Ryobi Pool Vacuum Review (2026): The 18V ONE+ PCL780 Is a $159 Spot-Cleaner, Not a Robot

Quick Answer: The RYOBI 18V ONE+ Pool Vacuum (PCL780) is a handheld, pole-mounted battery vacuum — not a robot — priced at $159.00 tool-only or $189.75 as a kit with a 2Ah battery and charger on Ryobi’s own US store. Ryobi rates it at 13 gallons per minute of suction with a 1.7-liter tank and 45 to 120 minutes of runtime depending on the battery. It’s a genuinely good buy for hot tubs, spas, small above-ground pools, and spot-cleaning sand if you already own ONE+ batteries; for unattended floor cleaning, a budget robot costs about the same and does the work for you.

“Ryobi pool vacuum” is one of the most-searched brand terms in this whole niche, and it points to a single product: the PCL780, a cordless underwater vacuum Ryobi added to its 18V ONE+ battery platform in early 2025. It replaced the older P3500 underwater stick vacuum, which Ryobi now lists as discontinued. We verified every spec and price below directly against Ryobi’s own US product pages, and cross-checked real-world impressions from Pro Tool Reviews and SlashGear’s launch coverage.

Ryobi PCL780 at a glance

A note on where to buy: Ryobi’s US retail channel is its own online store and The Home Depot. Ryobi listings on Amazon are usually third-party resellers, so check the seller and confirm whether a battery is included before you order — “tool only” means exactly that.

Tool-only vs kit: what $159 actually buys

The PCL780B ($159.00 on Ryobi’s store) is the bare vacuum with a filter, floor head, and manual — no battery and no charger. It’s the right buy only if you already own RYOBI 18V ONE+ batteries, which is the whole appeal: Ryobi says its ONE+ platform now spans over 300 tools across 30 years of battery compatibility, so a lot of garages already have two or three packs sitting on a charger.

The PCL780K ($189.75) adds a 2Ah battery and charger, which is effectively $30.75 for the power kit. That’s a fair price, but the 2Ah pack is also the smallest one Ryobi lists on its runtime chart, giving you a 45-minute maximum. If you plan to do more than a hot tub, budget for a 4Ah pack (90 minutes) or a 6Ah pack (120 minutes).

Pricing has drifted upward since launch. SlashGear’s March 2025 launch coverage quoted $149 for the tool and $179 for the kit; Ryobi’s own store now lists $159.00 and $189.75. Replacement filters (model A32PF01, 2-pack) are $23.11.

The successor has a smaller canister than the model it replaced

This is the detail most “Ryobi pool vacuum” listings skip. Ryobi’s previous underwater vacuum, the P3500 18V ONE+ Underwater Stick Vacuum, is now marked discontinued on Ryobi’s site — and its own spec page lists a 3-liter debris canister. The current PCL780’s tank is 1.7 liters. That’s roughly 43% less debris capacity on the newer model.

In fairness, the PCL780 gains a published suction rating, a formal IPX8 depth rating, and a standard battery you can hot-swap from your other ONE+ tools. But if your main complaint about handheld pool vacuums is how often you stop to empty them, the newer model makes that worse, not better. Pro Tool Reviews, which used it on a jacuzzi attached to a pool, praised the suction but specifically warned that owners of uncovered, leaf-heavy pools will be emptying the small canister constantly.

13 GPM vs a robot: the number that decides whether you need one

Ryobi rates the PCL780 at 13 gallons per minute, which works out to about 780 gallons per hour. For comparison, Maytronics rates its Dolphin Explorer-tier robots (E10, E20, E30) at roughly 15 cubic meters per hour — about 4,000 gallons per hour — per its own spec sheets. A budget robot moves roughly five times more water through its filter every hour, and it does it while you’re doing something else.

That doesn’t make the Ryobi bad; it makes it a different tool. A handheld vacuum puts all of its suction exactly where you point it, which is why it’s good at sand piles in a corner, debris on a deep step, or the floor of a hot tub where a robot either won’t fit or isn’t rated to run. What it can’t do is clean a 16x32 foot pool floor efficiently on a 1.7-liter tank and a 45-minute battery.

