1. Dependable, automatic, in-ground pool cleaner
2. Double jets provide greater vacuum power and faster cleaning; sweeps and scrubs the bottom and walls of any size pool
3. Runs off a separate booster pump; unique filter bag removes debris before it reaches the pump basket or filter

Editorial Review :

The Polaris Vac-Sweep 280: A dependable, cleaning machine!

This resilient cleaner is powered by double jets to sweep and scrub the bottom, walls, and stairs of your pool. The Polaris 280 runs off a separate booster pump for maximum efficiency and rapid cleaning power. It's one of a kind filter bag catches dirt and debris, relieving stress on the rest of your equipment and ultimately prolonging the life of your filtration system. Includes 31' of hose.

Customer Review :

Great purchase!

Had a Hayward since pool was put in ~3 years ago. Was plagued with problems, everything from pump failures to plastic clips breaking to getting tangled. For two years I had a bungee cord keeping it together. Then the Hayward ... snap to change out (am using same pump), in two months had not gotten stuck; picks up even the smallest debris, very easy to empty the bag. Great purchase.

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Seems to be more reliable than a Phantom

We owned a Phantom for a few years but it started breaking frequently. The Phantom seemed to clean more thoroughly but the Polaris seems to be more reliable and easier to repair. The Phantom also would get tangled in it's hose often (mostly because it cleaned the surface). The Polaris seems far less likely to get tangled up.

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As good as it has been for the past 10 years

I had to replace my old Polaris 180. I used it for 10 years and it was already over 8 years old when I bought the house. The 280 cleans the pool very well with minimum maintenance. I put a 12 inches nylon sock (6 for $1.00 at the dollar store) over the exit going inside the bag and change it every 3-4 weeeks. This way I do not have to clean the bag. The 280 has an easy to handle bag, a wider suction mouth and the back flow device to move it from places to places in the pool every 5 min. help to make a perfect job. Polaris sent me free of charge a G-9 coupler to hook it up from my old .75 inch pool wall return. Buying through Amazon at discounted price contributed to make it overall an excellent buy.

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Had mine since 1999

My Polaris 280 came with the pool in 1999. It has been extremely reliable. Sure I have had to replace a few simple parts--can get at [...] But I think the gears are worn and it is in need of a tune up at this time (after more than 10 summers use). When I fired up my pool this past week, the Polaris was not moving forward very well--but the darn thing still cleaned up the pool pretty good by just baking up every few minutes and randomly cleaning a new spot. I took it to the local pool dealer today for an estimate and probable repair. But if it is worn out, I'll buy another 280.

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Polaris 280 -- works great, delivered quicker than I expected

We just had a pool built, made sure to have a booster pump included, and got a great deal on the Polaris 280 through Amazon. I'm very pleased with this pool cleaner, and the price was very good. No complaints whatsoever.

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More reviews...

1. Automatic, above-ground pool cleaner
2. Installs in minutes; operates with pumps and filtration systems; vacuums bottom and sweeps sides
3. Circulates clean filtered water throughout your pool while cleaning
4. Includes 24 feet of surface hose

Editorial Review :

FAST AUTOMATIC POOL CLEANER VACUUMS ANY SHAPE OR SIZE ABOVE-GROUND POOL IN 3 HOURS OR LESS!

Vacuums pools with uneven bottoms to a depth of 5 feet! These automatic pool cleaners use your pool's filtration system to direct powerful jets of water against the pool floor to loosen debris. The detachable debris bag trails behind and scoops up debris, leaves and twigs before they clog your filter. The cleaner works on the pressure side of your pump and distributes filtered, treated water throughout your pool as it cleans, Installs on most above-ground pools and includes 24 ft. of hose, enough for pools up to 24 ft. round.

Customer Review :

Solves the leaf acorn issues here

After ordering a Diver Dave pool cleaner, poor Dave had to go back because of a neighbor's oak tree that likes to dump acorns and leaves into the north end of our pool. He plugged up constantly. The Polaris 65 works perfectly to clean the bottom of the pool and not plug or jam. Once you get the water pressure adjusted, which is simple if you read the instructions, the device works! So far we have not had any randomizer issues. We have an 18x33 above the ground pool. You won't need to purchase the extra hose for this size pool. It works out perfectly with out having to alter the hose length.

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Love It!

Bought this after dealing with a foolish manual vac that didn't work well at all. Bottom of pool was always a mess. Did a search on Amazon and found this little gem. Does a fabulous job! Clean as a whistle with very little labor. You can even swim while it's cleaning the pool. Love it!

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Did Polaris test this in a pool?

