Top 10 Best Suction side / Vacuum pool cleaners 2021

Reviews, ratings and comparisons – Juni 2021

Or as some countries call them: Vacuum pool cleaners – Here is a list of the best Suction side pool cleaners according to the best sold list of 2018. Below the table are summaries of users feedback.

Best suction side / vacuum pool cleaner Comparison Table

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The Best selling Suction side (Vacuum) pool cleaners for 2018:

1) The Poolcleaner (Poolvergnuegen) 2x 896584000013

This Poolvergnuegen 2x alias “the poolcleaner” is the 2 wheel drive version of the Poolvergneugen brands. The 2 wheels makes this cleaner a good option for small and medium sized pools. The main difference with the 4 wheel is that now only 2 wheels wear instead of 4 so you don’t need to replace 4 wheels.

The coverage of the pool is good. It has a good working swivel that turns the cleaner so it doesn’t get stuck on the steps. If you want to let it go up the walls all the way you simply increase the suction.

As the design is simple there is not a lot to break. The main costs are probably the wheels. Summarized this cleaner has good ratings from a lot of users, is durable and silent. And the costs versus quality ratio is better then a few other well known brands. And it is on top if the market for a few years now so it seems a lot of customers are happy with it.

2) XtremepowerUS Automatic Pool Cleaner

The XtremepowerUS Automatic Pool Cleaner] is a new arrival in the top 10 list of best selling succion pool cleaners. When I researched it it looked like a low priced copy cat of the famous kreepy krauly. The short term reviews are all right, and even great for the what you should expect for that price. I love to see the long term reviews coming in. If those are good to that can set a whole price tag on this type of pool cleaners.

3) Hayward 900, Wanda the Whale

The above ground Wanda the Whale pool cleaner is one of the golden “oldies” under the pool cleaners. It is easy and trouble free. It is a quick and complete pool bottom cleaner. There is no need to empty and replace debris bags as it connects to the pool filtration system. A booster pump is not required and the set up is a simple ten minute installation.

4) Kreepy Krauly GW9500, The Great White

The Pentair Kreepy Krauly GW9500 alias the Great White is a suction-side cleaner that hooks up to the skimmer. It’s well suited for flat, dish-incline and hopper-bottom pools made of gunite, fiberglass or vinyl and other specialty surfaces. It installs easily and is designed to clean the deeper parts more then the shallow (as dirt gathers there).

Pros of the Great white: It is a relatively cheap cleaner and it cleans marvelous! It is great that the GW9500 is suitable for all pool surfaces and all pool shapes.

Cons of the Great White: The quality of the plastic parts break off to fast. Like after 1 to 3 years.

Summary: As it is a relatively trouble free suction pool vac it is well worth it’s money.

5) Zodiac Baracuda MX8

The Zodiac MX8 Suction-Side Cleaner is also a Suction-Side Pool vacuum. Cleans the wall and the floor. It uses a cyclonic vacuum technology to maintain cleaning power and allow for a wider cleaning path. The X-Trax tyres provide the climbing performance.

pros of the MX8: The set up is easy. It has a wide cleaning path and cleans the bottom and the walls well. Works good on algae too.

Cons of the MX8: The older versions have a bad gear box, they wear out after a year. Baracuda has reworked the gear box so newer ones don’t have this problem. It is not suitable for pebble-tec pools.

6) Pentair 360042 Kreepy Krauly

The Pentair 360042 Kreepy Krauly is a Suction-Side pool cleaner. It has attachments to plug it into the pool skimmer. Or it can be used with the vacuum port of the pool. The krauly randomly roams around in the pool so in the end it cleans everywhere. For larger pools extra hoses are needed to reach all the nooks and crannies. It is also suitable for Pebble tec pools, the suction is strong enough. All in all this product does a reasonable job and the cost is low for what it provides.

Pro’s of the Kreepy Krauly 360042: compared to the cheaper knock offs, this cleaner seems to last longer, like most of the other Kreepy Krauly cleaners.
By changing where you put the weights on the pool line you can influence the performance.

Cons of the Kreepy Krauly 360042: According to reviewers it does get stuck on especially hard to reach places in some pools. Some people who compared this cleaner with others say it gets less often stuck while others say the opposite.

7) Baracuda Ranger W01698

This is one of the more affordable above ground pool cleaners as it requires no extra plumbing or booster pump. It vacuums the bottom, the wall and around your steps in your pool. It has only one moving part so it is simple in the maintenance. Nicely quiet according to the reviewers.

8) Zodiac MX6 Automatic In Ground Pool Cleaner

Pros of the Zodiac MX6: The Zodiac MX6 is a compact little suction side pool cleaner. It looks a lot like its heavy brother, the MX8, but runs on a lower RPM. It is good for plaster pools as that wall is not so slick. It has more problems with fiberglass pools.

Cons of the Zodiac MX6: It is not usable with dual speed pumps. It seems to work less well on slick walls according to the user reviews.

9) The Poolcleaner 4x PVN020 896584000020

The Poolvergnuegen alias “the poolcleaner 4x”” is the big brother of the poolcleaner 2x, it is a 4 wheel drive suction side vacuum cleaner which makes it suitable for larger pools. They also claim that this 4 wheel drive makes the cleaner better suitable for getting over obstacles that other cleaners get stuck on. It comes with more hoses for a larger area. It has a great coverage of the pool mainly because it turns itself every 14 feet. This also means it doesn’t get stuck on steps.

By increasing the suction it goes up the walls all the way. It has a super simple design so there is not a lot to break. All in all this is a very durable cleaner which is getting good ratings from a lot of reviewers. It is silent and not as expensive as a few other better known brands. And it has proven itself for a few years on the market now so it seems to be a stayer.

Pros of the poolcleaner 4x: According to the user reviews; it seldom breaks down so low maintenance cost (only the wheels about every 3 years). The cleaning is great. It has a relatively large dirt intake compared to most other cleaners. Algae are getting removed easily. Climbs the walls good.

Cons of the poolcleaner 4x: You do need to have good suction else it won’t work that well. The tires are only suitable for concrete pools, if you have a vinyl or fiberglass pool you will need to buy special tires. Like all cleaners it is not meant for some special dirt types, like too much acorns and to much leaves. But… if you do have this, this cleaner or the Pentair Kreepy Krauly’s are the best cleaners for that larger size of debris.

10) Pentair GW7900 Kreepy Krauly SandShark

Warning: Though on some places this is called a pressure side pool cleaner it is a suction side cleaner!

Pros of the Pentair GW7900 SandShark: .This suction side cleaner by Pentair is known for it’s quality. It does not break easily and there are not a lot of maintenance costs. It is good for normal dirt.

Cons of the Kreepy Krauly SandShark: According to a few user reviews, this cleaner is not that good for picking up leaves and small twigs.

Suction side pool cleaner / Vacuum pool Tips

As said before the suction side pool cleaner (pool vacuum cleaner) uses the pool pump to operate. Or more precise, it uses the suction power of the pool pump to move along the pool bottom and walls and clean it. There is a special basket to catch the dirt. A vacuum plate or a dedicated vac line attaches the cleaner to your pool pump.

Disadvantage – advantages of the vacuum cleaner.