20 Best Pool Cleaner For Above Ground Pool (2023 Updated)

Very nice, even though its not a wall climber, it more than makes up for that with thorough scrubbing of the pool floor. I actually use this for my inground pool(10,000 gallon) clean its spotless in about an hour and a half.

You do need the fine filtration basket though. that, combined with occasional floculant, keeps our pool sparkling clean!.

So far so good. This is my third pool bot this season. I tried two other brands that did not work well. It is quite expensive though. My previous Smartpool cleaner was awesome and only cost $300. This one was $550 but is the closest to my original so far.

It cleans much better than the other two that I tried. It also has a neat bucket that you clean instead of those bags. Hopefully it will keep cleaning well.

Love this little robot vacuum! Does a great job and especially like that you just plug it in and let it go. nothing to hook up to your skimmer and debris gets collected in the basket inside the vacuum.

Just lift it out. My brother has one and recommended it to me and glad it decided to purchase! Worth the money!.

For the price you can’t beat it. Needs better instructions for adjustment. I would not suggest using the wall fitting that comes with it if you are replacing a Polaris. Use the Polaris fitting and attach the hose to it.

This gives you the option to use restrictor plates and the overall wall fitting is better. The hose is almost reason enough to buy this unit. It is an excellent hose and contains all the floats and swivels you need.

That is worth at least 1/2 of the cost of this unit in itself. The first drawback though does start with the hose and is not limited to this hose as I have had some Polaris hoses act the same way when new.

When you try to attach the hose to the top of the unit you might find it near impossible to actually cut a thread into the hose so until the hose loses it’s sheen due to chemicals you will likely need to leave it on there buy force of friction.

Maybe a good wire tie. That leads me to the 2nd issue. The tail. This comes with a nice perfectly good tail and an apparently week clip. The clip disappeared never to be seen again within a week. Had to wire tie it on.

Unit also seems to be overly hungry for it’s own tail. Have had to rescue the tail from throat and bag a couple of times. Probably means they used a hose that is too supple fora tail. Not sure how to fix that other than maybe replacing it with an actual Polaris tail.

Don’t worry about the Polaris backup. Drain it and put it away. This unit has backup built in. Sometimes spends too much time in backup mode. Performance is a bit subpar compared to a Polaris 180 in terms of wall climbing.

My unit won’t come all the way up a wall. I guess the good side of that though is it’s not spraying everyone randomly. I don’t like the double wall bag as it’s hard to empty. Only a moderate improvement on a 180 bag in catch rate.

Still prefer panty hose over any Polaris bag. Overall I do recommend it just be aware of it’s quirks.

After 5 years with the Aquabot Pool Rover Jr. , I replaced it with the Dolphin Escape for my above ground 18×33 oval pool. After one season, I could not be happier. In my opinion, a much better product for the following reasons: it brushes the bottom of the pool, removing stubborn algae, does a much better job cleaning the corners of the pool walls and even slightly climbs them, the cord does not twist up, emptying the bag and cleaning it is a breeze, much faster than the pool rover and you don’t have to worry about remembering to switch the swivel pin from side to side, it has a larger handle making it easier to hook and lift out of the pool.

It has done an excellent job cleaning my pool. I’ve read some reviews by some who are not happy with the supplied basket and they end up purchasing an accessory finer basket for very small debris. I think the supplied debris basket is fine.

I do not know how reliable and how long the product will last but it seems to be sturdy and well built.

We received our pool cleaner quickly! It was easy to assemble and we put it to work immediately. It replaced our old dolphin that was 15 years old. It was night and day difference, the pool is now super clean! It even safely picks up small toys.

Felt like this was a good deal, very happy about.

I had an earlier version of the Aquadroid. I have used it for probably more than 10 years (I forget). Before that, I used a SIMILAR product for a similar amount of time. That oldest one used a slightly different pattern than the Aquadroid that I am replacing and was more effective at covering 90% of my pool in a shorter amount of time.

Parts are available to renew/repair the Droid. I have replaced worn feet a couple of times. There now seemed to be enough of the parts that were worn on my old Droid, and the part costs were high enough that I decided to just replace it.

