Thursday, September 21, 2023

Are Cordless Robotic Cleaners a Gimmick?

Cordless or corded, that is the question. The main advantage of a cordless cleaner is well that it has no cord. That is about it. If the cord bothers you then the cordless option is readily available now and there are five solid cordless options for you. Polaris Freedom, Aiper Seagull Pro, Dolphin Liberty 200, Dolphin Liberty 300, and the Water Tech CX-1. 



One disadvantage of the cordless cleaners is a shorter run time. They currently only will run for 1.5 to 2.5 hours except for the CX-1 which has a 4.5-hour run time. There is also very limited daily programming available. For example, the Dolphin Liberty 300 has Echo Mode, which will run for 30 minutes and then turn off for 48 hours, run for 30 minutes, and then turn off again for 48 hours and run for 30 minutes. The CX-1 has a 7-day cycle where it will turn on 30 minutes each day. With a corded cleaner, you can easily purchase one that has a true programmable 7-day cycle which will allow the cleaner to run it’s full 3-hour cycle each day.

The other limitation is that you need about 4 hours between uses. That is the average charge time. If you need a second cleaning, you will have to wait a few hours. 

Except for the CX-1 these cleaners are made for smaller pools, I would say 15,000 gallons or less which is a 30 x 15 pool. 

But with all of that, I like the cordless option as it makes for simple pool care. Just charge up the cleaner, drop it in, and then after it is done use the included hook to retrieve it from the pool. Polaris Freedom has a patented lift system so that cleaners will climb the walls once you engage the Lift System and wait for you to pull it out. The Dolphin Liberty 300 has an included Clicker. When the cleaning cycle is done simply submerge the Clicker and move it back and forth. The noise will activate the cleaner and it will climb the nearest wall and wait for you to retrieve it. 

Here is more about the Liberty 200:
Liberty 200 only runs for 1.5 hours on a full charge. I am sure later models will have larger batteries and longer run times.

The cleaning pattern is quite effective given the short run time and I wouldn’t worry about it not leaving your pool spotless each time. The debris basket is rated at 70 microns and you can also order the Dolphin Genuine Replacement Part — Fine Filter Panels (4PK) — Part Number 9991463-R4 which will filter down to 20 microns.

SIMPLE INDUCTIVE CHARGING: With Magnetic-Connect, non-corrosive inductive charging, you get a super easy magnetic connection for walk-away charging. The powerful lithium-ion battery gives you 90 minutes of efficient cleaning for a remarkably clean pool.

Dolphin Liberty 300:
The Dolphin LIBERTY 300 Robotic Pool Cleaner with its new cordless design, unmatched agility, and inductive charging. The LIBERTY 300 features the Magnetic-Connect system for easy snap-in-place and walk-away charging, an Eco Mode that keeps your pool clean all week with short cleaning cycles, and a Cycle Selector that lets you choose between floor-only or floor-and-wall cleaning. Use the Click-Up for sound-activated pick-up for easy removal from pool.

With super-efficient scrubbing and filtering capabilities, you can get the same reliability and service you get with other Dolphin products - now cordless!
Aiper Seagull Pro:
The build quality is excellent. This has the true feel of a production cleaner. It’s a bit heavy at 20 lbs, but that is due to the large lithium-ion battery. Which charges very fast, within 90 minutes. The charging port could be a fail point so always make sure the runner plug is firmly in place and the charging port is closed. 

The only downside I see is that the filter canister only filters dirt down to 180 microns. This means that the finer dirt will not be picked up by the cleaner. A fine-filter canister would be nice, maybe down to 60 microns 

Polaris Freedom:
Charging pad without any plug port on the cleaner. The plug port is a fail point for other robotic pool cleaners. Either the terminals get calcified or water gets into the motor. The FREEDOM eliminates this failing point with metal plates on the bottom that charge the lithium-ion battery. No need to ever plug it in.

Intelligent APP control. The features and functions in the iAqaulink app for FREEDOM are really simple. I think Polaris kept things as simple as can be. You set the cleaning options, Floor only – floors, walls, and waterline – waterline only. Or you can choose the SMART mode where the cleaner maps your pool the first time and sets the exact runtime for your pool. The next time you run it in the cleaner will run just long enough to clean the pool without wasted battery life.


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