Aquabot Junior NXT – Robotic Pool Cleaner Review

Aquabot’s first big boy robotic pool cleaner. Don’t be misled by the Junior name, this is a fully featured in ground pool cleaner that can do it all. Unlike the Rover and Breeze series, it does not do well in above ground pools, but sink this puppy into an in ground pool and watch it do its thing, or don’t watch it, a little pointless getting a robotic pool cleaner to save you time if you’re going to watch the thing all day. The Junior NXT comes with an active brush, unlike the Breeze and its fixed brush, so expect a deep clean, perfect if you are having algae problems.

So let us take a closer look at the Aquabot Junior NXT, see if it the right robotic pool cleaner for you.

Aquabot Junior NXT Design and Build Quality

Ho boy, going from critiquing the look of the Breeze XLS to the Junior NXT is a mighty change. The Breeze is a sleek machine, while the Junior NXT looks more like a printer with the casing removed, but where it falls down on aesthetics it more than makes up for it in features. The handle here is wonderful, and you’ll need it considering this beast weighs a full 30 pounds, more when you take the water weight into consideration. It is a robust machine though, build quality is high, and the first thing you will notice when you pick it up is that it feels like one piece, very little rattle here. Replacing the bag, that’s right a bag filter system, is simple matter of moving a few sturdy clasps, too often in lower quality products do we see ill-fitted plastics used to hold the bag of mesh screen in, thankfully not the case here.

Overall, while it might not win any beauty pageants, it is a well build device, packed with features.

Aquabot Junior NXT Features and Specs

I’m a fan of the Junior NXT. While calling a machine that is 20 x 21 x 18 and 30 pounds Junior may be a bit of a misnomer, there is no denying that this beast comes with a wide range of features. It is the cheapest option from Aquabot that can reliably clean the entire wall of your pool, so if that is important to you this is your entry level machine. It might not be as fast as the smaller Rover series, with a max intake of 4,200 gallons per hour, but that just means we get a more thorough clean. The addition of an active brush means that it doesn’t matter what matter it comes across, it will get lifted. The swivel cable is great, and a 50 feet the Junior NXT should be appropriate for most pool sizes. The robot is self programming, taking only a few cycles to work out the most efficient way to clean your pool, and the longest cycle takes around 2 hours to complete. I love seeing a handle on a pool cleaning robot, you would not believe how cumbersome it can be getting something like the Nautilus out of the water, so I am glad to see that forethought here.

Overall, I am very impressed with what is on offer here. The NXT is a big boy pool cleaner, one that will clean the entirety of your pool with minimal fuss. Bear in mind that you will need an in ground pool in order to get the most out of the Junior NXT. If you have an above ground pool I have articles on robotic pool cleaners that will suit you better.

Aquabot Junior NXT Ease of Use

If I were reviewing install based pool cleaners this section might be a little more interesting. With the robotic pool cleaners that I am focusing on there really isn’t anything to learn in terms of general operation. You plug the thing in and dump it in the water. It is entirely automatic. You will have to change and clean out the bag every so often, but that is a simple matter of flipping a few clasps. The week to week use of the Junior NXT is no more difficult than any other pool cleaner. But other pool cleaners can lack a handle, so small a thing and it makes the difference in this section. When your robot weighs over 30 pounds wet then that handle will be worth its weight in gold.

Not much to say. Easy to set up, and that handle is a god send. There exist over complicated pool cleaners, that require hooking up to the pools filtration system, but I will be shying away from those I think. Let’s make pool cleaning as easy as we can, right?

Aquabot Junior NXT Pricing

This is the section we all dread. how much does this wonder of engineering cost? Well The Junior NXT is one of the upper mid range machines, not too much of a surprise considering how well it functions. Expect to pay $625 for the privilege of owning the Junior NXT. The most expensive pool cleaning robot that I have found was around $3000 though, so 600 is not that bad. You have to factor the value of your time into any purchase like this. If it usually takes you several hours to dredge your own pool, then buying this is worth 4 x your hourly wage. Over the long term you will be saving money, as well time. There is a year long warranty with this one. While I would have preferred to see a full two years coverage, the industry standard is a year. Not a limited warranty this time, so you can rest a little easier knowing that. The claimed cost to run is 15c per cycle, but that figure is largely conjecture. you can do the math yourself based on the local rate per kilowatt hour, a single cycle of the Junior NXT is around 230W.

Overall, a great price for a great product. If you need a pool cleaner to clean your walls, this would be in the running. There are cheaper products that clean walls though.

Aquabot Junior NXT Conclusion

I’m not too sure how I feel about this one. on the one hand it has an impressive list of features and can perform well in a wide variety of pools, but the price might be a little too high for some. The power here is in its cleaning tools, that brush is very high quality, and the ease of use factor of that handle cannot be overstated.

Pros:

• Automatic, requires no supervision.
• Works out of the box, no need to connect it to a pool pump.
• Runs quiet
• Can clean walls very well
• The power behind its brush is impressive.
• Very easy to handle.

Cons:

• May be priced a little high for some.
• In ground pools only.
• The cable, while tangle resistant, could be a little longer.