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4.5

A critical review of the Polaris 9550 Sport robotic pool cleaner.

This pool cleaner certainly stands out from its rivals, its interesting design makes sure of that.

But we are going to take a deep dive into the onboard features and see if they match up to its elegant exterior. Is it just style over substance?

Let’s find out…

At a Glance


Product:     Polaris 9550 Sport
Brand: Polaris
Pool Type:   In Ground
Pool Finish:   Tile, Gunite, Plaster
Cord Length: 70 feet
Wall Climber: Yes
Weight: 21 lbs.
Warranty: 2 years
  • Motion sensing remote control
  • 7-day programmable timer
  • Easy Lift System
  • 4-Wheel Drive
  • Dirty Canister Alert
  • Vortex Technology
  • Waterline Cleaning
  • 1.5 & 2.5 Hour Clean Cycle
  • 70 FOOT CABLE

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POLARIS 9550 SPORT REVIEW

Polaris F9550 Sport caddy

Control Panel Command Center

We really like the way that the design team have carefully imagined the whole Polaris 9550 sport pool cleaner package to ensure an optimum user experience.

The attention to detail is obvious when see the clever way that the control panel has been integrated into the cleaners caddy.

After the caddy is built then the command module simply clips right on to it.

So the caddy carries everything you need to start pool cleaning without repeated trips to the pool shack.

Agreed all this is peripheral to the cleaner, but if your buying the Polaris 9550 Sport for an easy life then it doesn’t get much easier than this setup.

Nothing not to like here. The control centre and caddy combo have knocked it out of the park !!

Polaris 9550 Sport Command Features

Generic Polaris Control Panel
  • Start/Stop Button
  • Choose Bottom or Bottom/Side Cleaning.
  • Remove Cleaner From Pool
  • Dirty Filter Alert
  • Pool Shape Selector
  • Select Cleaning Intensity.
  • Timing Presets
  • Program Cycles.
  • The control box hooks up to a standard 100 – 125 VAC outlet and supplies the pool cleaner with 30v DC.

Programmable Timer

The Polaris 9550 is a really powerful cleaner and to get the best out of the Polaris pool cleaner has simple “set and forget” 7 day programmable timer on board that allows you to “unleash the beast” when you need to.

The owner can use the control panel to customise on which days to clean and what time to start. The length of time the robot spends cleaning your pool is determined by other information you key in.

We detail the cleaning options that trigger the cleaning times below. You can override these factory time presets if you prefer up to a maximum of 3.5 hours.

Wall and Stair Climbing

Climbs the wall like a champ, so waterline cleaning is a breeze for this pool robot. After all theses years we’re still amazed to watch the Polaris 9550 in actions. This sucker occasionally looks like it’s trying to escape from the pool when it’s water line cleaning.

It is a stair climber too, but of course not every stair and every stair angle.

Cleaning Cycle Functions

To say that the owners cleaning choices are virtually unlimited is not much of an an exaggeration.

The Polaris 9550 Sport does pretty much everything any pool owner could possibly need to get done.

The brilliant built in timing system is complemented by a number of cleaning options to tailor the clean cycle to the pools condition.

The only thing the Polaris  doesn’t do is pour you a cold drink and serve it to you poolside. Maybe on the next model update the Polaris team could fix that for us !!!

They’re real smart people over there!!

Ok let’s take a walk through of what cleaning choices and combinations are on offer.

POLARIS 9550_INFO-Graphic

Cleaning Intensity

Two settings here, if the pool just needs a tidy up from everyday fun and normal air blown debris then then the lower setting works just fine.

But if you’ve suffer from dust, wind blown leaves and heavy pool contamination then the Polaris 9550 has got you covered with its “high intensity” mode.  

Cleaning Area

Select which part of the pool you want cleaned.  Three choices, just the pool bottom, bottom and sides or waterline only.

Pool Shape

Rectangular or freeform pool shapes are the two option settings. Which ever is chosen makes very little difference in cleaning time,

So it’s when all these commands are keyed in the cleaner it can calculate length of time it needs to clean your pool. The control panel is super easy to use and understand,

it’s digital but in a user friendly way, so setting up this data takes seconds.

Easy Lift System

Polaris 9550 Sport Lift System

So this is definitely the coolest feature of the wide repertoire of cool things offered by this cleaner.

When it’s done cleaning just press and hold the lift system button on the control panel and the robot pivots around to the left until it faces the wall where you want to pull it out from.

Press the button again and the Polaris 9550 Sport runs to the wall, climbs it and waits to be recovered from the waterline.

How cool is that?  But wait !  There’s more, as it’s pulled on to dry land it evacuates water to lighten the load and then automatically turns itself off.

Unfortunately it doesn’t jump onto the caddy for you and coil up the power cable, but it pretty much does everything else.

It’s impossible not to be blown away with this feature. Our team were floored by it !!

Polaris 9550 Pool Vacuum filter

Filter System

Designed with an easy top access filter system.

The Polaris uses a filter canister to collect pool debris and filter out suspended particles from the pool. Fast and simple filter extraction they’re super easy to rinse, clean and replace.

An all round filter canister is bundled with the purchase but super fine and leaf filter canisters are available to purchase separately.

Remote Control

For the little more of a “hands on” type of owner

Then the Polaris 9550 pool robot can be remotely controlled using the motion sensitive controller to send commands directly to the cleaner.

This feature is incredibly handy to rerun over areas like stubborn algae to ensure they are fully cleaned and the algae or staining removed. 

Polaris 9550 Pool Cleaner Quick Guide

This quick wrap up should help to highlight what we consider the main points of the review. Things worth considering before purchase.

Some Great Features

  • Multiple Cleaning Choices. Plenty of combination choices to suit the prevailing pool conditions.
  • Filter. Swift and easy filter management plus a choice of canister baskets (bought separately) for diverse types of pool contaminants.
  • Energy Efficient. Costs about the same as a 100w light bulb
  • Timer. Pre program cleaning cycles up to 7 days in advance. Easy to understand and preset cleaning duration can be overridden.
  • Pool Type. Works on nearly all in ground pool finishes.
  • Control Console. Clear digital readout and simple to understand settings icons. Water resistant and the bubble buttons are nice to the touch.
  • Remote Control. For the ultimate lounge lizard. Limited motion activated commands but it’s good for retouching.
  • Caddy. Durable and well made, it allows you to transport all you pool cleaning paraphernalia on a two wheeled trolly.

Could Be Better

  • Non Tangle Cord. We would liked to have seen a real non tangle cord connector instead of the floating cord system Polaris uses. Occasional tangle issues can occur on more complex pool shapes.
  • No Cold Beer. Doesn’t crack open a tin of cold beer and hand it to you when its finished cleaning your pool.

Polaris 9550 Sport Pool Cleaner Review Notes

Robotic pool cleaners really don’t get much better than the Polaris 9550 Sport.

It’s a top of the range robot is loaded with an inventory of brilliant features to ensure you have a dust and debris free pool all season long. But you won’t find any fancy “bells and whistles” are built into the Polaris pool cleaner.

This cleaner is not style and hype over substance. Every one of its extensive list of assets are there for the sole purpose of creating a brilliant and effortless user experience.

Its striking design may look a little like a sports car, but in fact it’s a rugged, go anywhere, all terrain cleaner that can mount steps, climb walls and run past obstacles with ease,

If you want the waterline scrubbed then this little guy can do that too. This robotic pool cleaner does it all, it’s the majordomo of the pool shack.

Polaris have been building pool cleaners for many years, and this could be their finest achievement to date.  

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Option Models and Four Seasons Kit

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