First Robotic Cleaner

[Setterlover]

Our second Polaris 280 in less than 2 years has bit the dust. We are going to get a robotic cleaner but reading all the posts and reviews has made me more confused. Many of the posts go back about two years and I'm hoping that there has been improvements in design, and maybe cost, in the two years. It looks like the S300i has made a big impact on a number of people, but is there something that has come out since then that's even better? I know some people seemed to be skeptical of the Aquabot Elite, but is it as good as promoted? If you have a relatively new robotic cleaner WITH remote that you love can you tell me what you love about it? I'm up for recommendations and frankly if I have to spend in the neighborhood of $1000, the difference to $1150 or $1200 isn't really going to be any more painful than $1000. Please let me know what you love. Our pool is about 20 x 42, freeform, pebbletec, saltwater and goes from 3.5 to 8.5 feet deep. It has a large ledge for grandkids on one end and steps down from that to the shallow end. There is a swim out in the deep end. Thanks in advance.

 

[Patrick_B]

Welcome to TFP,

If you are willing to spend that type of money, I would suggest the Maytronics Dolphin M500. If there is a better cleaner out there for any price point, it will have to be proven to me.

Going into season four with mine, and I work it very hard and often. Lots of dust, sand, and tree fall in my pool and I simply couldn't be happier. I've been saying that since I had it and wouldn't want to be without it. I'm getting ready to replace the tracks on mine and just found out a couple of tidbits. The most interesting being is that the motor is rated for 1000 hours duty, but the warranty/parts place tech said they are seeing far longer service life with only a few rare exceptions. A few people told me not to expect more than three seasons, but I'm replacing these normal wear parts because just recently I've noticed less than optimum performance. Based on my conditions and usage, the tech said I'm about a year behind doing that.

I vaccumed my pool for about the first 10 days, and it was a mess with all the destruction around it. My vaccum hose has been in the barn since day two of the Robot arriving and doubt I'll ever use it again. The day this one dies will be the day I buy another one.

 

[Chris19D]

I second the Dolphin m500. It's a little pricy but it cleans well and has easy to clean filter cartridges. Have had mine for nearly 2 years issue-free.

I got mine from these guys and they also included a receipt that shows I bought it in-store. Shipping to my house was cheap too.

Wholesale Pool Equipment - DOLPHIN SUPREME M500

 

[GaryT58]

Really like my polaris 9550 sport - got it last year for our new pool. Comes with a remote, which I rarely use, so you can direct it to specific spots to clean. I like that it has 3 available filter basket models. I own the fine/silt one, as I had a lot of red clay in my pool after the install, and I have the normal one, which is good for most of the rest. They have a leaf one too, but I get very little leaves in my pool. It cleans very well. It has a water jet out the rear, which besides helping it climb walls, works really well for blowing off things like our 6" standing ledge around the pool. It has two cleaning modes and can set to rectangular or free-form, and can select to clean bottom or sides or both. I leave set to free-form and both floor and walls, at it runs in about 1:45. If really dirty, I run a 2nd time. I really love it.

PS - love the pup. My older dog is not a fan (yet) of swimming. Just took our 7 mo pup in for the first time - she was nervous, but seemed to enjoy. Hoping to train her to use the diving board.

 

[pooldv]

I'm very happy with my Doheny's Discovery, which is the same as S200. Same cleaner as S300 with no Bluetooth. So you can't drive your cleaner around with your phone. There is more about my cleaner in my pool thread, link in sig.

Also, more here, First Robotic Cleaner, Doheny's Discovery

 

[Setterlover]

Thanks. Does the 500m one have a remote and caddy?

- - - Updated - - -

I like the look of the Polaris 9550 sport but I have read they tangle often and don't have the swivel no tangle feature. My other Polaris were a tangled mess all the time. Constantly untangling it.

 

[Paul & Crystal]

Hello Setterlover,

I can also vouch for the Dolphin M500. I have a 60k gallon rectangle and it cleans it like a champ. Because my pool is so large I usually run the 3 hour setting but the pool is pretty clean in one hour. I love the dual set of filters. I can run the course set when I have tree debris or the fine mesh set when I have dirt. I can also run one of each when I have some of both. I clean the filters with a water hose sprayer with ease. I like the third brush feature and the dual motors that provide zero radius turning. It comes with a great cart which I would not be without because I keep mine locked up in the pool house. I've been running mine about every three days unless we get a strong wind or a storm that I need to clean up after.

