Dolphin recommendation w/ lots of leaves

[g0wave]

I have settled in on a Dolphin cleaner and like many, am amazed at the various branding options etc.

Roughly 15,000 gallon pool, custom kidney bean shape, with a tanning ledge, pebbletec finish
I get alot of leaves in the fall/winter and while i empty the skimmers 1-3x per day at times and scoop manually regularly I cannot keep up and leaves make their way to the bottom.

I was thinking that one of the units with the larger basket may be more helpful with the leaves and was starting to focus in on the s300i, but read other posts discussing the benefits of the m400. Does anyone have experience with lots of leaves and the book like cartridges vs. the basket?

-My local pool company is recommending the dx3/4/6 line (in stock) but their prices seem high and I've not had much success finding information on these.
-I'm open to all options but would like a unit that effectively climbs the walls and ideally handles waterline as well
-While it's nice to use on my phone with an app, it's not necessary unless it improves the performance somehow
-Ideally I'd like to keep the budget under $1000 but can increase if warranted

Lastly I read a post that mentioned Marina Pool Spa as a good shop (Home | Marina Pool Spa & Patio). If there are any other recommendations, particularly local to the Atlanta region, much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I have the S300i and it’s a great robot. If you want to use just the course screens only to catch leaves then you’ll need to buy them separately as the unit comes standard with the integrated coarse/fine basket. There’s pictures in the link in my signature.

While the M series has better maneuverability with its split-track turning, it’s debris basket is smaller which would mean more frequent cleaning. Also, the low end M series is going to cost as much or more than the high end S series but with fewer advanced options.

At the end of the day it sounds like your pool gets lots of debris. No robot will be able to get it all perfectly but it will definitely clean up a lot of it.

Good luck.

 

[g0wave]

Thank you for the feedback! I was hunting for a unit locally and may have hit a roadbump. On the phone with a local company and he was pointing me towards a DX6 with concerns that the s300i may not have the strength to climb my walls.

The pool is 8ft deep in the deep end. Thoughts?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I have a 7ft deep end and mine works just fine. Does the local shop offer to demo units for potential buyers? A few of the shops in my area do that.

Be careful with shop recommendation. Often times they want to turn over old stock and will use bogus excuses to do so. I’m not saying that climbing a wall is a bogus issue but the easiest way to figure that out is by demo’ing the unit.

 

[g0wave]

Excellent recommendation - thank you. I'll go over now. They only have a refurb unit in stock and are quoting me $899 with a 1 year warranty and no cart. Trying to decide but a demo unit would be a good way to start.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

For that much money you can get a brand new unit from Marina’s or Doheny’s. I would NOT buy a refurb...

 

[g0wave]

Joyful - thank you again for the advice.

I just pulled the trigger on an S200 at an incredible sale price through Marina. Although I'm missing out on some of the features I think it will work excellent for my setup. I can't thank you enough for the guidance and thank the 100's of other posts that I read over the past few days

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Many, many TFP users own the S200 (called Discovery by Doheny's) and they love it. At least two of TFP’s mods own them and pooldv routinely stuffs the filter basket on his to the gills with leaves and tree debris.

Good luck!

 

[bmoreswim]

The S series will handle deep pools just fine. Ours is 8 1/2’ deep and gets to the waterline with no issues. I’ve never seen a refurb of the A20 (S200) at the price I bought it at ($499) after I bought. I would agree that you should get a great deal to get a refurb. And it doesn’t hurt in our situation that it only gets used once a week for 6 months.

 

[pooldv]

My Doheny's Discovery, aka S200, has been over stuffed with leaves so many times that he just falls on his back and quits sometimes. There are pics in my pool thread, link in sig.

 

[Nectarologist]

To add re: the s200 / doheny's. I get a ton of oak leaves (large and don't break/fold easily). The robot tackles it without issue. It also sucks up acorns without a problem and I have a TON of them. The main factor for me in getting a robot.