I have not tried this new Aquadroid. It looks almost identical to the one that I just wore out. Maybe the path programming is more effective, like my first robot? For reference, my pool has a flat bottom and has a vinyl liner.

This is my second aqua critter (bug). The first is ten years old and still running, just needed new hoses, and figured since the cost wasn’t that much more, would just buy the whole thing. The new vacs include a regulator and flow meter, to help with setup.

The vac does a great job, and will completely clean the pool in about an hour. Be sure to not coil the hose up when storing. It will give the vac a “memory”. Just store the hose alongside the pool. I’ll probably still use my old red vac for sentimental value.

She’s worn (had to replace feet about five years ago), but still works. Replacement parts are readily available, as is the leaf container, which works well in the fall. Contains enough hose for a 24′ round pool.

So I took some of the negative reviews with a grain of salt. sometimes it’s just that! Bad shipping or missing ***. well ***. not everyone has those experiences and that is probably due to the bad shipper NOT THE PRODUCT.

Easy to assemble – READ INSTRUCTIONS of FIRST USE and about Charging!!!After power washing my pool pavers and lanai. I had a huge pile of dirt, laves and inside plants and sand at the bottom of the pool.

I normally do a scrub of my sides and ***. and then push all debris to the deep end and then vacuum it up with the long hose vacuum. That’s the PAIN part. I don’t use an expensive ***. but pulling out the long hose vacuum tube and submerging it takes a lot of work for a pile of sand you made in one spot after scrubbing.

AND you really don’t want that pile of sand going into your main pool filter. especially if you use a Skimmer Sock and if you do both of these ***. you will not have to wash your main pool filter except every 4-6 months! Maybe, if that longer.

Maybe when in a few months. I’m going to wait to open my pool filter to see how bad it is. its going on 5 months with a new filter and skimmer ***. so it will be interesting to update and see how good it looks!!!This simple vacuum I was able to easily and very quickly turn it ***.

expand the pole and get my 6 ft deep pile of sand so easily and quickly. Its suction is great!TECHNIQUE Go slow and use the triangle adapter for the larger piles or for vacuuming larger areas. Make sure its flat because this attachment swivels.

Use the slim attachment for spas and tighter corners. NOTE: It starts the vacuum after it senses its been submerged. You can see the jets start. NOTE: Took 4 hours to fully charge on the first charge.

Be sure to do that as soon as you get it. WARNING: When done ***. and when you twist the filter cap to empty (Clear Dome part) after each use-you MUST be over a garbage can or over your lawn. Don’t do it anywhere you want another mess because all that dirt and sand is inside the sphere part will spill out as soon as you unscrew it.

It was so satisfying how well it picked up every grain as I passed over a thick pile on the floor!!!Did my spa ***. very easily!Probably did it all under 5 min. Using the long vacuum hose would have taken a lot of work and time to set it ***.

use it on the sand pile and then draining and putting it away. BIG TIME SAVER. Takes up no space. I have no CONS at this point. I will probably update on its ***. but so far so good.

The Intex 28620EP is perfect for removing small particles from the floor of our outdoor spa. Since it has NiMH batteries instead of Lithium, it is priced lower and it has enough suction to pick up the debris in its path.

It comes with a regular filter and two sock-like bags for capturing very fine particles. It also comes with an extendable pole which lets me reach everywhere in the spa, and it comes with two head attachments for moving around different terrain and angles.

It does not come with a charging source, just a USB type cable to connect to a phone or other charging block. Charging takes 6 – 8 hours, and run time is reportedly only about 20 minutes, but that’s long enough: I’ve used it 3 times so far but I’m done in about 10 minutes so it’s never run out of power too soon.

You do need to move it slowly so as not to stir up the debris, and the power comes on only when it has been submerged and the power switch is on. It is very quiet so you have to watch it work rather than hear it.

After years of having difficulty getting the floor of our spa clean, this little unit has made me wish I found it a long time ago.

I love this thing. For an inexpensive pool vacuum, it works surprisingly well. I had my pool replastered, and put this thing to use daily for a month vacuuming plaster dust/silt and debris. Still use it twice a week to vacuum up small debris on pool bottom.

