New pool owner, have 200 store credit and am wondering if robot is worth buying over just vacuuming myself. Thinking of going with ladybug any recommendations would be great and look forward to learning.
Is robot cleaner worth it.?
- Thread starter Joeb
- Start date
Robots are great, basic suction side cleaners are still better than manual vacuuming
Ike
p.s. it is hard to give more advice without knowing what sort of pool you have
Ike
p.s. it is hard to give more advice without knowing what sort of pool you have
Ok
Robots are the future. They cost less to operate and don't break don as much. Whether you are happy depends on the model and your pool.
Suction side cleaners are great but they require your pump to run at higher than its optimim speed.
Pressure side cleaners are the least efficient requiring two pumps running.
Non booster presure side cleaners are better but often require a vs pump and are not that efficient.
All the research is going into robots.
Robots are the future. They cost less to operate and don't break don as much. Whether you are happy depends on the model and your pool.
Suction side cleaners are great but they require your pump to run at higher than its optimim speed.
Pressure side cleaners are the least efficient requiring two pumps running.
Non booster presure side cleaners are better but often require a vs pump and are not that efficient.
All the research is going into robots.
Spend a season manually vacuuming, keep track of your time and get back to me in October, Going from no robot to older/used semi-functioning robot was a big change for me. Going to a new unit this season is a major improvement. I can drop it in on a weekend morning, go back in the house and have breakfast with my wife and do some quick chores and my time is effectively doubled.
I can drop it in on a weekend morning,
I agree that a robot is great, I live in the Boston area and the pollen, then blossoms, then seedings, then leaves. I used to vacuum. Last year I bought a Dolphin. This thing is AMAZING. I could watch it walk up the wall all day. It runs for about 90 minutes, then I take out the filters, wash them down, and put it away. I run mine everyday in the spring, every other day in summer, and daily in fall. Suggest you keep filters clean and do not leave it in the pool when not operating. Treat it as it is - a nice tool that should be maintained. I spent +-$775. Worth 10 times more.
I guess the next question is whether a $1200 robotic cleaner is worth the extra $600 over the cost of a $600 cleaner.
That would really depend on what you're getting for the extra $600 (and whether you need it).
You can get a Nautilus for $600 which will clean the floor and walls. Will it do a good job? Sure. I have a 10+ year old Diagnostic which did a fine job until it didn't. No reason to expect less than satisfactory performance from the Nautilus. I recently purchased a s300 for $1,100. For the extra money I got a caddy (not a huge plus), choice of cycle duration (possible plus), extra year of warranty (always good), half the weight (definitely good), large top-loading basket (awesome) and better waterline cleaning. Worth it for me, but putting our pools side-by-side you probably couldn't tell which cleaner cleaned which pool.
I had the same dilemma this week. I was torn between a $680 Dolphin Nautilus Plus and a $1200 Dolphin Oasiz Z5. I ended up buying the cheaper Dolphin Nautilus Plus since I am way over budget on my pool build and couldn't be happier with my decision. I threw it in the pool for the first time yesterday and it cleaned it spotless. The filters are top loading and were easy to rinse off. I personally do not see the need for the advanced features such as the remote, weekly scheduling, dirty filter indicator, Bluetooth, reduced clean times, or the caddy. I was worried about the remote, however seeing how well it did on an extremely dirty pool, i'm not sure I will miss that feature. The Nautilus Plus says it doesn't clean the waterline, however i came all the way out of the water when climbing the walls with the fine particle filter. I have dual main drains and it didn't seem phased my them. The only issue that I can see if how to store it without the caddy. You don't want to sit the robot on its rollers or they will flatten. The manual says store it upside down if not on the caddy. I think I will build a platform to sit it on. The Nautilus Plus comes with a 2 year warranty.
Killer95Stang
Well-known member
I think they don't advertise the Nautilus as Waterline tile cleaning, because it will climb walls, but won't sit and scrub like the S300 models. Watch one of the S300 videos, it shows the S300 go straight up and then the side thruster activates. The robot then seems to scrub while it is pushed sideways by the side thruster. As a side note, I don't own either, but I do tons of research way before I ever plunk down cash for new items... Sucks to not be a spontaneous person..
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