Bit of a blast from the past with this option. In my haste to get to the fully featured in ground pool options fro Aquabot I neglected a few of the low tier models. The Turbo T-Jet is an interesting budget option from Aquabot, but not one that lacks a niche. As the name might suggest this low cost, light weight machine, comes fitted with a power washer, but it lacks many features that I would consider important as a result of its low price. There are still a lot of things to like about this option, so let’s get stuck in, find out if this machine ticks all your boxes.
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Aquabot Turbo T-Jet Design and Build Quality
Aquabot have made a name for themselves with their high quality builds and excellent prices. That philosophy is reflected here in the Turbo T-Jet. It is a slight machine, but well put together. One of the things you have to take into account when you get your robotic pool cleaner is the material fit. A high quality pool cleaner will have little to no rattle, and I am happy to say that’s what we have here. Aesthetically it’s not great though. I get the reason it uses wheels over tracks or cylinders, keeps the price low, but it does give it the look of a toy. How a machine looks is not a major issue, but how it propels itself through the water most certainly is.
Overall the build is fine, nothing to write home about, but considering the price that is to be expected. I am not a fan of wheeled pool cleaners in general, as I find them to be slightly less effective, not to mention the loss of certain features as you will find out.
Aquabot Turbo T-Jet Features and Specs
As I previously mentioned this is an in ground pool cleaner, a bit of a rarity in this price point, and the main selling feature is the inclusion of a power washing feature. Better even than integrated active brushes, the power washing feature is excellent at removing caked on grime, think algae build up. The bot can clean a pool floor via an optimized route in around 2 hours, though it can be set to run indefinitely. One benefit that wheeled bot has over most tracked bots is its ability to maintain traction over tile bottomed pools, always a plus. Now to the major caveat, walls. Unless your pool has a smooth transition to the pool wall this little bot simply can’t clean them. Even if you do have a smooth transition the height it can reach is limited, a foot or so. I prefer a cleaner to do the works, but Walls tend to get dirty less often than the pool floor, so this purchase will still cut down on cleaning significantly.
Cable length is 50′, so keep that in mind when buying. Dimension wise we are looking at a 21″ x 19″ x 18″ machine, weighing in at around 10 pounds, so extremely light weight. Beyond that we are still looking at a decent bot, it’ll clean the pool floor quickly and efficiently, the cable is not anti-tangle, but there are a few tricks involving pool noodles that can help there.
Aquabot Turbo T-Jet Ease of Use
I am a fan of simple designs. We live in the age of automation, so when I find a product that complicates things I tend to be less than happy with it. There are plenty of robotic pool cleaners out there that are complicated, they need connection to external pumps and filters. I ignore them. All of the pool cleaning robots that I review are of the pug and play variety, with build in pumps., The Turbo T-Jet is no exception. It is like all Aquabot products, very easy to use. There are some minor issues I have with it. The lack of a handle makes getting it out of the pool somewhat more difficult than it needs to be. That and a bottom loading filter bag can lead to excess debris falling back into the pool when you are lifting it out of the water.
Overall the core functionality of the Turbo T-Jet is easy to access, there is no learning curve to this one. Just be sure to figure out how much debris it can handle from your pool in a cleaning cycle and you should be fine.
Aquabot Turbo T-Jet Pricing
Here is where the Turbo T-Jet shines. What we have is a bot that can do the basics of pool maintenance, at bargain bin prices. Prices for the Turbo T-Jet are usually a little above 600, and you would be hard pressed to find this level of deep cleaning for a lower price than that. That said you can usually get a decent discount applied automatically at Amazon.com by clicking here. You will likely still have to clean the pool walls, but as you’re paying a lower price this is a great deal.
The other price factor to consider is the cost to run the machine. This does see some variance depending on the price per kilowatt hour of electricity in your area, but seen as the power consumption of the Turbo T-Jet is around 180W, I would imagine it will most a few cents to run per cycle. Now we have something a little more interesting. The Warranty. I love a good warranty, and for the most part Aquabot have one. The first year you buy your Turbo T-Jet you have full coverage, the second year is limited coverage., I have read both warranties and where the full coverage warranty is great, the limited warranty is significantly less so. Few things are covered under it, giving it little overall value. Still, it is better than no warranty at all.
I love a low cost item, and the quality on offer here is amazing value. Aquabot have crafted a bot for a specific kind of consumer, one who wants to spend as little as possible, but still has algae problems. Overall a great buy.
Aquabot Turbo T-Jet Conclusion
There is a niche for this item. Anyone who wants to save money, has issues with stubborn dirt and grime in there pool and does not mind having to clean the pool wall every so often. If that is you then you would be hard pressed to do better than the Turbo T-Jet. If you have other needs, then by all means check out my full series on robotic pool cleaners, I am sure we can find something for you.
Pros:
- Automatic, requires no supervision.
- Very inexpensive
- Short 2 hour cycle
- Power washing feature makes short work of stubborn stains
- Decent warranty
- Relatively light weight
Cons:
- Dos not include a handle, makes getting it out of the water harder than it needs to be.
- In ground pools only.
- Does not clean walls, if you have a smooth transition to the wall it can clean the lower section, but is still of limited utility.
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