Dolphin Nautilus Plus

[kgturner]

Just pulled the trigger on this cleaner. Should be here by Friday. This is my first robot. I've been manually vacuuming the pool since I moved into my home in June 2013. Hopefully this will make cleaning effortless. I'm dreaming of never having to touch that pool hose again. Anybody out there with this robot? Opinions?

Kevin T

 

[Divin Dave]

I have the regular Nautilus.
I didnt like vacuuming either so I got me a Nautilus based upon some good reviews of it plus the price point was right for me. I haven't vacuumed in 2 years now. The Nautilus does a very good job. Unless you get an odd dud, I think you will be very pleased.

Enjoy,

 

[albert436]

I just watched a youtube video on this, it looks amazing.

What powers it ? It says everything you need is in the box ! It shows a control box, I'm not sure what that is. I see a pressure hose (I think, or is that electricity?). So do you not need an auxiliary pump for this one ?

How heavy is it ? How many hours a day do you run it, or do you even run it every day ? Do you take it out and put it away out of the sun when not in use ? What is the point of the filters ? Do they pick up the fine dirt ?

OK lots of questions, thanks !

 

[Divin Dave]

Robots are powered by electricity. Everything you need is in the box. THe chord, the power unit and the robot. No assembly required.

The Power Unit plugs into the wall and there is a transformer in the power unit that transforms 120V to 24V DC. And there is a on/off button. Thats it. You dont need an aux pump with any robot.

My nautilus weights about 15ish pounds dry. Full of water, I suspect its close to 25 lbs.

I only run my robot about once a week, or more often if the pool bottom is dirty, which is usually in spring or fall. Basically, just run it when the pool needs it. All robots are automatically timed to run anywhere from 1 1/2 to 3 hours at a time. The nautulus will time out after 3 hours, which is usually way more than enough time required to clean the pool.

THe nautilus comes with 2 sets of filters. The "spring cleanup" is a mesh filter that is designed mostly just for leaves, acorns etc and lets the very fine dirt particles through. There is also a "fine" set of filters that will trap even the smallest dirt particle. the fine filters will also pick up the leaves and large stuff too. I always use the fine filters on mine. They pop in and out of the robot. Pop them out, hose them off and you're done. No mess no fuss. Only takes about 5 minutes to remove teh filters, spray the dirt off and put them back in.

There are not designed to be left in the pool permenantly, but leaving them in for a few days at a time does no harm to them. Take it out and store it in a deck box or under a convered patio or in a shady place is always a good idea so the sun doesnt get to it.

I love my robot and wouldnt be without one.

I just watched a youtube video on this, it looks amazing.

What powers it ? It says everything you need is in the box ! It shows a control box, I'm not sure what that is. I see a pressure hose (I think, or is that electricity?). So do you not need an auxiliary pump for this one ?

How heavy is it ? How many hours a day do you run it, or do you even run it every day ? Do you take it out and put it away out of the sun when not in use ? What is the point of the filters ? Do they pick up the fine dirt ?

OK lots of questions, thanks !

 

[albert436]

Thanks Dave !

 

[kgturner]

The Dolphin arrived today. One day delivery. Not bad! Of course they dropped shipped it from Atlanta and I'm 5 hours away from there so... I was gonna test it out, but now it's raining. I'm not risking the control box to weather. Maybe I'll make some manner of makeshift dry housing for it in the future.

Kevin T

 

[albert436]

So the control box isn't weather proof ?

Seems a little funny considering the electric cord has got to live underwater, and as DD says it can be left in the pool for a few days at a time if you really felt lazy, or forgot about it. But I totally understand the desire to keep it sheltered.

But would it really get damaged from some rain ?

Just wondering, I think they are probably closed now or I'd give a call to the place DD recommends.

 

[Divin Dave]

The control box is claimed to be rainproof. However it is NEVER a good idea to let any appliance which runs on 120 volts AC sit in the rain plugged up. The robot itself has a sealed motor which operates on 24 volts DC. There is a world of differnce in the two.

So the control box isn't weather proof ?

Seems a little funny considering the electric cord has got to live underwater, and as DD says it can be left in the pool for a few days at a time if you really felt lazy, or forgot about it. But I totally understand the desire to keep it sheltered.

But would it really get damaged from some rain ?

Just wondering, I think they are probably closed now or I'd give a call to the place DD recommends.

 

[kgturner]

So the control box isn't weather proof ?

Seems a little funny considering the electric cord has got to live underwater, and as DD says it can be left in the pool for a few days at a time if you really felt lazy, or forgot about it. But I totally understand the desire to keep it sheltered.

But would it really get damaged from some rain ?

Just wondering, I think they are probably closed now or I'd give a call to the place DD recommends.

I mean I could've put it under a lounge chair or something, but I'm just not willing to risk it. The control box isn't that big. I can just get a piece of tupperware or something to shield if from the rain.

Kevin T

 

[albert436]

Good point, I like your idea of building a little sheltered box for it to live in.

Until I read this thread and started exploring the subject, I thought there was no way I would want one of these things as I figured they were way overkill. But now I am thinking it is really the best way to go.

