20 Best Automatic Vacuum For Above Ground Pool (2023 Updated)

I’ve had this pool bug for more than two years now, inn the same pool, which I think will make this an honest review. When it decides to work, it works ***. but it’s as reliable as a tweeker on Graveyard shift.

At first I found it odd that it hooked up to the exhaust instead of the intake, but then I realized it works like blowing over a ketchup bottle. The exiting water creates a vacuum under it which sucks stuff up, down to the smallest particles of sand.

The other upside of this design is that what it doesn’t suck up, it blows around and suspends it in the water for the skimmer to pick up later. All good. Now the bad. It works ***. but only when it decides to show up and clock in.

I swear my wife’s X-husband is more reliable. I can pick it up out of the water, let it clear itself and drop ***. and it takes of like the Flying Sub (for those who remember). Then, within a few minutes (sometimes seconds) of scooting around, it will stop in its tracks.

Mind you, it’s done this since new. You hear it shift gears but it goes no where. I went online, got You Tube Certified in Intex Bug Repair, took it apart, did all the fixes and it worked great for about an hour.

The problem is the flapper valve which makes it shift from forward to reverse, gets caught in the middle for some unknown reason, even after the fixes and I know dang well everything is moving freely and freshly lubed, internally.

My upgraded pump is more than powerful enough to drive the thing, so that’s not it. They’ve gone to a far lighter hose on the new ones. Maybe this will help????In short, there’s nothing else like it so the choices and other buying options are bleak.

It works well, when it decides to, but if you decide to buy one, do yourself a favor and DON’T WATCH ***. or you may end up going for your 12ga and doing some serious damage to your soft-sided pool. Make sure you’re up on your BP meds, as well.

I hope this reviews helps some folks.

Works well with my above ground pool. One thing to note with this is that it’s not so much a “pool vacuum”, but rather a “pool hoky” if that makes sense. There is no suction involved with this device.

You hook it up to the pump outlet that pushes water out, not the inlet that sucks it in. The pressure pushes it around the pool and the brushes scoop up debris. I like this in that it doesn’t suck all the junk into the pool filter and rather it goes into a little bin in the Intex unit, similar to a Roomba.

This helps from needing to change the pool filter after using it. I let it run for a few hours each week and when I pull it out the bin is full of all kinds of weeds and debris, so it definitely works, but don’t expect it to get every single bit of sand, seed, etc, especially if stuff has collected in a corner of your pool, so you’ll probably still need to use a handheld pool vacuum for the couple of spots it can’t get to.

Ultimately I view this product the same as an indoor Roomba. It doesn’t replace vacuuming, but it severely cuts down the amount of vacuuming you’ll need to do manually. For 1/5 the price of the more expensive and featured pool vacuums, I’m happy with my purchase.

The robot has been easy to use and we’ve used it often for 2 pool seasons. If you are expecting something to suck up leaves at the bottom of your pool, it doesn’t do much of that. It blows leaves and seems to do a great job sucking up algae at the bottom of the pool.

It will suck up some smaller leaves but if you have a good amount of large sized leaves at the bottom of your pool, it does better with small ones. With my rectangular intex pool, it doesn’t like to get the corners well at all.

I like that the movement slows down once it needs emptying. It has definately helped with opening our pool, I just wish it primarily sucked up large leaves.

good concept but awful design. the hose comes in sections that you push together according to your pool size and they arent airtight connections. a good pump will suck air in the connections that are floating on top of the pool.

very stupid design. when a pump sucks air in a “leak” it loses suction and power. and it takes this thing forever to go all around your pool and even then there are missed spots. manual vaccuuming is far faster and more effective.

and this is one more gadget just lying on the ground when not in use. i would give it a better score if the company actually put some thought into hose connections. NO pool hose connections just snap together; they all thread and/or clamp.

im returning this and buying something useful.

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.

When I bought this I thought it was too good to be true for the price. And boy was I right. Assembly was a breeze, but once I submerged it into my pool it just stayed in one spot. I would lead it with the extra hose, it would move for a few seconds and stop again.

I’m not sure if I got a defective product or it just doesn’t do what it advertises. Returning was easy since I was able to take it to my local Walmart. Still waiting for my refund though.

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.

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 was very impressed with how well the Whale cleaned up my pool. I am new to pools and filled my above ground pool with my very rusty well water. I added this blue chemical to bond to the rust and fall to the pool floor (I wish I never added this chemical).

So I had a constant battle of vacuuming this mess up. Then I got the Whale and it made quick work of it! I just wish I would of known to vacuum that rust mess to waste. The rust mess clogged up my sand filter very fast so the whale would stop moving.

Once I back washed the whale would get back at it! Very happy with my purchase! I really was surprised as to how well the whale works. Also, I was able to take advantage of the free 1 Day Shipping! I ordered it Thursday and got it on my porch Friday.

Thank you In The Swim!.

Large bits of debris in your pool are not the problem. It’s the millions of little bits spread throughout the pool (usually settled to the bottom) that are the food for algae. I love the science/engineering behind this product.

