Polaris Quattro P40 vs. Polaris Freedom

[Vesuvius]

Our very old pressure-side Polaris 380 has finally kicked the bucket and I'm looking to replace it. This will be my 1st cleaner purchase, as we inherited the old one (and the pool) when we bought the house. I'm considering the P40 and the Freedom (yes, I know one is pressure-side and one is a robot) and am struggling with the decision. Some factors:

• Our lot is heavily wooded and we have very large, mature trees that drop lots of debris in the water
• The pool is irregular shaped and our old cleaner had trouble covering all the area
• I like the convenience of leaving the P40 in the water and running it on a schedule, but...
• We don't like the hassle of getting the 380 unhooked from the wall (sometimes it's so difficult that my wife physically can't do it), so it tends to stay in the water when we swim, which is a pain
• My understanding is that the Freedom should be removed from the water once it's finished
• I've read lots about lots of gear box split issues with the P40
• The Freedom is too new to know what issues tend to pop up
• Our Zodiac PB4-60 pump was purchased in 2016, so will probably fail anytime now
• One pool guy I talked to described the P40 as "like a robot that's powered by the pressure pump rather than by external power cord", but I'm not sure if power supply is the only important difference or if they differ in cleaning effectiveness or other factors
• The price difference between the 2 options is not a big factor for me--cleaning effectiveness, convenience and reliability are bigger factors

Thoughts and advice? Thanks!

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

I agree the Quattro is a water-powered robot. It climbs and cleans much better than the other Polaris pressure cleaners. And it has scrubbers. I had to reduce the water pressure a lot switching from the 3900, probably because Quattro lacks the water-spewing tail.

I've had my Quattro for 2 years + 2 months without having to repair it or replace any parts. My complaint about it is that it is a pain to clean out the debris it catches. Some debris lands between the plastic halves of the lid instead of in the basket and has to be cleaned out manually.

 

[Vesuvius]

I agree the Quattro is a water-powered robot. It climbs and cleans much better than the other Polaris pressure cleaners. And it has scrubbers. I had to reduce the water pressure a lot switching from the 3900, probably because Quattro lacks the water-spewing tail.

I've had my Quattro for 2 years + 2 months without having to repair it or replace any parts. My complaint about it is that it is a pain to clean out the debris it catches. Some debris lands between the plastic halves of the lid instead of in the basket and has to be cleaned out manually.

Thanks, Rocket. Some questions:

• How many hours/day do you run it?
• Do you remove it when you swim and, if so, is it easy to do so?
• What do you have to do to manually clean it out and how often do you have to do that?
• If it failed today, would you consider the Freedom as an alternative?

Thanks!

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

Thanks, Rocket. Some questions:

• How many hours/day do you run it?
• Do you remove it when you swim and, if so, is it easy to do so?
• What do you have to do to manually clean it out and how often do you have to do that?
• If it failed today, would you consider the Freedom as an alternative?

Thanks!

I run the Quattro 2 hours per day. In the off season, I only run it 4 days a week. In season, I run it every morning.

I don't remove it unless guests are coming to swim. If it's "just us", I just put it in a corner of the pool. Lifting out out of the pool, it's pretty heavy until the water drains out and you have to lift it by the handle, not by the hose.

I empty the debris baskets every week or two. My covered pool doesn't get a lot of debris. The issue with cleaning is that some debris doesn't make it into the baskets but instead gets stuck between the two halves of the plastic lid. The gap is too narrow to clean out with a toothpick, I have to use running water to flush it clean. If that fails, I have to separate the halves of the lid by unscrewing the screws that hold it together, an annoyance.

I haven't thought about the Freedom at all.

 

[Vesuvius]

I run the Quattro 2 hours per day. In the off season, I only run it 4 days a week. In season, I run it every morning.

I don't remove it unless guests are coming to swim. If it's "just us", I just put it in a corner of the pool. Lifting out out of the pool, it's pretty heavy until the water drains out and you have to lift it by the handle, not by the hose.

I empty the debris baskets every week or two. My covered pool doesn't get a lot of debris. The issue with cleaning is that some debris doesn't make it into the baskets but instead gets stuck between the two halves of the plastic lid. The gap is too narrow to clean out with a toothpick, I have to use running water to flush it clean. If that fails, I have to separate the halves of the lid by unscrewing the screws that hold it together, an annoyance.

I haven't thought about the Freedom at all.

Good info--thanks. I'm heavily leaning toward to P40, given the amount of debris we get, as I think it needs cleaning almost every day in-season and the idea of putting the robot in, coming back in few hours to remove it, drying it off sufficiently to charge and then charging it almost every day sounds like way too much work. I love the idea of not having any cords or machinery to deal with when we swim or when we just look at from our deck above but I think the convenience factor of the P40 wins out.

What I really need is a robot that is housed in a little water proof housing, automatically exits the housing in the morning and makes its way in to the pool, cleans the pool, makes its way out of the pool and back to the housing and recharges itself before the next scheduled clean.

 

[tfpflana1502]

Good info--thanks. I'm heavily leaning toward to P40, given the amount of debris we get, as I think it needs cleaning almost every day in-season and the idea of putting the robot in, coming back in few hours to remove it, drying it off sufficiently to charge and then charging it almost every day sounds like way too much work. I love the idea of not having any cords or machinery to deal with when we swim or when we just look at from our deck above but I think the convenience factor of the P40 wins out.

What I really need is a robot that is housed in a little water proof housing, automatically exits the housing in the morning and makes its way in to the pool, cleans the pool, makes its way out of the pool and back to the housing and recharges itself before the next scheduled clean.

Can’t you just leave the robot in the pool?

 

[Vesuvius]

Can’t you just leave the robot in the pool?

The Freedom is cordless, so gotta remove it to recharge