Hayward RC9740 SharkVac Robotic Pool Cleaner Review

In this Hayward RC9740 SharkVac robotic pool cleaner review, we’ll look at the pros and cons of the model.

Pros of the SharkVac Pool Cleaner

The debris stays in the filter cartridge until you empty it, so there’s no hassle of messing with a net or junk falling out of the net. You gain easy access to the debris chamber from the access port on top.
This unit is able to clean most pools in an hour and a half or less, using less power than many pool sweeps that have to run continuously and do a more thorough job than those that wander randomly across the bottom of the pool.
It can work in vinyl, concrete, gunite and fiberglass pools.
This model doesn’t require a booster pump. Nor do you need hoses.
It has a programmable cleaning cycle, so you can set it to clean the pool overnight or early in the morning so it isn’t in the way when you want to swim.
You can wash the cartridge with a garden hose spray nozzle most of the time.
It runs separately from the pool pump and pool filter, so you never have to worry if it will work with the off-brand pool pump you own.
It runs in both fresh water and salt water pools.
One of the biggest benefits of this automatic pool cleaner is that it is ready to use out of the box, once you plug it in and put it in the pool. No complicated assembly required.

Cons of the SharkVac Model RC9740 Pool Cleaner

The unit is heavy. This is not a good option for you if you lack the strength to pull it out of the water to clean the filter. You may need to clean the area right under the pool when you pull it out, because debris it was in the process of cleaning up sometimes falls back in as you pull the unit out.
The cord is prone to tangling.
It doesn’t climb the walls of the pool, so only the bottom of the pool gets clean unless you remove the flow restrictor, and that isn’t recommended. If your pool has a steep drop off, the Shark Vac robotic pool cleaner is unlikely to get the area at the bottom of the ledge unless you drag it by the cord to that specific area.

Observations about the Pool Cleaner

This Hayward RC9740 SharkVac robotic pool cleaner review would not be complete without a few observations that are neither pros nor cons.

This pool cleaner is designed for in ground pools up to twenty feet by forty feet. (The power cord itself is fifty feet long). If you have an above ground pool or a bigger pool, this unit may not work well. Take the fifty foot cord length into account when you have a large deep pool, or you’ll find it cannot reach the far end of a fifteen foot deep diving pool.

The filter has a fine mesh, so while it catches almost everything down to small bits of plastic and broken leaves, the debris can be a pain to get out of the small spaces in the filter itself unless you blast it with the water hose or manually clear it out. One of the weaknesses of this unit is that it pretty much drives over larger leaves.

While the unit is programmable in terms of time of day, it cannot be programmed to clean specific spots better like many programmable floor vacuum cleaners.

Comments

Marilyn says
December 20, 2019 at 8:52 pm
Whoever designed the Hayward robotic pool cleaner should make an appointment with a proctologist so they can get their head out of their a**. This is the worst system I have ever experienced. I have to go out there hourly, bring it out of the pool unscrew the back and take out one little lead or 1 small rock because it won’t function otherwise. This is the worst design and I am going to do my level best to let people know not to buy this product. For $500 this is a colossal waste of money