PoolBot B300 Pool Cleaner – advanced, cordless, automatic pool vacuum (cleaning review)

The PoolBot B300 Pool Cleaner is one of the most advanced robots yet with a Wi-Fi App, advanced gyro, depth, temperature, and location sensors, front and rear roller brushes and large caterpillar track wheels to ensure a total pool floor and wall cleaning.

Earlier this year we reviewed the PoolBot B150 Robot Pool Cleaner Gen 2 – works well for me and nearly 12 months later it still looks like new and works flawlessly for smaller pools.

A basic comparison (PoolBot B150 in brackets)

• Ideal pool size up to 130m2 (was 150m2)
• 10,000mAh battery for nearly four hours use (8600mAh/100 minutes)
• 3 to 4 hours charge (4-5)
• Four front and rear scrubber rollers (front only)
• IPX8 up to 2m (same)
• Caterpillar tracks (same but smaller)
• 5.4L filter bag 180um (4.2L/Same)
• 6-Axis gyro, IR sensor, multi-sensor algorithm for several presets (pre-set one pattern)
• Wi-Fi app and customisable patterns (no)
• Use without App (yes)
• Basic obstacle avoidance (No)
• Cement, tiles, pebblecrete, vinyl pool surfaces (same)
• App selection for regular and Irregularly shaped pools and App selection (no)
• LED front panel with red, green, blue, purple, and yellow indicators (less sophisticated)
• 2-year ACL warranty and support from Robot My Life (Victoria).

We strongly recommend you read the B150 review first, as we cover many areas that a first-time buyer needs to know (not repeated in this review).

Australian Review: PoolBot B300 Pool Cleaner – cordless, automatic robot

PoolBot is a unique collaboration between Robot My Life and leading pool robot designer Wybot. Many of its features are unique to Australia. It uses the Wybot App for Android and iOS.

Website	Product Page Online manual (Wybot branding) and specs may differ slightly.
RRP	$2300, including Australia-wide shipping and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Excludes promotional sale pricing.
From	Robot My Life online shop
Warranty	Robot My Life product page
Made in	China
Company	Robot My Life is an Australian company based in Victoria. It designs and sources robot vacuum cleaners, robot mops, robot mowers, robot window cleaners, stick vacuum cleaners, cleaning fluids and accessories.
Inbox	PoolBot B300 Pool Cleaner Charger Pool handle hook
More	CyberShack Robot My Life news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement. Shown is PoolBot B300 Pool Cleaner (black treads) and PoolBot B150 (grey treads).

First Impression – larger, more advanced – Pass+

As stated in our PoolBot B150 review, we were loaned that device for an extended review. That enables us to test reliability and develop benchmarks and a rating system to compare other pool robots. We are delighted with the PoolBot B150 and are highly impressed with the job it does for our small, rectangle-shaped pool.

The PoolBot B300 Pool Cleaner improves on the concept by adding more intelligence, battery life, bigger caterpillar tracks, more scrubbing rollers, a larger capacity filter bin, and is better designed. It also adds an App.

Note that both PoolBot models are rated for saltwater use up to 4,000ppm (a pool is between 2700-3400ppm)

The Wi-Fi App – not needed but handy – Pass

The app is V1.1.2 and is pre-release. A new app, 2.X and UI, is coming and addresses a few early issues, like using it with multiple pool profiles (professional cleaners, please note this). The App does not work when the robot is in the water, as Wi-Fi signals will not penetrate.

The current App allows:

• Shape selection: Rectangle (cross pattern cleaning), Oval (star pattern) and irregular (star pattern)
• Clean mode: Standard full-pool, wall or floor only, wall then floor, waterline only, clean plus, clean Eco.
• Expert Settings Floor: Cross Pattern, Star Patten
• Expert Settings Wall: Z Pattern, H Pattern, or N Pattern
• Cleaning schedule: Using cleaning defaults until the battery runs out. But you can set it for two days (80 minutes each clean) or four times over seven days (40 minutes each clean).
• Wi-Fi – either 2.4GHz recommended or 5GHz.
• OTA firmware update
• Account details (yes, you need to create an account)

The privacy policy is pretty benign and collects only data needed to identify the robot and for App use. It does not state where your data is stored. We will be alerting Robot My Life to this.

Setup and Use – Pass+

Pool preparation before use is minimal. Remove any large sticks or objects that it won’t suck up. If you brushed the pool, allow time for it to settle.

Turn off the filter. This is important as water outlet jets can interfere with the robot’s operation, and the robot has its own filter to keep leaves out of the main filter.

Charge it (ideally you charge it after every use so it is ready to go), place it in the water (IPX8 2m depth maximum), press the on button and wait for it to start. Release it, and it will sink to the bottom.

When it is finished (or the battery has run out), it moves to the side of the pool, where you use the supplied pool handle hook to lift it out.

Wash the filter basket and the robot with clean water and store/charge out of the sun and heat for the next use.

The App is handy for setting up the pool type and, if necessary, accessing the Expert settings to change cleaning patterns. For example, the H pattern is better for our walls and tiles.

