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Polaris F9550 vs F9450 vs F9400 vs F9350: Robotic Pool Cleaners

Owning an in-ground swimming pool is all fun and games until it comes time to clean the floor and walls of the pool. Retrieving fallen leaves, nuts, and other debris is a challenging, time-consuming task that makes you wonder whether owning a pool is worth it. However, thanks to robotic pool cleaners, you don’t need to empty out your pool water every time you want to do a thorough scrubbing of your pool.

Polaris F9550
Polaris F9550

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Polaris is arguably the most well-known robot pool cleaner manufacturer on the planet. In this article, we’re going to compare four of their most popular robots – the Polaris F9550, the F9450, the F9400, and the Polaris F9350.

From the get-go, we want you to know that there are several overlapping specs between several of the models, but we’ll put a greater emphasis on what makes some of them different. With that in mind, let’s dive right into our comparison.

Polaris F9450 in the Water
Polaris F9450 in the Water

Easy Lift System

F9550, F9450, F9400, and F9350
Imagine having to dive into your pool every time to retrieve your robot. It’s wet business that nobody wants to do – in fact, the reason most people buy a robotic pool cleaner is to avoid being unnecessarily wet.

All of these Polaris pool cleaners come with an Easy Lift System. Mainly, the units will creep up your pool’s wall until the point where the user submerges his or her hand in the water to pull the robot out. After pulling the robot to the surface, simply let all the water drain from the back-end and check whatever treasure/garbage it received.

Polaris 9400 in Action
Polaris 9400 in Action

4-Wheel Drive

F9550, F9450, and F9400
4WD improves traction in all driving situations, though it comes at a cost: heightened electricity usage. However, having 4WD helps the robot climb up walls more effectively since the wheels will have a better grasp on your pool’s slippery sides.

F9350
This in-ground robotic pool cleaner doesn’t feature 4WD, but instead it the two front wheels do all the pulling. However, since only two wheels are moving the unit, the F9350 will use less energy than the other three models, though your electric bill savings are negligible. However, with FWD, the back wheels might lack the traction needed to support unit when it’s time to surface. You might have to jump in the pool to get the robot back, after all.

Conclusion: We favor the 4WD system of the F9550, F9450, and the F9400 since it makes climbing out of the pool a much easier task than with the F9350’s FWD. However, if you can navigate your robot to the shallow end of your pool, this might not even be an issue.

Polaris F9550 with Remote Control
Polaris F9550 with Remote Control

Remote Control

F9550
The main control panel is found on the screen of the caddy, but the included remote control makes it much easier to control, especially when it’s time for the robot to take a breather. The F9950’s remote control is unique in how users can manually drive, reverse, and turn the unit simply by tilting the control. It’s more for entertainment purposes than anything else, but it’s still pretty neat.

F9450, F9400, and F9350
As for these models, they do not come with a remote control. All of the controls must be done using the control interface located on the caddy. The screens are straightforward and don’t require any special tinkering to get optimal cleaning performance.

Conclusion: The remote control is fun to use, but other than the Lift button, it serves no other functions. All of these models come with a transport caddy with a control panel, and even in the case of the Polaris F9550, you’ll be doing most – if not all – of your work from the caddy.

Polaris F9450 with Caddy
Polaris F9450 with Caddy

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Dirty Canister Indicator

F9550
The dirty canister indicator tells users when it’s time to empty out the contents of its dirt canister. All of the robots are able to pick up fallen leaves, rocks, and other large-sized debris from the bottom and sides of your pool. With this indicator, you no longer need to guess when the canister is completely filled with pool gunk.

F9450, F9400, and F9350
These models don’t come with a dirty canister indicator, so you’ll have to manually open the robot’s canister compartment to check. It’s not a tremendous hassle since it’s easily accessible, but a light is telling you when the canister is filled to the brim is a nice touch.

Conclusion: Obviously, the dirty canister indicator takes a lot of the guesswork out of cleaning out your canister. However, the indicator is probably best-suited for people with large-sized pools since the canister can be filled with pool debris before thoroughly cleaning your pool. For the average-sized pool, empty out the canister every time your robot resurfaces.

Polaris F9350 Robotic Pool Cleaners
Polaris F9350 Robotic Pool Cleaners

7-Day Programmable Timer

F9550, F9450, and F9400
When you forget to activate the robot, the next time you go diving into your pool, don’t be surprised to resurface with a mouthful of dead leaves and other debris. When you don’t have the time or patience to manually activate your robot to clean your pool, simply program the robot’s schedule to include periodic cleaning cycles for up to seven days.

