For 7 years I had a Polaris 280 pressure-side cleaner that came with the house/pool. I've been waffling on replacing it with a robot; my Polaris finally died and I bought the robot; first week is amazing. I'm writing an initial summary that I hope to update as the months/years pass.
I bought a Prowler 920, which is equivalent to a Dolphin S200 or Dolphin Active20.
1) The products are confusing!
It seems there is only 1 or 2 manufacturers who license/rebrand their gear. So you can have 3 or 4 mechanically identical robots with different brand names, model numbers, color schemes, and prices that vary by several hundred dollars -- for a near-identical unit.
Marina Pool & Spa in Lakewood CO was tremendously helpful. A kind, helpful, knowledgable person answered the phone, explained the features & tradeoffs, and told me that an S200 equivalent unit (Prowler 920) was available for several hundred dollars below the equivalent S200 or Active20.
2) Installation was trivial
It arrived completely assembled with 3 things in the box: the robot and its attached tether cord; the power supply; and extra filters. I plugged the power supply into an outlet, plugged the tether cord into the power supply, dropped the robot in the pool, and pressed the "power on" button, which begins a 2-hour cleaning.
My power supply has an additional button that cycles through "repeat every day", "repeat every 2 days", or "repeat every 3 days." By design the power supply repeats at the desired setting for one week. Then you must power it down to restart a one week cycle (not sure why).
3) Pool is sparkling
The pool is cleaner than I can remember. The filter catches grit & debris way smaller/finer than the Polaris bag caught. It's dramatic.
4) Economics look good in theory
My robot was about $800 and came with a 2 year warranty, which my credit card extends to 3. It basically costs nothing to run (a fraction of a kWH per cycle; in my case less than $20/year). In comparison, a Polaris 280 is about $600, a boost pump installed is about $800, and my boost pump uses about $150 of electricity per year. Even if robot dies one day out of warranty, and Polaris + boost pump each last 7 years, I come out ahead with the robot.
5) Qualitative experience is great
I can now sit with a laptop by the pool, because there is no Polaris tail to occasionally squirt me with a blast of water. The robot is nearly silent -- much quieter than the boost pump. The tether cord is way more flexible & supple than the Polaris hose, and thus allows freer travel of the unit to every nook of the pool. And the pool looks so clean.
6) Filter cleaning is easy
It's basically the same amount of effort as my old Polaris 280 bag. It takes a fraction of a minute to pull the robot to the side. It takes about 5 seconds and no tools to open the top and remove the filter basket, which is about the size of an old school lunchbox. Then depending on my mood, I can spend between a few seconds and a few minutes knocking out the debris or spraying it off with a sink/hose.
7) Things to know
That's my first-hand report from week one. I hope to report back with more details as my robot ages. Good luck to y'all.
I bought a Prowler 920, which is equivalent to a Dolphin S200 or Dolphin Active20.
1) The products are confusing!
It seems there is only 1 or 2 manufacturers who license/rebrand their gear. So you can have 3 or 4 mechanically identical robots with different brand names, model numbers, color schemes, and prices that vary by several hundred dollars -- for a near-identical unit.
Marina Pool & Spa in Lakewood CO was tremendously helpful. A kind, helpful, knowledgable person answered the phone, explained the features & tradeoffs, and told me that an S200 equivalent unit (Prowler 920) was available for several hundred dollars below the equivalent S200 or Active20.
2) Installation was trivial
It arrived completely assembled with 3 things in the box: the robot and its attached tether cord; the power supply; and extra filters. I plugged the power supply into an outlet, plugged the tether cord into the power supply, dropped the robot in the pool, and pressed the "power on" button, which begins a 2-hour cleaning.
My power supply has an additional button that cycles through "repeat every day", "repeat every 2 days", or "repeat every 3 days." By design the power supply repeats at the desired setting for one week. Then you must power it down to restart a one week cycle (not sure why).
3) Pool is sparkling
The pool is cleaner than I can remember. The filter catches grit & debris way smaller/finer than the Polaris bag caught. It's dramatic.
4) Economics look good in theory
My robot was about $800 and came with a 2 year warranty, which my credit card extends to 3. It basically costs nothing to run (a fraction of a kWH per cycle; in my case less than $20/year). In comparison, a Polaris 280 is about $600, a boost pump installed is about $800, and my boost pump uses about $150 of electricity per year. Even if robot dies one day out of warranty, and Polaris + boost pump each last 7 years, I come out ahead with the robot.
5) Qualitative experience is great
I can now sit with a laptop by the pool, because there is no Polaris tail to occasionally squirt me with a blast of water. The robot is nearly silent -- much quieter than the boost pump. The tether cord is way more flexible & supple than the Polaris hose, and thus allows freer travel of the unit to every nook of the pool. And the pool looks so clean.
6) Filter cleaning is easy
It's basically the same amount of effort as my old Polaris 280 bag. It takes a fraction of a minute to pull the robot to the side. It takes about 5 seconds and no tools to open the top and remove the filter basket, which is about the size of an old school lunchbox. Then depending on my mood, I can spend between a few seconds and a few minutes knocking out the debris or spraying it off with a sink/hose.
7) Things to know
- you need a plan for power supply positioning. The cord from wall to power supply is about 6', and my tether from power supply to robot is 60'. Power supply is water resistant but not weather proof, so it needs a covered location, close to an outlet, and within 60' of the farthest part of your pool (unless you want to move the power supply in/out with every use).
- the tether cord runs across your pool deck. Not a problem for me. But it's slightly less aesthetic than something like the Polaris 280 that is completely self-contained within the pool.
- it needs to be re-enabled each week. If you go on a 2-week vacation, the robot will do nothing after week one. Not sure why it is designed this way; maybe because it's bad to keep running it if no one is around to clean the filter?
- it does get temporarily stuck "high-centered" on my floor drains. In my case, it only gets stuck when dead center over the drain, and so far it has always unstuck itself. The one time I watched, it took about 5 minutes to free itself. There are several threads with workaround ideas; thankfully I haven't needed any yet.
- there is debate about whether it can live in the pool. The manual says "do not leave in pool all the time" -- but it doesn't say how much is ok. Some users allow it live continuously in the pool; some remove it. I intend to let it live in the pool, and if it reduces the lifetime, so be it.
That's my first-hand report from week one. I hope to report back with more details as my robot ages. Good luck to y'all.
