If you have a small, regular-shaped pool, then finding a robotic pool cleaner is a walk in the park. But what if you have a larger pool or a pool with a custom or irregular shape? That is where the Polaris F9550 really shines. Using advanced sensor technology, suction power, and compact size, the Polaris F9550 can get in and around tight turns and corners to give your custom-shaped pool a new, spotless look.
The Polaris F9550 is, overall, a great machine. But, nothing is perfect, and this robot has some issues too. Below, We’ll lay out the pros and cons of the Polaris F9550 and tell you about what real customers liked and didn’t like about it.
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The Pros
Navigation and motion. The Polaris F9550 is equipped with smart ActivMotion technology. Using this tech, the Polaris F9550 can plot out the surfaces of your pool and determine the best way to go. It can use the ActivMotion sensors to navigate around obstacles and tight turns, making it very useful for custom-shaped pools.
If you want to take the reins and control the Polaris F9550 yourself, you can do so with your own remote control. Similar to a Wii remote, leaning the remote to one side can turn the robot. Leaning the remote away from you will cause the robot to move away, and tipping the remote in your direction will cause the Polaris F9550 to start coming toward you.
Plus, the Polaris F9550 is four-wheel drive, so it can turn around tight corners and curves with accuracy and ease.
Filtration. Recently, the finer filters of years past have been replaced with less fine ones in order to prevent the units from constantly becoming clogged with ultra-fine particles like algae or pollen. The result has been an increase in the amount of debris that the robot can pick up without it becoming full. In the past, ultra-fine particles and dust were causing error codes because the robot thought that the canisters were too full.
Cleaning ability. The Polaris F9550 has several different cleaning modes. You can choose to clean the floor only, the floor and walls, or even the waterline (an area that is notoriously difficult for most pool cleaning robots). The Polaris F9550 is propelled along the floor of the pool by a rear water propulsion system. The jets that propel the robot can push debris out from hard-to-reach areas, where it can then be picked up with a second sweep of the Polaris F9550.
And then there is the cleaning technology itself. The Vacuum Vortex works to blast apart large gatherings of dirt and debris, while two rubber-bladed brush rollers work on the surfaces of the pool. The suction device itself has a wide-mouth intake, allowing it to pick up debris of varying size.
If you are cleaning after a recent pool installation, bear in mind some precautions. You should manually brush and vacuum the pool in order to pick up any loose or excess dust from construction, such as concrete or mortar. Even though the Polaris F9550 has an impressive suction ability, this ultra-fine dust can easily clog up the filters and cause trouble.
Easy lift. With the Polaris F9550, getting it out of the pool starts with just the push of a button. You can simply press and hold the “Lift System” button. The Polaris F9550 will slowly turn counter-clockwise. Once it is pointed at the wall that you want it to go to, you only have to release the button, and the robot will climb the wall and wait for you to retrieve it at the waterline. Once you remove the Polaris F9550 from the water, it will automatically dump any excess water still inside. You can access the lift system controls using either the main control unit or your remote.
What did customers like about the Polaris F9550? Many customers were pleased with how easy it was to set up cleaning schedules and operate the machine by remote control. Some customers even used the remote control to drive the robot to places that it had missed on its first try. The easy lift system was popular among customers. People also thought that the caddy for transporting the robot was convenient and a good, compact size.
Customers were generally happy with the performance of the Polaris F9550. They were especially happy with the robot’s ability to clean along the waterline, an area that many other robots have trouble with or simply cannot clean at all. Many customers reported that the robot seemed to clean much better when they took the time to regularly brush the bottoms and sides of their pools.
The Cons: What customers didn’t like.
Because the Polaris F9550 does not have a swivel feature like other models, the cord can easily become tangled. It is also difficult, according to some customers, to wind/unwind the cord from the caddy. Also, because the propulsion system displaces so much water, some customers did not like how much debris the jets blew around. There were also some reports of the robot tipping over and getting stuck.
Customer service and repair were another issue. Some people had to wait on hold with customer service for long periods of time. Others never got a return call or they were passed from customer service representative to representative, back and forth. Also, most of the time, if there is a problem with the Polaris F9550, the repair can be expensive. Sometimes, the whole unit needs to be replaced. Some customers thought that the cheaper models that they were familiar with could perform at a comparable or better level.
Basic Operation
First, connect the floating cable to the main control unit. The main control unit mounts onto the caddy. Then, plug it into a GFCI outlet. Gently lower the Polaris F9550 into the pool vertically. Once all of the air bubbles stop coming out of it, you can let it sink into the bottom.
You can choose form the three listed cleaning cycles, and the floor-only cycle is the factory default. When you plug in the Polaris F9550, it will default to whichever cleaning cycle was chosen last. If you need to know how to set up cleaning schedules or timers, consult the instruction manual. The instruction manual has a detailed user manual, installation guide, and instructions on how to use every aspect of your machine.
To activate the remote control and sync it to the main control unit, you can simply press and hold the power button on the remote control until the light turns green. Then, you can press and hold the “Start/Stop” button on the main control unit.
The Final Verdict
This robot is good for you if you have a pool with an irregular shape that other robots have trouble cleaning properly. As long as you are careful to keep the pool from getting too dirty before you set it loose, you can expect good performance. Plus, if you think you can do a better job, you can take control using the remote.