First Pool-Bot

Jump to latest Follow Reply
SacDave

SacDave

0
Jun 8, 2015
172
Rocklin Ca
I’m considering a pool-bot I’ve been doing some research the Dolphin seems to come up as the #1 choice. Today I went to the local pool supply and brought a Dolphin S300i for a 3-day test after about an hour I noticed it was climbing up the walls really well, kind of fun to watch but our puppy sure doesn’t like hates change LOL. Right now, the pool is really clean so it will be hard to tell what it’s picking up. A couple questions: I’ve read a lot about how much less power it uses, has anyone seen a noticeable dereference? How long do the filters last? Do brushes hold up? (pebble tech pool) Anything advice before I buy one? As for the S300i it would be $1060 out the door with tax not sure if it’s branded with another name for buying online purushas haven’t done that much research yet. So any advice would be appreciated Thanks
 
If you have the fine pleated filters in place then after a run pull out the filter box. Before cleaning, without removing the filter panels and keeping the trap door closed, use a hose with attachment and spray the outside of the pleated filters forcing the trapped material into the middle of the box. Take a look at what you see removed from your clean pool. My S200 is on its 3rd season no issues or replacements. I paid under $700 for mine and I see now they are around $850.
 
Oly said:
If you have the fine pleated filters in place then after a run pull out the filter box. Before cleaning, without removing the filter panels and keeping the trap door closed, use a hose with attachment and spray the outside of the pleated filters forcing the trapped material into the middle of the box. Take a look at what you see removed from your clean pool. My S200 is on its 3rd season no issues or replacements. I paid under $700 for mine and I see now they are around $850.
Click to expand...
Thanks I just pulled it out and cleaned the filter elements not a lot of debri but good amount of dog hair and our dog hates the pool she doesn't go in. I'll check the S200 thanks
.
 
Oly said:
If you have the fine pleated filters in place then after a run pull out the filter box. Before cleaning, without removing the filter panels and keeping the trap door closed, use a hose with attachment and spray the outside of the pleated filters forcing the trapped material into the middle of the box. Take a look at what you see removed from your clean pool. My S200 is on its 3rd season no issues or replacements. I paid under $700 for mine and I see now they are around $850.
Click to expand...
The S200 sure looks like the S300i?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Oly
Yes the S300i has the bluetooth bells and whistles and allows you to "drive" the bot. I'm not into bot racing or "smart tech" rather I'm a push the button and off to my next project kinda guy. :wink:
I did order the mesh liner basket that sits inside the pleated filters but opted out on the optional dolly. So many choices. :mrgreen:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gladius Nova
I pulled my S200 robot out of my pool today and walked it over to my neighbors pool. His pressure side pool cleaner pump died a week ago and the pool repair guy just quoted him $2500 to replace the pump and the DE canister that is circa 1980s. There was quite a bit of debris on the bottom and the tell tale tinge of green along the bottom and sides. After a two hour run he was amazed and was calling back the pool repair guy for a reconsideration. Not sure how this is going to evolve but introducing a new technology is always fun. Not sure if he is going to ask me about his water chemistry issues. I made sure to clean my bot really well after I brought it home though. :salut:
 
So I ran it for about 4 hours first day of trial I know it doesn't need to run that long but just wanted to observe how it operates. I noticed a couple time it would come up to the tile and go sideways down the tile maybe 4 feet that was pretty cool. One thing that bugged me was the cord would twist up it would straighten out a swivel in the cord would be nice not sure if they could do that. Be interesting to see what the filter looks like after the 3 day trial ( the pools pretty clean) Looking online it looks the price for 300i is about $1400 I thought she said $1060 out the door I don't have the best hearing I'll check the price when I return it . In my research the Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus comes up as the #1 choice in reviews I found it online from $600 to $800 but would like see what kind of warranty they have (300i 2 year) if any.
 
The current Dolphin robots have a swivel. Now, the cord still twists up, but once it gets tight enough the swivel keeps it from getting worse. Look for a white swivel near the robot on the cord.

Be sure to call Marina Pool Spa in Denver. Margaret there typically has good prices, no tax, and quick shipping. A number of TFP members are happy customers of Marina. They only take phone orders, that preserves the manufacturer warranty.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BowserB
mknauss said:
The current Dolphin robots have a swivel. Now, the cord still twists up, but once it gets tight enough the swivel keeps it from getting worse. Look for a white swivel near the robot on the cord.

