G3 Suction-Side Inground Vacuum Pool Cleaner

. Recognize that I was skeptical about the G3 because there are devices that cost 8-10 times as much as this device. This Baracuda G3 is sooooooo awesome I was literally stunned at how well it worked. I truly mean stunned; fascinated, standing on the pool deck watching it work. I was mesmorized! For a while, I was in a state of disbelief. Why had my pool builder and supplier not mentioned this to me? Sure, I have vacuumed the pool hundreds of times over 15 years and while I listened to music, got a tan, more recently listened to podcasts but seriously, what’s 90 minutes X 15 times a season (this is a MN short season) X 15 years? 338 hours of wasted leisure time! I could have been biking, walking, inline skating… napping for Pete sake and my vac head would still NEVER perform as great a job as the G3 because I’ll only vac for about 90 minutes whereas this G3 can work all day and it sucks up every bit of organic detritus from the bottom and sides of the pool especially if you use a product that eliminates phosphates and drops dust and other organic matter to the bottom of the pool. I own a 24,000 gallon, vinyl lined, L-shaped pool so it has a long deep to shallow rectangle and a 12X12 shallow end L. I told my wife it will never get out of the deep end and it will never climb the vertical walls of the pool. WRONG! It clearly has a random action but I am still fascinated that if you let something randomize long enough in your pool it will cover just about every square inch on the flat, on the sloped, AND on the vert! Amazing. A couple of tips: You must have enough hose to reach one complete hose section beyond the furthest point from your skimmer attachment (I am purchasing a few extra sections). You MUST go to the company website in order to view or download the owner’s manual. Do NOT attempt to assemble and run this great tool by reading only the quick start guide that come in the box! Come on Baracuda….put the full manual in the box… the manual is only a couple of pages but I consider it to be vital. All I did was follow every simple step. The engineering is so simple and so effective. It comes with a suction gauge and the only thing that will mess you up is if your system is too weak (or maybe too strong). If your system lacks sufficient suction power, you might have to return it but I have a standard filter motor, three skimmers and a main drain so there are a lot of ways to increase the suction where the G3 connects to a skimmer to generate the exact amount of suction required…. No more or no less. Even if you only have one skimmer…. Give this thing a try. So much fun. Enjoy all the time you will be saving and you will have a cleaner pool than you would have if you were running the vac yourself.

Reliable and powerful suction. Cleans walls also which is great! Got rid of the Howard vacuum for this and do not regret it.

I love my Baracuda G3. A few people have told me they really dislike them, but I have nothing but good things to say. I bought my 1st G3 model 25 years ago and this is now my 4th. Every one has lasted over 8 years and the maintenance has been very consistent: Replace the diaphragm once per year. Replace the finned disk, footpad, and compression ring at about 5 years. Replace the entire unit after 8 years. What I've found is that after 8 years, the plastic of the main body and the cartridge starts to get too brittle from sun and chlorine and one of those expensive parts will break. At that point, almost of the parts in the unit are nearing end-of-life, so it's not economically viable to just replace parts. I buy aftermarket diaphragm, disc, and footpad and the cost to maintain has been around $10/year. One tip I can offer is to put pipe joint compound (I use RectorSeal T-Plus-2) on the threads of the two halves of the internal cassette and on the threads where the cassette attaches to the main body. This will keep the parts from accidentally unscrewing, which can cause severe damage to the cassette if you don't notice it soon enough.

I LOVE this pool cleaner!!! I bought it due to the excellent reviews that I read, and the minimal parts that would need replacing in the future. My pool maintenance has been significantly reduced. All I have to brush now are the stairs and the swim up deck occasionally. The Baracuda climbs the walls and keeps my 12,000 gallon pool sparkling!! I'm saving on chemicals as well. One thing I really love is that it still skims while vacuuming the pool bottom. Definite must have!!! Edit 7/26/16: I'm dropping my review from 5 stars to 4 stars because it's been 2 months and 3 days from the date I initially put the cleaner into use. For the past week I've noticed my cleaner wasn't moving occasionally or not as fast as it was. Today I took it apart and found that the diaphragm already has a small tear in it. Only 2 months use out of a diaphragm, really? Now, I will say that I run my cleaner 9 hours a day in South Florida, so maybe that's the issue for premature failure. I've ordered a set of heavy duty aftermarket replacements and hopefully that will do the trick. Other than this hiccup, the cleaner keeps my pool immaculate. Edit 8/11/16. Unbelievably, the "heavy duty" diaphragm split down the side after only 1 1/2 weeks of use. I'm going to go back to an OEM part. Edit 9/26/16. I'm starting to get a little upset. After putting a brand new OEM diaphragm in on 8/13/16, the cleaner worked great again until 9/25/16. About a month and a half. This OEM wore holes in it the same place as the first one. There is an obvious design issue with the the OEM diaphragms and a quality issue with the aftermarket replacements. The cleaner itself works great with a good diaphragm but I shouldn't have to replace them so often. I'm going to contact the manufacturer directly at this point. Now dropping to 3 stars. Update 5/25/17. I've had the cleaner for a little over a year now. Since I replaced my last diaphragm last Sep, I've had no problems. The cleaner works great. It drastically reduced my pool maintenance and I cant imagine not having this cleaner in my pool. Back up to 4 stars.