Size – Pass+

 It is 460 (L) x 440 (W) x 245mm (H) x 10.2kg. It is larger than the PoolBot 150. No matter where and in which direction you place it in the pool, it will eventually clean it all.

Battery – Pass+

It has a 25.2V/10A/252W battery. It is nice to see such a strong battery in the device compared to the 9/10/14V models we have seen. This provides grunt and torque.

The 240V charger outputs 29.4V/4A/117.6W. It takes 3-4 hours to charge. Runtime is 3-3.5 hours for floor and walls (test 3.5 hours).

We cannot find the battery life cycle, but we expect it to be at least 500 full charge cycles or about ten years of weekly use.

Intelligence – More than most

While the App infers intelligence, it only enables several preset cleaning patterns and combinations. Most robots only have one pattern.

The 6-axis Gyroscope (most have three) ensures it remains glued to the wall or floor. An IR LED can detect walls and objects.

No, it is not smart, but it has much more than most pool robots. In the end, it repeats its preset pattern until the battery expires.

Filter and efficiency – Pass

An easy clean, lift-out, 5.4L internal filter basket collects detritus down to 180um (microns). It will capture sand, leaves, small sticks, and small pebbles. The suction flow rate is 10m3/hr – which is quite strong and reflects the ability to climb and stick to walls.

Human hair is about 80um, and pet hair can be down to 20um. While it will vacuum it up, it may not all be caught in the basket. Some users report installing a third-party filter bag that can go as low as 2um (not tested – we will ask Robot My Life if it has any recommendations)

Pool size/type – Pass+

We have tested on mosaic tiles and concrete. We will try to find vinyl and pebblecrete to test on later.

Robot My Life says it is for pools up to 130m2 but what does that mean? We take it to mean the combined area of the floor and walls. A typical Aussie pool is 6 x 3m or 18m2. Add in the walls, and it is about 40m2 all up. So it can do a pool three times as large!

Regardless, the size depends on cleaning speed, pattern and battery life – I doubt you will run out of battery.

Wall and tile cleaning – Pass+

Wall cleaning is excellent, and it comes up about 75mm past the waterline to clean tiles. It also works with tile coping. It also navigated over pool lights and water outlets. Very impressive.

We don’t have stairs, but we can see how the caterpillar tracks could easily get up one stair to the next.

Floor Clean – Pass+

When vacuuming the floor, it would occasionally do a ‘wheelie’ – rise upright momentarily with its rear rollers still on the floor. It did not affect the operation, but we suspect its IR sensor had a false positive for a wall.

The water outlet is quite vigorous and points to the top of the pool. Like any vacuum cleaner, it has a bottom slot that will suck in everything in its path. As it does overlapping passes, it will collect any detritus that moves sideways from the caterpillar tracks.

Warranty – Pass and how long should it last – Pass+

Robot My Life offers a 2-year warranty and a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. We know the company and feel confident that it will gladly help. The warranty applies to its online sales and approved resellers. Not to grey market imports.

But the manual reveals a limited warranty for two years on the motor and PCB and 1-year on the battery pack. Wear and tear items such as caterpillar tracks, filters, or roller brushes are consumables. This is pretty standard for any robot and Robot My Life should clarify the terms on its website pre-purchase.

The PoolBot B150 we have is now 9 months old and used weekly. There are no signs of wear, and the B300 appears even more sturdily designed. However, we store and charge it in the garage, never leaving it exposed outside its pool clean.

PoolBot looks easy to repair, and Robot My Life will have a range of consumables available.

CyberShack’s view – PoolBot B300 Pool Cleaner is perfect for larger pools

Over the past 30 years, I have owned several pools, and I genuinely hate cleaning them. I resent the time it takes and tripping down to the pool shop for water testing and chemicals. Invariably, I pay for a pool cleaner to come weekly in summer and monthly in winter. Pools cost a lot to maintain, and pool cleaners make too much money.

Over that time, I have tried several cleaners – diaphragms (Kreepy Krauley) and turbines (powered by the pool filter). The PoolBot B150 was perfect for my smaller pool, and the B300 is ideal for larger pools.

Similarly, the ‘dumb’ B150 did the job with its one preset pattern clean. The B300 has many patterns, and I will experiment with them all – especially the wall patterns. Once you set it just how you like it, the App becomes redundant except for firmware updates – and I expect a few of those as this is a new product.

Poolbot B300 Pool Cleaner rating

Now we have a reference with the PoolBot B150; we are confident of giving an accurate rating.

• Features: 90 – Semi-intelligent with an App, large capacity filter basket, Caterpillar tracks, front and rear scrubber rollers. It has everything you need.
• Value: 80 – It is not cheap – quality never is. Take advantage of the 30-day satisfaction guarantee. I can’t see this being sent back!
• Performance: 90 – Cleans walls and floors very well, picks up large gum leaves and nuts and has a 3.5-hour battery life.
• Ease of Use: 90 – Charge, dunk and play. Low maintenance.
• Design: 90 – I can see where subtle improvements over the B150 will make it even more durable.