My Dolphin S200 is failing. Again. It is 5 years old. I replaced the bearings in the impeller motor a year (or two?) ago myself with great success, but now the drive motor seems to have reached the end of its life and is seizing. Unfortunately, based on Internet searching and the forums here, it is about impossible to find a replacement drive motor (except for a sketchy $200 used part from Israel on e-bay). I am unwilling to pay the $490 Maytronics wants for a full electronics/motor replacement unit when all I need is a motor assembly that should cost no more than $25 to make (and probably much less at their volumes).
What now? The options I am considering:
Edit: I added item 5- a Pool Blaster or similar. I spent a little time looking at them today and think they might be the right compromise for me between cost and effort. At a little over $100 on Amazon for a non-name brand model, I may get one to use for the rest of this season to see how it goes. At that price point, it's less than the electricity cost to run the Polaris 360 for a season. The only thing I have to lose is the time to use it. Maybe I can convince my kids to take it on as a chore...
What now? The options I am considering:
- Purchase a $25 motor with as similar specs as I can find (24V, 100RPM, .6Nm torque) and try to hack the existing drive gear and bulkhead onto it in a watertight manner to repair my Dolphin
- Buy a new booster pump and resurrect my old Polaris 360 pressure side cleaner (It is always needing new parts as well, but at least they are available. I got the Dolphin when my booster pump died)
- Try out a Kreepy Krauly suction side cleaner
- Suck it up and spend big bucks on a new robot
- Get a Pool Blaster or similar hand held pole vac
Edit: I added item 5- a Pool Blaster or similar. I spent a little time looking at them today and think they might be the right compromise for me between cost and effort. At a little over $100 on Amazon for a non-name brand model, I may get one to use for the rest of this season to see how it goes. At that price point, it's less than the electricity cost to run the Polaris 360 for a season. The only thing I have to lose is the time to use it. Maybe I can convince my kids to take it on as a chore...
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