How Pool Shape Changes Robot Coverage
A kidney, round or L-shaped pool won't stop a robot working. The maker's manual says what your model does in your pool's shape.
What the maker says
Maytronics says inground robots are built for greater depth, larger surfaces and more complex shapes, including freeform, L-shaped, Roman-end and kidney designs.1 For irregular pools it names a "maze" pattern as the best cover. For rectangular ones it names line-by-line patterns.1
Why corners and curves matter
A basic robot turns when it reaches a wall. Then it moves over a small offset, about one machine's width, on each crossing.2 Round and L-shaped pools are listed in the table below as things to watch, not as sourced behavior.
Side by side
| Shape | What can differ | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Rectangle | Maytronics names line-by-line patterns for it | Manual's notes on pool types |
| Kidney or freeform | Maytronics says a maze pattern covers irregular pools best | Manual's notes on pool types |
| L-shape | Our own point to watch, not sourced | Watch the corners after a cycle |
| Round | Our own point to watch, not sourced | Watch where tracks overlap |
The first two rows come from Maytronics. The last two are things to watch for, not facts about any model.
Corners are a known snag
A patent on pool cleaner control says a cleaner's regular pattern shouldn't be interrupted by its encounters with corners or other obstructions along the side walls. It describes a case where a turn leaves the cleaner halted and facing into a corner.3
So designers have long treated corners as a problem to solve. An L-shaped pool has more of them. A round pool has none, but it has no straight wall to line up against either.
Cables and shape
Maytronics also says cordless cleaning is more convenient in pools with irregular shapes or obstacles where a cable can snag.1 If your robot has a cable, check your manual for how to lay it out and how the power supply should sit near the water.
Watching a cycle
Run a normal cycle and watch from the edge. Note where the robot lingers and where it never goes. Do it a few times, because one cycle can mislead.
Write down the spots. Then compare them with your manual's notes on pool types. If the same corner is always skipped, check your manual and the filter and brushes, as the missed-spots page explains. The shape of the pool may be one cause, but none of our sources say so.
Check the water is clear enough to see. Keep it simple. Follow your own manual for removing the robot and for power supply and cable placement near water. Never run the robot while anyone is in the pool.
For the spots a robot tends to leave, see the missed-spots page.
Notes and sources
- What Is a Robotic Pool Cleaner?, Maytronics
- Automated pool cleaner, Wikipedia
- Pool cleaner directional control method and apparatus, Google Patents (US6299699)
Keep reading
How Pool Robots Find Their WayA robotic pool cleaner starts with no map. Here's how it turns at walls, covers the floor and decides where to go next.
Random and Planned Cleaning Patterns ComparedWhy a pool robot zigzags in one pool and runs neat lines in another, and what each pattern suits.
Gyroscopes and Sensors in Pool Robots ExplainedWhat a gyroscope, an accelerometer and bump sensors do inside a pool robot, in plain words, and what each one can't do.