Cheap, easy to use, uncomplicated and powered by the pump you already have running. What’s not to love?Unfortunately, this little guy zooms back and forth, jetting around the bottom of the pool like there is no tomorrow.

In the process, it stirs up all those millions of little particles so they float around in the water rather than sitting at the bottom or the pool. It does a great job picking up leaves and such, but it captures relatively few of the little bits and once they are floating around, it can’t suck them in.

Leave it running 24/7 if you want, all it does is keep the water churned up so that they can’t settle to the bottom to be vacuumed. All in all, a complete fail. The only good part is it was much cheaper to buy this useless product than it would be to buy the other ones.

it is good than i expected but little bit small. sometimes it is stop when it takes big leaves or long pine leaves. i think needs to change extension wings material to rubber instead of hard plastic.

works well but the side clamps that hold the vacuum together broke after only 6-7 uses. it says to charge monthly but im having to charge after each use. frustrating

This cleaner constantly gets stuck, then the battery dies after it runs itself down. Wish I could also get a refund for my gas to take it back.

IšverstiShow in original languageThis 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.

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.

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.

So far this unit works great. It has run for an hour and a half every time. Picks up all kinds of debris. It even cleaned green spots we had on the bottom of our pool. We have a round 15’ diameter pool.

I’ve had it in the pool three times so far and when it completes its cleaning cycle it has gone to a wall every time for easy lifting out of the pool. It has a float ring with tether on it that you attach to the unit to pull it up and out of the pool once it’s finished cleaning.

So far this product has been excellent for our needs. Easy to clean using just your outdoor water hose. Great product. Note that the unit itself has a blue indicator light on it when the unit is powered on and once in the pool it cycles on and off while the unit is cleaning.

When you charge the unit the red and green indicator light that signals when the unit is charging and when the unit has finished charging is located on the charging brick that you plug into the wall.

I just wanted to mention this because I was confused about the charging at first. I was expecting the light on the unit to come on but instead it’s the light on the charging brick that changes from red to green when it’s finished charging.

Also there is a waterproof plug that covers the charging port on the unit while it’s cleaning the pool. To anyone wanting an automatic pool cleaner that is cordless look no further.

Used this for the full season on our 16×32 inground and am mostly pleased. This was our first vacuum and it really helped reduce the time spent on pool maintenance. On that end, it has probably already been worth the cost.

It does a nice job of picking up any non-fine particles. It doesn’t climb upright walls so we still had to brush the walls periodically, but we didn’t have to manually vacuum the whole season more than once or twice.

It doesn’t seem to do a great job capturing treated phosphates or other fine particles, but it gets the majority of most other sediment. Very easy to use and easy to clean. We may upgrade to something that climbs the walls and handles the fine sediment better, but this cut pool maintenance by 75% or more.

For the price, it’s a 5-star value and unit. If you have a larger pool or bigger budget, there are *probably* better options, but we’re pleased with this unit.

My pool is around 18k gallons, which I guess is medium-sized for a residential in-ground pool? Either way, the dirt an debris on the bottom of the pool was slowly building up, despite running this cleaner once or twice per day.

I would even try to help it out by sweeping most debris into the bottom of the deep end where it tended to get stuck and run around in circles. Ultimately it couldn’t keep up. I will say that every time it ran, when I pulled it up there was always dirt caught in the screen that I would not have been able to retrieve with a net, so maybe if you have a very small pool it will manage.

I already have a booster pump but I was tired of buying Polaris robots that just end up breaking after a year or two, so I decided to give this a go. After the failure with the PAXCESS I just broke down and bought another Polaris, which was several hundred dollars more than this was.

Within 30 minutes it had the bottom of the pool almost completely clean, pulling up rocks and a literal fistfull of sand. The PAXCESS is just under-powered. (Which I guess isn’t all that shocking – a 5000 mAh battery obviously can’t provide the power that a hard-wired booster pump can, therefore it can’t move nearly the quantity of water and pick up as much debris.

)If you live somewhere where wind is consistently blowing sand and dirt into your pool, I don’t think this unit will cut it. For a larger pool just get a “pressure-side” cleaner and it will work way better.

After about two weeks mine stopped working – I’d turn it on and the light would just flash and it wouldn’t move. DOA products happen and I didn’t want to hold that against PAXCESS, but given the opportunity to send it back, that’s exactly what I did.

DO NOT BUY THIS POOL CLEANER. IT LITERALLY RUBS OFF THE COLOR OF YOUR LINER. I HAVE HAD A POOL AND CLEANED IT BY MANUAL BRUSH FOR 9 YEARS. I BOUGHT THIS UNIT AND WITHIN USING TWICE, THE BLUE LINER IS WHITE.

THEY WONT DO ANYTHING UNLESS YOU HAVE 3 MONTHS WORTH OF CHEMICAL ANALYSIS. THIS IS THEIR WAY OUT. I HAVE DONE MY OWN POOL TESTING FOR 9 YEARS WITH NO PROBLEMS. EXPENSIVE UNIT AND IT RUINED MY POOL LINER.

***** DO NOT BUY **** WARNING.

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!