Without hesitation, I bought a G3 to replace my old G3 that has been running great for well over a decade (see side by side photo). I decided to replace mine because 11+yrs submerged in pool water has finally caused some pitting and degradation of the plastic on the outer housing. Every so often, the inner diaphragm doodad, the round spiked blue pad on the base, and rarely the bright yellow rubber foot on the bottom need to be replaced due to wear, especially if you have pebble plaster. All those parts are cheap, easy to replace, and readily available on Amazon The G3 appears on many pool websites’ “Top 10 Cleaners” lists. That’s because it works great, uses a minimum of moving parts, and is relatively inexpensive. For reference, my parents had a similar design (but a different brand) in the early 90s which cost them $750. The G3 is refreshingly about half the cost of that. I used a pool vacuum before the G3 which had the big goofy wheels on either side and that design DID NOT work for my pool. Terrible design, the wheels are just something else to fail/break down Pros: Works great. Easily climbs the uneven sides of my deep end, which is about 7-8ft (see photo). Basically only one moving part, so no turning wheels to break or jam. Repair parts are cheap and available. Works great on pebble but amazing on standard plaster Cons: Almost none. If your pool has uneven corners or sharp curves (mine has a weird oval step in the deepest corner), it may take minor adjustment not to hang up. Also, large debris with sharp edges (like garden bark chips) can tear the diaphragm and damage the vacuum when they get pulled through In short, I’ve had a G3 or something similar for a long time. I don’t think pool cleaners need wheels and it’s just another part to break down. Love my G3

Why did you pick this product vs others?: I have been using barracudas for probably 20 years and love them. This is my 3rd G3 and before that I used one of the slightly cheaper baracuda vacs. The only reason I get a new one is it just finally wears out after 4 or 5+ years. Quality is good and about the only weak part is the rubber baffle that propels the vac. If there is anything to complain about that is the weak part to the system but they are fairly inexpensive. It works great and keeps the pool clean. I was considering going to a robotic unit this time but after reading reviews and having concerns about longevity I decided I knew what I was getting with the G3 and knew I’ll have a great vac that will last at least. 4 years so I bought another one. I highly recommend this pool vac.

I've used 5 different automatic pool cleaners in 22 years and this is the best vacuum for my use by far. It's inexpensive, never gets stuck, climbs the sides, rarely gets clogged, has only one moving part and cleans excellent. I've tried the Zodiac MX-8 and it works really well but it's more expensive than the Barracuda and started having problems after one year because of my sheading gritty pebble tech finish damaging the gear train (not the MX-8s problem but something to consider if your pool has a lot of grit). I also tried the navigator but it doesn't climb the walls and got stuck often. I also tried a Zodiac Barracuda copy for about 1/2 the Barracuda's price but it didn't perform as well and fell apart in about a year. The worst automatic cleaner i've tried by far is the Polaris Vac-Sweep 360 pressure side cleaner. The hose connections with o-rings are terrible wasting much of the pool pump's operating pressure , the hose mounted "reverser" with cheap plastic gear train gets damaged by grit in no time causing the cleaner to get stuck constantly, the leaf bag seems like an after thought and it was almost $500. It doesn't clean the sides and barely cleans the bottom with it's very narrow path compared to almost a 2' cleaning path of the Zodiac Barracuda G3 that picks up EVERYTHING! The Polaris 360 got stuck for who knows how long actually wearing places in my pool finish from the wheels spinning in one spot and i was constantly messing with it. I tried to sell this almost new Polaris 360 in a yard sale and couldn't even get $50 for a $500 cleaner so i threw it in the trash. THAT'S THE WORST $500 I've ever spent in my life. If you need a cleaner you won't be disappointed in the Zodiac Barracuda G3 or the MX-8 if your pool finish is smooth without grit.

