Polaris F9450 Sport Robotic In-Ground Swimming Pool Cleaner Vacuum Review

Polaris is one of the leading cleaners. They make everything from little water-powered sweepers to robotic pool vacuums that are as smart (or smarter) than your home’s robot vacuum cleaner. Polaris is notable for their automatic pool pressure cleaners, and that’s why they’re number one in this category. However, it can be hard to judge products like this whether you’re comparing it to the competition or other products by the same company. Here’s an in depth review of the Polaris model F9450 “sport” pool cleaner.

Points in Favor of the Model F9450 Pool Cleaner

With 4 wheel drive, it isn’t going to get stuck on uneven pool surfaces like creases in a vinyl pool liner or pebble bed. It will also climb over pool drains and up modest rises. It works in every type of swimming pool.
The rear water cleaning jets clean debris from stairs and out of corners so that it can be picked up by the pool vacuum.
The unit has a transport caddy you can use to pull it to the pool, whereas many rival products make you buy the caddy separately. More importantly, the “easy lift” system will cause it to surface so you can easily pull it out. It even evacuates the water inside of it. This pool cleaner is the ideal compromise between ease of use and power. You’re not going to be fishing for a 50 pound pool cleaner and trying to lug it out of the water, risking pulling a muscle in your back in the process. Interestingly, the pool cleaner will have trouble remaining on the bottom of the pool if the filter is dirty or full. That means this so-called problem is actually an indication that the filter needs to be cleaned and a design feature that makes that process easier.
This pool cleaner is designed to handle pools up to fifty feet in length, though if the power outlet is near the middle of the pool, it could clean a hundred foot long swimming pool if it is not extremely deep. The cable itself is sixty feet long. Note that it will only work if you have an electrical outlet available.
The pool cleaner has a sensor that reports its location and lets you determine where it is. This same sensor combined with its intelligence ensures that it gets every part of your swimming pool clean.
The top access filter is large. It can store quite a bit of material. And the fact that it is on the top of the pool cleaner means you won’t accidentally spill debris into the water when trying to change the filter.

Strikes Against the Polaris F9450 Pool Cleaner

The cable can tangle in the pool. The manufacturer’s recommendation is to not put the entire cable length in the pool. The cable can float if there isn’t too much of it to hold up, but it is prone to kinks that can cause other problems.
It isn’t smart enough to deal with air intake. It will flash its lights. You have to remove it from the pool and put it back in. This issue can make it impossible for the pool cleaner to work in very shallow water like a kiddie pool or a six inch to one foot deep introductory area to the swimming pool.
Despite the intelligence, it doesn’t have a remote control. If you want it to go somewhere, you’ll want to take it out of the swimming pool and reposition it.
While in theory it can climb the walls of your pool, it has a tendency to flip over. And it can’t right itself after that happens. You have to fix it manually. Expect to clean the sides of the pool with this pool cleaner or have a separate skimmer for the sides of the pool.

Observations about the Polaris Sport Pool Cleaner Vacuum

The manufacturer sells replacement canisters. You may have to buy a “fine sand/silt” canister if you live in a dusty environment and keep getting fine dirt in your pool. While this unit comes with a caddy, the pool cleaner cover is sold separately. Note that if you damage the filter, you have to replace it even if there is a warranty.

The cleaner’s ability to clean effectively decreases as the brushes wear down. This is what the wear indicator is for.

Because the wheels of the pool cleaner are so widely set, the unit cannot get narrow gullies and tight corners clean. If you have an irregularly shaped pool, it is prone to blowing around debris instead of sucking it up.

It has a seven day programmable timer. One frustration is that the timer is limited to three and a half hours. You can’t get it to work four hours straight or run it an hour out of every 4. You can only tell it to run at a different time on weekends rather than week days.

Summary

This pool cleaner won’t get stuck or confused like some of the competition, but it isn’t going to clean the very shallow parts of the pool or the upper walls. Choose this model if you have a simple pool layout with few shallows, knowing that it will run all day without stopping and be easy to empty.

Comments

Sheri says

June 13, 2020 at 8:56 pm

What is the date of this review? From what I can gather on-line it appears that there were issues with F9450 around 2016 but in last couple of years Polaris has corrected the tangled cord and not being able to right it self if it flipped….would you agree these issues have been solved?