Best Suction Pool Cleaners

It's a good pool cleaner – We recently bought an Onga Bullshark, which is basically a Pool and Spa Warehouse proprietary version of the Hammerhead. We have used it in our pool… Read more

for two months and have had a great experience with it.

We previously had a Kreepy Krauly Marathon, and the Onga is cheaper, much quieter, more efficient and doesn't get tangled as easily. The Kreepy Krauly had problems with the skirt stretching and falling off, the hammer wearing out and the parts such as the swivel connection were generally not long-lasting. It was also very noisy. The adjustment for suction strength for the Onga is also easier, just a simple knob.

I like that the Onga hose is in 1-metre sections, because you can add more sections if the hose is not long enough, or replace a worn or damaged section with just a single section. With the Kreepy Krauly we had to replace the full hose, and it needed a lot of treatment initially to stop it constantly curling. The Onga hose is straight because it's not wound up into a tight circle in the box.

The only slight negative with the Onga is that the attachment to the skimmer box is a bit high in the pool level, and you need to keep the pool well and truly topped up to stop suction issues when the pump turns off.

Purchased one of these through Pool and Spa warehouse Georges Hall recommended by the technician. He said it would suit my Pool when I first… Read more

installed it gave them a call ,told hi it will not climb up the side of the walls. He told me to take a couple of hoses pieces off. Took 2 m off then it started working properly, what a great pool cleaner best one I’ve had over 20 years life of the Pool.

So far, this is the best pool cleaner I've found for my pool. (See my reviews of others). It does not get stuck, and uses the least amount of… Read more

consumables.

It's now 2 1/2 years old, and is going to need some TLC to keep going much longer - the feet are starting to wear out (pebble crete) and the drive axle will occasionally need to be pushed back into the correct position.

All in all. I am pleased with this one.

Cheap Quality Garbage – Not worth the money. After 2-3 year the stainless steel spring rusted and broke off. Real stainless steel should not rust, a so they must be using… Read more

low quality Chinese fake stainless steel.The skirt keeps coming off the head as well. I cant see myself spending money on Kreepy Krauly again. I can't find a replacement spring but the whole part of the hose it $65! Stainless steel should last for ever not a few years.

Only 2.5 years old and realised I was better off buying a cheap Aldi cleaner. After the first three months I had to call the retailer to get a rep to… Read more

come and see why it keeps getting stuck in the same spot leaving the rest of the pool untouched. Fortunately we got it going, but only for a few weeks. Since then I’ve contacted the retailer who passed on my details to Waterco ( who apparently service the product ) who only want to come out and charge a fee for labour! Pretty low considering it cost over $700. You would think it would have a better warranty than that. Like I said earlier, buy a cheap brand and throw it out after a couple of years. You will do the same with this over priced piece of trash.

Power Force Pool Vacuum Cleaner – I'm giving this a 5 star based on performance, value and maintenance. I have waited for 6 months to write the review to see if it holds up. So far… Read more

so good. I have read a number of bad reviews and I am surprised however I must say there is a fair bit of tinkering to do in terms of suction balance and hose management to get it to peak performance. For example if it is not doing your walls then your suction is too low, won't come off the walls too high. Sticks in a corner twist the hose until you get it flowing. All sounds obvious and trivial but it makes a difference. The system is simple, solid and the diaphragm lasts which is more than I can say for the zodiac T5 where I (at least) went through a diaphragm ever 3 - 4 months. For half the price, half the maintenance and superior performance I definitely recommend the power force over the T5 or the MX6 for that matter which I find cleans beautifully but was costing me about $75 every 6 months on parts not to mention the price tag...

Easy to install. Came with hose adapters. Handy that you can remove canister without disconnecting the hose. Show details

Absolutely love it, I just purchased the onga hammer head which was useless always got stuck so I sent it back for a refund within a week, then I found this amazing cleaner. I just love it never gets stuck climbs the walls, its perfect Show details

Owned this piece of s$f@ for several years. Will not purchase an otherZodiak product. It does not stay upright climbs out of water. Set it up every conceivable way, put new costly parts in stiil need to babysit to keep it working. Show details

I had a little trouble figuring out how to get the cleaner attached but I emailed the shop and they sent very good instructions and photos. All sorted now Show details

This is my second zodiac G2. The first one was okay but eventually the collar became so worn replacing it Proved futile so I bought a new one. The… Read more

hoses are very stiff and I hate the locking mechanism I’m not sure why just yet but it seems to focus on one area and rarely will travel to the far end of the pool, It constantly flips onto its back so I have to intervene, I don’t think the swivel on the head works very well and for some reason they changed where you put the bumper thing… probably all part of the reason why this is proving to be a very bad purchase

I am 2.5yrs into owning this cleaner... and it has been a solid improvement over my previous favourite pool cleaner (The Pentair Rebel Mk2). You… Read more

need to understand that every pool cleaner is awful.. robots, suction with diaphragms, suction with gears (like this one).. they all have different pros and a long list of cons.. I've had them all over a decade in a pool that has trees raining on it on a daily basis. The Aquanaut 250 is the least worst of the cleaners out there.. this is why we are seeing it in almost every pool shop under a number of different brand names.. but its the same cleaner.

