Dolphin S300I vs Dolphin M500

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Saltman-David

0
Jun 1, 2015
33
toronto
Does anyone here know anything about the S300I? I went to purchase a M500 and was told a new "top of the line" model came out this year called the S300I and from what the pool store told me its now the top model that Maytronics builds. Local price in Toronto was $1500.00.

From what I see on the Dolphin website the M500 has triple active brushing and the swivel cable and the 300I does not.

http://media.maytronics.com/newsletters/newsletter_marketing_december2014.pdf
 
If you use the search feature, at the top right of every page, you will find a few threads from earlier this year regarding the announcement of the line, but nothing in the way of reviews here.
 
They are both high end cleaners but which is the better one for you is hard to say. A few other differences that I found are, the S300i's remote is bluetooth enabled but is that a pro or con? The S300i's warranty is only 2 years compared to 3 years for the M500. The M500 has a higher suction rate than the S300i. The S300i is new to the market so reviews are going to be hard to find at this time.
 
ping said:
They are both high end cleaners but which is the better one for you is hard to say. A few other differences that I found are, the S300i's remote is bluetooth enabled but is that a pro or con? The S300i's warranty is only 2 years compared to 3 years for the M500. The M500 has a higher suction rate than the S300i. The S300i is new to the market so reviews are going to be hard to find at this time.
Click to expand...

I'll wait and see what the reviews are like. The S300I is definitely not better than the M500 in all aspects which is why I am hesitant to purchase it.
 
So my question is, how are you cleaning your pool at this point?

I see a couple of issues based on your description and the picture you posted.

Where is your closest outlet? The robot caddy will need to be within about 6 feet of an outlet (without using an extension cord - not recommended by the manufacturer as a CYA legal comment I'm sure). The cleaner cord is 50 feet on the M500.

Your pool has a few right angles which may constrict your cleaner cord length, depending on where your outlet is located, you may not get the reach you are looking for. You should look into the Supreme LIBerty, which is a battery- cordless cleaner if that is an issue that might have an impact.

The size of your pool and all of the leaves that are going to get in there are going to set off the full cartridge light on the M500. Mine goes off with the mesh filters when the cartridge is 1/4 full, and I ignore it for another half hour. The S300 has a much larger hopper style filter which may be an advantage. Other Dophin's with bags and hoppers may suit your pool better.
 
We purchased the s300i this morning. Due to shocking the pool, we are not going to start using it until tomorrow, but were able to see one in action, work the app, etc in a pool. A few things really sold us: the large debris filter basket and fine filters all in one cleaner at the same time and their capacity, the largest opening on the underside we have seen, the ability to control it via Bluetooth- and probably the most important - the experience of the staff and their customer service. This company (Atlas Pools, Atlanta, GA) is locally owned and has been in business since 1976. We own a company and sell online ourselves (totally different trade) and also shop a great deal online, but so happy to work directly with a well-respected local small business. Fingers crossed!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Congrats on the purchase. Please come back after using it several times and share a review of your thoughts on performance with some pros and cons. That will be a big help to future users considering this model.
 

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AmyJo said:
It's the best price I've seen too! If you call Atlas - ask for Brian. I'm very impressed.


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Click to expand...

Hello, I'm sorry to bump this, but am also looking for a long term update. I'm torn between the M500 Supreme and the S300i. I'm sure I won't go wrong with either, but both have positives and negatives. I like the large opening of the s300i, but the suction rate of the M500. I don't have any dealers closer than 70 miles to check them out either. Our pool (Thursday Pools Goliath 1641) will be installed in a few weeks. Thanks in advance.
 
I got my s300i today! I am in love with this thing!

Maytronics replaced my Z5 with this unit and it is night and day for me. I was never crazy about my Z it was like a tank and rough on my liner.

This unit is so much more refined, the tracks are soft rubber and doesn't have those hard plastic plates that stick out. That is what damaged my liner. I don't foresee this happening anymore.