The 8-inch minimum depth rule

Ryobi specifies an 8-inch minimum depth and says the vacuum performs best fully submerged. That matters on two common surfaces:

• Tanning ledges / sun shelves are often 6–12 inches deep. If yours is under 8 inches, the PCL780 isn’t rated for it.
• Top steps of many inground pools sit in the same shallow range.

Deeper steps, spa floors, and above-ground pool floors are fine — the 13-foot maximum covers the deep end of virtually any residential pool.

How it compares to the alternatives

Two things jump out. First, the PCL780B is roughly half the price of the Pool Blaster Max Li CG, the handheld pick in our best pool vacuum guide — if you already own ONE+ batteries, it’s the cheapest serious cordless handheld we’ve found. Second, the PCL780K kit costs more than the WYBOT A1, a cordless robot that cleans a flat floor unattended. Neither budget robot is perfect — Robotic Reviews scored the WYBOT A1 64/100 and the Aiper Seagull SE 63/100 — but if your goal is “stop vacuuming by hand,” the Ryobi doesn’t get you there. For the full handheld field — Pool Blaster Max Li (Gen 2) at $199.99, Kokido’s XTROVAC 910 with a 1.72-gallon bag, and Aiper’s PilotFlow X1 with an 8-inch shallow mode — see our best cordless pool vacuum guide.

Who should buy the Ryobi pool vacuum

Buy it if:

• You already own RYOBI 18V ONE+ batteries — the $159 tool-only price is the best value in handheld pool vacuums.
• You have a hot tub, spa, or small above-ground pool — Ryobi rates it for all three, and Pro Tool Reviews found it well suited to a small attached jacuzzi.
• You want a spot-cleaner for sand, dirt, and the corners or steps your robot misses.

Skip it if:

• You want the floor cleaned without you — a budget robotic pool cleaner costs about the same as the kit.
• Your pool is large, inground, and leaf-heavy — the 1.7L tank will fill too fast to be practical.
• You don’t own ONE+ batteries and don’t plan to buy into the platform.
• You’re a pool pro vacuuming a full route. Cart-mounted 12-volt vacuums like the Riptide SL ($2,100 direct, 24-inch head, 5 to 6 hours on a Group 27 battery) are built for that.

For small-pool owners weighing a handheld against a compact robot, our best pool cleaner for small pools and best above-ground pool cleaner guides cover the robot side of the decision.

By the numbers

• 13 GPM / about 780 GPH — Ryobi’s rated suction for the PCL780, per its own spec sheet.
• About 4,000 GPH — Maytronics’ rated flow for its Dolphin Explorer-tier robots (15 m³/hour), roughly five times the Ryobi’s rating.
• 1.7 liters vs 3 liters — the PCL780’s tank versus the discontinued P3500’s canister, per Ryobi’s own product pages (about 43% less capacity).
• 45 / 90 / 120 minutes — Ryobi’s maximum runtime on 2Ah / 4Ah / 6Ah ONE+ batteries.
• $149 → $159 — tool-only price at launch (SlashGear, March 2025) versus Ryobi’s current store price.
• 8 inches — Ryobi’s minimum operating depth; shallower water is outside spec.

The bottom line

The RYOBI 18V ONE+ Pool Vacuum (PCL780) is a well-built, honest spot-cleaner: 13 GPM of suction, a standard pool-pole mount, IPX8 to 13 feet, and runtimes from 45 to 120 minutes on batteries you may already own. At $159 tool-only it’s the best-value cordless handheld for ONE+ owners with a hot tub, spa, or small pool. Just know what it isn’t — it’s not a robot, its 1.7-liter tank is smaller than the discontinued P3500’s, and it won’t run in water under 8 inches. If you want the floor cleaned while you’re away, put that $190 toward a budget robot instead, and keep the Ryobi for the jobs a robot can’t reach.