A few things to be aware of. 1) As other reviewers stated, you must go slow using it. 2) It does pick up the smallest silt/dust particles, but you must use the silt filter. The silt filter does fill up very quickly (especially when using to clean up silt after a pool replaster).

Cleaning and replacing silt filter is a minor annoyance which takes about two minutes. 3) BEWARE: A few people stated item just stopped working. I wonder if they read the instructions? Device does not come with a wall charger, only USB charging cable.

Instructions state use USB charger 1. 0A max. Most cell phone or device chargers start at 2. 8A. I wonder if those who had issues with the device suddenly stop working were using their cell phone 4. 5A charger.

Before ordering, check and see if you have a 1A USB charger sitting around. If not, do yourself a favor and order an 1A USB plug charger at the same time.

I’ve only had it a week, but it has successfully cleaned the bottom of our pool each time. I like the way it backs up to the wall and shoots water up the sides to dislodge anything that might be trying to hang on there.

It may not completely climb the wall, but it does what it can to clean it all. No tangled cord yet, but then its only been a week.

This is a good cleaner, works just as well as the one I had attached to the pump. This robot saves me a lot of hard work. I will need to buy the finer filter because my pool has some fine particles that seems to continue to go through both the filter and the robot.

Works OK, however, for the price you should get the finer mesh basket with the original purchase. Did have problems with the cleaner doing wheelies all the time. Had to add some weight to the front to stop it from doing this.

Also issues with the cord getting tangled.

I was very skeptical about this cleaner. Previously I had tried a pool cleaner similar to the Kreepy Krawley and it worked “ok” – but would sometimes just go around in circles and wouldn’t cover the entire 24′ above ground pool.

This one claimed to have a “programmed” drive mechanism – so I thought I’d see if it worked better. The Pros – tubing the comes with it is durable and long enough to reach my entire 24′ pool. It snaps together with “rib-like” connections.

The cleaner itself has two “rocker” type feet with rubber pads. The cleaner seems sturdy. When assembled and put into action, its ‘feet’ propel it forward while a geared drive system steers the cleaner to effectively cover all areas of the pool.

Since it sits low to the ground – it does a great job of picking up debris from the pool bottom. It rarely gets stuck and usually if it does – its because the suction is weak and you need to clean the filter or perform a backwash.

THE CONS: Few cons here – first, I think the steering needs to allow it to travel in longer “straight path” distances instead of various circular patterns. Second – the tail (which is purely aesthetic) does not stay on and pops off often.

And last – the are no brushes, so it does not do anything for wiping algae. Summary: All-in-all its anaffordable, hard-working cleaner that rids your pool floor of any debris. It’s pretty quick and effective.

Make sure your filtration system is running optimum and has good suction – this guy requires good suction to drive the movement pieces AND pick up debris. When I find mine travelling slowly, its usually because my filter needs attention.

Everyone also loves how cute it is – so its not just some weird looking device that looks like a leech crawling around your pool. BTW – my Kreepy Krawly got stuck on a rock that magically made its way into my pool one time and it repeatedly bumped up against it thousands of times – and wore a hole in my liner which caused a leak – this device turns by design, so even if it hits a foreign obstacle – it will turn and go away from it in a short period of time, unlike the other which just aggressively tried to get past it.

So in my opinion, its safer for your pool floor!.

She does a great job overall. A couple of notes. Hoses did not mate with my Intex intake. I had to buy a Blue adapter to screw into the Intex fitting and buy a few adapters at The Hardware store. If your pool is dirty like mine was.

You really have to monitor Wanda and her suction ability. I had to stop Wanda and clean out my filter and unscrew the blue adapter and clean out the intake on the pool wall several times. I then backwashed once.

After that, Wanda kept on going and my pool is as clean as ever. She is slow but does a fantastic job. Tail is worthless and does not fit into the grooves.

The unit is impressive and does a very nice job of cleaning my 26′ above ground pool. On the downside, the intake is rather small and small to medium size acorns clog the hole. Some chestnut oak leaves jam the intake and many are sucked through.

