Will a robotic cleaner go over dividing wall from pool to spa?

[william13]

I am continuing to cut the cord from pool service team. I am very involved in balancing. Looking into robotics
for my pool. It has a spa separated from pool by a thin wall (? 8 inch wide). Will it clean spa too without being placed in it directly?
While I am doing research would like recommendations of what and where to get.
Thank you

 

[Bperry]

I am continuing to cut the cord from pool service team. I am very involved in balancing. Looking into robotics
for my pool. It has a spa separated from pool by a thin wall (? 8 inch wide). Will it clean spa too without being placed in it directly?
While I am doing research would like recommendations of what and where to get.
Thank you

It won’t climb over walls.

 

[william13]

Thank you!
Noticed that you use a Dolphin. How did you settle on this vs other brands?

 

[Bperry]

Thank you!
Noticed that you use a Dolphin. How did you settle on this vs other brands?

I could get it on Amazon was the big plus. maytronics is one of the big brands so I figured if there was a problem I could return it.

 

[Jimrahbe]

William,

Robots are not really built to clean a spa, unless it is a swimming pool sized spa... Even if you manually put the robot in the spa, I doubt it would do much cleaning. That said, the robot should not be able to climb the wall and then fall into the spa.

Just to be clear, Robots are powered by low voltage DC.. Many people call Suction side and Pressure side 'water powered' cleaners, Robots, which technically they are not. Which style cleaner are you looking for?

I buy a ton of stuff off of Amazon, but it is not where I recommend most people buy their robots. I have a couple of rent house pools, that have Dolphin robots, but the one I like the best is the one I have at my house, the EVO.. See the review below..

New EVO 614i Robot Pool Cleaner Review

About a month ago I needed a new robot pool cleaner and I contacted Margaret at Marina Pool and Spa. My initial goal was to buy another S200 "style" robot as I have been happy with them so far. Margaret suggested that I might want to look at a new line of robot cleaners that Marina is now...

www.google.com

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[william13]

Wow! Thats quite a review. My hats off to you to be able to analyze a complicated subject with multiple details like this. I would imagine there are enviremental or physical circumstances where one might choose one over the other. Last night a small weather front blew a lot of large leaves into the pool. I think this is where basket size would matter. The evo seems to have a lot of pluses but I wonder quantitatively how this would effect me in terms of whether or not I would be changing the basket more than once a day.....

 

[Newdude]

I would imagine there are enviremental or physical circumstances where one might choose one over the other

No two pools are the same, or experience the same. Amazon won't tell you those details. That's a big reason why we always recommend calling Marina pools and spa in Denver. Not only are Margaret and Seth TFP friendly with great advice, they often have the best price with fast and free shipping.

It's repeated here over and over everytime someone new calls them. 'Holy cow they were great', or such.

 

[Bperry]

Wow! Thats quite a review. My hats off to you to be able to analyze a complicated subject with multiple details like this. I would imagine there are enviremental or physical circumstances where one might choose one over the other. Last night a small weather front blew a lot of large leaves into the pool. I think this is where basket size would matter. The evo seems to have a lot of pluses but I wonder quantitatively how this would effect me in terms of whether or not I would be changing the basket more than once a day.....

If it helps any, I’d choose a different model when mine dies. I don’t like having to clean two separate small baskets and would prefer just cleaning a single larger basket.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Will,

Just so that we are on the same page... A robot will only pick up the leaves that sink to the bottom of your pool. 90% of the leaves should go into your skimmers, where they will clog that basket..

Dolphins do have a bigger basket, but that does not really mean they will pick up more stuff.. The Dolphins have an open ended bag at the entrance to the basket.. This 'bag' is there to prevent the contents of the basket from going back into the pool when you remove the robot from the water. Unfortunately, this bag restricts the entrance to the basket and it will often will clog with leaves and leave the basket basically empty. Seems to be a matter of the size and shape of the leaves. I doubt there is a lot of difference between the two baskets in what they can actually pick up.

Robots, in general, are not designed to pick up a ton of leaves off the bottom of your pool. That is what a Leaf Rack is for.

