Ultramarine Cordless Robotic Pool Cleaner Review
I ran the ECOVACS Ultramarine P1 in a pool that looked clean. The debris basket came up full of brown sludge. Here's my full take.
Reviewed by
Scott Ayres
Welcome to the Product Demo lab where I (Scott) demo products so you can make an educated buying decision. I keep it real, honest and laid back.
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Quick Verdict
My pool looked clean from the deck. Then the debris basket came up full of brown sludge and dead bugs, and this wasn’t even a full battery. The ECOVACS Ultramarine P1 cordless robotic pool cleaner did a bang-up job.
Buy if you:
- have a medium to large inground or above ground pool up to 1,937 sq ft
- are tired of dragging a corded vacuum around every week
- want it to scrub walls and slopes, not just the floor
- like scheduling cleaning from an app instead of babysitting it
Skip if you:
- want the full 3 hours on every mode; wall mode burns battery fast
- have a tiny pool where a cheap corded unit already does the job
- don’t want to rinse a filthy debris basket with a hose after each run
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| Runtime | Up to 180 min (floor + eco suction) |
|---|---|
| Battery | 4600mAh, IP68-sealed |
| Suction | Up to 4800 GPH |
| Coverage | Up to 1,937 sq ft |
| Filtration | 180μm mesh + 3μm ultra-fine |
| Control | ECOVACS app, 3 modes, 3 suction levels |
My Ultramarine Cordless Robotic Pool Hides Sludge
My pool floor looked spotless to the naked eye. Then I pulled the basket and it was full of brown sludge and dead bugs. That’s the whole pitch for the ECOVACS Ultramarine P1, and it’s the moment that sold me. You might know ECOVACS from their robot lawnmowers, but this cordless robotic pool cleaner is a first for them, and it’s a strong start.
Here’s the thing about pools. You look down through 4½ to 5 feet of water and everything seems fine. It isn’t. All the dirt, algae, and sediment is sitting on the floor where you can’t see it, which is exactly why I think you should run one of these all the time.
What’s Inside This Ultramarine Cordless Robotic Cleaner
It’s got bulldozer-style tires and rollers front and back. Those chunky treads help it climb walls and roll over depth changes, and if you have a floor drain that circulates up to 2 or 2¼ inches, it rolls right over it. The rollers on the front and back mean constant cleaning the entire time it’s moving, pushing everything into the debris basket.
The battery is rated for up to 180 minutes, but you only get that full 3 hours in floor mode with eco suction. You’ve got three suction levels in the app: eco, standard, and strong. Each one eats into battery differently. Wall mode takes a lot more power.
Dropping It In and Watching It Work
Setup is genuinely zero-effort: drop it in from the deck, throw it if you want, and it rights itself on the way down. No unspooling a cord, no priming, no fiddling with a dock. By the time I walked back inside to open the app, it was already mapping the shallow end.
In the beginning you’ll think it’s doing nothing. It’s not. The SmartNavi navigation is figuring out where your walls are and the shape of your pool. In the app you tell it whether you’ve got a round, rectangular, or lima-bean pool, plus the depth, which makes it smarter. Then it settles into an S pattern, back and forth, tapping a wall, turning around, coming back the other way. ECOVACS says it touches up to 99% of the pool.
It ran into my ladder and thought it was a wall for a second, started to climb, then went “oh wait, something’s there,” did a little hokey pokey, and turned itself around. It moves very quickly compared to most vacuums on the market. When it hits a wall in wall mode it comes up out of the water about 2 inches, scrubs for a few seconds to knock loose algae, soap scum and sunscreen, then does an N-shaped pattern back down. The wheels are soft, so even vinyl liners are safe.
Wall Mode Drinks Battery, and You Have to Choose
The 180-minute runtime comes with a catch: you only hit it on floor mode with eco suction. Bump up to standard or strong suction, or switch to wall or all mode, and that number drops. Wall cleaning takes a lot more power than the floor. So if you want walls scrubbed for the whole 3 hours, plan for a full charge and don’t expect the floor to get the same attention on the same run.
And after every good clean, you’re rinsing a disgusting basket. Mine came out packed with sludge and dead insects, brown all the way through. That’s a hose job, not a rinse-in-the-sink job. Great that it caught all of it. Just know it’s part of the routine.
