Polaris 360 review - Buyers beware!

[Geojaneo]

Bought the Polaris 360 to replace almost 20 year old Polaris 380 - motor died and interior was literally breaking apart. Purchased the 360 since it indicated no booster needed, more efficient cleaning and all wheel drive over the 280.

Fairly quick set up and to say it moved at a snail’s pace might be an overstatement.

After some troubleshooting with their tech, he asks if we were running the dedicated booster? Huh? Why? Instructed us to use and running okay now. It appears that even though the unit has a built in booster, it didn’t generate enuf to power the vac. We have a 1hp Sanddollar filter (pool 16 x 32) 3 inlets, 2 skimmers. The new unit is still slower still than the ancient 380. If not for having the dedicated pump we would have had to immediately return the unit! My hubby hadn’t connected it fearing that it would overpower and blow out it the new vac and it didn’t require it! Can’t understand how a pool of our size wouldn’t function without the separate booster pump. Extremely disappointed so far.
Wondering if I made the wrong choice by not purchasing the 280.

Hope this information is helpful.

 

[ajw22]

The 360 is not a better ot improved cleaner than the 280 or 380.

The 280 is a better cleaner than the 360 and equal to the 380.

The 360 lets offer a cleaner for pools without a booster pump. A booster pump adds much power to the cleaner.

Operating a 360 with a booster will reduce its life and prematurely wear it out.

Polaris Pool Cleaners - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[DCFan9]

I have been using a Polaris 360 since we built our pool in 2015. I am on my 3rd one. It is a pressure side cleaner that does not require another pump and it works great! I have it on a schedule via iAquaLink and it runs everyday for 2 hours and I never pull it out of the pool unless we are having a large pool party. For reference , I have a 2HP Jandy pump with 3 returns and connected SPA and there still is a lot of pressure to push this cleaner around the pool. The price has increased on these substantially over the years but it is a very reliable cleaner. Our pool is 27K gallons and the Polaris 360 keeps it clean!

 

[Geojaneo]

I have been using a Polaris 360 since we built our pool in 2015. I am on my 3rd one. It is a pressure side cleaner that does not require another pump and it works great! I have it on a schedule via iAquaLink and it runs everyday for 2 hours and I never pull it out of the pool unless we are having a large pool party. For reference , I have a 2HP Jandy pump with 3 returns and connected SPA and there still is a lot of pressure to push this cleaner around the pool. The price has increased on these substantially over the years but it is a very reliable cleaner. Our pool is 27K gallons and the Polaris 360 keeps it clean!

Thanks for your insight! Yep $575 - more concerned with performance at this point!

 

[Geojaneo]

The 360 is not a better ot improved cleaner than the 280 or 380.

The 280 is a better cleaner than the 360 and equal to the 380.

The 360 lets offer a cleaner for pools without a booster pump. A booster pump adds much power to the cleaner.

Operating a 360 with a booster will reduce its life and prematurely wear it out.

Polaris Pool Cleaners - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Thanks! I’m really starting to regret the purchase. I’ve already contacted seller (via Amazon) so we’ll see where it goes. It wasn’t a monetary decision- the 260 was $25 more but guess I got suckered into the alleged “features”. Thought I did enuf homework but obviously not.

I’ll post any updates.

 

[ajw22]

the 260 was $25 more ....

260 or 280?

 

[Geojaneo]

Sorry the 280 was $25 more.

 

[Geojaneo]

Thanks! I’m really starting to regret the purchase. I’ve already contacted seller (via Amazon) so we’ll see where it goes. It wasn’t a monetary decision- the 260 was $25 more but guess I got suckered into the alleged “features”. Thought I did enuf homework but obviously not.

I’ll post any updates.

Forgot to mention many thanks for the link. I love TFP but gotta say finding references like your link is extremely difficult. I used search box, checked forums and never saw this link. I’ll read thru it!

 

[1poolman1]

Thanks for your insight! Yep $575 - more concerned with performance at this point!

A pool has to be properly plumbed for a 360 to work, you can't just throw one in the pool and hook it to a line that was built for a booster pump cleaner and expect it to work. That is proper plumbing both above and inground.
They were designed and marketed over 30 years ago to replace the Jandy Ray-Vac, a (the) non-booster pressure side cleaner that many builders gave away with the purchase of a pool. They were inexpensive until they started to wear out, but the pool's plumbing was great to install a 360.
Some people have great success with a 360.

 

[Newdude]

but gotta say finding references like your link is extremely difficult.

In the left sidebar or down in the quick navigation section at the bottom of any forum page is the TFP Wiki for deep diving most subjects.

 

[Geojaneo]

Bought the Polaris 360 to replace almost 20 year old Polaris 380 - motor died and interior was literally breaking apart. Purchased the 360 since it indicated no booster needed, more efficient cleaning and all wheel drive over the 280.

Fairly quick set up and to say it moved at a snail’s pace might be an overstatement.

After some troubleshooting with their tech, he asks if we were running the dedicated booster? Huh? Why? Instructed us to use and running okay now. It appears that even though the unit has a built in booster, it didn’t generate enuf to power the vac. We have a 1hp Sanddollar filter (pool 16 x 32) 3 inlets, 2 skimmers. The new unit is still slower still than the ancient 380. If not for having the dedicated pump we would have had to immediately return the unit! My hubby hadn’t connected it fearing that it would overpower and blow out it the new vac and it didn’t require it! Can’t understand how a pool of our size wouldn’t function without the separate booster pump. Extremely disappointed so far.
Wondering if I made the wrong choice by not purchasing the 280.

Hope this information is helpful.

UPDATE the new 280 installed and running like a champ! Couldn’t be more pleased. FYI the bag design is not compatible with the old unit but non OEM bags are cheap! So very glad we returned the 360!