Our Pool Cleaner Review Panel says:
The Polaris 3900 comes in 4th place out of our 5 top pool cleaner picks based on a combination of performance, product design, price, innovation and current pool cleaning trends.

The Polaris 3900 is the first and only pool cleaner in our model review that doesn’t operate off of its own source, but instead off of the pool’s filtration system. The Polaris 3900 Sport is made by Polaris and has over 40 years in the pool cleaning industry. Out of these years, they have been the biggest company to sell strictly vacuum-based pool cleaners which operate off of the pool’s filters. When you look at the 3900 at first glance, you will notice a slightly familiar shape of cleaner with the common wheels and brush filter tail. The 3900 along with the other newer Polaris cleaners are painted with striking blue and silver metallic colors which shows that Polaris has every intention in keeping their products looking up to date.

The functionality is slightly different than a self-contained unit such as an Aquabot or other cleaner. When you first hook up the 3900, you need to thoroughly go through the operating manual and pay close attention to the vacuum tube installation instructions to ensure the unit will hook-up and work properly. We found it slightly annoying the amount of steps to prepare the unit for use, though you should only have to perform setup a few times. Since the cleaner is powered off of a booster pump, it will require more work and maintenance to ensure high enough water pressure along with adequate rpm’s powering the unit. Again, these are small things, but when you compare the amount of setup time on the 3900 to an Aquabot or Dolphin, this unit requires much more attention and time to setup.

The drive track on the Polaris 3900 is made out of sturdy stainless steel parts which have proven to be highly effective in long-term durability. Along with the drive-train, the unit has tires which are weighted to help climb the side walls successfully while maintaining cleaning efficiency. These tires are wrapped around silver wheels which sport the look of a sports car, hence the reason they call it the sport. The debris bag is attached to the vacuum line and stands vertical to the unit. The filter bag holds 5 liters of debris and easily comes off for emptying and cleaning purposes. The Polaris is designed to scrub, sweep and vacuum all pool surfaces using a combination of vacuum ports located on the bottom and the sweep hose which drags in back of the unit like a tail. This hose blows high pressure which helps sweep debris off of the surface. We found this to be not very innovative and out of date when compared to the simplicity and newer design on the Aquabot’s power washing jets which are located on the bottom of the unit and provide more direct pressure washing.

The next issue I would like to address on the 3900 is efficiency. For its class, the Polaris 3900 is as good as they come. With that said, it still doesn’t hold a candle to the efficiency found in an electrical/self depending unit. The 3900 runs strictly off of your vacuum system which powers all of your jets, drains and filters. Since the unit requires vacuum power from the booster pump, this draws more power and in return requires you to run your filtration system longer equaling higher energy costs. In today’s pool owning statistics, it costs an extra $40-60 on average to operate a pool, solely based on running the filter system. Newer cleaners which don’t require vacuum power but instead have their own power source are much more efficient. Some of these models would be the Dolphin Diagnostic cleaners, along with our all-time favorite, the Aquabot Turbo T cleaners. All of these cleaners use a significantly lower amount of energy to operate because they simply plug into a transformer box which in return plugs into a regular electrical outlet. Most of those cleaners are rated to clean your entire pool only costing you anywhere from 5 to 10 cents per cleaning cycle. Also, these units pump an average of 5000+ gallons per hour which almost completely eliminates the need for you to run your filtration system while it cleans. The 3900 only pumps 2400 gallons of water an hour.

All in all, The Polaris 3900 is the top of the line for vacuum-powered pool cleaners and comes from a company with 40 years of innovation along with decent warranty service. If you have owned one of these types of machines before and want a great model with many features along with the latest and most durable parts, this unit would work well for you and your pool. If you prefer a unit that will cost less to operate and will require much less time to setup or maintain, we would recommend looking at cleaner which operates on its own power source and not off of your pool’s system.

Polaris 3900 Sport :
Experience Built It, Style Defines It

Built on Polaris expertise, the Polaris 3900 Sport delivers the most technologically advanced pool cleaner on the market.

* -PosiDrive all-wheel drive system with 50% more torque
* -Most vacuum power of any 3-jet Polaris cleaner, with 40 GPM of additional pool filtration through the filter bag
* -5-liter capacity filter bag with easy twist-release connector
* -Durable plastics and stainless steel hardware.

With a sleek and sporty new body design, the Polaris 3900 Sport re-defines Polaris performance for your pool.

• Operating with a booster pump, the Polaris 3900 Sport acts as a roving return line in the pool, distributing clean, filtered water throughout the pool while cleaning. The all-wheel PosiDrive System delivers 50% more torque and is the most reliable and efficient drive train on the market. Durable plastics and stainless-steel hardware ensures years of dependable service.
• With an easy twist-release connector and full-zipper access, the Polaris 3900 Sport Superbag is a snap to remove and clean. Its larger 5-liter capacity means more debris pick-up with fewer stops to empty the bag.
• Designed for all in-ground pools, the Polaris 3900 Sport vacuums, sweeps and scrubs the walls and floor of any size or shape pool. The Sweep Hose provides effective cleaning even in the tight, hard-to-reach areas
• Built on 40 years of Polaris experience, the sleek new Polaris 3900 Sport offers the most technologically advanced features available in a pool cleaner and defines a new style of Polaris performance for your pool.