Looking for a new pool robot. Not sure which one to go with?

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kyle11

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May 17, 2012
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So I am in the market for a new pool robot. I had a Polaris robot that had to be repaired 2 times, and now one of the wheels has fallen off which in the pool, no idea how or why but I am done with it. I got about 3 years out of it and it was a pain in my rear. So I am looking for another robot and wanted some feedback. Here are some of my key features I am looking for and a few robots I am looking at.

Features-
Tangle free cord- This is #1 on my list. I can't tell you the number of times the Polaris would get tangled into knots.
Fine filtration- I really do not have a whole lot of large debris in my pool. Most is bugs, fine dust and pollen. So I need something that will get all of that because I have a sand filter that doesn't do an excellent job at it.
Timers- I want to leave the robot in the pool most of the time.


Robots I am looking at.

Dolphin Premier- I like that it comes with different media options for large debris up to extra fine. It has a swivel, but how well does this work? It has a 3 year warranty which is a plus. The only thing I am wary of is the bottom load cartridges. I am under the impression these are getting phased out, are they that much of a pain?

Dolphin Quantum/Triton Plus 2017- These appear to be the same to me. I like that it comes with the top load options which looks easier to deal with. Does it come with different media filters like the premier does? The only thing I do not like about this is it does not come with a swivel but says it has navigation that makes the cord not tangle. How well does that work? Also only comes with a 2 year warranty.

Really those 2 are the ones that caught my eye. I really don't care about a caddy because it will be in the pool 90% of the time and the remotes from what I hear is just a toy.

So my biggest questions are.

1. Which one will do better with very fine sand and pollen.
2. Which one will do better at not tangling the cord.
3. How much easier is the top load vs. the bottom load cartridge?

Thanks!
 
I have a dolphin that is a couple of years old. It has the swivel for the cord and does not get tangled. I do not leave it in the pool. I let it do its run and then take it out and store it on the caddy. I have been pleased with it so far.
 
My Doheny's Discovery, same as Dolphin/Maytronics S200, is great at picking up sand, dust and small debris. And that is with the coarser, screen filter. It also came with a set of fine, paper filters that I've never tried before. I leave mine in for a week-ish at a time between cleanings and de-tangling the cord. It automatically shuts off after a week. It doesn't tangle up enough to restrict it's functionality but I do have to de-tangle the cord. Which I do by grabbing the end of the cord and walking 60' in the other direction. It pretty much unwinds itself and I give a few extra twists.

Here is a pic of the cord after a week. This is the worst it has ever been. It is usually about half that much twisted up.

IMG_20170116_130014.jpg
 
Kyle,

I have three Robots.. Two really old Dolphin Diagnostics, at rent houses, and one Dolphin Premier at my house. One of the things that I believe causes the most twisted cable issues, is wrapping the cable around the caddie handles. The two older units stay in the pool about 90% of the time. The cables do twist some, but stretching them out in the sun for an hour or so seems to take care of that problem. Even when twisted, that never seems to stop them from working.

The Premier is good for me because I don't have many leaves. If I had leaves like Pooldv has, it would be next to useless as the basket is much too small. For sand, dirt, a few leaves, etc, it works great. It does have a bottom loading basket, but how lazy do you have to be not to be able to turn something over??? :D The timer is built into the power supply and it can run on a schedule for a week before having to be reset.

I have a remote.. used it once when new, and have never had a use for it since.

All that said.. at this point, my next Robot will be the Discovery or similar machine.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.
 
Thanks or the reply's! Does anyone know anything about what the Triton describes as Advanced Anti-tangle Software? It kind of worries me that it doesn't have a swivel. I guess the Polaris 9300 I had just got on my last nerve because the darn cable would get literally tied in knots. No idea how but that is my #1 priority is having a table free cord when used more than 1 cycle.

Jim- How often do you have to take your premier out to clean the filters after your pool is opened and clean for the most part? Can it go the entire week without stopping because of the clogged filter warning? Our pools is fairly clean just tones of small particles, some leaves from neighbors trees in the spring and fall.

