This pool robot cleans the pool, then cleans itself

Naturally, the AstroRinse also needs a power supply, so if you don’t have a standard electrical outlet near your hose tip, you’ll need another extension cord solution here. The unit must be level to work properly, and it has adjustable feet and a built-in spirit level to help you achieve this.

All things considered, you’ll need to carefully consider where you’re going to place the AstroRinse, making sure you have access to water, electricity and drainage, and that the location isn’t too far from the pool. Since the AquaSense Unfortunately, given the availability of all three of the above services in my backyard, that’s exactly what I had to do.

A familiar friend in the water

The Beatbot AquaSense Beatbot AquaSense 2 Ultra with the exception of a few modifications to the design of the basket (which is here in one piece instead of two). Its configuration is much simpler than that of the AstroRinse.

The physical setup involves fitting two side brushes, these are only used by the skimmer function, but it’s a pretty quick affair. Once the brushes are attached, the robot should be placed on top of the AstroRinse cleaner so that the two devices can pair wirelessly. (The quickstart guide shows the particular button presses you need to do to complete this process; don’t lose it.) Finally, the system must then be paired with the Beatbot mobile app; you will need Bluetooth and a 2.4GHz or 5GHz Wi-Fi connection to complete this task. One small problem I encountered: After completing all this work, both devices downloaded firmware updates, which quickly broke their pairing connection. However, it was easy to restore operation by simply repeating the pairing process.

After a full charge, I put the cleaner to the test in the pool, both on the bottom and on the surface, and as expected, I saw no real difference in performance compared to the AquaSense 2 Ultra. In ground tests with organic and synthetic debris, the device recovered an average of 97% of the tested material, with exceptionally good results on steps and platforms. On the surface, the unit was, as expected, average to horrible, collecting less than half of the floating debris and sinking most of the rest. The device is simply too slow to collect much material from the surface, although its rotating side brushes help, to a small extent, in drawing leaves into its maw.

At the bottom of the pool, the maximum operating time is approximately 4¹/₂ hours, thanks to a 13,400 mAh battery, the same as that of the AquaSense 2 Ultra.

As with other AquaSense robots, a multitude of operating modes are available in the Beatbot app, allowing you to choose from dozens of potential cleaning combinations for floors, walls, waterlines and surfaces, each with up to two passes per zone and with varying operating times. An AI Quick Mode activates the onboard camera to allow the robot to actively search for debris instead of randomly encountering it; This is good for a quick cleanup when there isn’t much to scoop up but more than you can easily collect with a net.

Again, this doesn’t differ much from the behavior of the AquaSense 2 Ultra, and aside from poor surface performance, it performs remarkably well.

Loading and cleaning

Let’s move on to the main event: cleaning. After each run, the AquaSense Although it may take some trial and error to get the robot in the right spot, once you do, the cleaning system will automatically kick in within seconds.

When the rinsing system starts, the top-mounted arm snaps into place and connects to the mouth that the robot uses to skim the surface. Next, a high-pressure (fairly strong) stream of water begins to shoot out of the arm and into the filter basket, which is positioned directly below this opening. The water jet runs continuously for three minutes before the arm moves back and the system shuts down. (A quick mode, which lasts one minute, can also be selected in the app.) After that, the arm retracts and the unit is complete. Debris is captured in a mesh-covered basket built into the base of the cleaning station. Any remaining water drains through a strainer located at the very bottom of the unit.