UPDATE: Well, I spoke too soon because the very next day the thing stopped moving and my pool pump lost prime to such an extreme it took hours to get it going again. There doesn't appear to be anything stuck in it and suction is happening, but it doesn't move and doesn't even make the annoying bipbipbipbip. I downloaded and printed the manual (which wasn't included in the box) and it told me there was a quick release cassette but didn't tell me where it was. I deduced from the drawing the general location but couldn't get anything to twist or unscrew. So much for quick release. Went over and turned off the pump and zoom! Out the hose flew from the wall just as it had been doing—along with a hoseful of leaves it had sucked up. So I can't travel even for a day without expecting to come home to a burned-out pool pump and am sending it back. Happily Amazon made the return easy. _____ I was losing my mind trying to get this thing to stop hopping up onto the swim outs and this shallow walk-in area. Plus it constantly got hung up on the vacuum wall connection, sucking air and causing my filter to lose prime. AND when the filter shut off the Barracuda hose would shoot out of the vac. connection into the pool. It also was spending all its time doing the walls and not the floor where all the leaves are. There was NO MANUAL included in my box, just a quick-start guide, so I talked to customer support with no success. I already had a VAC-LOK connection and I had already attached the weight to the first section of the hose. Turning down my pressure 50% didn't help either. I tried taking two lengths off the hose but put one back because it wouldn't reach to the other side. Back this thing was going because I travel for weeks at a time and can't have my pump burning out because it has lost prime. THEN SUDDENLY I got a brainstorm to take one section of my old Hayward Navigator hose, fill it with water, loop it through the black steering-wheel thing on the top of the Barracuda and put the whole thing in the water (don't ask me what inspired me to try this). I also took off the 45-degree angle fitting that came with the Barracuda and plugged the hose directly into my vacuum port. Amazingly it hasn't hopped up, gotten stuck or shot off the wall since! I watch it go over the vacuum connection, change its mind and go away without sticking. It climbs up to the swim-outs and walk-in but then goes back down without getting on it. I have enclosed a couple of photos showing my pool set up and how I rigged this hose thing to the Barracuda. The one thing I still hate is the noise it makes…a constant bibbipbipbip which, in addition to the sound of the filter pump, makes sitting outside near the pool in daylight hours (when I have to run the pump to get solar heat) an annoyingly noisy affair. And being in the pool with it gives me a headache. At least the Navigator was quiet. BUT unlike the Hayward Navigator, it has very few parts and I am so sick of dealing with Hayward equipment which seems to be built to break and designed to be tough for owners to repair themselves and the parts are ridiculously expensive for what they are. Plus terrible/no documentation. So for now this Barracuda is staying despite the noise and I will come back and update this space if I have to return the product.

Have owned a pool for over 20 years but never had an auto vacuum. Didnt want an entry level vac, so I went with the mid-priced, but well established Barracuda model. Used for a week now and my pool has never been cleaner. Works very well and never gets caught up on stuff either. Impressed so far... a few observations however > worked better after I added a extra weight near the head (only comes with one weight/needs two) > play with the hose length to see what works best... adding or removing a hose unit will chance the characteristics of the pattern it will follow. What works best? try different lengths... > terrible instructions in box... go online for real manual and WATCH a few youtube vids on the product... OVERALL. a good unit that is working very well in my pool. Hope its lasts for years...

I am so happy with this purchase. I have a new pool, a newborn and a 4 yr old so I don’t have time to spend vacuuming the pool. This takes about 5 min to set up once you are used to it. I just let it go for about 3-4 hours and I have a clean pool! Really glad I bought this, don’t know why anyone would vacuum a pool manually when a product like this is available!

excellent product for pool cleaning!

It works well for the intended purpose. Hoses that came with it, cheap and holes and leaks on 1st use. Had to replace. A bit expensive, for a cleaner head and cheap tubes, but I have to say, it does the intended purpose no problems, as of yet!

I love my baracuda. One if the best purchase decisions ever. Great suction power= always a clean pool. Delivery was on time and no complications from this seller. 👍