Maytronics Dolphin swivel question

[frank1823]

Apologies if this has already been asked and answered. I searched and could not find. I have a Dolphin S300 pool robot. About 4 or 5 months ago I had a local pool supply company repair it under warranty. The 2 year warranty has since expired. They replaced the power supply/control unit and the control cable or whatever its called - the 50 foot blue cable. I just recently came to the realization that when they replaced my blue cable, they replaced it with the non swivel type. It originally had a swivel cable. When I got it back the last time I had been noticing that the cable was often tangled up. And by often I mean after every cycle. Then I read somewhere, probably here, that sometimes the swivels can get stuck and periodically need a little maintenance. That is when I realized I no longer had a swivel cable. WTH???? I know I had it before so it didn't take much brain power to figure out what happened. "Flipper" has never been anywhere since it arrived new at our house EXCEPT the repair shop. I am not going back to the company to demand a new cable as too much time has passed and they are not very nice people as it is. (we had a falling out over them wanting to charge me a 60 dollar shop fee for doing warranty repairs) Sorry to take so long to arrive at my question but I thought context was important, perhaps not. What I am wondering is if my non swivel cable can be made into a swivel cable? I see that you can purchase the swivel end but I don't know if its that simple or if the rest of the cable is different also. I know some will say it doesn't really help but I can assure you in my particular case it most certainly made a difference. Any help will be appreciated.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Apologies if this has already been asked and answered. I searched and could not find. I have a Dolphin S300 pool robot. About 4 or 5 months ago I had a local pool supply company repair it under warranty. The 2 year warranty has since expired. They replaced the power supply/control unit and the control cable or whatever its called - the 50 foot blue cable. I just recently came to the realization that when they replaced my blue cable, they replaced it with the non swivel type. It originally had a swivel cable. When I got it back the last time I had been noticing that the cable was often tangled up. And by often I mean after every cycle. Then I read somewhere, probably here, that sometimes the swivels can get stuck and periodically need a little maintenance. That is when I realized I no longer had a swivel cable. WTF???? I know I had it before so it didn't take much brain power to figure out what happened. "Flipper" has never been anywhere since it arrived new at our house EXCEPT the repair shop. I am not going back to the company to demand a new cable as too much time has passed and they are not very nice people as it is. (we had a falling out over them wanting to charge me a 60 dollar shop fee for doing warranty repairs) Sorry to take so long to arrive at my question but I thought context was important, perhaps not. What I am wondering is if my non swivel cable can be made into a swivel cable? I see that you can purchase the swivel end but I don't know if its that simple or if the rest of the cable is different also. I know some will say it doesn't really help but I can assure you in my particular case it most certainly made a difference. Any help will be appreciated.

I believe there are kits for adding the swivel to an existing fixed cable. It will require cutting the existing cable and wiring it up. It’s not hard work but, honestly, I wouldn’t do it. I would be more inclined to simply buy the swivel cable itself (sadly, $200 …) and just put a whole new cable on it. That way all of the connectors and pins are factory built and probably more reliable than what you would do on your own. Not knocking your skills, but sometimes the simpler and expensive route is worth the lesser hassle.

 

[frank1823]

I believe there are kits for adding the swivel to an existing fixed cable. It will require cutting the existing cable and wiring it up. It’s not hard work but, honestly, I wouldn’t do it. I would be more inclined to simply buy the swivel cable itself (sadly, $200 …) and just put a whole new cable on it. That way all of the connectors and pins are factory built and probably more reliable than what you would do on your own. Not knocking your skills, but sometimes the simpler and expensive route is worth the lesser hassle.

I believe there are kits for adding the swivel to an existing fixed cable. It will require cutting the existing cable and wiring it up. It’s not hard work but, honestly, I wouldn’t do it. I would be more inclined to simply buy the swivel cable itself (sadly, $200 …) and just put a whole new cable on it. That way all of the connectors and pins are factory built and probably more reliable than what you would do on your own. Not knocking your skills, but sometimes the simpler and expensive route is worth the lesser hassle.

I was hoping maybe there was a plug and play option. I hadn't looked closely at the existing white joint that I thought was the swivel. I was hoping perhaps it could be disassembled from there and a swivel screwed in its place. If it requires cutting the cable, I agree with you, probably not a good idea. Yes, I've been eyeballing that 200 dollar cable thinking I just need to be done with it but I am a little hesitant since I just ordered a new 350 dollar motor assembly since mine could no longer be saved. I have to say, it seems the Dolphin is good for about 2 years before a major rebuild is required. Still cheaper than 1400 for a new one but you will easily spend half that every two years if you have to pay labor for a shop to do it. It doesn't seem like one is better than another either. They all suffer from the same failure points as they have similar construction.

