Airrobo PC10 robotic pool cleaner: An effective low-budget cleaning option

This bot won't break the bank, but it won't pick up all the debris in your pool, either.

- BY CHRISTOPHER NULL

Sometimes there's a place for simplicity in and around the home, and pool owners who only need the absolute basics might want to give the affordably priced Airrobo PC10 a look for handling their pool-cleaning duties. Airrobo manufactures robot vacuum cleaners primarily; the PC10 and the similarly priced PC200 Lite are its only forays into pool-cleaning tech.

SPECIFICATIONS

This robotic pool cleaner certainly looks the part, weighing in at 22 pounds and featuring the tread-based design and central, scrubbing rollers that are typical of higher-end cleaners. Powered by a modest 5200mAh battery, the PC10 offers two hours of running time and a specified maximum coverage area of 1,076 square feet—roughly double the surface area of my pool's floor (not including its walls). The unit charges via a burly connector on the side of the robot; a screw-on cap keeps water out while it's at work.

There's no mobile app and no remote control here; in fact, the only control on the entire device is a switch on the top of the robot that allows you to choose between three operating modes: floor only, wall and waterline, or both. This switch is more convenient than the typical selector buttons on competing devices, in part because it makes it easy to remember to turn the robot off after a run, even if its battery is dead.