Dolphin Premier Robotic Pool Cleaner

[ShelbySydney]

Has anybody had any experience with this cleaner? I am purchasing my first cleaner and am not sure which is the best to buy. I have a 20x40 inground with a deep end and am worried that it won't be able to clean the deep end. I bought a Barracuda and it was totally worthless and never cleaned the entire pool.

Any help would be appreciated!!

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

Welcome to the forum

Sorry, don't have experience with cleaners but someone should be along soon.

 

[Divin Dave]

Hi, Welcome to TFP,

If you have read any of the threads on cleaners in the Pool Cleaner forum, you may have noticed that DOlphin Clenears in general enjoy a pretty good reputation here at TFP.

I wouldnt hesitate to buy the premier. It will clean the deep end without any hesitation at all. It will also clean the walls and waterline.
http://www.premierrobotic.com/

There just isnt any comparison between the Premiere and the barracuda. They are nigt and day different cleaners.

Has anybody had any experience with this cleaner? I am purchasing my first cleaner and am not sure which is the best to buy. I have a 20x40 inground with a deep end and am worried that it won't be able to clean the deep end. I bought a Barracuda and it was totally worthless and never cleaned the entire pool.

Any help would be appreciated!!

 

[tim5055]

Has anybody had any experience with this cleaner? I am purchasing my first cleaner and am not sure which is the best to buy. I have a 20x40 inground with a deep end and am worried that it won't be able to clean the deep end. I bought a Barracuda and it was totally worthless and never cleaned the entire pool.

Any help would be appreciated!!

I have the Supreme M5 and have been very happy. Check out THIS thread for more information on the Premier. It implys that the Premier is a private label unit.

The supreme series is their line for sale through pool stores (did I really say I bought something form a pool store?). Warranty void if sold on line. They have a completely different line for on line sales.

 

[Divin Dave]

There is some merit to warranty for online puchases but the "warranty void if purchased online" is not true in all cases.
It depends on who you buy it from.

Dolphin does honor warranty if purcahsed from some of their big dealers. Epicpoolsupply for one. Got mine at Epic with full warranty intact.

Warranty void if sold on line.

 

[Patrick_B]

It depends on the Model. If you go with some models online from a place like Amazon, the warranty is void. If you want one of these, you'll have to find a dealer on their website, or call them for a dealer location near you. I live in a populated area, but no dealer closer than two hours away had one, so I had it shipped from the authorised dealer.

Supreme is a private label, and there are authorized dealers that sell them online with warranty in tact. Other models like the Oasis Z5 are essentially, private label premier model minus a couple of bells and whistles, but sold through authorized dealers online, again with warranty in tact. Maytronics are great cleaners, but their marketing and model lines are confusing at best.

With that size pool, I suggest the Z5 or M5. You'll spend a little, but you'll get an excellent cleaner.

 

[robl45]

The premier I believe is not top loading cartridge, The Z5 is a better cleaner than the premier for the money.

 

[Patrick_B]

You're right Rob it's a bagger, but you can get an adapter to use carts, but it's still a bottom loader.

 

[tim5055]

Maytronics are great cleaners, but their marketing and model lines are confusing at best.

Ain't that the truth. They play the same game mattress manufacturers play, multiple model numbers/names private labeled for multiple stores. It makes comparison shopping almost impossible.

 

[ShelbySydney]

Looking at the Dolphin m5. Is it worth the extra money or is the m4 enough?

Thanks!!



QUOTE=ShelbySydney;763021]Has anybody had any experience with this cleaner? I am purchasing my first cleaner and am not sure which is the best to buy. I have a 20x40 inground with a deep end and am worried that it won't be able to clean the deep end. I bought a Barracuda and it was totally worthless and never cleaned the entire pool.

