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Average Customer Rating:
(6 Reviews) 6
6 of 6(100%)reviewers would recommend this product to a friend.
Customer Reviews for
Review 1 for
Overall Rating:
Mamba,
Date:May 2, 2013
By Anonymous
from Priceville Alabama
from Priceville Alabama
Pros: It is great! and only $99.00! It works better than others (polaris).
Cons: need more hose for end skimmer pools so all areas can be reached
"Mine works just fine and I have only had one problem, a frog got inside the head and I had to get him/her out. Once I did, the unit returned to proper operating order and has been fine since."
Review 2 for
Overall Rating:
GREAT PRODUCT FOR PRICE,
Date:April 1, 2013
By STARSKY
from FLORIDA
from FLORIDA
Pros: EASY TO USE, DOES A GOOD JOB FOR MONEY, EASY TO ASSEMBLE
Cons: UNIT DOES NOT DO WELL WITH SHARP CORNERS IN THE POOL
"THIS PRODUCT DOES A GREAT JOB FOR THE PRICE THE ONLY THING I CAN SEE AS BEING A CON IS THAT IT DOES NOT TURN SHARP CORNERS IN THE POOL , MY POO LHAS STRAIGHT SIDES AND GOES INTO A HALF CIRCLE. BUT FOR THE PRICE IT DOES A GREAT JOB AND WOULD BUY ANOTHER WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS TO THIS ONE AND WOULD SUGGEST IT TO A FRIEND"
Review 3 for
Overall Rating:
So Far, So Good,
Date:August 12, 2012
By MikeCee
from San Antonio, TX
from San Antonio, TX
Pros: Easy to assemble and use, cleans well, nice price!
Cons: The typical "clicking" sound of this type of cleaner, extra pump basket cleaning, possible hose damage on concrete pools
"I’ve had the Mamba in service for about a month now in a 5-foot deep end, 13’x33’ fiberglass, in-ground pool. So far, so good. Only a few parts needed assembly and this task only took about 15 minutes. A few of the parts (to be installed) were already on the main unit, so don’t let that confuse you like it did me. Just be sure you put the “pancake” (big blue) disk with the proper side up, the side with the words on it, as it seemed that if this side was down, the grooving might not be right and it may not work well. After adjusting the regulator flow valve, the Mamba climbs the walls nicely and gets into the corners well. If the flow rate is too low, it won’t climb all the way up the walls. It’ll clean the whole thing within one hour and it does it well.
INSTALLATION – This may help you to get it working well. The instructions are good, but there may be a few head scratching moments.
Getting it operation was simple too. First, turn off the pump if it’s on or is scheduled to come on soon. Second, you must remove your skimmer basket and gently push the flow regulator into the suction pipe, arrow pointing down. It has a blue soft rubber fitting that fits various size pipe diameters. (This basket removal step is needed if your pool does not have a suction port on the wall.) I point the adjusting knob toward the drain pipe opening so that it provides suction to the drain too. I adjusted the regulator min/max setting to about the middle setting to begin with. After twist/sliding the hose connections together and connecting them to the Mamba, I sunk the Mamba into the water at the far end of the pool and then joined (her) in the pool. Per instructions, I lowered the hose nearest the Mamba to begin air removal in the hoses, an important preparation to prevent pool pump suction loss because of too much air in the lines. This was easy too. When I reached the end of the hose, I put the palm of my hand over the end (to prevent air from entering the hose) and hoisted the hose end into the skimmer and pushed it into the flow regulator. I turned the pump on and off she went, clicking like crazy, the hose even jumps up and down. It almost climbed clear up out of the pool, so I continued to adjust the regulator (turned to the MINinum direction until it did not climb the walls, then turned it the other way about a turn or two at a time, waited, turned more to max, until she climbed properly. Using this trial and error method, I figured that adequate suction was being applied without allowing too much suction that may shorten the mechanism life because of too much suction slamming the clicker thingy. Up to this time I never realized how much my pump “sucks!” It’s a good sucker. It sucks so well that a lot of surface leaves get pulled into the skimmer basket hole, which is nice in that the Mamba provides surface cleaning too. This happens because the flow regulator opens a bypass at the end of the control knob which also sucks water like crazy into the skimmer hole. I use a 5-6” fish catcher net (a wire handle with a net on the end) to fish out these leaves – purchased at Walmart, very inexpensive.
