Maytronics 12+ year Robotic Pool Cleaner User - Review (diagnostic but not limited to

[CaveDiver1932]

Maytronics 12+ year Robotic Pool Cleaner User - Review (diagnostic but not limited to)

I have been using Maytronics robotic pool cleaners (purchased one got another one from disgruntled owner curb side). I will be making two threads. This thread is the review of their Diagnostic which applies to many of their commercial and residential models. The second thread is where the company appears to be going with their products and business model.
Here is the good the bad and the ugly review. Both units are stored in a shed and not keep in the pool more than two days at a time.

The Good:

Excluding the motors and the flaw in the power supplies, the robots from the Diagnostic era are very well made. The comb brushes on these two units are over ten years old and still look new. Material is pliable and no missing leafs. The bag is still in good shape. It Shows wear as expected but still performs. When I purchased the unit I expected to replace the bag every two years. The quality of this bag was a pleasant surprise. Case has faded, but all plastic parts are intact and strong. Case has cosmetic scratches from banging on pool steps and corners, but still very solid. Inside track teeth do break and the cause is discussed in the ugly section below. I’m sure there is wear on the other parts, but they still function.​

The Bad:

1) The Power Supply:
The early model power supplies came with a seal between the power supply case and heat sink. There is about a centimeter between the circuit card heat sink. Because of their attempt to make the power supply case water resistant it also became a trap for condensation build up inside the unit. This moisture would bridge the gap between the heat sink and the circuit card resulting in the circuit card shorting out requiring circuit card replacement. In my case, the short happened about three months out of warranty. Part was about 110 US dollars. The service center was kind enough to sell and ship me the part without me sending the unit to them. Maytronics resolved this design issue by removing the seal which was not in the second unit (about a year newer). Removing the seal was also recommended by the service center. I considered this a minor repair considering the robustness of the rest of the machine (not including the motors).
2) The Motors/Motor Assembly:
I suspect this is the biggest complaint Maytronics has received on their robotic pool cleaners. If an owner gets 6 years out of the motors they can consider themselves fortunate. I was able to get about 6 years out of each machine but was not without tweaking and babying. The motors failing are not the biggest issue/complaint. The issue is the replacement price of 600-700 US dollars for a unit that cost 900 US dollars new. Apparently the motor cannot be purchased and the complete assembly must be purchased. It is ironic that a refurbished unit can be purchased for about the cost of the motor assembly. It is nice to see an advertisement by Maytronics which they have addressed this issue (more on this in the second thread).​

The Ugly:

It surprised me that I have not seen the ugly show up on any searches I have done.
1) Track Robots cannot pass over outlet nipples. This in itself is not the end of the world, but it does damage the unit. Over time the belts becomes stretched and torqued and the inside belt teeth break off and the belts come off jamming the machine. I noticed Maytronics has not address this issue in either of their new product lines. I suspect this is an issue for all track robots not just Maytronics.
See video of Supreme M4 at time 1:50 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8my5Tz40N38&app=desktop

Also can be seen on the commercial model Dolphin Wave 75 video at 9:30:
Dolphin Wave 75
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRlGBejDL0A&app=desktop

This type of nipple:

2) Wear on pool surface/finish
I’m surprised this has not been discussed. It is an issue for a lot of surfaces. In this photo it can be seen what 12+ years of robotic clearer use does to the finish.

Bumping that causes the issue can be seen at 12:05 of the Wave 75 video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRlGBejDL0A&app=desktop​

I had ruled out getting another Maytronics Dolphin because of the motor issue until I saw they had address the issue and also made parts owner replaceable with DIY. However that will be the topic of the next thread. Hopefully I can get some help with that dilemma.

Hope this helps folks doing their research on robotic cleaners
Cheers
CD.

 

[Patrick_B]

Welcome to the forum Cave Diver!

That's a lot of info information and will check out the videos as soon as I can. I'm getting a DX6 for my pool build...at least that's where I am right now. I Decided to trade it for a pressure side unit
straight up and ditch that whole idea of extra pump, cleaner hoses, etc. I was going premier, but decided I wanted to bag option. Hope you stick around and enjoy the forum.

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

I had a Dynamic that seemed to give up the ghost (thinking it is something internal). Now using a Diagnostic ... much preferred the dual motor in my first one though.

That rubbing seems very surprising to me ... I have never seen mine sit in one spot long enough that I would think that is a possibility.

 

[Patrick_B]

That's one of the things I went with those choices Jason. I hear the dual drive is much, much better.

 

[Isaac-1]

I too have now owned a couple of Dolphin products, the first was a Dolphin Diagnostic model 2001 bought used off ebay to get a feel for robots, it died after about 2.5 years (lighting zap, also lost other things at the same time), and was replaced Diagnostic Pro also bought off ebay last year, this one was previously owned, but new in open box for $300. The Pro looks the same as the old diagnostic, but in a blue / gray color scheme, it also seems to run faster and the power supply box is a different voltage.

Ike

 

[CaveDiver1932]

Welcome to TFP!!!


That rubbing seems very surprising to me ... I have never seen mine sit in one spot long enough that I would think that is a possibility.

Thanks for the welcome.
The rubbing occurs even with the high end machines. What you see in the pictures is long time use (12+years) on a pool finish that is thin (24+ years old). So what you see is exaggerated, but clearly shows the wear. Check the video I included an see how it repeatedly bounces in the corner. It will also wear the edges of steps like shown here..

 

[mhosborn]

Nice thread, CaveDiver!

Our two year old pool came with a DX4 robot. We had to replace the power supply about 60 days after opening the pool the first year. Last year, the power supply on button had to be pushed several times before the robot would start to work...sometimes as many as twenty times. Fortunately, I remembered this about a month ago, and was able to get (another) new power supply before the 2-year warranty expired.

 

[CaveDiver1932]

Since this diagnostic was dying of a slow death..(I suspected moisture had leaked into the motor assembly shorting out the circuit control board, I decided to take the motor assembly apart. That confirmed my suspicion that moisture had indeed leaked in:

Notice the corrosion on the circuit card.

I suspect the seal around the impeller motor is failing. Also the rear bearings have failed and are departing the motor housing:

Not worth messing with... So this is the replacement:

And Maytronics makes it clear on their stance on Internet purchases of this line:

 

[Thehobe]

I have had a dolphin Diagnostic since 2004 but only use it occasionally to sweep the bottom more effectively than the Letro Legend in ground pool sweep does. The unit, although used only 50-100 cycles over the years started to shorten it's cycle and now only runs a few minutes before shutting off. The PC board in the unit has been slightly damaged by water and did not seem to be the issue. I was very happy with the operation until the unit failed due to very slight leakage that wet the included dessicant package, resuting in tearing of the dessicant package and exposing the electronics to a caustic compound. I considered this a design flaw but got nowhere with Maytronics. Being a Electrical Design Engineer, I examined the electrical circuit and was surprised by some of the design work. The board was only revision 3 and the motor case only had half of the screws sealing the motor case present. The other screw positions had never been used and still had the cover plastic intact. The serial number on the unit and the motor was not a 9999 number but a totally different 120337JB66 code. This leads me to believe that I was sent an early run or an engineering unit and not a full production unit. I am thinking of redesigning the unit using an arduino type microcontroller and some high current, high voltage H-bridge motor drivers for the water pump motor (the one at the top of the Dolphin case). I have also found stress cracks around the track motor due to the load of the track system.
Nice units, nice design but only good for very frequent use before water leaks into the motor unit.