Having read through the entirety of Matt's saga (a thread I desperately wish I had stumbled across before I bought a robot cleaner), I determined unequivocally that I have been a bad robot parent. [That is to say "a bad parent of a robot," the robot is not bad and I'm not a robot, or a bad robot for that matter; you get it.] I've had my Maytronics Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus (dubbed "Quinn the Eskimo") for 2 seasons. I have left it in the water for 90% of the time I've owned it, including the cold winter months and while adding chlorine. Shameful.
I needed to replace one of the Might Quinn's side floats. A typical problem with these guys is wear of the side floats. The clearance between the side float and the middle track bearings is very slim. So, if the tread jumps for any reason, it ends up eating away at the polystyrene float. Here's a pic of the worn float next to a new one:
A good indicator that this is happening is tiny balls of styrofoam in your skimmer.
You can easily replace these yourself. The part number is 6250951 and Marina Pool Spa & Patio offers fast and reasonable shipping.
Anyway, while I had Quinn apart, I figured I'd crack open the motor housing and check the conditions in there. Resolved to my fate as a bad robot parent (see above), I was expecting the worst. Happily, that was not the case. It's not a great pic, but everything was dry as a bone and looked good, despite years of neglect.
There was a good deal of typical Arizona sand and grit built up around the seal:
I cleaned all of that up (I found a wooden toothpick was especially helpful for this task) and re-lubed the seal real good. Put it all back together and Quinn is running like new (well running like he always has, anyway).
I've added a reminder to my calendar to do this annually. I've also purchased a caddy for Quinn and am committed to removing him from the pool and rinsing him off after each cleaning cycle.
I'm grateful for this trusty robot who does a great job cleaning up. I'm (undeservedly) grateful that my ignorance didn't result in any damage. And I'm grateful to Matt and this forum for the advice and assistance. Thanks, TFP!
I needed to replace one of the Might Quinn's side floats. A typical problem with these guys is wear of the side floats. The clearance between the side float and the middle track bearings is very slim. So, if the tread jumps for any reason, it ends up eating away at the polystyrene float. Here's a pic of the worn float next to a new one:
A good indicator that this is happening is tiny balls of styrofoam in your skimmer.
You can easily replace these yourself. The part number is 6250951 and Marina Pool Spa & Patio offers fast and reasonable shipping.
Anyway, while I had Quinn apart, I figured I'd crack open the motor housing and check the conditions in there. Resolved to my fate as a bad robot parent (see above), I was expecting the worst. Happily, that was not the case. It's not a great pic, but everything was dry as a bone and looked good, despite years of neglect.
There was a good deal of typical Arizona sand and grit built up around the seal:
I cleaned all of that up (I found a wooden toothpick was especially helpful for this task) and re-lubed the seal real good. Put it all back together and Quinn is running like new (well running like he always has, anyway).
I've added a reminder to my calendar to do this annually. I've also purchased a caddy for Quinn and am committed to removing him from the pool and rinsing him off after each cleaning cycle.
I'm grateful for this trusty robot who does a great job cleaning up. I'm (undeservedly) grateful that my ignorance didn't result in any damage. And I'm grateful to Matt and this forum for the advice and assistance. Thanks, TFP!