 

[SteveK52]

Apologies if this has already been asked and answered. I searched and could not find. I have a Dolphin S300 pool robot. About 4 or 5 months ago I had a local pool supply company repair it under warranty. The 2 year warranty has since expired. They replaced the power supply/control unit and the control cable or whatever its called - the 50 foot blue cable. I just recently came to the realization that when they replaced my blue cable, they replaced it with the non swivel type. It originally had a swivel cable. When I got it back the last time I had been noticing that the cable was often tangled up. And by often I mean after every cycle. Then I read somewhere, probably here, that sometimes the swivels can get stuck and periodically need a little maintenance. That is when I realized I no longer had a swivel cable. WTH???? I know I had it before so it didn't take much brain power to figure out what happened. "Flipper" has never been anywhere since it arrived new at our house EXCEPT the repair shop. I am not going back to the company to demand a new cable as too much time has passed and they are not very nice people as it is. (we had a falling out over them wanting to charge me a 60 dollar shop fee for doing warranty repairs) Sorry to take so long to arrive at my question but I thought context was important, perhaps not. What I am wondering is if my non swivel cable can be made into a swivel cable? I see that you can purchase the swivel end but I don't know if its that simple or if the rest of the cable is different also. I know some will say it doesn't really help but I can assure you in my particular case it most certainly made a difference. Any help will be appreciated.

I would give Maytronics a call and explain what happened. They should correct the problem that was caused during a warranty repair. I have had very good experiences with them.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I was hoping maybe there was a plug and play option. I hadn't looked closely at the existing white joint that I thought was the swivel. I was hoping perhaps it could be disassembled from there and a swivel screwed in its place. If it requires cutting the cable, I agree with you, probably not a good idea. Yes, I've been eyeballing that 200 dollar cable thinking I just need to be done with it but I am a little hesitant since I just ordered a new 350 dollar motor assembly since mine could no longer be saved. I have to say, it seems the Dolphin is good for about 2 years before a major rebuild is required. Still cheaper than 1400 for a new one but you will easily spend half that every two years if you have to pay labor for a shop to do it. It doesn't seem like one is better than another either. They all suffer from the same failure points as they have similar construction.

Robots are designed for failure … 3-5 years is the best you can expect out of them and then an expensive repair is required. It is often not economically sensible to do the repair but to simply throw the bot in the trash and buy new. I have a dead $1100 S300i sitting my garage. I got roughly 5 seasons out of it. $220/year for a cleaner … not worth it. I went back to a suction side cleaner. At $220/year, I can buy a brand new suction cleaner every 2 years for the cost of a robot.

 

[frank1823]

I would give Maytronics a call and explain what happened. They should correct the problem that was caused during a warranty repair. I have had very good experiences with them.

I hear you Steve, and I have had very good experiences with them as well. They have replaced the control unit 2 previous times where they just sent me a replacement, however when it was suspected the cable was at fault on the 3rd warranty claim they said it needed to be taken to a local dealer or sent to them for the repair. So it would have to go back to the same bozos that I swore I would never deal with again. You got me thinking though, maybe I will give them a call and ask.

 

[frank1823]

Robots are designed for failure … 3-5 years is the best you can expect out of them and then an expensive repair is required. It is often not economically sensible to do the repair but to simply throw the bot in the trash and buy new. I have a dead $1100 S300i sitting my garage. I got roughly 5 seasons out of it. $220/year for a cleaner … not worth it. I went back to a suction side cleaner. At $220/year, I can buy a brand new suction cleaner every 2 years for the cost of a robot.

