Zodiac G3 Suction-Side Inground Vacuum Pool Cleaner

Why did you pick this product vs others?:I have been using barracudas for probably 20 years and love them. This is my 3rd G3 and before that I used one of the slightly cheaper baracuda vacs. The only reason I get a new one is it just finally wears out after 4 or 5+ years. Quality is good and about the only weak part is the rubber baffle that propels the vac. If there is anything to complain about that is the weak part to the system but they are fairly inexpensive. It works great and keeps the pool clean. I was considering going to a robotic unit this time but after reading reviews and having concerns about longevity I decided I knew what I was getting with the G3 and knew I’ll have a great vac that will last at least. 4 years so I bought another one. I highly recommend this pool vac.

. Recognize that I was skeptical about the G3 because there are devices that cost 8-10 times as much as this device. This Baracuda G3 is sooooooo awesome I was literally stunned at how well it worked. I truly mean stunned; fascinated, standing on the pool deck watching it work. I was mesmorized! For a while, I was in a state of disbelief. Why had my pool builder and supplier not mentioned this to me? Sure, I have vacuumed the pool hundreds of times over 15 years and while I listened to music, got a tan, more recently listened to podcasts but seriously, what’s 90 minutes X 15 times a season (this is a MN short season) X 15 years? 338 hours of wasted leisure time! I could have been biking, walking, inline skating… napping for Pete sake and my vac head would still NEVER perform as great a job as the G3 because I’ll only vac for about 90 minutes whereas this G3 can work all day and it sucks up every bit of organic detritus from the bottom and sides of the pool especially if you use a product that eliminates phosphates and drops dust and other organic matter to the bottom of the pool. I own a 24,000 gallon, vinyl lined, L-shaped pool so it has a long deep to shallow rectangle and a 12X12 shallow end L. I told my wife it will never get out of the deep end and it will never climb the vertical walls of the pool. WRONG! It clearly has a random action but I am still fascinated that if you let something randomize long enough in your pool it will cover just about every square inch on the flat, on the sloped, AND on the vert! Amazing.A couple of tips: You must have enough hose to reach one complete hose section beyond the furthest point from your skimmer attachment (I am purchasing a few extra sections). You MUST go to the company website in order to view or download the owner’s manual. Do NOT attempt to assemble and run this great tool by reading only the quick start guide that come in the box! Come on Baracuda….put the full manual in the box… the manual is only a couple of pages but I consider it to be vital. All I did was follow every simple step. The engineering is so simple and so effective. It comes with a suction gauge and the only thing that will mess you up is if your system is too weak (or maybe too strong). If your system lacks sufficient suction power, you might have to return it but I have a standard filter motor, three skimmers and a main drain so there are a lot of ways to increase the suction where the G3 connects to a skimmer to generate the exact amount of suction required…. No more or no less. Even if you only have one skimmer…. Give this thing a try. So much fun. Enjoy all the time you will be saving and you will have a cleaner pool than you would have if you were running the vac yourself.

Works great! Goes all the way up the side of the pool with no problems. The pool looks so clean now.

This is our 3rd G3 since 1999. These crawlers work great on the bottom of the pool and on the lower portion of the walls...not so much on the upper levels of the walls. Having said that, they are easy to maintain with not real moving parts. The parts that do wear out can easily and cheaply be replaced. Original and "knockoff" parts can be found on Amazon and are easy to install. I've replaced a number of parts over the years that simply wore out. However, when your crawler works 365 days a year for 10 hours a day, that is not a bad thing. After a number of years the plastic on the main unit does begin to deteriorate and that's why I'm on my 3rd G3. Is the G3 better than its competitors? I do not know because I have stuck with the G3 exclusively!

Without hesitation, I bought a G3 to replace my old G3 that has been running great for well over a decade (see side by side photo). I decided to replace mine because 11+yrs submerged in pool water has finally caused some pitting and degradation of the plastic on the outer housing. Every so often, the inner diaphragm doodad, the round spiked blue pad on the base, and rarely the bright yellow rubber foot on the bottom need to be replaced due to wear, especially if you have pebble plaster. All those parts are cheap, easy to replace, and readily available on AmazonThe G3 appears on many pool websites’ “Top 10 Cleaners” lists. That’s because it works great, uses a minimum of moving parts, and is relatively inexpensive. For reference, my parents had a similar design (but a different brand) in the early 90s which cost them $750. The G3 is refreshingly about half the cost of that. I used a pool vacuum before the G3 which had the big goofy wheels on either side and that design DID NOT work for my pool. Terrible design, the wheels are just something else to fail/break downPros: Works great. Easily climbs the uneven sides of my deep end, which is about 7-8ft (see photo). Basically only one moving part, so no turning wheels to break or jam. Repair parts are cheap and available. Works great on pebble but amazing on standard plasterCons: Almost none. If your pool has uneven corners or sharp curves (mine has a weird oval step in the deepest corner), it may take minor adjustment not to hang up. Also, large debris with sharp edges (like garden bark chips) can tear the diaphragm and damage the vacuum when they get pulled throughIn short, I’ve had a G3 or something similar for a long time. I don’t think pool cleaners need wheels and it’s just another part to break down. Love my G3

It works well when you have it. Set properly. It will clean the walls of the pool. Very powerful.