Hayward Above-Ground Automatic Pool Cleaner

by Hayward

Product Features

• Designer above-ground pool cleaner
• Patented SmartDrive programmed steering system ensures the entire bottom of the pool is cleaned quickly and completely
• Unique turbine/gearing system provides constant balanced water flow assuring quiet operation and gentle movement across the pool bottom
• Improves water circulation by pulling water from the pool bottom as it moves
• Advanced, contoured head design allows the Wanda the Whale to complete the steering pattern in minimal time

Product Details

See the owners manual for this product [PDF]

• Item Weight: 21 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 13 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B000ERETII
• Item model number: 80052
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (200 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,232 in Patio, Lawn & Garden (See Top 100 in Patio, Lawn & Garden)
  • #26 in Patio, Lawn & Garden > Pools, Spas & Supplies > Pool Cleaning Tools & Attachments > Pool Maintenance Kits

Product Description

Style Name: Wanda the Whale

From the Manufacturer

You'll never be bugged by manual pool cleaning again. Wanda the Whale automatic pool cleaner provides you with easy, trouble-free operation. You never need to empty or replace debris bags. And because it works with your existing filtration system - no extra energy-consuming booster pump is required. Everything for simple 10 minutes or less installation is included - even the hoses. THIS cleaner loves to circulate. Plus, Wanda the Whale improves water circulation by acting as a moving main drain, pulling water from the bottom of your pool as it moves. Your water circulates and your pool stays cleaner - without the overuse of chemical sanitizers. This bug hangs out with a smart crowd. As part of a complete family of superior quality products designed to keep your pool at its sparkling best, Wanda the Whale is the smart alternative to the drudgery of manual cleaning. And it's from Hayward, the company that engineered automatic pool cleaning technology.

Product Description

Not just cute, but effective! Hayward quality construction ensures long-lasting performance. Wanda the Whale features Hayward's Smart-Drive programmed steering system to quickly and thoroughly clean your pool's floor in two hours or less! Just plug the hose into the swimming pool skimmer, and let this automatic pool cleaner go to work. Dirt, leaves, grass, seeds and bugs are vacuumed from the swimming pool floor -- leaving your water crystal clear and ready for swimming. Installs in minutes -- no tools required!

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool little pool vac, May 4, 2006

By 

Rapunzel (Eastern USA) - See all my reviews

This is a great little vac. It hooks up to your filter intake or skimmer, and vacuums straight to your filter - not a bag with holes that doesn't catch fine particles. We use ours in a 24' above ground pool made by Intex. Yes, one of those temporary pools. It would work in any above ground pool! The most important thing to have is a good filter system. The filter supplied by Intex is not very good. This vac works best with a sand filter. We have a Hayward Pro Series system with a 1.5 hp Power Flo Maxtrix pump. The combination of this filter system and vacuum has saved my summers. I spent the first year with this pool spraying out the filter and hand/pole vacuuming only to see the finer particles come back into the pool through the return. It took all the pleasure out of having a pool! Now, I hook up my vac (3 min), turn on the filter system (1 sec), and walk away - it's awsome!!! This little vacuum even handled our pool opening this year, which included a large number of leaves and a ton of very fine particles. Unlike the super expensive Pool Rover, this vacuum does not move systematically around the pool to clean in a specific period of time. It moves in ever-widening circles, then goes straight for a bit and starts circling again. It can be a little vexing to see it turn just before it gets to something that you want it to vacuum up, but if you give it time, it will get everything. We put ours in and let in run for about an hour, when we come back the pool looks great! Aqua Bug, Wanda the Whale, and Diver Dave are all the same vacuum with different housings.

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not for Intex Above Ground pools, May 24, 2010

By 

A. Clark - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hayward 700 Diver Dave Above-Ground Automatic Pool Cleaner (Lawn & Patio)

I can't knock Diver Dave for not working with my Intex Above Ground Pool w/Saltwater Pump. His construction seems solid and it's a great concept. However, I could find no information on how well it would work with an Intex Above Ground pool with Saltwater Filter, so posting this review to save others from the time and difficulties.

I would not recommend this with an Intex Above Ground pool system. I would guess it works wonderfully with a pool with a larger pump and true skimmer (based on other reviews), but it doesn't do much for the Intex Pools (in side-wall inlet pump attachment).

I had some minor algea on the bottom of the pool, which stirred up easily if lightly touched. Dave couldn't put a dent into it. Three issues: 1) The attachment to the skimmer means pulling apart the existing skimmer from the side wall and using the cone adapter. It does not fit well and is very cumbersome to keep removing and reinstalling to run the surface skimmer at all. 2) The suction "seems" sufficient, but Dave won't keep his nose down. I believe the depth of the pool doesn't provide enough "upward" hose length and as he travels he tips away from the the bottom and the direction of travel. This could also be due to insufficient suction. 3) No brushes on the bottom. I don't have debris, but fine particles and without brushes, it was still sitting there even if he passed the same section multiple times, nothing to stir it up so to speak.

While the construction and concept seems great, he's probably better suited for pools with true skimmers, deeper water and larger pumps for more suction. Dave went back.

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NOT a toy (dangerous!), but a great auto pool cleaner, October 12, 2008

By 

Robert Ross "iinsic" (Florida USA) - See all my reviews

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:1.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:1.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hayward 900 Wanda the Whale Above-Ground Automatic Pool Cleaner (Lawn & Patio)

I have a fiberglass pool, so cleaners designed for vinyl bottoms really work better for me than those for "cement ponds." And the price was right.

However, this item is in the "Toys" category and that is TERRIBLE. This pool cleaner works off of the vacuum created by your pool pump/filter. The cleaner is made more efficient by the use of two venturi intakes (the smallest one is removable). With only about a half-square-inch intake, the suction on the bottom of this cleaner is ferocious. And instead of Wanda the Whale, they should have dubbed it Sarah the Shark.

DO NOT let children into the pool when this device is operating - or simple-minded adults for that matter. Get a toe stuck in the intake when Wanda runs over your foot and you might find yourself pulling it out of the filter before heading to the ER to see if they can re-attach it. And God help the curious adolescent boy who has the pool to himself....

Hayward is quite clear about the dangers of this product and the narrow operating environment, but making the thing cute and cuddly and allowing it to be categorized as a toy seems to be a massive product liability exposure.

Warnings aside, this is a great auto pool cleaner at a really great price. You may need to cut out the venturi intake to match up better with your pump pressure and to allow it to clean your pool in a more systematic way, but you'll be impressed with what the little thing can accomplish in a half-day or so.

Highly-recommended pool-cleaning TOOL! Highly-discouraged as a "toy" using any criteria.

UPDATE (13 Apr 2010): The Wanda the Whale cleaner comes with soft vinyl "feet" that allow it to move around a pool without damaging a liner. To use it in a fiberglass or cement pool, these feet should be replaced with cork feet that will provide a better grip, and wear longer than the standard vinyl feet. These feet can be ordered from Hayward but are available at any decent pool supply store that sells Hayward products. If you have this device - or plan to buy it - and will use it in a fiberglass or cement pool, be sure to replace the four "feet" to get the best performance of this unit.
With the proper cork feet, this wonderful little cleaner does a fabulous job keeping my fiberglass pool sparkling clean (it even cleans the side up to three feet from the bottom) - at a price that is dramatically less than typical automatic pool cleaners.

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