Crab
Seauto's cheap cordless pool robot for the floor and walls, with a single button and no app. The one independent test we found was damning: it wandered, missed most of the dirt and let some drain back out.
See the alternatives below, or switch market.
The short version
The Crab is Seauto's budget cordless robot, launched in 2024 as a smaller, much cheaper model than its first robot, the Shark. It runs on a battery you charge with a plug, drives on two tracks with a scrubbing roller, and cleans the floor, the walls or both, picked with one button. A voice announces each mode. It sinks after a run, so you fish it out with the hook on a pool pole.
The low price is the whole appeal, and the only full test we found says it isn't enough. PCWorld found it spent too long in the shallow end, dropped off walls after a brief scrub and cleared only a fraction of the dirt. There's also no app. Seauto now sells the SAT range above it, with more features.
Our take: Hard to recommend on current evidence. If you want a cheap cordless robot for a flat-bottomed pool, the Aiper Seagull SE has two tests behind it, though it won't climb walls. If you need walls and the waterline too, the Beatbot Sora 10 is small and light, and testers found it gets the pool clean given time.
Where it sits in Seauto’s range
- CrabThis model
- Seauto SharkSeauto's first robot; PCWorld preferred it to the Crab
- SAT402026 model with sonar route planning and self-parking
What we know so far
Limited evidence Only one independent, finished hands-on review so far. A score and badge appear once there is a second.
Only one independent, finished test so far, and it's harsh. PCWorld ran it in an L-shaped pool after a windstorm and found it cleaned perhaps a fifth of the floor, lingered in the shallow end, and let some of the dirt it caught drain back into the pool when lifted out. Runs with artificial leaves went better but still fell short. PCWorld also found the filter cover hard to refit. On the plus side, the battery outlasted Seauto's figure and the robot is easy to lift. We need a second test before we can say more.
PCWorld, hands-on, Jun 2024 (Tested in an L-shaped pool)
Poor coverage in an L-shaped pool
PCWorld found it spent far too long in the shallow end before heading deeper, and kept returning there even after being moved to the deep end by hand. After a windstorm filled the pool with leaves and dirt, a full run cleared maybe 20 percent of it, leaving the floor caked, especially with dirt. Later runs with artificial leaves reached about 75 percent. PCWorld says anything below 90 percent leaves a pool looking dirty, so expect to vacuum by hand as well.
Walls: climb, pause, drop
The Crab climbs the wall, scrubs the tile in one spot for a while, then stops and drifts back to the floor a foot or so from the wall, PCWorld found. Many robots reverse down the wall and scrub again on the way, and PCWorld's earlier Seauto Shark ground sideways along the waterline. If a scum line is your main problem, this robot won't do much about it.
Dirt escapes, and the lid fights
When PCWorld lifted the robot out, a lot of the dirt it had caught drained out of its base and back into the pool, which it blames on the basket design. Rinsing the basket is easy enough, but the clear cover is held by two stiff levers and is awkward to line up. PCWorld called putting it back together more frustrating than on any robot it had tested.
Easy to handle, simple to run
One button cycles through floor, walls, or both, and a voice reads out each mode and warnings like a low battery, which PCWorld found got tedious. There's no app. The battery beat Seauto's figure, lasting close to 2.5 hours per charge in PCWorld's test. It sinks after a run, so you hook it out with a pole, but PCWorld found it easy to move and lift despite weighing nearly 20 pounds.
Only one qualifying review so far. A score and badge appear once there is a second.
Prices
Where to buy the Crab in Australia
Not sold in Australia. Switch market above, or see the alternatives below.
Before you buy
The questions people ask about this one
Does it climb walls and clean the waterline?
It climbs walls, and there's a walls-only mode. But PCWorld found it scrubs one spot briefly, then drops back to the floor instead of cleaning along the waterline or on the way down.
Is it cordless, and how long does a charge last?
Yes. It charges through a sealed port with a plug-in adapter, and takes about three hours, per the specifications. PCWorld's unit regularly ran close to 2.5 hours on a charge, longer than Seauto claimed at the time.
How do I get it out of the water?
With the hook on a pool pole. It doesn't come to the surface after a run, PCWorld found, but it's easy to lift once you've caught it. It weighs 8.7kg, per the specifications.
How do I clean the filter?
Unclip the clear cover, lift out the 2.5-litre basket and rinse it, per the specifications. PCWorld found rinsing easy but the cover's stiff levers a struggle to refit, and saw dirt drain back out when it lifted the robot.
Does it need an app?
No, and it doesn't have one, PCWorld found. You pick floor, walls or both with a single button on top, and a voice reads out the mode.
Compare with
Seagull SE
Testers found this small, light cordless robot a handy cheap helper for sand and small debris.
It only cleans the floor of flat-bottomed pools, and it stalls on big leaves.
Sora 10
Small, light and cordless, and it cleans the floor, walls and waterline.
Testers found it wanders, skips steps and may sink again if you're slow to collect it.
C2
Cleans the floor, walls and waterline, then parks at the edge, and two testers found it simple and effective.
A third tester found its suction weak.
Full specifications
Figures come from the manufacturer’s product page unless a source is named. A blank means nobody we trust has confirmed it.
Owner reviews
Own a Crab?
Tell people how it’s held up: cleaning, maintenance, faults and support. Owner reviews are shown separately from expert tests and never mixed into the score.
Sources
Everything cited on this page. Expert scores are shown as the reviewer gave them.
- PCWorld: Seauto Crab robotic pool cleaner review: stick with the Shark · 1.5 / 5Hands-on · Tested in an L-shaped pool
- Seauto: Crab Cordless Robotic Pool Vacuum product pageManufacturer