Choosing an automatic pool cleaner for an above-ground
swimming pool with a PVC liner
The Aquabot Neptuno reviewed
We needed an automatic pool cleaner since we had just installed a swimming
pool in our garden and an exercise swimming pool in our option room. The
problem, or so it seemed, was that we had chosen above-ground pools with a
PVC liner and that this liner would not be strong enough to cope with the
stresses imposed by an automatic pool cleaner. This is what our local swimming
pool specialist shops told us, anyway. The problem lay in that most machines
will climb the walls of the swimming pool and our liner would just tear.
We looked on the internet and found the Aquabot Neptuno automatic pool cleaner
which is marketed by a UK company called Kaltech and whose slogan is "Small enough
to care, big enough to cope!". We thought we'd put those words to the test.
I asked to speak to a technician but he was unavailable although I was promised a call
back to my mobile in Italy. Sure enough he rang back a little while later and we talked at
length about what we needed from our automatic pool cleaner. From the
information on the website, the Aquabot Neptuno seemed to be suitable and the
technician categorically confirmed it.
We then ordered one and a few days later it arrived (having been kept informed of
progress via a tracking number). The machine consists of a pair of stiff, spongy
rollers with rubber caterpillar tracks behind them and this transports the
automatic pool cleaner across the floor of the swimming pool. Its power supply
cable drags behind it (mainly floating on the surface and therefore out of the
way of the machine) and this plugs into a transformer which turns our 220V AC
supply to the 12V DC used by the Aquabot Neptuno.
We removed the cling-film protection from the rollers and launched the Aquabot
Neptuno allowing the requisite 20 minutes for the rollers to saturate with water on
their first use. If this is not done, a build up of friction can occur and your
liner or the rollers will get damaged. Eventually we were able to switch it on
and off it went! It moved a lot quicker than we had expected - about as fast as
one could walk in a swimming pool.
Unfortunately there was a fault and our Aquabot Neptuno kept stopping. Even so,
it was clear that it had picked up a lot of detritus from the floor of the pool
and the liner was unlikely to be damaged by its actions.
We spoke to Kaltech and they were sympathetic, offering a replacement without
arguing. As normal, the way it works is that we had to pay the courier fee to
return the item and they would pay the courier fee to send a replacement back. The big problem was
drying off the rollers without putting them in direct sunlight - that took
several days.
In the meantime, Kaltech tested a replacement Aquabot Neptuno and, having
established it worked, despatched it to us. Again, I was kept informed -
something I always find very important and which many companies fail to do. The
machine arrived on Friday and we used it for the first time last night - Sunday.
This time the automatic pool cleaner kept going and it merrily trundled around
our stretched octagon pool sucking up the myriad of dead insects which had sunk
down onto the liner. After just under 3 hours it switched off having completed
its cleaning program. We then retrieved it, removed a very full bag of detritus and put
it to dry off on a tiled surface.
I have only two complaints. Firstly, the pool was not entirely clean - the
Aquabot Neptuno had ignored two patches adjacent to our 'Roman' pool steps.
Admittedly, one of those was too small for it to access but the other should
have been cleaned. Next time we clean the pool, we will start the cleaner there
and see if it misses anywhere else.
The second complaint was that the wrong address was used for the return machine.
Instead of using our home address, someone had used the address our credit card
was registered to. Fortunately the courier is well-used to our orders from the
UK and ignored the incorrect address.
That said, Kaltech were very helpful and extremely efficient - I always knew what stage things were at
and I felt confident in their ability to deliver from my conversation with their
technician onwards. My particular thanks goes to Lucy in their office.
It was not a cheap purchase - our great yellow and blue submarine - but, so far,
we are very pleased with our Aquabot Neptuno automatic pool cleaner.
|