does a pretty fair job of getting most of the visible debris up. Yeah, it leaves little pockets here and there, but it's much less expensive than buying a booster pump, the required plumbing changes, and paying $500 for a hi-pressure auto-cleaner. Yep, I've had to replace some parts too when it went in only one direction, but Polaris sent them under warranty. The bag only seems to last a couple of years, but we use it a lot due to nearby trees shedding debris into the pool. If anyone knows of another that works better for about the same price, do make a post here with that brand!