Getting it operation was simple too. First, turn off the pump if it’s on or is scheduled to come on soon. Second, you must remove your skimmer basket and gently push the flow regulator into the suction pipe, arrow pointing down. It has a blue soft rubber fitting that fits various size pipe diameters. (This basket removal step is needed if your pool does not have a suction port on the wall.) I point the adjusting knob toward the drain pipe opening so that it provides suction to the drain too. I adjusted the regulator min/max setting to about the middle setting to begin with. After twist/sliding the hose connections together and connecting them to the Mamba, I sunk the Mamba into the water at the far end of the pool and then joined (her) in the pool. Per instructions, I lowered the hose nearest the Mamba to begin air removal in the hoses, an important preparation to prevent pool pump suction loss because of too much air in the lines. This was easy too. When I reached the end of the hose, I put the palm of my hand over the end (to prevent air from entering the hose) and hoisted the hose end into the skimmer and pushed it into the flow regulator. I turned the pump on and off she went, clicking like crazy, the hose even jumps up and down. It almost climbed clear up out of the pool, so I continued to adjust the regulator (turned to the MINinum direction until it did not climb the walls, then turned it the other way about a turn or two at a time, waited, turned more to max, until she climbed properly. Using this trial and error method, I figured that adequate suction was being applied without allowing too much suction that may shorten the mechanism life because of too much suction slamming the clicker thingy. Up to this time I never realized how much my pump “sucks!” It’s a good sucker. It sucks so well that a lot of surface leaves get pulled into the skimmer basket hole, which is nice in that the Mamba provides surface cleaning too. This happens because the flow regulator opens a bypass at the end of the control knob which also sucks water like crazy into the skimmer hole. I use a 5-6” fish catcher net (a wire handle with a net on the end) to fish out these leaves – purchased at Walmart, very inexpensive.
ADDITIONAL INFO –
Aqua Products makes the Mamba as well as many other auto pool cleaners. I was concerned about getting parts, especially the blue disk which seems to wear out on this type of bottom cleaner. In The Swim’s phone support told me that they can provide those parts.
These types of cleaners work best when the pump(s) have been off for several hours so that the small debris, including microscopic size, can settle to the bottom. Accordingly, my pool pump is off all night (mainly because I don’t want to get up at 3AM because something sounds odd). When the filter pump cycles on at the crack of dawn, Mamba begins her work and does it better that way.
Bottom cleaners of this design (like the Kreepy Krawly, Barracuda G2, etc.) require a curved wall into the bottom or they cannot get up the wall. Most pools are like this. If your pool has a straight 90 degree turn at the wall and floor (like a house wall), these cleaners might still do the bottom well, but maybe not the walls.
Mamba will do the bottom step and not the higher ones, which is fine with me. These types of cleaners sometimes get fouled with above pool step ladders. Other postings I’ve seen elsewhere show various fixes, one of them is simply to use a shorter hose. It’s nice that hose sections for these cleaners come in 3-foot sections – easy to adjust size without having to cut the hose.
I’ve used a Polaris 65 cleaner for some 9 years now. She works well too, but does not trap microscopic size particles. She’s now in semi-retirement as I only use her when a lot of leaves have been blown into the pool after high winds have created the usual pool owner’s nightmare. Then I finish up with Ms. Mamba, who does the rest quite well.
One disadvantage of this kind of bottom cleaner is the pump filter basket gets to catch the debris. More to do. Removing this debris is mandatory because the pump will lose volume and circulate less water due to this blockage. A nice fix appears to be buying an add-on filter that attaches to the bottom cleaner’s hose. These filters can be opened easily to empty the leaves, etc. I’m going to get one soon.
On concrete pools, I've seen that the hose vibration may create a hole in the hose due to the rubbing friction where the hose lays against the concrete near the skimmer. Perhaps a several turns of duct tape can prevent this or some kind of hose protector installed will remedy this defect."
Aqua Products makes the Mamba as well as many other auto pool cleaners. I was concerned about getting parts, especially the blue disk which seems to wear out on this type of bottom cleaner. In The Swim’s phone support told me that they can provide those parts.
These types of cleaners work best when the pump(s) have been off for several hours so that the small debris, including microscopic size, can settle to the bottom. Accordingly, my pool pump is off all night (mainly because I don’t want to get up at 3AM because something sounds odd). When the filter pump cycles on at the crack of dawn, Mamba begins her work and does it better that way.
Bottom cleaners of this design (like the Kreepy Krawly, Barracuda G2, etc.) require a curved wall into the bottom or they cannot get up the wall. Most pools are like this. If your pool has a straight 90 degree turn at the wall and floor (like a house wall), these cleaners might still do the bottom well, but maybe not the walls.