The main difference between this and the Rebel (both gear based suction cleaners) is the AquaNaut has flaps that bend out of the way to allow larger leaf matter to pass through.. and I believe it also heavily reduces the wear on the gears. Gear wear was the #1 issue with the Rebel.. every 1-2yrs they would strip and it would stop running and need replacement parts... Dont get me wrong, the AquaNaut still gets caught on larger sticks or a pile of leaves that clump up... but for me its maybe once a week compared to twice daily with the Rebel.. its a huge improvement... if you want no blockages you can use a robot, but robots don't actually pump water through the pool filter.. so they create different water quality problems.

I recently had an issue after re-lining my vinyl pool which was now very slippery... and the cleaner would get stuck in certain spots.. I solved it the same way I solved issues with my Rebel.. you can either buy tyres with a bump on them (but they are very expensive), or add some pieces of eraser or plastic yourself in 1 random spot on each tyre., its enough to kick it out of a stuck spot.. and has instantly fixed my issues.

I was nervous that you can't open it up without a screwdriver.. as I had to open the Rebel up daily.. but honestly once in 2.5yrs is the amount of times I've had to open it due to a really specific stick jammed in there.. its been fine..

If you have issues with it climbing walls and sucking air.. just reduce the suction with a skimmer plate.. I don't have any issues but it is a thing with suction cleaners.

I read the negative reviews in here, and honestly you need to lower expectations.. there is no magical cleaner out there.. some people may not have much leaf matter and can get away with whatever.. but this has been the best cleaner by far, corners or round pool.. will report back in a few more years, but so far so good.

CRAP, DO NOT BUY! – I hate this thing, Bought 12 months ago and regret it. gets stuck in corner constantly, hoses constantly get into a knot and restricted its travel… Read more

length, hoses split constantly, impossible to balance with weights to get it to work properly on floor of pool. You have to almost constantly stand there and supervise the stupid thing.

Garbage. 1 star is too much for this piece of junk. I was given one of these by Buccaneer pools with my new pool but it is now in the garbage where… Read more

it belongs. Doesn't even come close to cleaning your pool. Just goes to the nearest corner and that's where it stays. No way in hell it will even get close to cleaning the sides like the sales crap claims. Can't even clean the bottom. I cant believe they are allowed to sell such garbage. Disgraceful!

AX10 Pool Cleaner – I have used this tune up kit before on a MX8 as fits both perfectly. Now i have moved house and the new pool has an AX10 fitting the kit is very easy… Read more

and simple there is even a video on u tube if required. The quality is exceptional. And is a perfect fit Highly recommend this seller remember to press the yellow key to open the top for period cleaning on the inside if required Do not leave in the pool when noy in use. keep out of the sun Only use when required to prolong the life of the unit

Navigator Pro has been an amazing cleaner, does a great job of cleaning coverage of the pool. Purchased V-Flex upgrade kit for it because some… Read more

bearings got a bit tight after 8 years of operation. DO NOT Buy this upgrade kit, it is absolute garbage!!! The bearings in the bearingless system collapsed in just over 1 year of operation, these bearings go on the v-flex mechanism, both wore through the garbage bearing retainer plastic. Picture of this included, it looks like some employee went home and 3D printed these with extremely bad filaments. This upgrade kit is stupidly expensive so do yourself a favour and do not do it.

I was very unsure about purchasing another suction cleaner after having a Dolphin robot cleaner. Had nothing but bad experience in the past with… Read more

suction cleaners.. So far I have been very impressed with the Tracvac. It has covered every inch of my pool floor and walls and hasn't got stuck in any cornor like most suction cleaners do. Only thing was I had to play around with the regulator a bit because it was trying to climb out of the pool and suckling some air... After a bit of playing around I think I got it sorted and it's running like a dream.. So far so good.. Feeling happy with my purchase

Just launched my brand-new Zodiac T3 and now suffering buyer's remorse plus disappointed with myself that I didn't read the reviews before making… Read more

this purchase. My previous Zodiac gave reasonable service however expired just after the 2-year warranty expired - just as you would expect. I have spent hours over the weekend trying to get this unit to operate - instructions followed carefully, water pressure good, no leaks in the new hoses etc. This new unit just gets to a corner or starts going up the sides of the pool and stops. Give it a push along and it sets off again then just stops. I am really over it and my $429 purchase seems to be a complete dud. All I have to look forward to seems to be to purchase a large stock of replacement diaphragms - if the unit ever operates close to the Zodiac blurb.