The waterline feature is much nicer. It does a whole long path at once and goes much higher up on the water line than the Z. I adjusted the handles and floaters every which way on the Z and it never helped.

I wanted less suction and this has it and doesn't disappoint.

It moves slower in the pool so it is not banging on the sides so hard.

I have steep curves in my deep end the the Z struggled in the corners. This one has handled them like a pro.

I really like the thiner power cord. I haven't seen the cord even try to tangle yet.

I haven't played with the Bluetooth yet.

It is a smaller unit so it is much lighter. I really like that, the Z was a beast and full of water I had a hard time getting it out of the water.

The basket is really nice. I wasn't crazy about cleaning the cartridges.



I have let my pool go for over two weeks. I lost my Z in June and have had to manually clean the pool and am just over it. So my pool was getting pretty dirty and after just an hour I can tell we are going to be best friends.

Plus, it is so cool to see it doing wheelies in the pool for turning:)

Maytronics really hit it out of the park with this one!
 
I played with it quite a bit today.

Love the Bluetooth! Not so much as the directional buttons but the way you can customize the cleaning. It has an ultra clean cycle that slows the unit down and increases suction. The rest of the cycles are pretty standard. Also the flashing lights give her style and appeal to my techy side.

The basket was a breeze to clean, lifting it out of the water was really easy on the back! Plus the water flowed out quickly.

I also like how they moved the power pack up on the handle and it sits on a shelf type thing. No more bending down to turn the unit on.

I gotta be honest...after all the hassle of the Z and dealing with Maytronics since June I seriously thought about selling this robot and going with another brand but now I am in love and I named her Daisy:)
 
I can't seem to find a good online retailer for Maytronics. Link?

It's funny because when you try to find an online retailer online, they say they only sell through local dealers (there's not one within 250 miles of me) but they seem to sell their older models all over, including amazon.

Geeze, I'm a little slow. Will call Brian at Atlas Pools.
 
Chrissykr said:
I got my s300i today! I am in love with this thing!

Maytronics replaced my Z5 with this unit and it is night and day for me. I was never crazy about my Z it was like a tank and rough on my liner.

This unit is so much more refined, the tracks are soft rubber and doesn't have those hard plastic plates that stick out. That is what damaged my liner. I don't foresee this happening anymore.

The waterline feature is much nicer. It does a whole long path at once and goes much higher up on the water line than the Z. I adjusted the handles and floaters every which way on the Z and it never helped.

I wanted less suction and this has it and doesn't disappoint.

It moves slower in the pool so it is not banging on the sides so hard.

I have steep curves in my deep end the the Z struggled in the corners. This one has handled them like a pro.

I really like the thiner power cord. I haven't seen the cord even try to tangle yet.

I haven't played with the Bluetooth yet.

It is a smaller unit so it is much lighter. I really like that, the Z was a beast and full of water I had a hard time getting it out of the water.

The basket is really nice. I wasn't crazy about cleaning the cartridges.



I have let my pool go for over two weeks. I lost my Z in June and have had to manually clean the pool and am just over it. So my pool was getting pretty dirty and after just an hour I can tell we are going to be best friends.

Plus, it is so cool to see it doing wheelies in the pool for turning:)

Maytronics really hit it out of the park with this one!
Click to expand...
How was the z5 rough on your liner? Im concerned about my z5 and liner also.

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mmirav said:
How was the z5 rough on your liner? Im concerned about my z5 and liner also.

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Click to expand...


I had a new liner put in on 7/2014 the liner was pristine when I bought the Z. After three months of use with the Z I had 22 holes in my liner and numerous scratches and gouges. The majority of my holes are in a row down in the cove. The plastic guards one the sides line up perfectly with the holes. The whole perimeter of my pool has scratches from the hard plastic tracks.

It is a fine robot, it just was way too rough on my pool. Lots of people use it and have no issues, I guess I was just one of the unlucky ones.
 

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