I don't get a lot of leaves, so it is not much of an issue for me.

Edit.. Dolphin has several styles of robots.. My comments about the 'bags' were based on the newer S200 style robots, like the one in the Review. The older style Dolphins had two small filter baskets like mentioned by Bperry..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[william13]

25% on bottom. Lots on top also

 

[Jimrahbe]

Will,

How many skimmers do you have?

Do they have operating weir doors?

How many hours a day does your pump run?

Your water seems awful 'still', but it could just be the pic.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Newdude]

And what's the pump runtime ? If the pump is off for 12 to 16 hours a day, that's a long time for crud to blow in and sink. Once it's waterlogged it's no being skimmed from the half way down or the floor.

 

[william13]

Will,

How many skimmers do you have? Just 2 (middle of pool occupied by stairs on one side and spa on other).

Do they have operating weir doors? yes doors

How many hours a day does your pump run? 12

Your water seems awful 'still', but it could just be the pic. Can you see evidence of water movement on a still photo

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[william13]

And what's the pump runtime ? If the pump is off for 12 to 16 hours a day, that's a long time for crud to blow in and sink. Once it's waterlogged it's no being skimmed from the half way down or the floor.

The storm occurred overnight when pump was off

 

[Bperry]

The storm occurred overnight when pump was off

You might consider running the pump 24x7 at a lower speed if possible. Slower speed can be exponentially cheaper to run even if you increase the time running.

 

[william13]

You might consider running the pump 24x7 at a lower speed if possible. Slower speed can be exponentially cheaper to run even if you increase the time running.

I remember there was a low speed cutoff where the salt cell stopped working. I think the pool people increased speed to 2500 and I just went out and decreased it to 1500 and will increase hours of operation. However in short time period of 2.5 hours, all the leaves have sunk.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Will,

My pump run 24/7, mostly at 1200 RPM.. Doing this cost me less than $20 bucks a month and my pump is over 10 years old. Newer IntelliFlo pumps are even more energy efficient..

I like making a little chlorine all the time, and I like skimming all the time. I also like the look of my water when it has a little motion to it. Without any proof, I believe that running 24/7 is better for the pump that turning it on and off each day.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Bperry]

I remember there was a low speed cutoff where the salt cell stopped working. I think the pool people increased speed to 2500 and I just went out and decreased it to 1500 and will increase hours of operation. However in short time period of 2.5 hours, all the leaves have sunk.

There is a speed that gets too low to make the cell stop working but there should be plenty of speed above that to fine tune. 2500 rpm would be really fast on my pool. Find a speed that works for the amount of skimming you need and use that.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Will,

I assume you do not have a heater...

The amount of flow depends on the size of your pump and the size of your filter.. The larger your pump and filter, the more flow you get at lower RPMs...

What specific pump do you have and what size is your filter?

In my case 1200 RPM is plenty of flow for both my skimmers and my SWCG to work.. If I had a heater it would most likely be 1500 to 1800 RPM.

Skimmers work due to a floating 'weir door' that is between the pool and the skimmer basket.. Often these weir doors have been removed.. Skimmers without weir doors are about 50% less effective then when the weir door is installed and working.

How many skimmers do you have and do they have working weir doors???

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[william13]

Will,

I assume you do not have a heater...
Had one, removed due to rust of body, looking for a new one, gas
The amount of flow depends on the size of your pump and the size of your filter.. The larger your pump and filter, the more flow you get at lower RPMs...

What specific pump do you have and what size is your filter? Pentair VS

In my case 1200 RPM is plenty of flow for both my skimmers and my SWCG to work.. If I had a heater it would most likely be 1500 to 1800 RPM. I just reset again to 1200

Skimmers work due to a floating 'weir door' that is between the pool and the skimmer basket.. Often these weir doors have been removed.. Skimmers without weir doors are about 50% less effective then when the weir door is installed and working.

How many skimmers do you have and do they have working weir doors??? 2 skimmer and doors are in closed position

Thanks,

Jim R.