Complete failure. I don't understand how this made it out of any sort of R&D cycle.
The unit is designed to push itself around the pool. Okay simple enough but it pushes TOWARDS it's supply hose. As you might imagine; it is constantly getting caught in it own hose. Never mind the pointed edges that catch on the ladder and skimmer intake, my unit can stick it self on the long straight side of the pool with nothing other than it's own hose.
I have tried for days to get my to work right. I can stand there and constantly untangle the device, position it around the pool, or just be very patient and see if it clears up. Nothing works.

I decided to change my review to from 1 to 2 stars. They bag unit under the float does fairly well, the trick is it will on work in the small area where the float is stuck. I call this a semi-automatic pool cleaner.

Did I mention that every so often, when it gets really good and tangled on it hose, it will flip itself upside down and start emptying my pool into the neighbors yard?



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It WORKS!

I was a LONG time user of the Zodiac Zippy pool cleaner. They took it off the market! I was faced with finding a comparable product that did as good as my Zippy. Well, I took a chance on the Polaris 65. The ease of installation was very nice. I was very much the skeptic, but my pool has stayed clean. Simple, easy to install, no nightmares with hoses and with 1/4 turn, the unit is disconnected from the wall! Can't ask for much more. With all my research, Polaris 65 is currently the best on the market for above ground pools.

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Pool Cleaner

The pool cleaner works well when it doesn't get wound up on it's hose. The first week it did pretty well, but for the last couple months it constantly gets wound up in the end where to outlet is and require unwinding it everyday.

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More reviews...

1. Advanced, automatic, in-ground pool cleaner
2. Sweeps, scrubs, and vacuums all surfaces of the pool
3. Traps large debris in its own filter bag
4. Includes filter bag and 31-foot hose kit

Editorial Review :

THE BENEFITS OF THE POLARIS 380 VACUUM WITHOUT THE BOOSTER PUMP!

The Polaris 360 roams the pool bottom and vacuums the walls spotlessly clean without a booster pump and is Ideal for vinyl, gunite or fiberglass in ground pools of any size or shape. It even works great under your solar blanket! The internal back-up timer automatically frees itself from nooks and crannies, so it keeps cleaning any shape pool without interruption in 3 hours or less. Because it operates on the pool's return line so your skimmer stays free to clean surface debris. As the pool cleaner sweeps the pool, it also distributes chemicals and heat throughout the pool for better circulation and chemical effectiveness. Includes filter bag and 31' hose kit.

Customer Review :

Good pool cleaner, high Amazon price.

You can buy this new for $419. Just shop around online. I just obtained a replacement for my 360 which was 10 years old.

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sticks on steps, too difficult to use

I got this so I would not have to deal with suction side problems. Due to age of return pipes they burst with the additional back pressure. Now I am having a $3,000 retro fit of pipes. ON the temp setup I got enough pressure but the unit will not climb the steps, the wheels have no traction against the rough gunite. Not sure if that is the problem but no matter what I cant resolve it

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Maintenance nightmare

The Polaris 360 is a very clever mechanical device that works great 20% of the time. Because it is made of cheap plastic parts that constantly break, it is more often under repair than in service. Having owned one for about three years now, I can say I've spent twice the original cost on replacement parts and service (even though I do most of the service myself). Hose life is 6 months, and $19 for a 6 foot replacement hose (my hose is 18 feet long). I've bought two of these Polaris 360's used on Craigs list for $100 each to cannibalize for parts (replacement parts are outrageously expensive).

Until the manufacturer improves the quality to the point that they are willing to offer a 5 year guarantee, I would avoid this product. In fact, I'd avoid the manufacturer, too.

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1. Designer, automatic, above-ground vinyl and fiberglass pool cleaner
2. Circulates clean filtered water throughout your pool while cleaning
3. Ready to connect to a 15-inch threaded return fitting
4. Captures debris in its own bag; includes 24 feet of surface hose

Editorial Review :

A happy combination of automatic pool cleaner and pool decoration, the Polaris Turbo Turtle is suitable for all aboveground pools up to 5-feet deep. Features: Installs in minutes. Operates with pumps and filtration systems normally found on aboveground pools and vacuums the bottom and sweeps the sides in three hours or less. Patented jet sweep assembly blows water against the pool wall to loosen debris in hard-to-reach places and then sweeps it into an easy-to-remove filter bag. Powered by the pressure of clean water returning to your pool, leaving both the filter and skimmer free to eliminate contaminants. Unique filter bag removes debris before it reaches your pump basket or filter, prolonging the life of your filtration system. Polaris' fun and hard-working aboveground automatic pool cleaner is powered by the pressure of clean water returning to your pool. A happy combination of automatic pool cleaner and decoration, the Polaris Turbo Turtle is suitable for all aboveground pools up to 5-feet deep. It loosens debris in hard-to-reach places and traps large debris, like leaves and pebbles, in its own filter bag.