I bought mine local and paid $1295 + tax. It has a 3 year bumper to bumper warranty and I have local service 2 miles from the house. I had also considered the dolphin triton plus at $999 on Amazon. It's very similar but no third brush. I ultimately went with the local service convenience. I would not want to have to ship a robot and be without for an extended length of time.

Best of luck in your search!

Crystal

 

[GaryT58]

Thanks. Does the 500m one have a remote and caddy?

- - - Updated - - -

I like the look of the Polaris 9550 sport but I have read they tangle often and don't have the swivel no tangle feature. My other Polaris were a tangled mess all the time. Constantly untangling it.

Yes, it can get a little tangled, but never has affected the cleaning of my 38x16 x 3.5-8' pool. And if I wrap up cable from robot side it essentially untangle on storage. Maybe once every 8 weeks I will disconnect and rewrap. But to me this is well worth it as it cleans extremely well. I would buy it again.

 

[Patrick_B]

Yes, caddy is standard, and it's a great feature. Wouldn't want one without it. I use the remote a lot too, schedules, timers, and start delays. I occasionally drive him around with it, but the choosing of modes feature is really nice to have say, if you want him to focus on walls, or whatever.

 

[mrbongo01]

Ok... Here is my $0.02. We went with the Dolphin Triton Plus. In my opinion, that thing is a beast !!! I have had it a month and I have nothing bad to say about it.

It climbs the walls, gets real close and cleans the water line. It even climbs the small wall and does our Baja step in just 2 ft of water.

It is blue tooth so it is paired with my phone. I can control it manually.

It does great in my kidney shaped pool. But if you have a square pool... This would work even better.

The down side: expensive. Close to $ 1K. The blue tooth remote takes a little getting use too.

The positives: Super easy to clean the filters. They are top loaded. Vacuums very well. And I do mean well !

In my opinion it is money well spent.

Hope this helped.....

Dolphin Triton Plus Powerstream Pool Cleaner 99991079-PC | PoolSupply4Less

 

[robl45]

I posted yesterday but I guess it didn't make it. If the m500 has a 5 year warranty, thats a nice deal. The swivel though was removed for a reason but with 3 years warranty, you are guaranteed that it will keep working for 3 years.

 

[Patrick_B]

Rob, the swivel is still listed as a primary feature on the Website. I'm sorry if you had one that broke. If it happened to me, I would be dissapointed no doubt. It appears that you just got unlucky. I know three people personally that have them (I should be getting commisions) and none including mine have ever had an issue. All but one of these is going on season 4 just like mine.

 

[Patrick_B]

Doesn't seem the case at all. Brand new ones still have it, confirmed today.

 

[Sweep49]

Really like my polaris 9550 sport - got it last year for our new pool. Comes with a remote, which I rarely use, so you can direct it to specific spots to clean. I like that it has 3 available filter basket models. I own the fine/silt one, as I had a lot of red clay in my pool after the install, and I have the normal one, which is good for most of the rest. They have a leaf one too, but I get very little leaves in my pool. It cleans very well. It has a water jet out the rear, which besides helping it climb walls, works really well for blowing off things like our 6" standing ledge around the pool. It has two cleaning modes and can set to rectangular or free-form, and can select to clean bottom or sides or both. I leave set to free-form and both floor and walls, at it runs in about 1:45. If really dirty, I run a 2nd time. I really love it.

PS - love the pup. My older dog is not a fan (yet) of swimming. Just took our 7 mo pup in for the first time - she was nervous, but seemed to enjoy. Hoping to train her to use the diving board.

I have this exact same cleaner as well and am very happy with it. I concur with all these comments. I cannot yet speak to it's longevity as it is now just in the second season of use. It has a 2 year warranty. So far it has been trouble free.

 

[Divin Dave]

Ive never had a prob with my swivel cord either and I'm also going into year 4.

 

[06kids]

They say 'in-store' sales only.

 

[Patrick_B]

They say 'in-store' sales only.

While true, I know one who bought one online from an unauthorized seller. He never had to use the now expired warranty, but he's the type who would most like just order another had it failed. They aren't hard to find in cities of much size though.