The premier is a 2016 model while the Triton is a 2017 model, I wonder if they plan to come out with a 2017 Premier model that adds more features? The pool is not open yet but it does have a tone of leaves and needs a good cleaning, but I can get by a few more months with brushing manually. Also does anyone thing prices will come down at all when swimming season is officially here or will they stay about where they are?

Thanks
 
Kyle,

My premier did come with a leave bag that I would use if leaves were a problem, but it doesn't collect the fine stuff with the leave bag installed. To be honest I even forgot I had it because I never use it..

I can run my premier everyday for a week without cleaning the filters. That said, the "clean filter" light comes on about 10 seconds after I put the Robot in the pool. I just ignore it. :p A pretty useless feature.

In the summer I tend to take the Robot out of the pool everyday, just because it ruins the visual image of the pool itself. Notice how you don't see many cleaners in advertisements for pools.. there is a reason for that.

I'm not so picky in the winter.. :gone:

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
Kyle,

My premier did come with a leave bag that I would use if leaves were a problem, but it doesn't collect the fine stuff with the leave bag installed. To be honest I even forgot I had it because I never use it..

I can run my premier everyday for a week without cleaning the filters. That said, the "clean filter" light comes on about 10 seconds after I put the Robot in the pool. I just ignore it. :p A pretty useless feature.

In the summer I tend to take the Robot out of the pool everyday, just because it ruins the visual image of the pool itself. Notice how you don't see many cleaners in advertisements for pools.. there is a reason for that.

I'm not so picky in the winter.. :gone:

Jim R.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info Jim.


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I had a dolphin. Aside from the fact that it lasted just over 2 years, the swivel ended up breaking and that is why you don't see dolphins with swivels anymore. Most importantly, the swivel never did anything. Maybe mine was defective, but you could barely turn the swivel so there was no way it was going to do anything in the pool.

My smartpool scrubber cleaner has a swivel and it actually works correctly but I wouldn't recommend that cleaner for fine debris.

The aquabots are supposed to have a swivel but I have not tried them.

As far as bottom versus topload and such I had cartridges on the dolphin and honestly they were harder to clean than the bag on the smartpool cleaner I have now. While the newest canister style basket would be a little easier, you still have to hose it out so really the time spent is not going to be much different.

I also do not think you are going to be leaving it in all the time cleaning as the fine debris will close whatever filter choice you have fairly quickly necessitating cleaning probably after every run although I do leave my robots in all the time so the seals don't expand and ruin the motors.

As for the dolphins without the swivel not tangling, I've read plenty of reviews where they are tangling. You will likely have to do some detangling at some point.

As I've said previously, if i had the money, I would buy this Dolphin Oasis Z5 Pool Cleaner | The Future of the Dolphin Pool Cleaners | Epic Pool Supply
 
Thanks for all the help! After exhausting myself over all these models that are about the same I made a decision. I ended up going with the older 2016 triton plus that comes with the remote and caddy with the top loading cartridge. Found a smoking deal on amazon warehouse that had it in like new condition, it was only in the warehouse because the packaging was damaged. I have ordered stuff from the past from the warehouse in this same like new, packaging damaged condition and it was basically a new item with a minor hole in the box. I know the warranty probably isn't going to be good since I purchased directly from Amazon,so I purchased a 4 year assurance warranty for $140. I have used them in the past and it offers no fuss protection. Out the door for under $900 including the warranty so I am happy.


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Correct. The maytronics warranty is void. It is from asurion. It covers it for a full 4 years. Free shipping to a warranty repair place and if it can't be fixed they pay out $800. I have used them in the past for other things and it is hassle free.


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Yeah. They do pretty much everything now. I had it on a high dollar projector I purchased in the past. Lightning hit it. They had a person come inspect it within 3 days. 3 days later I had a check for the balance of the policy in hand.


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