Doheny's Discovery, S200, Active20, Triton owners club
- Thread starter Killer95Stang
- Start date
jgofnj
Silver Supporter
- May 28, 2013
- 414
- Pool Size
- 18500
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Does anyone use this with a swim-out? Will it climb into the seat area and get stuck?
- Jul 16, 2012
- 7,284
- Pool Size
- 27000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
I hope mine learns not to. Earl's flipped on benches a few times out of maybe 10. But Earl is refurbed so I don't have his full medical history. Maybe he'll grow out of it. I'll update after another 10 cycles or so on that aspect.
- Jul 16, 2012
- 7,284
- Pool Size
- 27000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Only we think they are the same. S200/Discovery, etc. owners may have the last laugh after all! He ended upright last night so that's good.
Sorry to report that after a two week trial I'm sending my Discovery back to Doheny. Except for the waterline scrubbing (which it can only reach about 50% due to my pool layout) the performance in my pool is inferior to my Hayward Navigator. We had a pretty good windstorm last weekend and it left a fine layer of silt on the pool bottom. It took three 2.5 hour cleaning cycles (7.5 hours) to come close to what the Navigator can do in 3 hours due to how much silt gets stirred up but not captured by the new robot.
I don't like having to drag the Discovery back to shore by the cord and then get down on my knees and lift the heavy unit out of the water to clean the filter every couple of cycles. My wife hates the bright blue cord laying on the cool decking and I have to agree with that. The cord also had to be untangled about every two cycles. Once, it even tied a loose knot when it drove over the cord against the wall while climbing.
With my old suction-side cleaner, every drop of water and debris it picks up goes to my filter basket and sand filter where all is trapped completely and is easily cleaned during a backwash. With the Discovery, I found that a small percentage of unfiltered water is returned to the pool via the propulsion jets, especially as the filters get clogged with fine silt.
My Navigator is just easier and more carefree to use. It never gets removed for cleaning or hose untangling. I can clean the sand filter and pump basket while standing in the shade without lifting anything heavy or having to kneel down on the hot decking.
I'm sure this is a great solution for many people, but not me. Today is the last day I can return it an not owe a 20% restocking fee (14 day limit) so it's going back pronto. I'll still lose the shipping fees but I feel I gave it more than a fair chance. For $700, I did expect a significant step up in performance or ease of use over my current floor cleaner. I'll just keep brushing my tile.
I don't like having to drag the Discovery back to shore by the cord and then get down on my knees and lift the heavy unit out of the water to clean the filter every couple of cycles. My wife hates the bright blue cord laying on the cool decking and I have to agree with that. The cord also had to be untangled about every two cycles. Once, it even tied a loose knot when it drove over the cord against the wall while climbing.
With my old suction-side cleaner, every drop of water and debris it picks up goes to my filter basket and sand filter where all is trapped completely and is easily cleaned during a backwash. With the Discovery, I found that a small percentage of unfiltered water is returned to the pool via the propulsion jets, especially as the filters get clogged with fine silt.
My Navigator is just easier and more carefree to use. It never gets removed for cleaning or hose untangling. I can clean the sand filter and pump basket while standing in the shade without lifting anything heavy or having to kneel down on the hot decking.
I'm sure this is a great solution for many people, but not me. Today is the last day I can return it an not owe a 20% restocking fee (14 day limit) so it's going back pronto. I'll still lose the shipping fees but I feel I gave it more than a fair chance. For $700, I did expect a significant step up in performance or ease of use over my current floor cleaner. I'll just keep brushing my tile.
Well, I went ahead and pulled the trigger. Mine's on the way, review to follow but I don't foresee any problems since I'm replacing a Zodiac G3 suction cleaner. Fingers crossed.
- - - Updated - - -
One thing...if you are offering free shipping, then charging a 'handling fee' seems wrong. Isn't that just another way to say 'shipping charge'?
slickraft,
Thanks for posting that great review. We need all sides of the equation.
Were you using the pleated filters or the mesh filters when trying to pick up the "dust"?
That is a great review for the Hayward Navigator. Now, I have a suction cleaner to recommend. Most suction and pressure cleaners seem to miss a lot of the pool floor. My Pentair Legend II pressure cleaner sure did.
Thanks for posting that great review. We need all sides of the equation.
Were you using the pleated filters or the mesh filters when trying to pick up the "dust"?
That is a great review for the Hayward Navigator. Now, I have a suction cleaner to recommend. Most suction and pressure cleaners seem to miss a lot of the pool floor. My Pentair Legend II pressure cleaner sure did.
Update: I purchased the A20 from Mrs. Mills for $659. Shipped same day. Another reason this is a great forum as I could tell from my conversation that she knows what she is talking about. The S200 was not in stock but she told me the A20 is the same as the S200.
- Jul 16, 2012
- 7,284
- Pool Size
- 27000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
She is correct and you will enjoy your A20. Post up your cleaner's name once the family has voted!
jgofnj
Silver Supporter
- May 28, 2013
- 414
- Pool Size
- 18500
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
from the photos listed on the Marina website - the S200 has a handle and the A20 does not.
vs 
vs slickraft,
Thanks for posting that great review. We need all sides of the equation.
Were you using the pleated filters or the mesh filters when trying to pick up the "dust"?
That is a great review for the Hayward Navigator. Now, I have a suction cleaner to recommend. Most suction and pressure cleaners seem to miss a lot of the pool floor. My Pentair Legend II pressure cleaner sure did.
I used the screens at first and then changed to the pleated filters the second week. The pleated filters did better but of course are harder to clean.
Point of reference on my old Hayward Navigator suction side cleaner; I have the V-flex impeller upgrade that passes larger debris more easily plus it runs the cleaner effectively at a lower pump speed which is nice now that I have a VSP.
Yes, that is nice. I haven't used my pleated filters because I'm all about quick and easy. We don't get much blown in dust or dirt. A pro of having lots of trees maybe.
- Jul 16, 2012
- 7,284
- Pool Size
- 27000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
It's just an optical illusion in that picture. The physical design is almost exactly the same and the angle of the photos hides the handle well. I have an A20.
- Jul 16, 2012
- 7,284
- Pool Size
- 27000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
For those of you without a robot, here is a video of Earl, our Active 20, working at night. He does get redirected just slightly by the return jet there at the surface because it sticks out a bit.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8h32rsggo7hhkxg/2017-05-17 22.40.43.mov?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8h32rsggo7hhkxg/2017-05-17 22.40.43.mov?dl=0
Who can see him with that cloudy water?!? 
Mine gets hung up on pool returns a bit too when scrubbing the tiles.
Mine gets hung up on pool returns a bit too when scrubbing the tiles.