Cheapest Dolphin with tangle free chord and programable

[kevreh]

Looking at a robotic cleaner. Years ago I had an Aquabot and hated that the chord would tangle and that you couldn't program it. So, if I get a new 'bot those are two main areas of improvement. I know the high end Premier has a basic schedule feature, but any lower cost models?

 

[Patrick_B]

I dont know, but even the best aren't completely tangle free. The swivels help, and aren't perfect, but even when these tangle a bit, it doesn't hinder performance at all. If you can talk yourself into it, I always encourage people to get the best cleaner they possibly can. $$ equal cleaning power, and Ive never regretted a dime spent on my original purchase.

 

[kevreh]

...get the best cleaner they possibly can. $$ equal cleaning power, and Ive never regretted a dime spent on my original purchase.

Isn't that how it always is, trying to figure out what you should spend on a purchase. Through the years, the times I've regretted spending less on a purchase (for less features and quality) far outweigh the times I've regretted spending more. Actually, come to think of it, I can't think of anything I've regretted spending more on. lol

Years ago I had an Aquabot. Things I hated about it is the chord getting tangled, the underside cartridge system, the weight lifting it out of the water, and lack of scheduling. It seems like models like Doheny Discovery, Saturn, Dolphin Cayman, S200, S300, Quantum, M5, and other similar ones a lot of these issue have been addressed. I think the Dolphin logic is designed so the path minimizes chord tangling, iirc. But I would really like to stay at the $700-ish pricepoint the Discovery, Saturn and Cayman are at.

 

[Patrick_B]

That's your best choice then. I've said this a lot, and so have the S series owners, but I honestly don't think I've ever bought any sort of widget in my life I was so impressed with. And I expect my monies worth. The M5 gave it in spades.

 

[kevreh]

Interesting that the warranty on most of those models is 2 years but the Cayman only one year. Wonder why. Plan to use my Capital One credit card to double the warranty.

 

[bmoreswim]

Marketing and price point on the warranty. Longer warranty pushes folks to the higher models or so the theory goes.

 

[kevreh]

Good point.Higher cost means they can probably support the product longer.

 

[BobbyR]

Higher end Dolphin models used to include a cord swivel, centre brush and programmability (maybe they still do.) My M4 has all three. I wouldn't give up the swivel or the centre brush as these are very important features. Cord tangling is annoying and persistent drain hangups can completely defeat the purpose of an automatic cleaner. Programmability, on the other hand, is unimportant, perhaps even useless. After sweeping a dirty pool, the filters must be cleaned before the next use and Maytronics instructions say not to leave the cleaner in the pool between uses anyway. Makes no sense.

 

[kywildcats]

I have a Dolphin Primal X3 which I think is on the lower end of the Dolphin line. It has the swivel cord and is programmable too. It climbs the walls and does a very good job of cleaning my pool. I gave $599 and free shipping from Amazon about this time last year. Came with two year warranty!