Thinking of a Robot, have a few questions...

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C

Cody

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Bronze Supporter
Aug 17, 2014
240
Prosper, TX
I've searched the forum but I'm not finding all my answers so I thought I'd just start a thread.

I currently have a Polaris with a booster pump and it's getting to the point that I'm replacing parts every now and then. Based on reading on this site, I'm thinking my next step (in maybe a month, or maybe a year) will be a robot. Dolphin 300 seems to get good reviews.

Since I've never had a robot, I had a few questions:

1) When you guys made the switch, what do you do with the "outlet" in your pool where the Polaris used to connect? Any cool options?

2) I have an attached spa, same level as pool. Can I throw the robot in there to scrub it and get leaves off bottom when I'm not using it much (like now, when it is cold)?

3) Do most of you leave the robot in the water, or take it out? If taking it out, how do you store it (in the open, protected, etc?)? My Polaris stays in the pool and I'll pull it out if we have a decent crowd swimming. That's one of the nice things about it.

4) I don't have tons of trees, but the really nice thing about the Polaris is that it does a great job with leaves. Will the robot do just as good a job with leaves? I don't get many twigs or anything, just leaves. If it is effective with leaves, and adds the benefit of getting the finer stuff and scrubbing better, then I know I'll love it.

5) Any other questions I should be asking, or anything you would want to share with someone in my situation?


Thanks in advance!!
 
Cody- good questions!

First off, having a robot is so much easier than having fat vacuum tubes or booster pumps necessary to clean the pool. You just plop the robot in and its thin blue power cord is almost imperceptible in the water.

So the robot runs around the pool and picks up dust and debris you didn't even know you had... as well as leaves, small solid debris like gum balls and little twigs.... the pool thermometer when I can't find it...all sorts of things!

My husband Skippy took our Polaris outlet and we either leave it open as a return (no secondary booster pump for us) or stick this cool little homemade fountain in the outlet for cooling or soothing sound. Link in my siggy line.

Our robot pretty much lives in the pool, only coming out when guests are here. We just move around it as needed.

The only thing about robots are they need water to propel them up walls and stairs. SOooo once they get too high up stairs or the wall (say above the water line) and don't have water in the intakes they're going to reverse and go play elsewhere. That leaves my top two steps needing occasional brushing still. Hardly a problem.

I can't comment on the spa...but unless your spa is really large the robot won't really have room to maneuver anyplace I figure?

Check out www.maytronics.com they have some neat videos that may help you see how they look.

Maddie :flower:
 
I drop my robot in the small spa attached to our pool. It bounces around and just by vigorously circulating the water it cleans it pretty well.

Be aware it is not a good idea to use a robot in cold water (at or below 50F or so). The lubricants in the robot are not designed for cold water use.
 
Thank you both for the quick replies.

I live in North Texas so my pool water gets below 50F when it gets really cold here but it's not always that low. Do people in colder climates just go without their robots for months because of this? Seems odd.

mknauss -- do you keep your robot in the pool as well, or do you take it out when it's not cleaning? Any downside to leaving it in?
 
I leave mine in when we are home and using it. Take it out after every few runs to clean the filters. I do move it to a shadier portion of the pool after its run. I see no downside to leaving it in. You do need to be careful of the power supply/control box and not let it get very wet or be in the sun.

I do not run our robot in the winter. I net the few leaves we get and ignore the dust. Once the pool water gets back to 65F or so I will drop it in.
 
Cody,

I have three pools and three robots.. I use them all year long... I honestly don't care what the manual says... :mrgreen:

The robot at my house is about five years old and works just like it did when new.. The other two robots are about 15 years old.. I bought them used about 6 or 7 years ago... This Christmas, I replaced one of the old ones with a Dolphin S200.. Quite impressed so far, but time will tell..

At the two rent houses, the robots stay in the pool 24/7, 365... the only time they come out is if someone is using the pool.

At my house, I don't really like looking at the robot in the pool, so it comes out after it is done cleaning... I usually run it two or three times a week. More often when the leaves are falling.. When not in use, it sits under the eve of the house and on a block, so that the rollers do not sit on the deck, This allows me to lay the cable out in a very big coil which I believe helps keep the cable from kinking..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Just thought of another question --- if I bite the bullet and go the robot route, I'll have a booster pump sitting with my equipment that isn't used for anything....will i need to run it occasionally? Should I sell it? If I do get rid of it, I'll need some plumbing work done at equipment...how much might that cost? Sorry for all the questions...just trying to think through all this.
 
Cody,

You’ll love the 300! During your colder months you can simply not use it, and just net out the small amount of leaves you may get. Or you can be a rebel like Jim, and leave it in.

Either way you’ll be glad you got it. Yes, you’ll have to brush your stairs as it’s not designed to do that, but it will take care of the rest of your pool with ease. As far as the spa, I can’t comment on that as I don’t have one.
Just do your homework and see which one is right for you and your pool.

I will say I highly recommend you get the caddie no mater which one you get. It’s perfect for storing the bot off its brushes, there is a place to mount the controller, and it holds all the cords neatly.

~Rob
 
Regarding your soon to be unused booster pump, I removed ours and ended up replumbing the pad as it wasn't done efficiently to begin with. I liked the idea of it being gone and all related wiring removed. I was able to sell the cleaner but had no takers on the booster pump (even for free) so it got recycled after a year or so. I kept the line as a return as it was basically that anyway when the cleaner wasn't in (95% of the time).

I store ours in a small shed right by the pool when not in use. I just sit it up on it's side leaning against the wall with the cord in a big loops over top of it. The power supply sits on a shelving unit in there. That was the best solution for me.

full
 
I have the Dolphin Premier and it's pretty great. I don't keep it in the pool, mainly because the robot's filters are full of debri and dirt and can't really do more than one 2 or 3 hour run without a cleaning.

I keep the robot on the caddy under the house awning, near where it's plugged into the wall. The caddy is nice, it holds the power supply and the cables nicely.

I run my robot about once per week. I still get a decent amount of leaves this time of year in northern CA.
 

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