Why oh Why did the Jandy Vac end up in the cemetery? 18 years and the best cleaner I have ever had.... NOW 2 years with a polaris.. and it went kerplunk...did not like it anyway. . Looking at the robotic and heard Dolphin was the best -- by who? -- people who sell Dolphins... Trying to decipher which Dolphin is which - is like looking at mattresses. Every company has their 'own' name and I have no idea which to buy... I see the motors going out in 3 years and replacement costs high... unless under warranty.. My pool is 7' deep to 3 1/2 'deep and is rectangle with some angles.. About 40' long and 15' wide... I want the sides and wide steps vacuumed . We get debris from the golf course and some landscaping leaves every day.. WHICH one should I get? Do I really need the remote or is it just a play gadget? Will the computer chip in the Dolphin handle the areas to vacuum successfully without the remote? I read where the Dolphin does not work in cold water.. Well our pool is running all year --- Texas----- and the water temp. does get below 60. Anyone have an issue with this? help..gotta make a decision..... grannie...
Looking at robotic cleaners and going nuts. help
- Thread starter gami6
- Start date
I just went through the same thing. I don't think there is one web site that actually compares them all. I think the manufacturers purposely re-brand them, change colors just to keep the buying public confused. I wound up purchasing a Aquabot Elite RC. I was going to purchasethe Dolphin DX5 plus for $1,045.00 delivered. The Dolphin comes with a caddy, a remote, and a 3 year warranty. Before I pulled the trigger I went down to my local pool store to see if they had anything. They didn't, but they tried to get me to buy the Polaris 9300xi. But I knew I didn't want that. Then they pushed the Aquabot. They gave me the same deal as he Dolphin, with the bonus that they are an authorized service center for Aquabot. So if I ever do have a problem I can take it to them instead of having to hassle with shipping. So I went with the Aquabot for that reason, and it's American made (Dolphin is made in Israel) and it has water jets to help loosen the dirt. So, I'm basically happy with it. I don't care for the remote. Mine has a three way remote (forward, back and turn). The Dolphin has a 4 way remote. The Dolphin also has a split front roller. I didn't know what the advantage of that was at the time. I do now. With split rollers your remote can tell the cleaner to turn right or left. What the Aquabot does to turn is kinda of a little ballet. It stops, the side with the power cord will float off the pool floor, the other side moves forward causing the cleaner to turn. The floating side then falls back to the floor and the cleaner goes off in a new direction. Sounds complicated,but so far it's working perfectly. Overall I'm happy with the Aquabot. It picks up a lot of dirt (a lot!). It covers about 90% of the pool on it's own. It climbs to the water line, no problem. The caddy is Crud. No place to store the power module. Assuming the Dolphin cleans as well as the Aquabot (and again, the Aquabot cleans really well) I would probably get the Dolphin for the split front roller, four way remote and caddy that stores the power module.
Thanks for your input... I think the 2 brushes have more maneuverability since I finally talked to someone who had one and really liked it.
He had it 2 years without problems and 'said' there are Dolphin authorized service centers if something goes wrong... Now I will check on that to see if they repair online purchases -- not from them... and you are SO right about the 'colors' and 'names' and everything else to confuse comparisons.
He had it 2 years without problems and 'said' there are Dolphin authorized service centers if something goes wrong... Now I will check on that to see if they repair online purchases -- not from them... and you are SO right about the 'colors' and 'names' and everything else to confuse comparisons.
Check out the SmartPool Nitro. It can be found for about $330. Works well overall. I had mine replaced after 2 years due to a motor sensor going out. (Extended warranty by VISA covered it.)
The nitro model doesn't do walls. I brush manually, but does go up to the 90 degree position then reverses.
The nitro model doesn't do walls. I brush manually, but does go up to the 90 degree position then reverses.
Thanks BoBo--- The walls here get lots of algae in the hot Texas weather.. The wall brushing is important because of my age and hand surgery so I bought the bullet ordered that Dolphin DX5 just now with the remote---so I can remotely move it over to the stairs without pulling on the power cord and get it out easier . I will definitely be posting what I think of it when I clean this pool for the first time.. Did not have a working cleaner for 2 months and it better work it's miracle.. thanks for the nitro experience. I did look at it but I am an old person... no brushing...
Gami6, Boy do I agree with you. Trying to find comparisons on robotic cleaners is like trying to compare mattress. Crazy and impossible. Hand vacuuming sounds better and better all the time. I honestly believe the manufacturers could sell more units if they would make it easier and fairer for buyers.
Dolphin deluxe 5 is a great robot -- you'll be happy with it. If taken good care of, should also last a long time with minimal repairs. Just be careful when taking it out of the pool, you have to manually grab the handle when it gets close to the surface (do not tug on the power cord) and it will be quite heavy for a few seconds until the water drains out. Every once in awhile you'll have to clean out the turbine at the top of the unit. The bag also needs to be put through the washer more often than desired. Otherwise, it does its thing and works great...store it safely indoors or in the garage when not using.
I think both aquabot and dolphin are good manufacturers and really the only pool robotic vendors worth considering, but they have their good and bad models and quality years.....the biggest purchasing determinant is probably the location of the nearest repair center....dolphin has an arrangement with leslies which we haven't had to use yet, but which ended up tilting our purchase decision.
I think both aquabot and dolphin are good manufacturers and really the only pool robotic vendors worth considering, but they have their good and bad models and quality years.....the biggest purchasing determinant is probably the location of the nearest repair center....dolphin has an arrangement with leslies which we haven't had to use yet, but which ended up tilting our purchase decision.