Introducing the iGarden Pool Cleaner K Series, a cordless inground pool assistant with AI-inverter technology, adaptive mobility systems and intelligent pathfinding designed to achieve full coverage cleaning.
The cordless design, internal rechargeable battery and app controls are designed to keep the pool clean from floor to waterline, without the hoses and cables associated with traditional pool cleaners.
Did you know, Australia has one of the highest pool ownership percentages in the world, with 3.1 million Australians, or 14%, living in a house with a pool or spa in March 2023 (Roy Morgan Poll). And pool ownership increases the higher you go up the East coast, with Queensland residents leading the charge at 24% as opposed to Victoria’s paltry 9%.
But it doesn’t matter where we live, because with summer fast approaching, if we have a pool, we want a clean pool.
And I think I’ve found just the robot to achieve optimum pool cleanliness: the iGarden Pool Cleaner K Series.
When Kevin suggested taking on the review of the iGarden Pool Cleaner K Series, he couldn’t have picked a better person for the job. This is the review I was born to write. Growing up in Queensland, we always had a pool at home.
Some of my earliest memories are of spending hours in the water diving, swimming or just floating around, ignoring mum as she called me in for dinner. Sorry mum!
Because of this very early exposure to all things home pools, I’ll let you in on a little secret: I love cleaning pools. Scrubbing the waterline, scooping leaves, retrieving insects (and the occasional snake or frog), and skimming all the random things off the bottom; this is what I consider a relaxing past time. The thought of a robotic device taking this enjoyable task away from me is both traumatising, and simultaneously, intriguing.
So now we pose the most important question: can the iGarden Pool Cleaner K Series compete with 40 years of pool cleaning experience? Let’s find out.
Before we start, a big thanks to mum, Sue Armstrong, for the loan of her pool for the purposes of unit testing.
What’s in the Box
- Robotic Pool Cleaner Unit
- Power Charging Cable
- Retrieval Hook
- Quick Start Guide – right on top of the packaging; you can’t miss it.
- Owner’s Manual/Documentation : detailed instructions, operating conditions, and maintenance guides.
You’ll also need to download the iGarden App, and connect the K Series as directed. It is very straightforward and you can program your cleaning schedule either via the app or on the K Series itself. Because remember, neither WIFI nor Bluetooth work in water… in other words, your K Series can’t hear you once its submerged.
Show Time
On first viewing, the robot is a solid-looking black unit weighing 9.8kg. The orange-accented wheels and black tracks give it a robust, well-built appearance.
The LED screen is touch sensitive, and is clearly lit once the unit is powered on.
For the purposes of measurements, you can see below it is approximately, according to the universal measurement RM Williams’ boots (!), two boot lengths long (489mm), and around 1.5 boot lengths in diameter (389mm). The unit is 240mm high.
The instructions for initial start up are clear, but iGarden advises that it should be charged for a full five hours before initial use.
To help out purchasers, iGarden have made it incredibly easy to get started with this excellent video:
Obviously the real test of any robotic pool cleaner is whether it actually reduces maintenance effort. On paper, the iGarden Series K appears well positioned to achieve exactly that. Let’s see what’s under the hood to support its impressive stats.
Intelligent Navigation
One of the major selling points of the K Series is its 3D “S” Path navigation technology. Rather than moving randomly around the pool, the robot follows planned cleaning paths designed to maximise coverage while reducing missed areas.
iGarden calls the underlying system its AI Inverter intelligent Core route planning. The idea is simple enough: instead of wandering around until the battery runs down, the cleaner attempts to map out a more efficient route across the pool.
In theory and practice, smarter navigation generally results in shorter cleaning times and more consistent results, and the K Series appears to place significant emphasis on this approach.
Floor, Wall and Waterline Cleaning
Many entry-level robotic pool cleaners are limited to floor cleaning only. The iGarden K Series goes considerably further.
All K Series models support cleaning of:
- Pool floor
- Pool walls
- Waterline surfaces
For pool owners, this is important because dirt and biofilm frequently accumulate where water meets the pool edge. Cleaning the waterline manually is often one of the more tedious parts of pool maintenance, so including this capability takes another manual job off the list.
And if you’ve ever grabbed a scrubbing brush, and jumped in the water on at hot day to scrub the algae off the waterline of your pool, you’ll appreciate the iGarden Pool Cleaner K Series’ ability in this area more than most.
Adaptive Mobility
Pool environments are rarely simple flat surfaces. Modern pools often include:
- Slopes
- Steps
- Curves
- Deep and shallow transitions
The K Series uses adaptive torque control and mobility systems designed to navigate these changing surfaces while maintaining cleaning performance. iGarden specifically states that the system can handle walls, slopes and obstacles while maintaining coverage.
Mum’s pool gave it a much more realistic environment than a flat test tank, with changing depths, walls and the usual features a cleaner has to deal with in a residential pool.
Cleaning Mode
The K Series also debuts the 3 day x 1 hour cleaning mode. Over a ten day span the K Series will clean the pool every three days for one hour.
There are other cleaning modes available, so it’s worth spending a little time getting familiar with the app rather than simply dropping the robot into the pool and leaving everything on its default settings.
Turbo Cleaning Performance
For pools experiencing heavy debris loads, the K Series incorporates a Turbo Mode designed to provide increased cleaning performance.
iGarden advertises this as a 200% Turbo cleaning mode intended to tackle more challenging dirt and debris situations. Combined with dual brushes and strong suction capability, the system focuses on loosening and removing stubborn contaminants.