1. No need for auxiliary pump
2. No need to hook up to and unhook from skimmer vacuum port.
3. No need to program pump
4. Pool doesn't have built-in port for pressure cleaner, no need for pipe to cross deck
5. Unit doesn't weight that much and can be removed from pool fairly easily
6. It actually picks up dirt rather than just stirring it into the water like the pressure washer (vacuum cleaner also picks up dirt to be fair)
7. Price - not more than pressure cleaner considering need for aux pump (though more than simple vac cleaner)
8. Reputed to actually do a great job of cleaning

Cons
Reliability ? This may be problem with other type units as well, including Hayward Navigator Pro recommended to me, ie. parts need to be replaced somewhat frequently.
I'm still not convinced on its leaf picking up capability, without a bag it just looks a bit small.

Comments on the above ?

:fish:

 

[rdshackleford]

I have had my Nautilus Plus for less than 3 weeks and could not be happier with it. I've used it 5 times in conditions ranging from rather filthy with algea to quite clean with only a few bugs and grass clippings. I did a perfect job every time. Seems quality construction. It may miss a couple of spots at the top of the walls and the corners. It has a nice sturdy handle to remove it from the pool. Just lift it out swiftly so the dirt doesn't wash out of the filters back into the pool.

I would not consider the power unit to be waterproof or weatherproof. I cover mine with a plastic tub if it looks like it may rain. It runs for about 2 hours in my pool.

I like to lay on a lounge and watch him work. I like him so much, I named him. Agador Spartacus.

 

[botanica37]

I also love my Nautilus plus. Got it last week to replace my Aquabot Turbo and gosh, wished I had never invested in Aquabot...ever. The pop out filters are breeze to clean, it takes about 2-3 hours to clean the whole pool (vs the Aquabot, that used to take 5-6 hr). It moves very fast compared to Aquabot in some bizarre pattern, and yet it cleans everything. It will go all the way to the tile line when then the handle is facing the right way, since it is fixed. The cable is soft and rubbery and pliable, in comparison to the hard plastic that Aquabot came up with last year. Love it. Hoping it will last longer that the Aquabot, who broke after merely 3 months of use.

The replacement parts also seem cheaper than the Aquabot and from what I can see, the pump/drive motor is one unit, so hopefully replacement won't be as painful or expensive as with Aquabot. Wish I had bought this cleaner last year.

 

[kgturner]

I have had my Nautilus Plus for less than 3 weeks and could not be happier with it. I've used it 5 times in conditions ranging from rather filthy with algea to quite clean with only a few bugs and grass clippings. I did a perfect job every time. Seems quality construction. It may miss a couple of spots at the top of the walls and the corners. It has a nice sturdy handle to remove it from the pool. Just lift it out swiftly so the dirt doesn't wash out of the filters back into the pool.

I would not consider the power unit to be waterproof or weatherproof. I cover mine with a plastic tub if it looks like it may rain. It runs for about 2 hours in my pool.

I like to lay on a lounge and watch him work. I like him so much, I named him. Agador Spartacus.

Ha! We named ours Scooby. Kind of a play on scuba, but with name recognition. The leaves/debris are his Scooby snacks. Eat 'em up!

Kevin T

 

[albert436]

Great info, you guys are funny too !

So it picks up algae does it ? ? ? My mom's pool is full of it right now and I'm trying to figure out how to get rid of it without having to repeatedly backwash and clean her DE filter.

 

[Divin Dave]

Albert,
Please start a new thread with your own questions so we dont hijack the OPs thread.

 

[rdshackleford]

When I had algae, yes it would pick it up. The filters came out looking greener than Kermit the frog. You still have to brush and follow the TFPC method. But this sucker does a lot of heavy lifting for you.

Great info, you guys are funny too !

So it picks up algae does it ? ? ? My mom's pool is full of it right now and I'm trying to figure out how to get rid of it without having to repeatedly backwash and clean her DE filter.

 

[kgturner]

I've been maintaining my pool using the TFP method for about two years now. I'm still working on mastering it, but as far as algae goes....I don't get it anymore. I assume Scooby will pick it up if it's ever present. My main fight is with leaves, dead bugs, and this weird dust that settles into my pool. So far, I've used Scooby twice and both times the pool looked pretty dang clean.

Kevin T

 

[Alwayswantedapool]

Totally new to the whole pool thing, have only been in the new house with a pool for 10 days but ordered the Nautilus Plus after my first time to manually vacuum the pool. His name is Astro from the Jetsons. Got to use it for the first time today. I had manually vacuumed this morning and was really careful to do a good job. This evening I ran Astro and he still picked up a bunch of debris including a bunch of sand. Plus, my daughter lost an earring in the pool, we found the front but couldn't find the back. Astro found it, no problem. So my first experience with a robot, but I cant think of anything more you could want out of a pool vacuum, does a great job.

 

[kgturner]

Yeah, it's probably the best money I've put into the pool so far. We use the pool more now because it just stays cleaner. We just throw Scooby in there around 7 or 8 at night every other night. Hopefully my days of manually vacuuming the pool are at an end.

Kevin T

 

[Alwayswantedapool]

Even with the vacuum you still need to brush, right? Once a week? Twice a week?

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