Good pool cleaner in it’s class – Only had it for a few days, so I can’t comment on longevity of parts. My pool pump has a 110kw output for a 50,000 litre tiled pool, so it’s… Read more

reasonably powerful and I have no suction issues, The Tracker moves around the pool and manages to cover all of it in random patterns. It has stayed in one place against the stairs for 10 to 15 seconds a couple of times, then extricates itself and moves on. It picks up gum leaves. A long twig wrapped around the rotating bottom blade and it stopped. Apart from that, it hasn’t required me to clear it. The Tracker won’t pick up very long or very wide debris, and I don’t expect it to.. me and a net perform that task. It partly climbs the walls now and again. This is unimportant to me, as I periodically brush-clean the walls. So overall, I am pleased with my purchase although I have a regret.. The Baracuda Tracker is a re-branded and re-coloured Zodiac MX6. Both are made by Zodiac with the Tracker made specifically for Bunnings. Had I previously known, I would have purchased the Zodiac MX6 for around $100 less than the $670 I paid at Bunnings. The MX6 colours are also nicer than the Tracker in my opinion.

Does the Job – I have had a Pool Rover ST for around 10 years on a pebblecrete pool, not perfect but it works well, tried many before but none work as well this Show details

Was sold this product by some really grumpy sales people local to me. Within 7 months the diaphragm has gone. While it has been replaced under… Read more

warranty, they state that the warranty on the replacement diaphragm is now only 2 months. Bitterly disappointed as the sales pitch given was that this would be much more robust than the replaced Zodiac

Same as every one else on this website. ok for 1-2yrs and useless – bought on rcommendation of pool guy, maybe he is on commission? Or maybe he knows it breaks down after a couple of years and he has more work coming… Read more

back to him? Anyway, worked pretty good or a year or two. then parts started failing. rubber skirt obviously, but still worked. sort of, then the swivel connector broke (hard plastic just breaks. thats crap) contacted pentair customer service multiple times, never an answer. $400 for a year and a half, so $260 a year? thats pretty steep. Then however much you want to throw good money after bad trying to buy parts, the mentral stress trying to contact pentair services... no I wont buy pentair again

An excellent pool cleaner for a fraction of the price of its competitors – ALDI recently put a wheeled pool cleaner on sale. We've tried their rubber disk (barracuda-style) types before but they always get stuck around the… Read more

steps so are no good for us.

We used to have a Sprinter to keep the pool clean but after about seven years of almost permanent time in the pool it finally gave up the ghost, so this one was of great interest, especially at just $199.

The Turbine Suction Cleaner comes with a metre of hose, various adaptors, a flow regulator, hose floats and a flow meter. The manual is reasonably comprehensive and fairly well detailed on using the cleaner.

Once connected to the hose and skimmer, operating the device is fairly simple. Counting the wheel turns per minute and using the flow meter, it is easy to adjust the water flow with the flow regulator to ensure the pressure is correct for the clearer to work efficiently.

Once operating, the cleaner simply drives around the pool floor, spinning on the spot every so often to change direction. Like most cleaners it essentially works by steering randomly around the pool, climbing up the walls when it reaches them. Most importantly, the steering means it cannot get stuck by the steps, at least not for long.

Each wheel has a large lump on it which causes it to lift up slightly as the wheel rotates, I suspect this is to lift it away from the floor to allow larger pieces of debris to pass under and possibly to make it drop from the wall as it climbs. The documentation doesn't make it clear.

I have to say that on first impressions it has made a pretty good job of cleaning our pool. Was it as good as the Sprinter? It's hard to say but given that it is a quarter the price of a Sprinter I was happy enough with the results.

One point I still need to deal with - when it climbs to the top of the wall it tends to suck in quite a bit of air before falling back which isn't great for the pump in the long term. However, I believe I just need to reduce the suction pressure so the it doesn't cling on so well and that should sort that out.

The instructions say it should not be operated under a pool blanket, though I cannot see why not - our sprinter lasted years operating like that. No problems have been discovered do far, though ours is a thermal blanket, not solar, because it is an indoor pool.

All in all, we are very happy with the cleaner. It is not noisy (some make a thump thump sound when operating) and seems to do a good job, I just need to tweak it to stop it trying to climb out of the pool and it should be great.

Nice one ALDI.

Exceeded my expectations - easy setup, perfect pool cleaning – After reading the only review of the Pentair Mako Shark pool cleaner here, I was sceptical. After a conversation with my local pool shop who sell… Read more

several different types of cleaner, he recommended the Mako as "generational improvement" on the Hammerhead, and demonstrated how the redesign of the head made it more durable as well as less likely to get stuck in corners. As the price difference was not that great over the Hammerhead which is one of the cheapest anyway, I decided to trust his judgement. Really glad I did as it was very easy to assemble, simple to calibrate to my pump, and is working like a charm. Just follow the instructions to a T and you'll be right. Amazingly it climbs the walls to about 30 cm below the water line which I did not expect. My pool has never been cleaner, and I couldn't be happier!

Not happy. Continually gets stuck in the deep end at the wall, will eventually push off but always ends up in the same spot. Never gets to the… Read more

shallow end unless I physically drag it up there and then it’s straight back to the deep corner! I also wanted a cleaner that was quiet. It vibrates through the house! Very disappointed ☹️