Any help would be appreciated!![/QUOTE]

 

[Patrick_B]

I've only had the M5 but as Ive said many times since I got it, I could not be happier. Not sure I would be satisfied with a lesser performer after having this one. Given the price difference, I'd say you might as well.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Shelby,

I have three Dolphin cleaners. Two old-as-dirt Diagnostics, that I bought used from Craig's list, and a new Premier that I bought a few weeks ago from Pool Express. The two older units are still working fine in my daughter's pools and Premier is in my pool. So far I'm quite happy with it, but as I said it is only a few weeks old. I've been really happy with the Diagnostics, so I expect the same out of the Premier. Some of the differences I see are:

1. The Premier is about twice as fast.

2. The Diagnostics have one drive motor and although they wander all over the pool and do a good job of cleaning, the Premier either has two drive motors or some other way to control the tracks, because it can make very sharp 90 degree turns that the older units cannot do.

3. The older units come with a very thick and heavy bag (which I like). My Premier came with two sets of interchangeable filters, four fine screen filters and four cartridge filters. It also came with an optional bag filter similar to the older units, but much lighter in texture. The bag filter includes a spare door assembly, so you can simply swap between the bag and cartridges with very little effort.

4. The older units will run for one cycle or about 6 hours and shut off. You have to manually turn them back on when you want to run them again. The Premier has a built in timer system that lets you schedule the unit for a week. You can set it to run once a day, every other day or three times a week. You have to restart it once a week.

5. The Premier has a light that tells you when the filters are dirty. I'm not sure if the light is based on time or if it really can tell if the filter is dirty. My light has come on and the filter did not appear to be all that dirty.

6. Both of these units will climb walls with no issues at all. The Premier has four white soft rubber pads to help it climb, but I can't really see much difference between the older units and the Premier.

7. Both units have bottom access to the filters. I can't see where this makes any difference with the easy of filter maintenance, but top loading units do have the ability to have a third brush in the bottom that mine do not have.

8. The older units do not have an option for a remote. I got the optional remote for the Premier, but have only played with it for a few minutes and believe that unless I'm really bored, it will never be used.

9. The cables for the older units are tired directly to the robots. Over the years they have gotten a lot of kinks and tangle easily, but I have never seen this effect the way they clean. The Premier has a swivel, which appears to work quite well, but time will tell if this really solve the tangle issue or not.

10. The older unit from Craig's list came with no warranties.. The Premier came with a three year, not pro-rated, no hours or cycles limited warranty.

If you have any specific questions, just let me know.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Patrick_B]

Great to hear Jim. I keep hearing three years for a Robot cleaner, and apparently it can be different. Helpful info.

 

[Swampwoman]

OP, I have he M4 and not M5 but will add that I love it too.
It's pretty snappy, climbs and cleans everything, top load cartridges are easy to access and clean and overall it runs like a champ.
I don't feel you could go wrong with either so its just a matter of price differential, i suspect.

 

[ShelbySydney]

Thanks for the info!! Ever have issues with it missing spots or not cleaning the entire pool?

 

[Jimrahbe]

Shelby,

I suspect that missing spots might have a lot more to do with the shape of the pool, rather than the cleaner. My daughter's pools are both older free-form pool with nothing to get in the way. When they were both white plaster pools, I did not see any indication that old Diagnostics did not clean the whole pool. These older units run about 6 hours, so if you just watched for a half hour, or so, it might look like they were only working at one end or the other. But, the next day, both ends looked clean to me. My pool, where the Premier lives, has a pebble finish, so unless it was really dirty, I don't think I could tell if it missed a spot or not. My pool is more of a square shape, an also has nothing to get in the way. I do know that it has made it up on the second step at least once, but that is something that I really don't it expect it to do. My daughter's cleaners don't do steps either.

Unfortunately, I don't believe that anyone here can guarantee that if you buy a robot, of any kind, that it will work perfectly in your pool. I was originally worried about plunking down a ton of cash, sight-unseen, on a new unit and that is why I got my first one on Craig's list. I liked it and bought another one. I've had one for about three years and the other for a year and a half. Keep in mind that they were both older than dirt when I bought them, and I could have just gotten pretty lucky. I was impressed enough with their operation, that I did not hesitate to buy the new Premier for my pool... that and my wife said "You are not putting a used piece of **** in my new pool"

Jim R.

