Unless you have a very special connection with your leaf eater, few pool owners enjoy the task of cleaning their pool. The two most common automatic pool cleaners are suction-side and pressure-side, but those models involve a reasonable bit of interdiction from the pool owner. For the true men and women of leisure, the only way to clean your pool is the robotic pool cleaner. Self-contained and self-governing robotic pool cleaners are ideal for the hands-off pool owner. But not all robotic pool cleaners are equal, so let us list the top three inground robotic pool cleaners you should consider adding to your pool this year.
Best Budget:
Dolphin E30 Inground Pool Cleaner, 60 Ft Cable, All Pool Surface Types – Model 99996240-XP
Let’s be honest; the “budget option” for robotic cleaners is relative to other cleaners. No robotic pool cleaner is inexpensive, but the Dolphin Maytronics E30 Explorer Pool Cleaner is the best available when you weigh the best bang for your buck.
The Dolphin E30 can clean large pools up to 40 feet long due to its more than adequate 60-foot-long swivel power cord. Robotic pool cleaners’ swivel cords are especially useful in reducing cord tangles. Ask anyone who owned a pool cleaner before swivel cables were a thing; they’ll tell you how much tangling-untangling was a downside to robotic pool cleaners.
The 2-hour cleaning cycle of the E30 provides excellent coverage, skimming the pool floor and the walls up to the waterline. The Dolphin E30 is the best basic robotic pool cleaner you’ll find.
| Pool Size: | Up to 40′ Long | |
| Cleaning Cycle: | 2 Hours | |
| Cord Length: | 60 ft. | |
| Pool Type: | Inground Pool – All Surface Types | |
| Warranty: | 2 Years |
Best Feature:
Hayward Tigershark QC Robotic Pool Cleaner, 55 Ft Cable, All Pool Surface Types, 1-Hour Clean Cycle – Model W3RC9950CUB – W3RC9990CUB
If you’re a person on the go, or let’s say, a pool cleaning procrastinator preparing for a party, you may be running short on time before your next backyard soiree. If this describes you, the Hayward Tigershark Quick Clean (QC) Robotic Pool Cleaner is your pick.
The TigrShark QC cleaner features a 3-hour normal cleaning cycle and a 1-hour Quick Clean cycle. The 3-hour cycle does the more thorough job, but the 1-hour cycle takes the most efficient grid pattern to clean your pool to gather the most dirt a third of the time.
| Pool Size: | Up to 26′ Long | |
| Cleaning Cycle: | 3 Hour Normal Cycle / 1 Hour Quick Clean Cycle | |
| Cord Length: | 55 ft. | |
| Pool Type: | Inground Pool – All Surface Types | |
| Warranty: | 1 Year |
Best Deluxe Model:
Dolphin E70 Inground Pool Cleaner, 60 Ft Cable, All Pool Surface Types, Built-in Wifi – Model 99996712-XP
If you like your pool cleaner with a few more doodads, then drop the whatchamacallit and strap in because I’ve got a cleaner for you, the Dolphin E70 pool cleaner with Built-in Wifi, and Caddy.
The Dolphin E70 pool cleaner covers all the basics; it can clean pools up to 50 feet long, has a 60-foot swivel power cable, is fit for all pool surface types, and has a 3-year warranty. In addition, the E70’s Wi-Fi connectivity ensures some Bling with the basics, including features like:
- Remote Cleaner Activation – Power your E70 cleaner on or off using the MyDolphin Plus app.
- Temperature sensor – lets you know the water temperature. The sensor shows the temperature in Celsius and Fahrenheit.Degree range: 6°-38° Celsius (C), 42.8°-100.4° Fahrenheit (F).
- Filter Gauge – shows you five levels of a filter mode and how clogged the filter is due to a load of dirt or a specific element getting stuck inside the filter.
- In / Out of Water Sensor – This feature lets you know whether the pool cleaner is inside or outside the pool water.
Whether you’re a Mac Daddy or a Daddy Mac, you’d find it hard not to jump for joy while fiddling with this cleaner’s features.
| Pool Size: | Up to 26′ Long | |
| Cleaning Cycle: | 1.5 Hours | |
| Cord Length: | 60 ft. | |
| Pool Type: | Inground Pool – All Surface Types | |
| Warranty: | 3 Years |
Honorable Mention – Best for Above Ground Pool:
Dolphin E10 Above Ground Pool Cleaner, 40 Ft Cable, 2 Year Warranty – Model 99996133-USF
Above ground, pool cleaners don’t get much attention in the world of robotic pool cleaners. The cost of a robotic pool cleaner and the possibility of a liner getting de-beaded by a heavy cleaner is enough to ward off above ground pool cleaners owners. But the Maytronics Dolphin E10 can quash those fears with its lightweight design and gentle-touch cleaning ideal for an above ground pool’s liner.
| Pool Size: | Up to 26′ Long | |
| Cleaning Cycle: | 1.5 Hours | |
| Cord Length: | 40 ft. | |
| Pool Type: | Above Ground | |
| Warranty: | 2 Years |
Is your favorite robotic cleaner not on the list? If so, let us know what model it is and why we should add it to next year’s list
