****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
The product pretty much works as advertised. I have an inground pool where I have a couple spots where leaves and gunk tend to build up. Rather than having to hook up the hose etc I can use this gadget to clear it out in a couple minutes. Works well.The only issue is, as mentioned in other reviews, attaching a pole to the tool to reach deep spots. I have 3 poles and it only fit on 1 of them. I was fortunate. It was an old pole I was going to pitch (a light aluminum cheap-o pole), but luckily I still had it and that was the only it fit on.If they address the issue with fitting on poles, this would be a perfect 5 rating.I have a spool (small pool) with less than 4000 gal, 16’ x 11’ that we use as jacuzzi and soaking pool. I had debris on the steps and on the bottom from monsoon rain in AZ that didn’t get cleaned with my built-in cleaner. The Pool Blaster Catfish was easy to use and it sucked up all the debris. Only issue was, if you install the fine mesh filter bag, it was very hard to twist the head section onto the unit. I have been using it after the monsoon rain for last 3 weeks and it has worked great for me. Easy to clean the filter but it takes effort to put it back on with fine mesh bag.I was reluctant to buy this based on the bad reviews. At the time of my purchase the product had 20% of the buyers/reviewers rating it one star.. i took a chance as i knew if it didn't meet my expectations, I would pack it up and send it back.. After a week, I'm really happy with this but read on because you may not be.. if this is your only pool vacuum, buy something else. Well first let me clear up some bad information posted in other reviews.."you need to buy an extra silt bag." You don't, it comes with 2 extra bags including the screen bag."You need to buy a pole". If you own a pool, you likely own a scimmer pole. It fits on your regular pole"After a few uses it doesn't have good suction" Yeah, any pool cleaner needs constant cleaning. Use it/ clean itI purchased this product for two primary reasons1) I have a large in ground pool and an expensive robot that randomly zigzags around my pool for 6 hours and misses spots. I also have a regular vacuum that is a chore to take out and setup so getting those few missed spots is a pain..2) my pool gets dirty in the same spots.. I get collections of "stuff" in the same corners/areas of my pool. I wanted a way to hit just those areas quickly for quick cleanups without dragging out the robot cleaner.So I was looking around and found this pool blaster catfish vacuum. It seemed to fit the bill for the two problems I was trying to solve. In un boxing the vacuum the first thing I noticed was it's "toy like" appearance. It doesn't give you the impression it's going to hold up/ function well. I followed the instructions and started out of the gate using the fine silt bag. . After charging for about 45 mins it was fully charged and I was anxious to try it so out I go vacuuming the pool at 11:30 at night. As usual I had a collection of dirt along the back seams of the pool and on the deep end and some small spots in the shallow end. I mounted the vacuum on my skimmer pole push the button on the back of the vacuum to turn it on. The sound of the vacuum also doesn't make you feel this is a well built device. After submerging the vacuum the noise quieted and the device was working well .. I started in the shallow end so I can see if device had sufficient suction and not just pushing around dirt. i cleaned up the obvious areas in the shallow end which took about 5 minutes. It worked well on the deep pool steps but when the motor comes out of the water the suction stops, on shallow steps it didnt work at all. So plan on using this in at least 10 inches of water or at an angle to keep it submerged. On to the deep end! In another review, it mentioned it was hard to keep the vacuum on the bottom it wanted to float up and I kinda agree. The areas I wanted to hit, the outline of the deep end basin and closer to the edges, I could easily get to with no issues and it picked up everything . As I reached out to the center of the pool it was harder to keep the vacuum on the floor consistently as the angle of the skimmer pole went more horizontal. It had a tendency to float up. Still it did what I needed it to do.. First time out, it ran for about 25 minutes and performed "ok". I've since used it 3 more times doing spot cleaning about 8-10 minutes and I haven't charged it up yet and each time feeling a little better about the vacuum.I view this device as a "dust-buster" for your pool, great for quick spot cleanups. You wouldn't want to vacuum your whole pool with it, while you could probably do a larger section if needed. Hope this helps in your decision. I'll post some updates after living with this for a while.Update- after two seasons I continue to be impressed with this little vac... So getting ready for Memorial Day pool opening a worked a few days in getting open and blue, I’ve got the yard setup for the weekend and all the pool supplies away and we get a quick rain shower on Saturday night, which drops a bunch of crap, including worms into the pool.. I was able to clean up in 15mins and back to prepping for the party.. i’ve just started season 3 with this little guy and used it 3 times for 15mins each time.. I can’t stress enough, works great a spot cleaner in conjunction with your regular pool vac..Final update 2019 -after three season it finally died. I buying a replacement 3 years for $90 bucks it’s worth it -One last update 6/2020 - So after great success with the first vac the next 2 units didn’t last a full season.. poor quality control not sure if I would try it again..The instructions are unclear as pictures only. It takes two people to put the handle on as it’s so stiff to press the holding buttons in and I can’t use the fine filter because it’s then impossible to put the rest of it back together it’s so tight I’m unable to do it. Overall the difficulty using it outweighs any benefits sadly.This is the second one I’ve bought. The first broke just outside the warranty period. Tried without one last year after it broke. This year I bought another one and it certainly makes life so much easier! Very efficiently cleans my swim spa. Easy to use & to clean out. Really hoping I get more than one years life ( summer months only) out of this one!Not quite as robust as I imagined and a lack of much instruction. - We also can't work out how to use the additional filter bags sent with it - if we follow what seems to be required putting it back together seems difficult and wrong. - Can anyone help ?Excellent swimming pool and jacuzzi pool vacuum. This nifty device cleaned up my swimming pool a treat, removing sand and garden debris with ease. Simple assembly and usage, runs on an internal rechargeable battery and can be easily affixed to a telescopic pole for deep end cleaning.Great customer service from Perfect retail uk. Thank you