Be sure to call Marina Pool Spa in Denver. Margaret there typically has good prices, no tax, and quick shipping. A number of TFP members are happy customers of Marina. They only take phone orders, that preserves the manufacturer warranty.
Click to expand...
Thanks
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
I'll second the Marina Pool & Spa for prices and shipping speed. Also will offer advice if you don't already know what you want. One caveat. For warranty repairs, you may have to ship your unit back to Marina. When I was shopping, I found the M500 locally (sort of locally--30 miles from my home. It was barely $50 off list, while Marina was as I recall about $200 off list. Unfortunately for my local dealer, they took so long to call back, I had already ordered from Marina Pool & Spa. They gave me their price anyway, adding that they couldn't have met Marina's price and also cautioning me that they only do warranty work on equipment they sell. FWIW.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SacDave
I don't know about the S200, but I currently own the Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus (I'm not sure, but I believe this is an internet only model) which I purchased thru Amazon in 2018 (current price is about $800). I have no issues with the Nautilus so far, no repairs or replacement part. Previously, I had a Dolphin Explorer, which lasted for twelve years, which I consider very good. When I did the troubleshooting on the Dolphin Explorer, it was either the cord or the motor, and the replacement of both was almost as much as the Nautilus CC Plus.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SacDave
SacDave said:
I’m considering a pool-bot I’ve been doing some research the Dolphin seems to come up as the #1 choice. Today I went to the local pool supply and brought a Dolphin S300i for a 3-day test after about an hour I noticed it was climbing up the walls really well, kind of fun to watch but our puppy sure doesn’t like hates change LOL. Right now, the pool is really clean so it will be hard to tell what it’s picking up. A couple questions: I’ve read a lot about how much less power it uses, has anyone seen a noticeable dereference? How long do the filters last? Do brushes hold up? (pebble tech pool) Anything advice before I buy one? As for the S300i it would be $1060 out the door with tax not sure if it’s branded with another name for buying online purushas haven’t done that much research yet. So any advice would be appreciated Thanks
Click to expand...

I have had my Dolphin for about three months and learned three things:
1. If your dealer special orders your model, I bought one of the top of the line ones after reading here, there are plenty of reasons the dealer should cut you a deal versus something they stock. No inventory costs is a big one. The dealer makes a good margin.
2. You really run your Polaris way more than you need to even if you use the pool 5 days a week so 3 times a week works fine and my pool is under live oak trees.
3. I run my pump at night to lower evaporation losses and we swim mainly in the evening. So running the robot by itself has its advantages.
 
Pirate Roberts said:
I have had my Dolphin for about three months and learned three things:
1. If your dealer special orders your model, I bought one of the top of the line ones after reading here, there are plenty of reasons the dealer should cut you a deal versus something they stock. No inventory costs is a big one. The dealer makes a good margin.
2. You really run your Polaris way more than you need to even if you use the pool 5 days a week so 3 times a week works fine and my pool is under live oak trees.
3. I run my pump at night to lower evaporation losses and we swim mainly in the evening. So running the robot by itself has its advantages.
Click to expand...
Which one did you buy? I'm looking the Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus Now it gets the top rating on quite a few web sites Price is under $800. The more think about the the wifi stuff I'll be honest it would be fun for about a week.
 
I took it back to the pool supply I was wrong on the price they want $1600 for it; I know I’ve seen it for $200 less. I have to omit I was a bit disappointed in it I ran for probably 8 hours spent a lot of time watching it seemed to stay in a relatively small are about a ¼ the pools size every now and then it would venture out in uncharted waters. Unfortunately, wasn’t much in the pool for it to pick up but the pool did look clean and the filament filters had a fair amount of small stuff in them. The swivel on the cord was worthless it just did not spin unless I gave it some effort. At one time the cord was so twisted up I had to put my cocktail down get in the pool and straighten it out. One thing I really didn’t like on the reviews for the Dolphin bots a big complaint was their customer service sucks but that seems pretty normal for everything these days. At this point I’m still in the market for a pool bot if it can shave money of my power bill, I’m in. At first, I was really wanting one with wife/Bluetooth whatever it is but in reality, it would be fun for a bit then it’s just more stuff to go wrong I’ll stick with something basic ON/OFF. I’ll have some more questions in the coming weeks Thanks for all the replies. PS I will be calling Marina Pool Spa in Denver
 
Oly said:
I pulled my S200 robot out of my pool today and walked it over to my neighbors pool. His pressure side pool cleaner pump died a week ago and the pool repair guy just quoted him $2500 to replace the pump and the DE canister that is circa 1980s. There was quite a bit of debris on the bottom and the tell tale tinge of green along the bottom and sides. After a two hour run he was amazed and was calling back the pool repair guy for a reconsideration. Not sure how this is going to evolve but introducing a new technology is always fun. Not sure if he is going to ask me about his water chemistry issues. I made sure to clean my bot really well after I brought it home though. :salut:
Click to expand...
We also had a neighbor who was hesitant to buy a robot until he saw how clean our pool was after a 2 hour run (without any manpower). He was amazed and purchased one that night.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply