Zodiac 9550 Sport Robotic In-Ground Pool Cleaner

We have not been able to use it yet because my husband has been sick; We know it is going to work great. We have always used Polaris

I'm really happy with this purchase. We had a Legend II pressure side pool cleaner that worked well for a couple weeks each season, but the valves had to be set just right, and it became less effective as debris collected in the filter and the filter pressure changed. Keeping it working was always a hassle. Our pool service recommended we install a booster pump with a new cleaner; an $1,800 proposition. Apparently, our existing cleaner wasn't designed to work with a 3/4 hp pump. I wasn't convinced we'd be better off, so I got this guy instead.Before purchasing, I had some questions/concerns about the unit which the product literature doesn't adequately address. First, the 70' power cable floats, so it stays out of the way of the unit, and generally stays untangled. It's double insulated, and doesn't require a ground, but the manufacturer recommends not swimming while it's deployed. The caddie mounted control unit and power connection appears to be weather resistant, so I wouldn't worry about the whole thing getting caught in the rain. Water jets through the cleaner, which functions like the sweep hose on a pressure side cleaner, driving debris toward the pool drain in the deep end as it passes by. That means it doesn't have to cover every square inch in order to be effective. With regard to the remote, get it. The cleaner only has a 6' power cord for the outlet, which means you probably won't be able to place the caddie close enough to the pool to be able to see the cleaner while operating the control unit, unless you use an extension cord. You need to see the cleaner to direct it during the lift function, and the remote solves this.We've had it a couple of months now, and I'm pleased with the performance. The biggest test was after a soccer team party which saw a whole bunch of leaves and landscaping mulch deposited in the pool, including heavier rubber mulch from the playground. This thing cleaned EVERYTHING and never got bogged down. Our old cleaner would have stopped working at least once due to a heavy bag. Some people have complained that their floating cable gets tangled. This has only happened once with ours, but a simple figure 8 loop in the cable is all it takes to cause the unit to stop working. It's easy to fix, but the manufacturer doesn't list this as a possible cause for the unit not working, and it might not be readily apparent what the problem is.PROS:- Easy assembly, no tools required.- Thorough cleaning of the floor bottom and walls. Climbs 9.5" walls with ease.- Reaches the tiles. Though I doubt it cleans the entire perimeter, my old cleaner never came close.- The lift function works well, making it easy to remove from the pool.- Rigid mesh filter is sturdy and can hold a lot.- Easy to transport and store, requiring only 18" square by 38" high of space- Easy to clean.- Doesn't require you to change your valve settings back and forth, or alternatively, a separate booster pump.CONS- Short power cord, only 6 ft.- Takes a little longer to deploy and put away than our old cleaner. The biggest issue is rolling up the 70' floating cable. It straightens out during use, and needs to be twisted correctly to loop onto the caddie, like manually rolling up a garden hose.- Though it can reach them, it doesn't clean shelves well, and doesn't appear to clean steps at all.

I have owned 2 of these over the past 2 years and both times ended in disappointment. The first 9550 worked great out of the box but unfortunately, that only lasted for several months. Of note - we only put it in the pool when we need to clean it and then remove it from the water. Got an Error 10 - communication between the control panel and vacuum was lost. Lots of back and forth between Polaris and I - finally, they sent out a new vacuum under warranty which lasted for about 10 months. Opened the pool last week and fired up the 9550 - it worked for 2 days and again "Error 10." I have a help ticket in now but no response - we'll see how long it takes to respond.PROS:- Looks great out of the box- The cart is really a nice feature and sturdy- Filter basket is very good at removing debris- Filter basket is super easy to clean- Does a great job of cleaning walls- Brushes (flapper wheels?) do a good job of scrubbing the bottom of the pool- When it works (vacuum, no error 10), the control panel timer and scheduling functions work greatCONS:- Expensive up-front cost- Remote is a joke - it has some serious lag issues and never once went where I directed the vacuum to go (tried fresh batteries and getting closer)- The dreaded Error 10 is basically a code saying either the control unit is bad, the cable is bad or the vacuum is bad. These 3 items are super expensive to swap out if not under warranty- The cord is constantly tangled. I've tried all the Polaris troubleshooting tips and still end up untangling at the end of each session. The "leave it on the deck in the sun" trick only works until you put the cleaner in the pool. and then it's right back to tangling. Mind you, I only put enough cable in the pool to ensure the cleaner reaches the entirety of the pool.- The swivel function on the cord is incredibly prone to water intrusion ($150)- The motor block is also very prone to water intrusion ($600+.) BTW, the parts in the motor block are tough to find (and you cant find the circuit card that burns up.) Therefore, you end up buying another motor block which will also have water damage within the year.- The control panel is expensive to swap ($450.) Again, very unlikely to find any parts to repair the original one with.- The plastic housing on the vacuum looks great new but will fade to almost white/light blue after a year- Polaris Customer Service is slow to respond and will have you repeating every troubleshooting step.- Polaris will also piecemeal you replacement parts until you finally find the fix - I mention this because it could easily be a few weeks until it is fixed which in turn means lots of manual vacuuming until then.