I have received a lot of good information on this site, so I thought I'd share my purchase of the S300i.
Summary: Called Atlas Pools in Atlanta. Did a phone order (not internet order) for $1200. Comes with full warranty. Got it shipped to my house in 2 days. It does a great job of cleaning.
I have had two Pentair Kreepy Krauly that worked great but was very finicky. Replaced it with a "The Pool Cleaner Next Generation" - which is a piece of junk. Last year, we spent $33K to remodel our pool. The wife told me that after spending $33K on the pool remodel, we should buy a good pool cleaner to protect our investment. (HAHA... pools are NEVER an investment.)
I originally was planning on getting the Dolphin OASIS Z5 from Epic Pool Supply for $1099. Then my neighbor mentioned the Dolphin s300i. I really liked that the S300i has a bigger basket, lighter weight, built in timer, and sleek look. However, it doesn't have a swivel cord (the only con I could think of at the time). I liked that the Z5 has a swivel cord and proven reliability/functionality - but it is also bigger and heavier. The S300i is only sold by B&M and not through the internet. My neighbor contacted our Maytronics rep to connect us with a local dealer (really not that local to us). After a week of multiple messages, the dealer never returned any phone calls. Guess he really didn't want to sell anything. The estimate we got from the Maytronics rep was probably around $1400 + tax = $1500. That's $400 more than the Z5. I made up my mind, I was going to get a Z5. But part of me still really wanted the "newest toy."
At the last moment, I decided to call Bryan from Atlas Pool in Atlanta to see if I can order one through the phone and pay to have it shipped out here. I also confirmed with him that warranty was still intact because it was not an internet order - but a phone order. He said that he had confirmed the warranty with his Maytronics rep. He even put on my quote that the unit came with a 2 year warranty. Using my credit card added another year of warranty. The quoted price was $1200 + tax + $35 shipping. Since I bought two units, he reduced the price by 7% to basically cover tax. Out out the door, the cost was $1235 each with the purchase of two units - or $136 more than the Z5. I ordered the S300i.
I ran the unit three times yesterday (first day) to play with it. I have to say - it's amazing how clean my pool is now! The dirt on the bottom is all gone. The cleaner did get hung up on my main drain pool cover. I need to order a flat cover. So far - I am very happy.
Minh
Summary: Called Atlas Pools in Atlanta. Did a phone order (not internet order) for $1200. Comes with full warranty. Got it shipped to my house in 2 days. It does a great job of cleaning.
I have had two Pentair Kreepy Krauly that worked great but was very finicky. Replaced it with a "The Pool Cleaner Next Generation" - which is a piece of junk. Last year, we spent $33K to remodel our pool. The wife told me that after spending $33K on the pool remodel, we should buy a good pool cleaner to protect our investment. (HAHA... pools are NEVER an investment.)
I originally was planning on getting the Dolphin OASIS Z5 from Epic Pool Supply for $1099. Then my neighbor mentioned the Dolphin s300i. I really liked that the S300i has a bigger basket, lighter weight, built in timer, and sleek look. However, it doesn't have a swivel cord (the only con I could think of at the time). I liked that the Z5 has a swivel cord and proven reliability/functionality - but it is also bigger and heavier. The S300i is only sold by B&M and not through the internet. My neighbor contacted our Maytronics rep to connect us with a local dealer (really not that local to us). After a week of multiple messages, the dealer never returned any phone calls. Guess he really didn't want to sell anything. The estimate we got from the Maytronics rep was probably around $1400 + tax = $1500. That's $400 more than the Z5. I made up my mind, I was going to get a Z5. But part of me still really wanted the "newest toy."
At the last moment, I decided to call Bryan from Atlas Pool in Atlanta to see if I can order one through the phone and pay to have it shipped out here. I also confirmed with him that warranty was still intact because it was not an internet order - but a phone order. He said that he had confirmed the warranty with his Maytronics rep. He even put on my quote that the unit came with a 2 year warranty. Using my credit card added another year of warranty. The quoted price was $1200 + tax + $35 shipping. Since I bought two units, he reduced the price by 7% to basically cover tax. Out out the door, the cost was $1235 each with the purchase of two units - or $136 more than the Z5. I ordered the S300i.
I ran the unit three times yesterday (first day) to play with it. I have to say - it's amazing how clean my pool is now! The dirt on the bottom is all gone. The cleaner did get hung up on my main drain pool cover. I need to order a flat cover. So far - I am very happy.
Minh
