Help me get my husband a robot!

[EngineeredPool]

New pool owner, husband just spent hours vacuuming the pool with one of those cheap small triangle brush vacuums. He is already ready to get a robot ?

We have what I think is called a hopper shaped pool (see picture) with dimensions of 20'x44', half of the pool is around 3 feet deep and the four slopes in the deep end start at 3 feet and steeply go to 8 feet. It's a vinyl inground swg.

Can you recommend a robot that will work with the slopes well? I feel like the four channels created where the slopes met are going to be tough. It's a relatively large pool as well. Hoping to stay under $1000 if possible and don't want anything expensive to maintain. Google has told me dolphin is a great brand but holy cow so many models of these things!! I don't know what features are important!! Help please! Thank you!!

 

[jimim]

You can easily get a dolphin for under a grand. I have a s300i. If u don’t need a stand and Bluetooth you can get the 200 and save a bunch. I personally like the tech for the s series with how it climbs walls bs the m series with floats and the dolphin line is slowly going in that direction. My s series does a great job on my pool. He just finished a 3.5 hour shift and it’s spotless. Haha

 

[mickey4paws]

I love our robot (his name is Donnie). It's a Dolphin Dynamic, came with a caddy and a remote that you can configure your parameters and also use it for a joystick if you wanted. We bought it about 10 years ago so they probably don't make it anymore. But everyone who has a Dolphin brand seems to be very happy with it. I think it was one of the best investments we made for our pool.

BTW, your pool is gorgeous!

 

[Divin Dave]

Have a look at...
Dolphin Triton - around 850
Dolphin Nautilus Plus around 650 - 750
There are good descriptions of both on YouTube

The main difference in perfomance between the two is the Nautilus climbs the wall then falls off
the triton climbs the walls, and also scrubs the waterline.

 

[Jnet]

We're going on year three with a Dolphin Quantum. It's pretty basic, (no cart, no Bluetooth or remote) but it climbs and scrubs the waterline quite well. I generally have to brush the steps, but it gets everything else. Our pool area is heavily landscaped and we're not exactly kind to "The Cracken". It picks up a lot of leaves and debris. The filter basket inserts seem unnecessarily expensive to replace, which I'm about to do, but other than that, I love it.

 

[RMcGirr83]

Dolphin Triton

That's what we have (the plus version) and love the thing.

 

[EngineeredPool]

Thanks for the leads!!

 

[Divin Dave]

Hey EP, to add to my previous reply,

To be honest, once you get past the basics robot, which is will they climb the wall and scurb the waterline or not, then it becomes hair splittng time ove a lot of options. Examples
Is the filter removed from the top or bottom of the robot?
Does it have blue tooth
Does it have remote control
blah blah blah

If you like bells and whistles, then be willing to spend money on them. But the fact of the matter is, the bells and whistels doesn't mean it will clean the pool any better than the basic o

Thanks for the leads!!

 

[RickNewGuy]

Have a look at...
Dolphin Triton - around 850
Dolphin Nautilus Plus around 650 - 750
There are good descriptions of both on YouTube

The main difference in perfomance between the two is the Nautilus climbs the wall then falls off
the triton climbs the walls, and also scrubs the waterline.

I have been thinking about a Triton or S200. Do you have an opinion on them? One better than the other?

 

[Oly]

You wanna know the truth why there are so many different robts. Then read this. The truth is there arent as many different ones we're lead to believe

Beware, and it has been pointed out before that this article is incorrect it at least one instance that I know of.
The following statement from the article is incorrect.

• Doheny's Saturn = Dolphin S200 = Dolphin Cayman = Dolphin Nautilus (2017 and Later) = Pentair Prowler 920 = Dolphin Proteus DX3 = Dolphin Active 20

The Doheny Saturn is not the Dolphin S200 or the Dolphin Active 20.

Makes me wonder about their other statements.

 

[GOONiE]

Polaris p965iq here. Love it but $1200. Leaves the pool spotless.

 

[Divin Dave]

Edit to Remove

 

[Oly]

Yes Dave the marketing for the Maytronics line anyway is pure vodoo and I agree nearly impossible to decipher.
Too bad about the article's misinformation on the Doheny Saturn and the S200 and Active20.
I hope nobody buys the Saturn because of its low price only to find out it will not clean the tile line like the S200 or Active20.
I also hope this is the only incorrect statement in this article.

 

[markayash]

I have wondered that about SWG also..Maybe only a couple companies that make the cells..

 

[Vickery]

Our pool has steeply sloped sides to the deep end. Our Active 20 misses some of the fine debris in the bottom of the corners, but the there are small divots there to catch the debris. A few passes with a brush takes care of it. We get a lot of wind blown debris, so it usually takes two cycles to get everything....but at least I'm not doing it.

 

[hb-]

I’ll tell you my experience with the Maytronics Nautilus Triton..

Spent almost $1200. They may be a little cheaper now. It has a remote and is one of the top loaders. Came with two different filter types. One of the filter cartridges had a tip break off... they sent me a replacement free. Now the impeller fan is missing one of the 3 blades but it still works fine. I will order a new fan soon if I can.

We named him ‘R2D2’ and my daughter has always called him ‘db2’.

R2D2 has saved me countless hours of labor. I cannot stress this enough. It took 1-2 hours to manually vacuum per week due to tree debris. It is important to get one good enough that can handle the size of your pool. Mine is 20x45 and just a hair deeper than yours.

At 5 years in, I estimate he’s run 50 cycles a year and saved me at least that many hours in labor, per year. You will still have to brush your walls manually periodically.

Buy a good one. Take care of it and it will be worth every penny. If my current one dies, I will buy another immediately.

 

[EngineeredPool]

Thanks everyone for the help!! Talked to Marina Pools and ended up ordering a dolphin S200!! Great prices and all the features I think I need!!

 

[Divin Dave]

Thats a great pool cleaner!

Thanks everyone for the help!! Talked to Marina Pools and ended up ordering a dolphin S200!! Great prices and all the features I think I need!!