It’s the setting you’re most likely to reach for after wind, storms or anything else that dumps more debris than usual into the pool.
And as it turned out, Mum’s pool gave it no shortage of material to work with.
For Busy Families
Many Australian families use their pools regularly throughout warmer months but struggle to find time for ongoing maintenance.
The K Series provides an automated solution that can operate independently, allowing owners to focus on enjoying the pool rather than cleaning it. Intelligent scheduling and extended operating cycles mean fewer manual interventions are required.
For Larger Residential Pools
Runtime is one area where the K Series stands out.
iGarden advertises cleaning runtimes ranging up to 3.6 to as much as 6 hours per charge, allowing the K Series to comfortably cover large residential pools in a single cleaning cycle.
That level of endurance makes the K Series suitable for larger residential pools where shorter-runtime robots may require multiple charging sessions.
For Pool Owners Seeking Reduced Maintenance
The large debris basket and dual-layer filtration system help reduce the frequency of emptying and maintenance. The filtration system combines 50-micron and 180-micron mesh filtration to collect both larger debris and finer particles.
In real-world use, this means less time cleaning the cleaner itself and more time enjoying clean pool water.
Automatic Return Function
One particularly user-friendly feature is the unit’s ability to return to the pool edge when cleaning is complete or when battery levels become low.
This reduces the frustration often associated with locating and retrieving robotic cleaners after operation – retrieval considerably easier than hunting around for nearly 10kg of robot sitting at the bottom of the deep end.
Unless you turn it off. Which I did without thinking. It was only when the K Series was at the bottom of the pool that I realised… *wry look*
It’s at this point it pays to remember your trusty included pool hook if for any reason you need to retrieve your K Series in a hurry.
Show Time!
So now we know how, what, and why the K Series is an impressive robotic pool cleaner, let’s put it to the test:
Power up!
Turning on the unit is easy, with the dial under the front of the Pool Boy. You simply turn the dial and voila, you’re in business.
Well, that was the theory.
I found the dial stiff and impossible to move. Luckily this was my only hurdle. I could not turn it on with my fingers alone. It was quite a shallow grip space, which made gaining purchase on the dial difficult. I could not for the life of me make the dial budge. In the end I resorted to using a knife wrapped in a tea towel to push the dial gently into place so I could turn on the unit. Good news: the dial moved easily afterwards.
That’s not something I would expect to have to do with a new $1,999 pool cleaner, although thankfully it proved to be a one-off problem. Once I’d moved it the first time, the dial operated normally afterwards.
Once switched on, there’s a battery indicator which has three bars indicating charge levels. I know this because I grew impatient and wanted to see how much longer I should wait… yes, you definitely need a good five hours. Or set and forget overnight, and your K Series will be fully charged by morning.
I’d actually recommend having a set night each week to recharge. That way you maximise use without running out of battery.
First Dip
Mum’s inground pool setup, as you can see below, normally includes the pool cleaner with its collection of hoses, plus the leaf scooper for additional cleaning.
On this day it also had the dust from as far west as Bourke, Brewarrina and Louth by the look of it. The wind also blew the leaves in from every tree in the vicinity. Luckily I had the K Series ready to go!
Hose Free
I really like the K Series because there’s no hoses. I find it incredibly annoying when I want to have a swim, and it turns into an obstacle course between the creepy crawly, support hoses and sometimes the leaf basket floating near the top. And insects in their last throes. I’m pretty sure everyone in this big wide land has suffered the same frustrations at some point in their life. But now we have a solution – the K Series.
The cordless K Series removes that entire tangle from the water. When you’re ready to swim, there isn’t a hose snaking across the pool or a cleaner permanently attached to the filtration system.
Hook In
The retrieval hook is particularly important given the cleaner’s cordless design. Rather than reaching into the pool or handling the unit directly in the water, users can retrieve the cleaner conveniently once it returns to the pool edge at the end of a cleaning cycle.
I gave it a whirl, and the hook slots into the front of the hand grips of the K Series. The hook is sturdy and, as you can see, fits perfectly onto the extension pole use for leaf catchers. So take off the net, and slip the retrieval hook onto the end and it will click securely into place.
User tip: Remember that when pulling the robot out of the pool that its weight will increase initially, but drain quickly.
Catch!
The leaf basket is huge, and as you can see, does the job very well. Unless it’s a particularly windy day, the leaf basket could easily be left for a week before emptying. The simple latch on the side releases the access door, ensuring you can empty the basket into the rubbish, or compost, easily and without having to fish around inside of it. A quick hose out afterwards, and you can pop it back into the K Series, ready for another week of cleaning.
Recommendation
Australian pool owners rejoice! iGarden have set the bar high when it comes to the best smart intelligent pool cleaning robot in the country. Its ability to clean floors, walls and waterlines while navigating independently makes it far more versatile than entry-level pool cleaning solutions. The K Series does everything to ensure optimum cleanliness of your pool quietly and efficiently with minimal need for owner intervention.
Retailing at $1,999.00, the iGarden Robotic Pool Cleaner K Series is available direct from iGarden and other reputable pool equipment retailers. You might even score a discount if you’re quick.
Thank you iGarden, you’ve made me realise my time cleaning the pool is better spent enjoying the pool. And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?
As a result of this revelation, I’ve also nominated the iGarden Pool Cleaner K Series for a DRN Pulse Award this month.
Thank you for the opportunity to review the Pool Cleaner K Series!
