As you know, cleaning a swimming pool can be a very time-consuming and exhausting chore if done manually. Fortunately, with an efficient robotic pool cleaner such as the catchily named Blue Wave NE3290F pool cleaner, you can make sure your pool is always clean and spend more time relaxing.
In this Blue Wave Aquafirst Pool Cleaner Review, we are going to see why the pool cleaner has been gaining significant popularity since its release to the market and if it has issues that you need to know about before you click that buy button.
Coming up
Key stats
Two-minute review
Full Review
How it works
Conclusion
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Key Statistics
Two-minute review
Auto-shutoff Feature
The robot will turn off when done with cleaning saving you money on running costs
Patented never-stuck rollers
These help the unit to clean smoothly on major drains and in-floor fittings
A powerful suction motor
The robot will comfortably vacuum up large and tiny debris
A 50-foot floating cord
Enables the pool robot to clean algae and other dirt without getting tangled up in its own cord
Blue Wave NE3290F Summary: Aquafirst is a range of robotic pool cleaners from Blue Wave and the NE3290F sits right in the middle of their pricing structure. While it’s not the cheapest robotic pool cleaner on the market, the low price point against the product performance means this Aquafirst pool cleaner offers outstanding value. For an economical, in-ground robotic pool cleaner, it packs a lot of features including the ability to clean your pool’s floor, steps, and walls while costing just a few cents per day to run.
Made for simplicity, all you need to do with the Blue Wave robotic pool cleaner is drop it in the pool and turn it on and it wastes no time in getting to work on your pool. The front and rear scrubbing brushes rotate at speed to lift the dirt from the floor of your pool before being sucked up in the filter bag by the powerful on-board suction, cleaning your pool in two hours. Once finished it will just shut itself off.
Full review of the Blue Wave robotic pool cleaner
Let’s not kid ourselves, swimming pools require a lot of maintenance. You need to clean it regularly by either manual scrubbing or connection suction cleaners. But, what if there was a robot for that? Well, there is, and what’s more, they are getting cheaper.
Before telling you how the automatic pool vacuum robot, it important to warn you that with this model, there is a little assembly is required. There is nothing to worry about, it is very easy, but must be done correctly for the unit won’t work. Incorrect assembly may make the cleaner unable to climb a pool’s walls.
How it works
Equipped with powerful front and rear brushes, Blue Wave pool cleaner scrubs the walls, steps and the floor of a pool, removing dirt or debris that the main filter system cannot suck. It has a suction motor which vacuums up large debris, small dirt particles, and even algae and deposits them in the unit’s filtration bag.
It is so powerful that it can clean pool walls that are as high as 30 inches from the floor. However, it’s efficiency reduces as it climbs higher while cleaning a wall. It is important to note that the pool cleaner is suitable for cleaning an in-ground swimming pool, including fiberglass or vinyl pools, measuring about 20 feet by 40 feet.
As for speed, an in-ground pool measuring 20 feet by 40 feet, the pool robot can take roughly two hours to get it clean also filtering 4,500 gallons of pool water per hour as it goes.
When it finishes cleaning, the NE3290F shuts itself off. So you don’t have to leave your comfort to go and switch it off yourself manually. Just plug it into a compatible power source (110), place it on your pool’s floor, leave it to do the cleaning for you and come back after a few hours to find the pool clean and the cleaner ‘relaxing’ inside.
Power consumption is among the significant concerns that many have about pool vacuums but with Blue Wave Aquafirst Pool Cleaner, you don’t have to worry about that. It runs on 24 volts and so, will consume just a few pennies of electricity per day.
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Reliability
In most cases, the pool robot is efficient and thorough. However, with continued use some users have reported that the cord might tangle, reducing the efficiency of the unit. Also, a few users have reported that they are disappointed with the auto-shutoff feature as it doesn’t always work, although this seems to be a rare issue. After researching many user reviews, we found that some have mentioned it struggles on high walls, although we cannot confirm if the high walls are taller than the manufacturers’ recommendations of 30 inches tall.
Finally, there are reports that the filter bag doesn’t hold over time, but they are quite easy ti replace.
Performance
The Blue Wave Aquafirst does an excellent job cleaning the fine sand, stubborn dirt and algae at the bottom of a pool and almost all the user reviews that we’ve seen, back this up.