That's a lot of money per year but looking at the big picture, it makes sense even though I don't like it one bit. My personal experience has been that with my pool, equipment, and frequency of use, I run the Dolphin several times a day, and by the time I get home, I at most have to use a net to grab a few rogue leaves out. Rarely more than that. I had to buy a suction side cleaner kit to use while my Dolphin was in the shop. And wow does that blow! It takes me at minimum 45 minutes to clean my pool and that's assuming the pool isn't too dirty all the while anxious kiddos are orbiting the pool waiting for me to give them the go ahead to jump in. My buddy has a pool and he uses the suction side kit to clean his pool and he has it ready to go in 15 minutes. His pool however is 6,800 gallons. Mine is 18,000 gallons and 35 feet long. If I had a smaller pool that would be an option but as it is, I just don't have the time. My grandkids and kids show up for swimming and dinner 2 to 3 times a week and they're usually at the house by the time I get home from work. The alternative would be that I use a pool service to keep my pool clean but even then, it is a far cry from what the Dolphin can do, and a heck of a lot more expensive. (150 per week) I would have to pay to have it cleaned twice a week to maintain it almost as clean as the Dolphin does. I shouldn't gripe about it because in the grand scheme of things it is much cheaper than some of the alternatives but I feel they could make those little contraptions a little more robust. Almost like they design them to fail in two years.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

My pool was built with a dedicated suction line and a wall port. So my suction cleaner runs all day right along with the pool pump running for the skimmer and the SWG. So it doesn't cost me any extra to run it and I don't have to fool around with skimmer plates or diverter valves. Its basically "set it and forget it" and it keeps the pool clean just as well as my robot ever did. The only time it needs to be hauled out is when the kids want to swim. For my pool, it is the cleaner that works best with the least amount of fiddling around. YMMV.

... Almost like tThey ARE designED them to fail in two years.

Fixed it for you ...

 

[frank1823]

My pool was built with a dedicated suction line and a wall port. So my suction cleaner runs all day right along with the pool pump running for the skimmer and the SWG. So it doesn't cost me any extra to run it and I don't have to fool around with skimmer plates or diverter valves. Its basically "set it and forget it" and it keeps the pool clean just as well as my robot ever did. The only time it needs to be hauled out is when the kids want to swim. For my pool, it is the cleaner that works best with the least amount of fiddling around. YMMV.


Fixed it for you ...

Now that seems like a viable alternative if I had a dedicated suction line. Unfortunately I do not have one. Wish there was a way to add one but it seems like it would be an expensive undertaking as there is no way to access my pool plumbing because of the concrete decking. What I meant by a suction side cleaner that I use when the Dolphin is down is the hose, pole and vacuum attachment that I have to manually scrub every surface of my pool with. Granted, an hour spent in the pool cleaning is still better than a great hour at work but still. The Dolphin would be the perfect contraption if its main Achilles heel was the plastic wheels and bushings that need to be replaced regularly. As it is, the main issue is the electric motors they use, in my case the impeller motor got worn out in two years. Mine had tons of carbon build up inside the motor which I cleaned and put it back in service, but I noted the brushes were almost gone. It lasted several days and died again. This time it was fatal. Apparently my taking the electric motor apart was more than it could bare. It leaked water inside from the shaft seal, then partially flooded the motor assembly casing. Dont know if that killed the circuit board in there but I decided to just replace the whole assembly.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Now that seems like a viable alternative if I had a dedicated suction line. Unfortunately I do not have one. Wish there was a way to add one but it seems like it would be an expensive undertaking as there is no way to access my pool plumbing because of the concrete decking. What I meant by a suction side cleaner that I use when the Dolphin is down is the hose, pole and vacuum attachment that I have to manually scrub every surface of my pool with. Granted, an hour spent in the pool cleaning is still better than a great hour at work but still. The Dolphin would be the perfect contraption if its main Achilles heel was the plastic wheels and bushings that need to be replaced regularly. As it is, the main issue is the electric motors they use, in my case the impeller motor got worn out in two years. Mine had tons of carbon build up inside the motor which I cleaned and put it back in service, but I noted the brushes were almost gone. It lasted several days and died again. This time it was fatal. Apparently my taking the electric motor apart was more than it could bare. It leaked water inside from the shaft seal, then partially flooded the motor assembly casing. Dont know if that killed the circuit board in there but I decided to just replace the whole assembly.

Yes. That’s the standard failure-mode for the motor assemblies. They use cheap, brushed motors for the drive and impeller motors and they have a finite life. Anyone that understands good engineering practice knows you NEVER use a brushed motor inside a confined space. It’s a choice that’s completely predicated on making the motor assemblies as cheap as possible. Brushless motors would be a much more reliable choice but it would require redesigning their control board to handle motors like that. They’re too invested in their current design to make a significant change like that. Apparently their commercial-grade robots use brushless motors so perhaps they’ll make that switch in the future …