There were some attachments that I still don’t understand with the directions a little vague. I intend to reach out to the company for further advise. I have been a very satisfied Hayward product user for years.

The product name and description is accurate but the stock photo on here is not. After reading mixed reviews I decided to give this bug a try for our pool. So far she buzzes around the pool sucking up all the little pods the trees drop.

I was having to use the leaf bag several times a day to try to keep up and now having this vacuum run every few days handles the bottom and I just skim the top! Has saved me so much time!!. We are new pool owners(trying to learn) and the pool store was trying to push us to buy a $1,000+ robotic vacuum and we only have an 18ft pool.

I’m glad I decided to try this $200 option instead! It took a moment to use the flow gauge for initial set up but once I figured that out all I did was attach the bug and she’s been off and working since!.

The AquaBug is a must have. I have purchased two now (had the first for many years (9, 10?) until the poor thing literally wore out). It makes easy work of keeping a pool clean, and it’s just fun too (guests are fascinated to see it shuffling along the bottom of the pool, and children love it).

Although there seem to be a lot of notations on the Web about not using the device in an Intex pool, we have done so for a long time in a couple of different Intex models, without a hitch (we didn’t use Intex’s pump filters though.

they’re ridiculously small for the larger pools). Have a different type of above ground pool now, and the AquaBug just hums along in it, too. At any rate, this product is ingenious in it’s engineering (have to admit taking the old one apart to help it run a bit longer), and they are very well made.

I wouldn’t do with one.

An excellent, excellent producdt. This is my second Hayward AquaBug pool cleaner. I purchased the first one in 2011 and it has vacuumed my above ground pool until this summer when one of the wheel axles snapped off while I was handling it.

I figured it was time to retire the critter and get a new one. I’ll pick up a wheel and axle kit and keep the old one as a spare. Some additional information. I’m using a 1 HP pump and sand filter in a 21 foot diameter pool.

I would also recommend purchasing the cork shoe kit. The bug seems to move more efficiently with the cork feet instead of the rubber feet that come with the AquaBug.

IšverstiShow in original languageAfter reading all the wonderful reviews of how amazing this product is, I decided to purchase. I have had my pool for 10 years. It does not clean my pool and it hoovers over the dirt with out picking any up.

It tends to only go to certain areas of the pool. Even with me inside the pool maneuvering the cleaner around. This purchase was made and was not eligible for a refund due to my purchase date. I was told to contact the manufacture and they do not offer refunds either, just part warranty.

DO NOT waste your money, one very displeased customer.

IšverstiShow in original languageFinally have a vacuum that works. Bought a different one 2 years ago and never liked it. My last Zodiac Baracuda Ranger lasted approximately 15 years if not longer. Awesome vacuum.

I would definitely recommend this product.

The only non quality thing is the net that catches the dirt when you vacuum. It is contained and if that breaks, you can apply a mesh bag with a rubber band. Mine dry rotted after a few months and broke apart.

Aside from that, it has everything you need to keep the pool clean, and the vacuum works just like a vacuum off a dirt pump.

The net is ok, its the only thing Im able to use. The skimmer is too bulky and big, doesnt stay on my 10feet easy set inter pool, and not really needed. The vacuum is a disaster, not working at all! Its probably meant for large capacity pumps, like full size sand pumps.

I have 1000g/hour filter pump, and it works great with the pool, but would not pick up anything with the vacuum. So no, I wouldnt buy this again.

Doesnt work. Pool doesnt have enough suction. Best way products are 100% NOT worth the money. Wasted money & time.

Initially I wasn’t impressed. To work correctly it needs a lot of water flow and a nearly wrinkle free pool bottom. The suction was anemic and it got stuck often. I have about 10 feet more hose to pull through than most pool setups.

I took my pool down for the winter and got a bigger pump and filter(From a 1/3 HP pump with 50lbs sand filter to 3/4 HP pump and 120lbs filter). When I set it up I was meticulous about the wrinkles. The cleaner has worked flawlessly since then.