The robot stays submerged in your pool for the entire duration (completely waterproof).

Polaris F9550 Sport Video

F9350
You don’t get this feature with the Polaris F9350. You have to set it up manually each time you want your pool to be cleaned. It’s not that big of a deal, but you might forget to clean out the pool before your next poolside BBQ.

Conclusion: The F9350 is the lone model that doesn’t come with a programmable cleaning schedule, so you have to remember to activate the robot whenever you need a clean pool. As for the other three models, you get the ease of mind by setting up their cleaning schedules for one week in advance.

Polaris F9350 vs. F9450 vs. F9350

Polaris F9350 SportF9450 SportF9550 Sport
Main Specs
Pool SizeUp to 50 FtUp to 50 FtUp to 60 Ft
Pool TypeIn-GroundIn-GroundIn-Ground
Cleaning Cycle1.5 / 2.5 Hours1.5 / 2.5 Hours1.5 / 2.5 Hours
Tangle-free SwivelYesYesYes
Cable Length60 Ft60 Ft70 Ft
Weight21 lbs16 lbs21 lbs
Dimensions22 x 22 x 18.5 in22 x 22 x 18.5 in22 x 22 x 18.5 in
Cleaning
Cleaning CoverageFloor, WallsFloor, WallsFloor, Walls, Waterline
Weekly TimerNoYesYes
Brushes2 Brushes2 Brushes2 Brushes
BrushesSolid-BladePleatedPleated
FiltrationMedium to FineMedium to FineMedium to Fine
FilterBasket, Top-loadBasket, Top-loadBasket, Top-load
Full Bag IndicatorNoNoYes
Features
Easy Lift SystemYesYesYes
Easy Clean FilterYesYesYes
Vortex VacuumYesYesYes
ActivMotion SensorYesYesYes
Rear Water StreamYesYesYes
Other Specs
Remote ControlNoNoYes
Drive2WD / 4 Wheels4WD / 4 Wheels4WD / 4 Wheels
CaddyYesYesYes
Release/First SeenAug, 2014Apr, 2014Aug, 2014


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Polaris Robotic Pool Cleaners

Polaris 9350 Sport Robotic Pool Cleaner,...
Polaris 9350 Sport Robotic Pool Cleaner,...
IN GROUND: Compatible with in ground swimming pools up to 50 ft.
Polaris 9450 Sport Robotic Pool Cleaner,...
Polaris 9450 Sport Robotic Pool Cleaner,...
IN GROUND: Compatible with in ground swimming pools up to 50 ft.
Polaris 9550 Sport Robotic Pool Cleaner,...
Polaris 9550 Sport Robotic Pool Cleaner,...
IN GROUND: Compatible with in ground swimming pools up to 60 ft.

Polaris F9550 vs F9450 vs 9400 vs F9350: Bottom Line

Based on our comparison, the Polaris F9550 is the best model of the batch. We can completely ignore the remote control since it doesn’t actually help with the cleaning process. It’s fun to manually control the robot for 5 minutes, but then it becomes a chore.

The F9550 comes with 4WD, a dirty canister indicator, and a 7-day programmable timer. The unique feature that gives this model the upper hand is its dirty canister indicator which lets users know when the canister is full. Regarding performance, all of these models do exceptionally well at cleaning the floor and walls of your pool, but they might struggle around you pool steps.

Read our Dolphin Premier vs Polaris F9550 Robotic In-Ground Pool Cleaner Comparison


Our Recommended Robotic Pool Cleaners

Affordable Option The Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus is perfect for all pool types. From gunite to tile, and everything in between; you name it and Dolphin will clean it.

Best of the Best The Dolphin Dolphin Nautilus CC Supreme is equipped with a center scrubbing brush, this cleaner pushes the limits for wall and waterline cleaning.

Popular Option Smart Nav software delivers highly optimized scanning and coverage for a new level of clean. Advanced algorithms clean 100% of the pool floor, wall & tile/waterline and pool floor.

Check Latest Price >


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Last Update: 2024-03-28 | Affiliate links/Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

About the author

Hi I’m Alex, founder of HouseholdMe.com and I’d like to say thank you for dropping by. Like most of you, the first thing I look at before buying something online is reviews or buying guides. By reading what other people say will help me gauge whether or not a product is good or not.  I am trying to help people find answers, solve problems, and get inspired.

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