Baracuda Manta Pool Cleaner Review - Good Buy? Or Avoid?
| 👍The Good: | Quiet operation |
|---|---|
| 👎The Bad: | Stalled by common debris, adapters not included, terrible customer service |
| ⭐Rating: | |
| 🔍Verdict: | Not recommended |
Product Comparison Table - Baracuda Manta
Before we dive into the review, let's take a look at the main specs for this product, and how it compares to other similar models.
| Name | Baracuda Manta | Onga Hammerhead |
|---|---|---|
| Image |  |  |
Best Price |
Baracuda Manta Pool Cleaner Review - Good Buy? Or Avoid?
The Baracuda Manta is a mid-priced, suction powered pool cleaner that is sold by many popular retailers. With a wide variety of customer reviews about this cleaner, you may be wondering: is this cleaner worth buying, or better off being avoided?
In this Baracuda Manta automatic pool cleaner review we will cover the main pros and cons of this cleaner and then compare its cleaning performance, build quality, warranty coverage, and power specifications to see if this machine makes the right choice for you and your pool.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Quiet operation
- Good with small debris
- Some users experience easy set-up
- Compatible with most pool types
Cons
- Gets stuck often on corners, steps, ledges
- Inconsistent climbing ability
- Can be difficult to install in many pools
- May require additional adaptor parts (not included) in order to set up
- Flips over when climbing or encountering slopes
- Poor company response to warranty claims
- Stalls completely when it encounters mid-sized or large debris
Design
The Baracuda Manta is a suction-side powered pool cleaner intended for pools up to 10 x 5 metres in size. This cleaner comes with 10 m of hose included, and additional hose can be purchased to adapt this model to larger pools.
This cleaner is compatible with most pool types, whether they be inground or above ground, and is well-suited to a wide variety of pool linings.
Unfortunately, it can be difficult to adapt this machine to your pool during the setup process. Many users report having to purchase additional hose weights, suction side hose adaptors, and thick gaskets in order to get the machine to work as intended.
The cleaner does not come with a wide variety of adapters itself; meaning that the customer will have to shop for these separately.
Cleaning Performance
It is difficult to hold the cleaning performance of the Baracuda Manta in high regard. This machine tends to only pick up small debris comfortably, and becomes easily clogged and therefore stalled by any debris much larger than 40mm in diameter.
As a result, this machine often gets stopped in its tracks by common debris, including small leaves, twigs, and even dense clumps of smaller debris such as lawn trimmings.
When the machine gets clogged, it must be fixed manually. Since this is likely to happen multiple times during a cleaning cycle, it is hard to imagine that this machine is much more convenient than manual vacuuming.
Considering it may require near-constant supervision, it is likely not a time-saving option either.
Power Specifications
As this machine is powered by the suction produced by your pool pump, the amount of power consumed by a cleaning cycle is equivalent to the wattage used by your pool pump during the duration of the cleaning process.
This is the same as with all suction pool cleaners.
Build Quality & Warranty
Baracuda Manta Problems
Gets Clogged Easily
There are many problems with the Baracuda Manta. The biggest problem, as we discussed in the cleaning performance section, is that this cleaner will easily become stalled by common types and sizes of pool debris.
When this happens, the cleaner must be de-clogged manually, removing the convenience aspect of an automatic cleaner, and failing to clean your pool effectively.
Gets Stuck Easily
Another problem with this cleaner is that it gets stuck frequently, mainly with steps and in corners. It is also prone to flipping over while climbing walls or slopes in the pool, regardless of whether or not the machine is properly weighted when in the upright position.
Difficult To Set Up
Many users report that this machine is difficult to set up. In these cases, customers will often need to purchase add-ons, such as hose adapters and additional hose weights, none of which come included.
As these parts seem to be required in most cases, it is of poor policy to not have these included when purchasing the original machine.
This also gives consumers the impression that the machine is cheaper than many, which is misleading because it does not account for additional required parts.
Baracuda Manta Warranty
The Baracuda Manta has a two year warranty, which is the standard among most pool cleaners in the industry. What is substandard, however, is that the company only seems to offer this warranty claim on paper.
Most negative reviews about the Baracuda Manta mention interacting with Baracuda customer service or warranty claims with no avail. There are multiple customers who report reaching out to these departments and receiving no response for weeks on end.
Further, this two year warranty is not automatic; you must register for it online relatively soon after purchasing your machine.
To make this more complicated, many customers have noted that there are no explicit links to warranty registration, which gives the impression that the company is trying to discourage users from signing up for the warranty by making the process inconvenient.
Baracuda Manta Price
The Baracuda Manta costs around $380. This is middle of the line for a suction side pool cleaner, but certainly cannot be considered cheap.
Due to the amount of problems experienced by this cleaner, and the uninspiring lack of responses in relation to warranty registration and claims, we do not consider this machine a good value for your money.
Baracuda Manta - FAQ
Why Does My Baracuda Pool Cleaner Keep Stopping?
The Baracuda Manta easily becomes clogged by even fairly small debris. If your cleaner gets clogged during the cleaning process, it will stall out in the pool, unable to move again until the clog is removed manually.
How Often Should I Use My Baracuda Pool Cleaner?
It is typically recommended that you operate your Baracuda Manta pool cleaner approximately three times per week.
You should avoid letting excessive amounts of debris accumulate before running the cleaner, as this can weaken its performance and makes clogs in the suction opening even more likely.
According to brand representatives, it is recommended that you remove this cleaner from your pool while it is not in use in order to extend the life of your cleaner.
Final Thoughts - Baracuda Manta Review
The Baracuda Manta is a poor value for the money. With consistently negative reviews about the cleaning quality, terrible customer service and warranty claims, and an inconsistent setup process that often requires additional parts, we do not recommend this piece of equipment.
Price Comparison - Baracuda Manta
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