Baracuda Adventura

Buyer Beware: Serious Quality and Customer Service Issues with Barracuda/Zodiac Robotic Cleaners and anything to do with the associated myfluidra brand. ​ ​I am writing this review to warn potential customers about critical issues with product longevity and customer support. ​1. Consistent Failure Just After Warranty Expiration ​I have now owned… Read more

two top of the range robotic pool cleaners from this brand, and both have failed shortly after the warranty period expired. ​My most recent unit, the Barracuda Adventura, has stopped working entirely, displaying the flashing 'i' light error. After troubleshooting, the core issue appears to be an internal failure. When I contacted the company for assistance, they immediately quoted their policy, stated the cleaner was out of warranty, and offered absolutely zero support or repair options. ​This pattern strongly suggests a serious quality control issue where the product is designed to fail shortly after the coverage ends. ​2. Absolutely zero customer service and no care factor ​The response from the customer service person (both via email and phone) was cold, unhelpful, and purely transactional. Despite clearly explaining that this was my second unit to fail in the same manner and asking for genuine troubleshooting help or discounted repair, I was met with boilerplate responses quoting policy, terms and conditions, almost robot like reading from a list bullet point responses. ​There was no attempt to understand the history of the product, offer a pathway to a resolution, or even show basic customer care. This lack of support for a premium-priced piece of equipment is unacceptable. They simply do not stand behind their product or value repeat customers. ​ ​​You are better off buying a cheaper, no-name brand with similar features, as the level of support you will receive from this company is effectively zero anyway. Lesson learnt, i'll never purchase another product from MyFluidra,Barracuda,Zodiac Pool Systems again.

Stripped down version of the AstralPool (Fluidra) Family of robotic pool cleaner – When our old pool pump dies, we decided to pay a bit more for a variable speed pool pump on the promise of lower electrical consumption and lower electricity bill. Anyway, with the intent of using slower pump speed, we were also forced to switch out the Zodiac G2 pump-operated suction cleaner (the Zodiac prefers full speed water flow), hence enter… Read more

the Baracuda Adventura.

The Adventura cleans the pool effectively and efficiently. Leaves, insects, sand and other small particles are all collected by the cleaner, instead of being sucked into the sand filter. Whereas the Zodiac would leave debris here and there even after running for eight hours a day, the Adventura only needs to enter the water twice a week and the pool is cleaned.

There are many other fancier model with more features, but the price is just way over what I was willing to pay. Thus, the Adventura seems like the most appropriate option. The 18m cord with swivel joint minimises entanglement whilst in use and this length is more than enough for most home pool. Adventura has two cleaning modes, floor-only, or floor and walls to the waterline. The floor-only mode is pretty much all that is required for a well-maintained pool and it takes around 1.5hr to vacuum all the bottom-dweller. There is also a handy return feature that directs the cleaner to the waterline near you. The machine then ejects the excess water as it is lifted. This is probably a good idea as the cleaner is somewhat heavy.

The robotic cleaner is also great at tumbling the water as it picks up debris, thus facilitating better water circulation through the sand filter whilst also allowing the skimmer to concentrate on skimming all the floaties.

There are downside with this purchase: Unlike the Zodiac which I just leave in the water, the manufacture recommends for the robotic cleaner to be taken out of the pool and thoroughly rinsed after each use. The robotic cleaner can be left in the pool for a few days, but it lasts longer if it is not soaked in pool chemistry. The cord is a handful to coil onto the storage caddy. Rinsing, cleaning and storing the Adventura is extra work that was not required for pump-operated suction cleaner.

After using this robotic cleaner for one year (it is now April 2023). I also realised that this robotic cleaner can be a bit harsh on the pebblecrete finish of the pool. Even for the floor-only mode, it will still climb shallow steps of the pool and lodge itself on the edge of the steps, scrapping/ripping out the pebbles from the render as it bottoms out. This is totally not what I am expecting! I contacted Barracuda but the company representative was completely unhelpful.

In summary, this machine is efficient at cleaning the pool (Its best feature) but it can be a bit harsh on certain pool finish (worst). With such significant design flaw and unsympathetic product support, I am reluctant to recommend this robotic cleaner unless you got a concrete or fibreglass pool with minimum of steps.