Customer Review :

POLARIS TURBO TURTLE

PRODUCT WORKS VERY GOOD.NOT A DURABLE PRODUCT,HOSES WEAR OUT QUICKLY AND THE DEBRIS BAG WEARS OUT SOON ALSO.ON THE EXSPENSIVE SIDE

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1. Durable, automatic, robot cleaner for in-ground pools
2. Sweeps and scrubs the bottom and walls of any size or shape pool
3. Circulates clean filtered water throughout your pool while cleaning
4. Unique filter bag removes debris before it reaches your pump basket or filter

Editorial Review :

Our Polaris 380 Vac sweeps past the competition!

This mighty cleaner packs the power of 3 jets to swiftly scrub and sweep the bottom and walls of any size pool. In 3 hours your Polaris 380 will not only have cleaned dirt and debris, but will have also helped to distribute chemicals and heat around your pool.

This independent cleaner runs off a separate booster pump so that the rest of your filtration system may run as efficiently as the Polaris 380. The unique filter bag even removes debris before it can reach your pump basket or filter making it the perfect complement to the rest of your pool equipment!

Includes 31 ft. hose kit, deck or wall mount and complete instructions. Pump must be hard wired.

Customer Review :

Tricky at first but works really well now

This is my first pool vacuum and I took the recommendation of my local pool store, who also built the pool in the first place, because I figured they were the experts.
They installed the 380 with booster pump and set it up for around 100 bucks and, given the work they did, I would say that's a bargain. Total cost, including tax, was $1107.
When we first started using it our pool was still very dirty from an algal bloom, which we thought the 380 would make short work of. WRONG!!!! Don't use your new Polaris if your pool is green!!! The inline filter got clogged and split right down the seam, allowing junk to get inside the Polaris until the wheels stopped turning altogether. I learned that the Polaris 380 is driven along by internal water jets which squirt water onto a turbine. If these jets clog the wheels stop. Also, prior to stopping completely, it had started behaving weirdly; running on one wheel, tail thrashing wildly, squirting water everywhere, not climbing the walls, lying on its side - just weird and unpredictable and certainly not cleaning the pool. We were very annoyed.
After a call to Polaris in California, who were very helpful, it went back to the store for repair, which they kindly did for free. When we put it back in the pool, which was now clean from manually vacuuming to waste, it performed perfectly- it did everything they say in the ads - climbed the walls, tail wagging gently, moving randomly through the pool, sucking everything up (including small rocks). It did a perfect job and vacuumed sand, silt, leaves, you name it. Flawless!!! And in about one and a quarter hours to get the pool cleaner than I'd ever seen it before. I put it in again a few days later and it did it all again and fast. Magic.
So lesson learned. Be realistic about what you expect it to do and make sure that the pool is relatively in good shape before you use it. Certainly make sure that the water is clear first.
Too early to comment on the repairs and maintenance or how long it will last, but it certainly works well right now.
Also I can't comment on whether the 280 model is better, as some people say, but based on my limited experience the 380 is great. Before buying I would ask a local pool shop or owner to explain what it should look like when it's working properly, so you know what to expect. When ours first went crazy we didn't know what it was meant to do, so it was hard for us to recognize the weird behavior at first.


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A decade's experience

This is a test
I can't compare the Polaris 380 with other cleaners, but try Googling as follows:

Polaris 380 forum

,where you will find divers pertinent input (no pun intended), eg:

[...]

Having maintained a large in-ground plunge for the better part of a decade, however, I can confirm unequivocally that the Swimming-Pool Establishment employs very few rocket scientists. The 380 system doesn't perform as well as one might hope and with a very limited warranty is expensive and hard to repair; while your friendly local service establishment might not provide much help in this respect.

In the first place, the path of the Vac-Sweep unit isn't sufficiently random, following a somewhat repetitious path and often leaving a single large patch of debris on the bottom. This problem can be dealt with by everyday shifting the position of the thrust jet, a nuisance at best; while there doesn't seem to be an optimum position for best coverage.

For example, my steps are at the shallow end of the pool. But if I set the jet to a high position in order to encourage climbing, the Sweep will spend almost all its time at the deep end. Polaris would do well to emulate other makes of pool sweepers which include a mechanism to slowly rotate this jet and thereby encourage a less predictable route.

Furthermore owing to its geometry being intended more for styling than performance, it is reluctant to climb steps and platforms, leaving their surfaces for its owner to sweep manually-every day just before your afternoon splash. The main problem seems to be the geometry of the frame, bugling out in front of the wheels, especially the single-side wheel. Thus when it encounters a curved surface such as the edge of a platform or step, it can't climb because the two wheels can't engage the obstacle simultaneously. Instead it makes repeated thrusts like the adolescent puppy attempting to hump your pantleg, without however gaining any elevation, until finally the backup valve pulls it away. Clearly the Vac-Sweep should have been built with four wheels instead of three, the two front ones projecting well below and in front of the frame. Also it might have helped if the unit had been made more narrow in width so as to better navigate the steps.

