Yoohoo! Another successful summer using my automatic pool cleaner…
This year, my only rant is that I have to replace some of my automatic pool cleaner hoses because they were leaking suction due to our Arizona sun cooking them every day with UV rays.
No biggie because I’ll just buy new ones on Amazon and be done with it.
So when I checked out the prices for new hoses, I thought, hey – looks like I can buy a complete pool cleaner that does the same thing as my Kreepy Krauly Kruiser for almost the same price as just the hoses ($79 vs. $99). And I’ll get a new set of hoses, too.
So I ordered the Goplus (cheap Kreepy Krauly alternative) and hoped my investment would pay off.
Comparing Automatic Pool Cleaners
I love Amazon Prime, and in 2 days, I was unboxing the Goplus.
It came in a generic brown box. No big deal, I thought.
Then I started pulling pieces of plastic that looked like the picture on the Amazon page.
BTW, the picture on the sales page shows the Goplus assembled. The unit was easy to assemble but still took me about 30 minutes to figure it out and put all the pieces together. Still no big deal because it was the low-cost alternative.
Currently, the Krauly is priced at ~$239, and when I bought mine, it was closer to $300, so the price has come down a lot. But that’s still almost 2.5 times more than the cheaper alternative!
Let’s take the Goplus for a spin.
I disconnected the Krauly, connected the Goplus, and tossed it into the deep end.
FYI, the hose on the Krauly is a transparent blue, whereas the new hose on the Goplus was solid white. Also, the Krauly’s hose seemed more flexible.
I turned on the pump, and away the Goplus went. It seemed to work okay until it started crawling up the wall on the deep end. My deep end is 9 feet, and about halfway up, the Goplus would lose suction, fall off, and start over. The Krauly will get up to the top and sometimes try to crawl out of the pool.
See the Goplus Automatic Swimming Pool Cleaner on Amazon.
Kreepy Krauly’s turn to show off.
I let the test go for a while before I gave up and switched out the Goplus head with the Kreepy Krauly’s head.
Wow, the Krauly took off with full power through the water just like when it was new. Seems the leaks were a bigger deal than I thought they were.
I don’t want to say that the Goplus doesn’t work because it does. I think it may not be cut out for deep pools with high walls to climb.
See the Kreepy Krauly Kruiser Pool Cleaner on Amazon.
These 2 automatic pool cleaners don’t compare.
For a beginner like me, the best automatic pool cleaner tool is the Kreepy Krauly Kruiser because I don’t have $500 – $600 for one of the mechanical robots that look like something from a Star Wars Movie. And I don’t need one if the Kruiser will clean my pool.
This isn’t the first time I’ve written about my Kruiser; it’s the 3rd time.
The first time was when I was ready to drown myself because I was so frustrated with vacuum attachments.
The next time was a follow-up a year later when I celebrated the success of finding an automatic pool cleaner that worked.
Look:
I get it – if you’re reading this review, you’re probably as skeptical as I was. Not to mention as tight on funds as I was.
But I was desperate for a fix, and paying pool boys was a joke when they didn’t do more than 15 minutes of work per week and charged me $85 per month.
Do the math. I’ve had my Kruiser for 4 years now and it’s paid for itself 4 times over.
I could have saved $20 and bought the replacement hoses, but I figured it was worth seeing how the Goplus would do.
Maybe someday I’ll find a use for it, or like so many other old pool tools I stopped using, it will end up in the scrap pile. This reminds me of all the additional money I was spending on sweepers and vacuum attachments that I don’t need to buy anymore.
Buying The Best Automatic Pool Cleaner Makes Sense
As I wrap up, you can see how the value is adding up but the most important factor is how much time I save sweeping and cleaning my pool, now.
Now. it happens automatically while I am sleeping. Then on Sunday morning I break out the broom and sweep the steps.
Oops, I almost forgot to mention it but last year I added a leaf trap for about $55. This saves me from clearing out the strainer at the filter and losing the pump prime.
Reasons to buy the cheaper automatic pool cleaner…
- It’s less than half the price of a Dolphin
- You have a small pool (less than 22,000 gallons)
- Your pool is not very deep (less than 9 feet deep)
- You read my Kruiser review and see that the Krauly works great
- You’re buying it for parts
My Pool Cleaner Works Year-Round
Now that the summer months are over, I’ll let the Kreepy Krauly keep running nightly, just like in the hot months, to keep the dirt, bugs, and leaves from collecting on the bottom of the swimming pool. This also helps control the algae and scares away the ducks that come around during the colder months…
For more about my experiences with automatic pool cleaners, read my Kreepy Krauly review…
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