The price I bought it at was about half that of the robotic cleaners($160). Now it’s closer to 3/4 ($200)of the price. Were I to do it over at these price points I might just get one of the robotic ones so I didn’t have to upgrade my filter and pump setup.

I do like that there’s no batteries, motors, etc in this one. Fewer things can go wrong.

I purchased one of these years ago. Ran it till it died. Replaced it with a shark pool cleaner from Pentair. The shark does not work it is constantly stuck in a round pool?? Received my NEW Wanda today.

The pool is already – in 3 hours – cleaner than it ever was last year with the shark. Sorry Shark I gave you a week then a year its time to go.

Had one of these before. It lasted 2.5 years before a rock messed up the propeller inside. Thought about fixing it but did not have time, so I bought a new one.

This skimmer was perfect! It does exactly what it is supposed to do. I was a little bit concerned when I read some of the other reviews and it didn’t work out for them, but so glad mine did. I would recommend that it be removed while having guests over to swim and then replace once there isn’t a lot of activity.

Works great cuts my time of cleaning the pool in half!.

it is made cheep and will not hold up long. buying this is the only way I could get the adapters for my Coleman swim vista pool. the hose is cheep plastic. the vac head does not want to lay flat against the bottom of the pool.

the leaf bag dose not seal well and keeps coming off the vac head as it just slips on and falls off again.

The Prowler 910 is amazing! I wish I had pursuit years ago. My pool maintenance is so much easier now. I have more time to enjoy my pool. I highly recommend it.

Works great! Picks up dirt, leaves, etc and does a great job covering the entire pool. No more vacuuming with a 20 ft hose! I should have bought this the day I bought the pool!

I highly recommend the Prowler for your above ground pool cleaning needs. This product is 2nd to none, I’ve tried the other brands and nothing can compare!!

We bought our 15 x 30 oval pool here (actually this is the second 15 x 30 we have bought from the pool factory) We had a old Wanda pump vacuum style cleaner but wanted to upgrade. We purchased the Aqua Bot and the first time we used we immediately noticed a difference.

Dont get me wrong Wanda was a sweetheart and served us well over several pools. But this Aqua Bot is the bomb. No hoses just the power supply. Plug it in sink it to the bottom of the pool turn on the power on the control module hit large pool button and it takes off like a racehorse out the gate.

We drop it in at night and in the morning remove it. It came with two sets of bags a pair of mesh bags for large debris and a pair of fine bags for any algae or small particles. Now the “BUT” There is a flapper on each end that propels the bot with water pressure.

One of our flapped broke at the mounting holes the first season of use. I called the great customer service reps here at the Pool Factory and it was a part they do not carry and I can understand that since it is a small part.

They gave me an email for Aqua Bot. Repeated emails went unanswered. And I never could find a direct number for them. Frustrated I just used some waterproof glue and glued the piece in permanent which worked for the rest of the season and the next.

It has since broke again and because I had glued it in even if I could get a replacement I wont be able to use the original mounting holes for the flapper. Now the stupid thing only goes one direction until I am able to engineer the next fix for it.

I hope we can fix this because I gave our old girl Wanda away. Fingers crossed.

Absolute garbage, just like the blue ones. I bought this one because it has a 3 year warranty, within 2 months it stopped working. The plastic is all faded too. I reached out to the manufacturer over a month ago and have yet to hear back.

After using 5 or 6 of these pool rovers, I finally did what I should have done in the beginning – bought a Dolphin cleaner. It’s a much better machine, does a better job and has worked every day with minimal maintenance from me.

Aquabot sucks, spend a little more and get a quality cleaner.

I have an above ground pool that is in the ground with a full deck around it. I hate vacuuming the pool. It is very time consuming and the vacuums never seem to get all the small particles of sand and dirt off the bottom.

When I first discoved that they made automatic cleaners for above ground pools, I was thrilled. I used the Aquabot the day I got it, it was amazing! This thing picks up everything! When I opened it to clean the bags, I could not believe all the sand it had sucked up.

It picked up stuff I didn’t even see! Just plug it in and put it in the pool! It is simple to use. I have not had any issues with it staying in the same place while cleaning. This is the best money I have spent!.