Unlike some other robotic pool cleaners that get stuck on high main drains, this one moves smoothly as it can adjust automatically to the contours of the floor and the walls of a pool. It is thorough in cleaning, scrubbing, and vacuuming the pool as it filters its water. That’s why many users consider it the best value pool vacuum.
Ease of use
Considering that the cleaner comes with its major parts separate, it requires some setup, which is a piece of cake if you follow the simple instructions provided. However, if you are stuck in the setup process, you can use the customer service contact details provided, and you’ll be guided accordingly. The customer service agents are always very responsive and helpful.
Once you are done with the setup, you can then go ahead to clean your pool. The pool robot is straightforward to use. Simply place the assembled unit on the floor of your pool, connect it to the right power source, turn the cycle on, and leave the cleaner to do its work. It will shut itself off as soon as it finishes cleaning.
When you want to remove the dirt and debris deposited in the fine mesh filter bag, simply pull the bag out and dump the content. Then clean the bag by hosing it off before putting back in the canister.
One more plus for the cleaner is it that it is lightweight (17 lbs) and so, easy to put and lift out of a pool.
Nevertheless, some users find the cleaning of the bag quite a task.
Anything else
Some pool cleaners require users to buy different components separately to make them complete and functional, but this isn’t the case with Blue Wave NE3290F. It comes as a complete package with a removable cloth filter bag, dual filter cartridges, a transformer and 50 feet of floating cord.
Therefore, once you buy it, all that you’ll be required to do is to follow the assembly instructions to join the components appropriately and the unit will be set to remove dirt and all manner of debris from your pool.
Unfortunately, unlike some other sophisticated in-ground robotic pool cleaners, Blue Wave NE3290F Aquafirst doesn’t have app connectivity.
Ongoing maintenance required
In this Blue Wave Pool Cleaner Review, we’d like to bring to your attention a few dos and don’ts regarding the automatic pool vacuum.
Just like any other inground pool cleaner, Blue Wave requires some routine maintenance to preserve its effectiveness. Here are some of the primary maintenance practices:
* Filter cleaning: The cloth filter bag of the cleaner can get clogged if it is not cleaned regularly and this can adversely affect the effectiveness of the unit. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that it is cleaned after every single use. Since it is removable, take it out once the device is done with cleaning, rinse the bag out (preferably using a hose) and return it into the cleaner’s canister.
* Routine checks: The unit’s bag, suction, wheel gears, head float, and backup valve should be checked regularly to establish if they are in good condition. You can hire a technician for the routine checks or do it on your own. It’s straightforward to establish a faulty component, though.
* Repairs and replacements: In case any of the components mentioned above are broken or worn out, it should be repaired or replaced immediately, whichever option is reasonable. These items are relatively easy to replace, and so, you can do the replacement by yourself after a little research on how to go about it. If you don’t trust your ability to do it or are too busy with the work, you can hire a techie. However, some replacements might be too costly to make economic sense and so, you might opt to buy another pool cleaner instead.
Extras required
As earlier mentioned, the unit comes with everything you need in the box with dual filter cartridges and a power connector. Therefore, there’s nothing else you need to buy for the unit to function immediately after removing it from the box.
Pros and cons of the Blue Wave NE3290F
What we loved
- It cleans different types of surfaces
- Lightweight pool cleaner (17 lbs)
- Power-efficient, courtesy of auto-shutoff feature.
- It can do long cleaning due to its large-capacity filter
- It removes big and small particles from a pool
- Easy installation, use, and maintenance
What we didn’t
- It can miss a spot once in a while
- Its bag is relatively difficult to put back and clean out
- Doesn’t have app connectivity
- A small amount of assembly required on arrival
Conclusion
From this Blue Wave Aquafirst NE3290F pool cleaner review, it is evident that the Aquafirst Robotic Cleaner is a reliable, easy-to-use and efficient in-ground robotic pool cleaner despite being at the lower end of the in-ground robotic pool cleaner price scale.
If you are not too restricted by budget, we love the added connectivity and performance of the Dolphin Z5i, but if you’re looking for a simple, powerful, and cost-effective automatic pool vacuum, this could well be your model. Check out the latest price on Amazon by clicking here.
About the author
Matt is the founder of the Little Robot Shop, who has spent much of the last decade hacking home cleaning with various robots and devices to make keeping his home clean as easy as possible. Not an easy task with two young children.
When not working on the Little Robot Shop website or YouTube channel, he works as technical support and product specialist for a fast-growing digital company. He does his best to get his younglings to code, which will be an essential skill in the future.
