How a post-hurricane disaster sold me on a $2,000 pool-cleaning robot

Living in Florida means that hurricane season is part of life. With our latest run-in with Hurricane Helene, we got lucky and dodged the brunt of the storm, but still got hammered by thunderstorms.

During one such storm, a flash of lightning struck, followed by a deafening boom. I jumped up from my laptop, wondering what had just happened. A quick inspection revealed that lightning had struck a longleaf pine tree in the public preserve behind my home: the entire top was completely blown off.

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The top of the tree exploded into fragments that flew across my backyard, smashing into the patio screen and, most notably, all over the pool. The water was littered with debris and large chunks of wood -- some weighing up to 10 pounds. One piece I jokingly called the "Gandalf staff." 

I couldn't believe the damage to the tree, and it quickly became clear that cleaning this up would be a daunting task -- my pool maintenance guy told me not to run the pool skimmer and filter with this much debris in it; it needed to be manually removed. But I had an ace up my sleeve: the Beatbot Aquasense Pro, a fully autonomous robotic pool cleaner I had been using since March.  

The Beatbot Aquasense Pro isn't just any pool-cleaning robot. It's packed with features that make it one of the most advanced robotic cleaners on the market today. It can handle every aspect of pool maintenance from the water surface to the pool floor, and even the walls and waterline.  

With a powerful 9-motor system delivering 5,500 GPH of suction and a 10,400 mAh battery, it offers up to 9.5 hours of cleaning and a host of customizable modes so you can adjust for current conditions. Here's a breakdown of the Beatbot Aquasense Pro's top features:

Cleaning Coverage: This 5-in-1 cleaner covers the water surface, pool floor, walls, and waterline, making it one of the most comprehensive robotic pool cleaners available.

Battery Capacity: Powered by a 10,400 mAh lithium-ion battery, it offers up to 9.5 hours of surface cleaning or 5 hours for deep cleaning. The battery fully recharges in 3.5 hours.

Navigation and Sensors: Equipped with 20 smart sensors, including dual ultrasonic sensors and a quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU, the Aquasense Pro uses SonicSense™ AI Pool Mapping for efficient navigation, ensuring 100% coverage of any pool shape, including rectangular, kidney, and freeform designs.

Suction Power: The NonaDrive™ 9-Motor System generates an impressive 5,500 gallons per hour (GPH) of suction, capable of handling both large debris and fine particles.

Debris Capacity: The 3.7-liter debris basket is easily accessible from the top and handles heavy loads of leaves, twigs, and other debris.

Motors and Brushes: It features dual-group roller brushes (front and rear) with differential speeds, enhancing its cleaning ability for various pool surfaces like concrete, vinyl, fiberglass, and ceramic.

Connectivity: It features Wi-Fi connectivity (2.4GHz) for app integration, allowing users to track progress, check battery life, and receive over-the-air (OTA) updates.

Cleaning modes for every pool

Customizing the Beatbot Aquasense Pro is user-friendly thanks to its physical buttons on top, which let you select cleaning modes without needing the app. You can choose Quick Mode for a fast, single-floor cleaning pass, Standard Mode for a more thorough clean of the floor, walls, and waterline, or Pro Mode, which adds surface cleaning on top of everything. 

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For energy efficiency, Eco Mode cleans the pool floor every two days with minimal battery drain. These buttons make it simple to start any cleaning mode with just a press, allowing you to skip the app once it's set up.

However, the app still offers a handful of useful features such as checking its cleaning progress, checking the battery life, and scheduling future cleanings. It also lets you update the robot's firmware over the air (OTA) to ensure the latest improvements and features are always active, such as the new Multi-Zone mode (beta) that allows for cleaning shallow areas such as steps. However, for everyday use, the physical buttons on the device are all you really need to get the job done efficiently.

Putting the Aquasense Pro to the test

I was skeptical that even this high-end device could handle the aftermath of a tree explosion. After manually removing the largest pieces of wood from the pool, I set the Aquasense Pro to Pro Mode for a full pool sweep. The robot began by orienting itself in the 15' x 30' pool, and soon, it was diving and cleaning the bottom, skimming, and climbing the walls with ease.

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After its first run, the debris basket was overflowing with leaves and twigs. Normally, the basket never fills up this much, but seeing how much the Aquasense Pro could handle in one go was impressive. 

The following day, after its next pass, the pool was nearly spotless, with only a few small pieces of debris left. This amount of debris collection is expected with regular day-to-day cleaning. The basket can be easily taken apart, with an outer shell and inner lining that can be washed off if desired.

I let the Aquasense Pro do a regular maintenance pass, and here's what the pool looked like afterward:

Having the robot handle such an overwhelming task was a massive relief. I didn't have to call a pool cleaning service, and best of all; I didn't have to do the work myself.

ZDNET's buying advice

For $2,199, the Beatbot Aquasense Pro is a significant investment, but its performance -- especially in extreme conditions -- makes it worth the price for serious pool owners. It can handle routine maintenance and post-storm cleanups, which is invaluable for maintaining a pristine pool. However, its steep price, 24-pound weight, and limited 2.4GHz Wi-Fi connectivity are factors to consider. 

While powerful and efficient, retrieving it from the pool can be cumbersome, and Wi-Fi interruptions may affect its smart features. For those looking for a more affordable option, Beatbot offers a $1,299 version without surface cleaning, a solid choice for those who don't need the full 5-in-1 system.