Zodiac F5B Polaris Vac-Sweep 280 Black Max Pressure Side Pool Cleaner

We needed to replace the 280 white cleaner which had seen better days, the wheels and tires were perishing as was the hose. After weighing up the cost of a refurb buying a new cleaner appeared to be a better option. We chose the Polaris 280 F5B Black Max Pressure Side Automatic In Ground Pool Cleaner with Hoses.It was any easy install as everything was basically the same as the previous 280 but not quite what we expected with its operation. To begin with the pool was filled with miniscule bubbles and we could not determine where they were coming from. It actually made the pool water look cloudy.Eventually the bubbles disappeared but the tail began getting wrapped around the wheels, almost as if the cleaner was moving backwards. Not that we saw it doing that. The cleaner often prefers to float around the pool instead of remaining on the floor. So really we are not as happy as we thought we would be. Anyway I think we've cured or are not seeing as many problems as we did now but it would be nice to speak to someone from Zodiac who can explain our experiences.

I had a Pentair 4 wheeled hunk-o-junk for years and it never cleaned worth a damn. It would run for 3 minutes and get stuck in a corner no matter how you adjusted it. For it to clean, you'd have to stand outside for hours and move it every 3 minutes when it got stuck again. If you left for a 2 week vacation, it would be stuck in the exact same spot as when you left and the pool would be full of dirt and debris.I read the reviews of all the newer Pentair and Polaris products and they all seem to get poor reviews and the prices have skyrocketed. The older 280 models seemed to get the best reviews and are more reasonably priced, but aren't available many places anymore. So I jumped at the chance to buy this black one from Amazon. The old white Pentair always stuck out like a neon sign in my dark Pebble Tec pool. This black one looks much better. It almost disappears.The Black Max 280 performs admirably. I've had it now for a couple months and I think it only got stuck once for a couple hours. Then it freed itself and went on it's merry way. I couldn't be happier so far. It does it's job well.Only time will tell if it holds up or not. But from the glowing reviews, it appears it usually does. Even if it does break, repair parts are easy to find and priced well compared to all the new product spare parts.

I have owned Polaris Pool Sweeps for nearly 30 years. My last one was the 180 model and I had that one rebuilt 3 times. But finally it was just done and was not worth another rebuild. Of course my pool store was trying to sell me the latest more expensive model but I just didn't have that much money . I reluctantly decided to buy the 280. I am a 67 year old woman and when this sweep arrived, I took it out of the box, lined it up with my old one and simply cut the hose to the same length. I then plugged it in. THAT WAS ALL IT TOOK!!! ZOOM, ZOOM...!!! He took off like a bat out of Hades and cleaned my pool it in "two shakes of a lambs tail". After the fires in Redding, my pool was so full of ash, soot and fire debris, but this sweeper did such a fabulous job. It comes with everything you need too: back up valve, quick release wall connect, floats, swivels, and it's all assembled for you. I bought the black one and decided to name him "Smokey". I am glad I didn't spend more than I did. I could not be happier. This was money well spent.

The product was delivered on time and was TOTALLY complete with a long hose, back up device, filter bag and wall attachment. All in black. This item replaced our original Polaris (we call it Dewey after the maintenance drone in the motion picture "Silent Running"). Our local pool supply store would have charged us about 50% more and the availability/delivery date was vague. Our new Polaris (Dewey) works great right out of the box and with the longer hose is able to reach further to clean the entire pool! I could not be happier with the product and this seller!!

My old Polaris was not cleaning effectively. The new one is getting every area of the pool, including sides.

Opened up the package and one of the wheels had broken off. I saw this model at my neighbor's pool and he said it worked well. So I ordered the same one. When I told me neighbor about the broken wheel, he said he had the same problem. Cannot comment on how well it works yet as waiting for product to get fixed.

Having a specific pool type or shape can sometimes limit your options when it comes to cleaning so this is the third such device we've bought (all by Polaris and all of this same class). The last one began with the gears somehow breaking and, thus, the wheels wouldn't turn efficiently. Next the tail stopped working which interferes with how it sweeps and pushes in different directions. With this one the hose connection to the wall keeps popping off. We suspect it's broken and will haul it in. Also, it should be noted that these really stop working when the temperature drops simply due to the hose plastic becoming inflexible. Not a fan but not sure what the options might be.

My other Polaris was 12 years old. I replaced all the parts on it at least once. The hose constantly tangled up finally had enough and decided it was time to spend the money on a new one. This works great.