Mamba will do the bottom step and not the higher ones, which is fine with me. These types of cleaners sometimes get fouled with above pool step ladders. Other postings I’ve seen elsewhere show various fixes, one of them is simply to use a shorter hose. It’s nice that hose sections for these cleaners come in 3-foot sections – easy to adjust size without having to cut the hose.
I’ve used a Polaris 65 cleaner for some 9 years now. She works well too, but does not trap microscopic size particles. She’s now in semi-retirement as I only use her when a lot of leaves have been blown into the pool after high winds have created the usual pool owner’s nightmare. Then I finish up with Ms. Mamba, who does the rest quite well.
One disadvantage of this kind of bottom cleaner is the pump filter basket gets to catch the debris. More to do. Removing this debris is mandatory because the pump will lose volume and circulate less water due to this blockage. A nice fix appears to be buying an add-on filter that attaches to the bottom cleaner’s hose. These filters can be opened easily to empty the leaves, etc. I’m going to get one soon.
On concrete pools, I've seen that the hose vibration may create a hole in the hose due to the rubbing friction where the hose lays against the concrete near the skimmer. Perhaps a several turns of duct tape can prevent this or some kind of hose protector installed will remedy this defect."
Review 4 for
Overall Rating:
help installing mamba!,
Date:June 23, 2012
By parajaxmom
from Buffalo, MO
from Buffalo, MO
"HELP! I just received my Mamba pool cleaner, and put together very easily. NOW, with very vague instructions, I'm unclear on how to actually hook it to my filtration system! We have a 24' x 4' above ground, sand filtration. Any help????"
Review 5 for
Overall Rating:
Great Value,
Date:May 27, 2012
By Cowboy
from Stillwater, OK
from Stillwater, OK
Pros: The affordable price. Value. Cleans up everything.
Cons: Gets hung up on the steps. Future parts availability. Hose Length.
"I have a small (14X24) inground pool. I was tired of constantly vacuuming the pool by hand and wanted to get an automatic pool cleaner. I didn't really have the $300+ laying around to get the popular model. I thought I would give this one a try since it has a 30 day guarantee.
I was not disappointed! It works great. It went right to work sucking up all the bugs and leaves off the bottom of the pool. It climbs the walls and moves freely from the deep to the shallow ends.
The only problem I have experienced is that it gets hung on the entry steps. For now I have tied the hose off so that it will only reach just short of the steps. I'll come up with something more permanent later.
I did figure out that when I connect it to the skimmer you need to turn the pump inlet valve so that it ONLY pulls from the skimmer. Otherwise it does not have enough suction to climb walls.
I am concerned about the availability of parts in the future. The cleaner does not even show up on the Aqua Products web site. I think they may have just slapped their label on a generic cleaner. But it only has one moving part. We'll see when I have problems later. The hose may be a little short for larger pools depending on the location of your skimmer.
I was not disappointed! It works great. It went right to work sucking up all the bugs and leaves off the bottom of the pool. It climbs the walls and moves freely from the deep to the shallow ends.
The only problem I have experienced is that it gets hung on the entry steps. For now I have tied the hose off so that it will only reach just short of the steps. I'll come up with something more permanent later.
I did figure out that when I connect it to the skimmer you need to turn the pump inlet valve so that it ONLY pulls from the skimmer. Otherwise it does not have enough suction to climb walls.
I am concerned about the availability of parts in the future. The cleaner does not even show up on the Aqua Products web site. I think they may have just slapped their label on a generic cleaner. But it only has one moving part. We'll see when I have problems later. The hose may be a little short for larger pools depending on the location of your skimmer.
Right now I am just HAPPY to have a clean pool without spending hours vacuuming."
Review 6 for
Overall Rating:
Recommend But....,
Date:May 11, 2012
By PaulIowa
from Iowa
from Iowa
Pros: Automatic; Cleans well; installs easily; Doesn't cost much
Cons: Hole tears in the hosing via agitation which aerates pool thus messing up chemistry balance
"It was easy to install and works well from day one as long as I got sufficient suction to it by turning off all other skimmers and drains.
The problem is a design problem. It moves along the bottom of the pool via the suction occurring in pulses (by design). The problem is that the tubes that come out of the skimmer and over to the pool rub constantly against the concrete in the same pulsing rhythm. This causes holes in the tubing which sucks air into your filter and aerates your pool. That, of course, increases pH (and seems to reduce cyanuric acid. In my 40,000 gallon pool that costs an additional $20 - $40 in chemicals weekly to reduce pH.
If you buy it (good deal at $100) be sure to somehow protect that first few feet of hose."