The Catfish Pool Vac Any Good?

[Gavin]

I'm looking for something like this. anyone tried one of these? does it work well?

[Gavin]

its made by Water Tech: http://watertechcorp.com/products-catfish.htm

I also see they make a Pool Blaster CG: http://watertechcorp.com/products-PBmaxCG.htm

which might be a better choice for commercial use.

anyone tried any of these?

[Gavin]

I have ordered a Pool Blaster CG and will let you guys know how it works out.

[Lolo]

OK..I'm new to pool ownership so go easy on me.........

I have a small 5000gallon in-ground 'fun' pool. It's only 110cm (43") deep. I have an integral 'wall hung' pump/filter unit with a 1hp motor.

My problem is that the intake for the water is on the bottom of the pump/filter unit. This is 2ft above the pool bottom. This type of unit is incapable of picking up any debris from the pool floor. Consequently dead algae just gathers on the bottom and when you swim it all gets kicked up and makes the pool look like milky water.

Now I cannot connect a normal pool vacuum (with all the hoses) and run this through my integral filter...it doesn't have the facility to do this. So I'm looking seriously at the Pool Blaster Max CG.

However, I can't get reliable reports on it's effectiveness.......50% say its almost useless....50% love it!

Bearing in mind my situation, and if I add a very fine bag to filter the dead algae (what's best for this incidentally?) is it my best option?

Just to make thing worse.....my home is in a distant island province of the Philippines! I can't just ruin down to Costco and return it if it doesn't work.

HELP guys....PLEASE.

[Lolo]

any opinions out there???????

[AFiremanFirst]

I've used the pool blaster with great success in hot tubs. In my region we often have pool spa combos, but the cleaners don't clean the hot tub. The pool blaster imho is a good investment for small clean-ups. I can't see using it in a 20k pool, but for smaller jobs it works great. No need to get a fine mesh bag, just put a knee high stocking in with the mesh bag provided and it will filter smaller particles for you!!!

[Lolo]

I've used the pool blaster with great success in hot tubs. In my region we often have pool spa combos, but the cleaners don't clean the hot tub. The pool blaster imho is a good investment for small clean-ups. I can't see using it in a 20k pool, but for smaller jobs it works great. No need to get a fine mesh bag, just put a knee high stocking in with the mesh bag provided and it will filter smaller particles for you!!!

Thanks for the feedback AFF.

May I enquire how long you've had it for and have you had any issues with battery charging? A lot of customer feedback on Amazon seems to question the battery pack reliability with multiple failures after only a few months use.

[AFiremanFirst]

Fair question. I don't currently own a pool blaster. The first pool service company I worked for provided one to me. I was with them a year and had no problems. But I kept my tools well, as they paid my bills. Since opening my own service company I haven't made the investment. Though after reading your post I did go looking. Seems to me that the pool blaster is the one you want. The up graded models seem to have a lot of problems with the "quick change batteries. And it seems that there is some question about how commercial the commercial model is. What I liked about the Pool blaster is there was just one opening where water could get into my electrical stuff. It had an o-ring and I kept it lubed often. I also opened that charging port at the end of the day and allowed the small amount of condensation that accomulated due to temperature change. Sure don't ever overcharge any battery. they make timers for that stuff. And if you take care of things they should last. Batteries will wear out, but as a tech who used it more than most homeowners would. I felt the product was efficient and adequate for my needs and dependable. I intend to pick one up next week, I'll let you know it goes.

[Lolo]

Fair question. I don't currently own a pool blaster. The first pool service company I worked for provided one to me. I was with them a year and had no problems. But I kept my tools well, as they paid my bills. Since opening my own service company I haven't made the investment. Though after reading your post I did go looking. Seems to me that the pool blaster is the one you want. The up graded models seem to have a lot of problems with the "quick change batteries. And it seems that there is some question about how commercial the commercial model is. What I liked about the Pool blaster is there was just one opening where water could get into my electrical stuff. It had an o-ring and I kept it lubed often. I also opened that charging port at the end of the day and allowed the small amount of condensation that accomulated due to temperature change. Sure don't ever overcharge any battery. they make timers for that stuff. And if you take care of things they should last. Batteries will wear out, but as a tech who used it more than most homeowners would. I felt the product was efficient and adequate for my needs and dependable. I intend to pick one up next week, I'll let you know it goes.

I very much appreciate the feedback AFF. Thank you for your advice. I will probably order the standard non-commercial version. I look forward to your further reports.