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ECOVACS Ultramarine P1 Pool Vacuum
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Who This Is Actually For
The P1’s sweet spot is any inground or above-ground pool between roughly 800 and 1,937 sq ft with walls that collect scum, that’s where the bulldozer tires and wall mode pull ahead of cheaper floor-only units. Where it really earns its price is the app scheduler: if you’re the type who forgets to clean until the water turns green, set a vacation schedule, 45 minutes Monday, a short maintenance run Thursday, and it stays ahead of the algae without you ever touching it.
How the Hidden Basket Beats the Beatbot Design
The debris basket tucks inside behind a button, and I really liked that. Some units out there, the Beatbot especially, have a big open container. If you accidentally open that thing, everything you just collected falls right back out. On the Ultramarine P1 the basket is hidden inside and only goes back in one way, so you can’t mess it up.
The two-filter system is worth understanding before your first run. The coarse mesh handles leaves and large debris; the 3μm ultra-fine filter is what pulled that brown sludge out of my pool. You swap between them depending on conditions, post-storm gets the mesh, routine maintenance gets the fine filter, which takes ten seconds but does mean you need to think about it rather than just dropping one universal basket in every time.
Advice Before You Drop It In
Screw the charging port cover back on before every run. When you charge it, you pull that little cover off the port; when you put it in the pool, screw it back on. You do not want that port getting wet. Easy step to forget, and it matters.
Take two minutes in the app to enter your pool shape and depth before the first run. It makes the navigation smarter. And when you pull it out with the hook and pole they include, hold it off to the side for a few seconds first so clean water drains out and doesn’t dump all over your feet. Small stuff, but it makes the whole thing painless.
Pros
- Pulled a full basket of sludge and dead bugs from a pool that looked clean
- Climbs walls and scrubs about 2 inches out of the water, safe even on vinyl
- Hidden debris basket won’t dump its contents like open-container rivals
- Moves very quickly compared to most pool vacuums
- App control with scheduling, three modes, and three suction levels
Cons
- You only get the full 180 minutes on floor mode with eco suction; wall mode drains it fast
- The basket comes out filthy and needs a full hose-down after a dirty run
- Two separate filters mean choosing which to run instead of a single basket
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you clean the ECOVACS Ultramarine P1 filter?
Pop the button to release the hidden basket, pull the filter out, and rinse it with a hose. After a dirty run mine was packed with brown sludge, so a garden hose is the move, not a quick sink rinse. It only goes back in one way, so you can’t reinstall it wrong.
Does it work in above ground pools too?
Yes, it’s rated for both inground and above ground pools up to 1,937 sq ft. The soft wheels are safe on vinyl liners, which is what most above ground pools use.
Will it scratch a vinyl pool liner?
No. The wall-climbing wheels are soft, so even vinyl comes up fine when it scrubs a couple inches out of the water. That’s a real concern with some cleaners, but not this one.
Do you have to plug it in during a cleaning cycle?
No, it’s fully cordless and runs on a built-in 4600mAh battery. You charge it through a port that has a screw-on cover, and you keep that cover screwed on while it’s in the water so the port stays dry.
How long does the battery really last?
Up to 180 minutes, but only in floor mode with eco suction. Standard or strong suction, and wall or all mode, all pull the runtime down because wall cleaning takes a lot more power.
Can it clean the pool walls or just the floor?
Both. There’s a floor-only mode, a wall-only mode, and an “all” mode that splits time between the two. In wall mode it climbs up, scrubs to knock loose algae and scum, then works its way back down in an N pattern.
Does it handle a floor drain or depth changes?
Yes. The bulldozer-style tires roll over floor drains that circulate up to about 2 to 2¼ inches, and they handle depth changes throughout the pool without getting stuck.
Can you schedule it to clean on its own?
Yes, through the ECOVACS app. You can set a vacation-style schedule, like 45 minutes one day and a shorter run a couple days later, so it keeps the pool maintained without you starting it each time.
Get it now
ECOVACS Ultramarine P1 Pool Vacuum
Get the best price on Amazon →This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
🛍️ Shop everything in this video
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🛍️ Eovax Ultramarine P1 Robotic Pool Vacuum — check price on Amazon →
🛍️ Beatbot Robotic Pool Vacuum — check price on Amazon →
About the reviewer
Scott Ayres
Welcome to the Product Demo lab where I (Scott) demo products so you can make an educated buying decision. I keep it real, honest and laid back.
