Wybot pool robots are changing the way Australians keep their pools clean.. At the time of writing Wybot are offering a under water pool robot – the C1 and a surface leaf skimmer robot that can be purchased together for under $999 and we think that is a compelling opportunity. Historically, to do this you needed a budget of over $1500 or you needed to settle on an older piece of underwater robot cleaning technology. A model with less features and smaller battery so reduced run time.
We enjoy swimming in the pool for part of the year, but need to keep it clean for the full twelve months!
Its an arduous task that leads some to say its all too hard. Recently, modern pool robots offer many new opportunities to have the pool but leave the pain of constant cleaning behind. Less obtrusive while being used, easier to add and remove from the pool and offering targeted cleaning benefits like focusing on walls vs floor with under water cleaners are all on the list of benefits. Thankfully they also mean long pipes running from the skimmer box to a cleaning head are a thing of the past.
The best way to make full use of a pool robot to keep your pool clean is to use two of them. One for the surface and one for under the water. Both robots actively grab all the leaves that have entered your pool quickly, and without fuss.
Opening up the box both the C1 and F1 were quick to set up. Once the Wybot app was installed on my phone it was a 5 minute process to get the C1 plugged into power, connected to the home wifi (and my Bluetooth) and the latest firmware installed. The unit arrived with 50% charged battery so after 1.5 hours we were 100% charged and ready to clean. The F1 features a built in solar panel so even though the battery was 50% charged out of the box, we added it to the pool immediately and while it floated around added it as a new device to the Wybot app. We started cleaning in Standard mode and instantly this surface dwelling creature began eating the leaves that were floating.
In the great Aussie Bush where gumtrees are a plenty, and especially at my house, we are told to remove gum leaves as quickly as possible. If they sit too long on the pool floor, they can leave a stain mark that is very hard to remove. So using two robots at once we have found that far less leaves are sinking to the floor because the F1 is now quickly sucking them up using its large mouth and 7 litre leaf basket.
In the punishing leaf dropping environment where my pool is located this has immediately meant one thing. Less need to remove the under water robot to empty the leaf basket. This means we have been able to take advantage of some of the scheduled cleaning modes, like having the Wybot C1 clean the pool for a short time every second day for up to 7 days. We are finding that we can just leave the C1 in the pool and swim around it. No one needs to lift it out of the water during the multi day cleaning period. Ofcourse this feature is even more valuable when going away for a few days. We no longer worry the leaf basket will choke up because the leaf capture is now split across two devices.
The Wybot F1 is the safest surface cleaning robot we have used to date. Historically we have used a model with propellers to maneuvre the machine around the pool. Every time the pool was used, these propeller craft needed to be removed because long, floating hair has the danger of being wrapped around the propeller – a painful event requiring a time consuming unwrapping process.
The F1 uses jet propulsion – its meant that it can swim around the pool while its being used. I am sure that the suggestion is to always remove the pool robot from the pool before swimming. But with so much going on these days isn’t it better to know your 14 year old doesn’t need to worry about her hair being wrapped around the propeller, just by purchasing a design that moves the water in a safer manner? I think many parents will agree, and lets face it, it’s the kids who are using the pool most of the time (at least in my family).
So both devices are quick to set up and get cleaning, but how quickly do they clean a dirty pool. Lets start with the C1.
The ultimate test is whether the under water robot cleaning finishes its cycle and still has leaves. I have tried plenty of premium robots and budget ones. A key difference between the two is how long the battery will last as this allows more cleaning. One tip here, and I used this with much success with the C1, is to set the robot to floor only mode. Having the C1 only clean the floors means more time on cleaning the floor. To do this successfully it requires a 5 minute sweep of your steps with the pool brush. A minimal point of involvement and when doing this, I found the C1 running floor only, cleaned the entire floor of all dirt and leaves over the total cycle. Remember, this is not a premium priced robot and its cleaning the whole floor with ease.
Once finished the C1 is on the lighter side of the robots I have tested and I found removing it from the pool was done with ease, and a pool pole and hook! One of these is included in the box and when you tell the robot to clean floors only, you need it to remove the device from the pool for charging. Another popular mode is Walls then Floor. Using this mode the robot will spend less time on the floor, but will clean up your steps. The steps need to be large, it wont manoeuvre around small steps. Our pool has a long bench running right the length of the pool and this was cleaned at the end of this cleaning mode.
The F1 is a surface skimmer, its jet propels it around the pool quickly and with precision. When starting out it’s a good idea to use the Wybot app and steer the F1 directly at any large groups of leaves. These tend to group together in corners in my pool. By heading straight to these zones, these leaves are removed quickly and won’t join the sunken pile on the bottom of the pool. These concentrated leaf groups gone, its now easy to select Standard Mode, with Auto Start, and have the F1 spend the rest of the afternoon cleaning the leaves spread out over the surface and any new ones that might arrive with the wind. The F1 is a cleaning partner now. Just leave it to now swim around, silently skimming for you.
A key thing that I noticed with the F1 and this is not unique to this model. You need to take steps to stop the device getting stuck in the filter box opening. This has been a bug bear of all surface skimmers I have used. They work great, and then get stuck at the opening to the pool skimmer box – this can block the water and affect the pool pump. The quick fix is to place the pool pole across the entrance. Now the F1 bumps into the pool, backs up and then swims off to continue cleaning – no more getting jammed at the entrance.
The other thing that stopped the F1 for a short time was the level of the pool. If the water was below the usual height, the F1 would get stuck on the top step. Its another reason to keep the water level topped up!
As I finish writing this piece I have just completed an under water clean on a hot and sometimes windy day where the leaves would be all through the pool. Not now though. The pool is ready to swim.
The key thing I am noticing using both the C1 and F1, together, is they are convenient, silent, affordable (for pool robots) and easy to set up and use. If cleaning your pool is a chore and you don’t want to make a big investment, then buying these two Wybot pool robots together is a good decision.
2 comments
David Hicks
Just wondering if you have any Wybot Pool Robots C1 pool cleaners available. also how much are they with the solar kits also as another option
Ray Shaw
Sorry but we don’t sell anything. Wybots AU site has both https://www.au.wybotpool.com/