 

[BobbyR]

I have an M4 which works beautifully and is highly recommended. I'm sure the M5 is good too. I don't know what the Premier model is but check to see if it has a centre roller brush as this can be important to avoid hanging up on the main drain. The M4 and M5 both have middle brushes. House brand specials of any product are sometimes dumbed down to meet a price point. The box mine came in had a notice on it that the warranty was void if the cleaner was purchased online. I think they mean it. I've had two Barracudas and they were both pretty much useless, going in circles endlessly cleaning the same corner of the pool. The Dolphin is a serious pool cleaner that actually works as advertised. You get what you pay for.

 

[ShelbySydney]

Thanks so much!! You made me feel better about spending a lot of money on something that I have no experience with. I had the same issue with the Barracuda that is why I'm so paranoid. I think I'm going to get the m4 not sure if I need the remote in the m5-thoughts?





QUOTE=BobbyR;779202]I have an M4 which works beautifully and is highly recommended. I'm sure the M5 is good too. I don't know what the Premier model is but check to see if it has a centre roller brush as this can be important to avoid hanging up on the main drain. The M4 and M5 both have middle brushes. House brand specials of any product are sometimes dumbed down to meet a price point. The box mine came in had a notice on it that the warranty was void if the cleaner was purchased online. I think they mean it. I've had two Barracudas and they were both pretty much useless, going in circles endlessly cleaning the same corner of the pool. The Dolphin is a serious pool cleaner that actually works as advertised. You get what you pay for.[/QUOTE]

 

[Patrick_B]

If your budget allows it, you'll never regret the money spent on the M5. I Couldn't be happier with mine. We all tend to like what we have, but I'm serious. It is one of the best things I ever purchased, Barr none, pool or otherwise.

 

[PigletPotters]

I am so glad I found this site. It is an awesome forum for getting info on the Dolphin Premier and comparisons with the M4 and M5. I have spent more days (not hours, days) on trying to gather information on the various Dolphin models than I care to mention. Like many of you I knew I wanted a Dolphin but its been a nightmare gathering info to make the decision - but with the help of the various threads (at least 3) that I have read on the subject - I've made a decision: The M400. Yes M400, not the M4.

Let me share the info I have gathered. First Maytronics have a new updated website listing ALL their models and their capabilities:

Link removed~Moderator Patrick B

I was given the name of a local distributor who told me about the NEW models. M4 and M5 are now considered old models. The new M400 and M500 are now almost identical, this means that the M400 now has the split-rollers (dual-drive) meaning it turns on a dime and also has the third middle brush underneath which means it doesn't get stuck on the pool filter. The differences are the M400 has a basic remote, the M500 a more clever one, and the M500 has more programmable options ie: bottom only, walls only, tile scrub only, etc. Currently Maytronics offer a $100 rebate on the M500 and $75 on the M400. This year's new series also have some kind of updated guidance system.

Maytronics told me that the M400 and M500 are the new models and confirmed the differences mentioned above. I also asked about the Premier. They said the M series is considered superior to the Premier. I had originally favored the Premier since it had an optional large debris bag kit which appealed for leaves. But reviews were hard to find other that the youtube video posted by one owner. I was also concerned about the warrantee since you can only buy the Premier online at PoolExpress and apparently the unit arrives with 'warrantee void if purchased on-line' stamped in big print on the box. The Premier also does not have the third middle brush and has a bottom access filter.

Some people have mentioned the Z5 from Epic Pools being the same as the M5. It is not. Among other things, it does not have the third middle brush. And again, I have read several postings that buyers have had trouble with the warrantee because the item was purchased online.

Two things made up my mind for me. One, the updated new models, and two, the local distributor said that they do repairs on-site. If they have to get parts, they'll get them from Maytronics, either way we never have to mail the unit anywhere. We've had robots before. No matter how good they are, at some point they break down and it costs at least $60 or more to ship the unit. That to me really made up my mind. Out of interest, the distributor also said that he had had very few repairs needed for the M4 and M5 and that the M4 was the most popular. Now that the M4 has been updated, its a no-brainer, he said!

Buying through the distributor will be a bit more expensive, but for peace of mind its worth it.