You can deal with the foregoing problem by adding a second tire to the single-side wheel, so as to project a fraction of an inch beyond the front, thereby improving the chance of traction. But you will have first to stretch the new tire, a requirement entailing Herculean effort. Also it helps if you acquire two additional feed-hose floats, mounting them as near as feasible to the Sweep so as to enhance buoyancy. More than one or two floats so situated, however, significantly diminish its traction when the Sweep is at the bottom.

Performance may be improved somewhat by removing the wall-fitting pressure restrictor, thereby increasing the power and range of the Sweep (Incidentally, this mod may increase wheel speed beyond the specified 28 rpm, which we suppose could shorten the life of the system). In addition, when I replaced the booster pump, the new one proved noticeably more powerful.

Used without restrictor, however, increased gyration of the backup system can occasionally so tangle up your feed hose as to temporarily disable the entire system until you untangle it. So if you also encounter this result, I suggest you think twice about letting it run during a weekend getaway.

Even with the increased thrust, though, the Sweep may not reach the far end of your pool because it can't overcome a loop or two in the feed hose. This could be due to reduced traction as suggested above, exacerbated by the float (its bouyancy discouraging it from being nudged below the surface and the effect of friction of its bulge above the surface); to reduced flow owing to aging of the motorpump, or even something as subtle as the season; for it isn't entirely unreasonable to guess that if you use your system in the winter as I do, the reduced water temperature stiffens the hose beyond its ability to untangle.

My contact with the Polaris folk suggests they had been working on a scheme to eliminate the floats but apparently they were unsuccessful because that was several years ago and I haven't heard from them since.

The Sweep itself is also covered by a 12-year guarantee. But after 2 years when it begins to wear out, you're chagrined to learn that the warranty covers neither internal parts nor labor. You will not enjoy replacing the belts.

A minor annoyance with the filter bag: The Velcro means by which the bag is opened soon becomes hopelessly entangled with debris and eventually won't stay closed. Therefore never open it. After just a few attempts you will find it fairly easy to empty by shaking out its contents.

Unless you're really determined and just plain good at it, you'll find the sweeper system difficult to repair as many parts don't fit together right or can easily be interchanged unintentionally. For instance there are at least a dozen permutations and combinations of such ways in which the parts of your auxiliary booster pump can be misassembled, not just by amateurs like you and me but even by the trained technician during a repair job.

The pump subassembly fails by throwing water from its top seal. (Even if you're able to dismount it yourself, the cost of repair is well over $100 and so you might resolve to learn how to do it yourself). The motor is water-cooled through the motor axle so if a slight amount of air enters the system (for example, if the pump is reassembled incorrectly, if water level drops below skimmer port, or if a small crack should develop in the plumbing), or you experience unusually high air temperature on a still day (which we do experience here in California's High Desert), it quickly overheats, shortening if not ending its life, at a replacement cost over $300.

So at risk of oxidization, I've installed a supplementary cooling system comprising weeper-soaker hose wrapped around the housing and fed under pressure. However, don't do this yourself if you're concerned that its corrosive effects might void your warranty. But if you're interested, I am dalehileman@verizon.net and I'd be glad to elucidate in more detail.

Owing to the complexity of this auxiliary system, including an elaborate Sweep full of small parts, the booster pump with its overtemperature breaker, pressure restrictors, an overpressure relief valve, 70 ft. of tubing, and an intricate backup valve containing dozens of gears, its susceptibility to malfunction is so great that the unit cannot properly be tested by your friendly local repair facility unless they have an entire pool complex on their premises. Hence when you get it back, your repaired motorpump may still not work.

As I said, though, I can't compare its performance and reliability to that of other makes, while some users post Internet forum reports of great satisfaction and long life from the Polaris 380 System.





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Searching for a better sweep

An earlier review of the Polaris 380 on Amazon was comprehensive and useful.
I have experienced many of the operational and repair issues he mentioned as a owner of an early Polaris, it's 180 replacement, and an early (~6-year old) Hayward Viper that's ready for replacement. Polaris wore out or broke something almost every year, but was repairable for $5-50. The Viper body stiffened from UV in year 2 and a tab that holds the debris bag broke, now I use a plastic plug to hold the bag. Two internal hoses came loose once and were repaired for free. The Viper now works intermittently, I suspect the booster pump.
A friend in the pool business has adverse comments about all models on the market, but I will get either another sweep when this one fails. Hopefully an improved Hayward or Polaris.


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