I hate my Dolphin Active 30i - now what?

[oodaddy]

I have had an Active 30i for a little over 2 years. Nothing but trouble - power supply went within a month, the cord tangles within a few minutes. and it just doesnt clean well. It always misses the fine debris at the angles & corners. Basically I have to sweep/scrub the bottom before I put the robot in the pool.
I have reached my limit with this robot. Love the design and Maytronics has replaced 2 cords, even giving me a cord with the swivel device (originally it didnt come with one). So....I have been impressed with Maytronics support, so am willing to consider another Maytronics product.

Here's my question.....In the past I owned an Aquabot Turbo T that had a unique feature - water jets underneath the unit that stirred up that fine debris in the corners/angles & it really cleaned my pool well. When it died I bought the Active 30i. I have been looking at some Dolphin robots that have a 3rd brush that oscillates?? The Dolphin M400 for example.

Anyone have experience with a Dolphin model with a 3rd brush? Does it make any difference?

Any other dolphin model that really cleans the angles & corners well? I'm referring to the wall angles at the bottom of the pool particularly. At this point Im Ok with bottom load designs & filter bag designs. Just want something that works.

I would normally just go ahead & buy an Aquabot product but there are no local dealers & its hard to find any product info these days.

Thanks!

Anybody want to buy an Active 30i cheap??????

 

[MyAZPool]

oodaddy
I will be watching this thread to read the comments because I will be in the market for a Maytronics robot sometime in the future.

However, my next door neighbor really wants a robot but they are a bit out of his price range.
Not sure where you are located, but please send me all of the details on a private message (PM) and I will pass the info over to him for you.
Thanks...
r..

 

[hagani]

I've recently purchased Active 30i and so far very pleased with the way it cleans the pool. I do sweep the steps however before I put robot in the water to have all the sand that accumulates on the steps to settle on the bottom.
I paid with AMEX for it and will get an extra 2 years extended warranty backed by American Express. Just to be on the safe side.

 

[DjEclipse]

I have had an Active 30i for a little over 2 years. Nothing but trouble - power supply went within a month, the cord tangles within a few minutes. and it just doesnt clean well. It always misses the fine debris at the angles & corners. Basically I have to sweep/scrub the bottom before I put the robot in the pool.
I have reached my limit with this robot. Love the design and Maytronics has replaced 2 cords, even giving me a cord with the swivel device (originally it didnt come with one). So....I have been impressed with Maytronics support, so am willing to consider another Maytronics product.

Here's my question.....In the past I owned an Aquabot Turbo T that had a unique feature - water jets underneath the unit that stirred up that fine debris in the corners/angles & it really cleaned my pool well. When it died I bought the Active 30i. I have been looking at some Dolphin robots that have a 3rd brush that oscillates?? The Dolphin M400 for example.

Anyone have experience with a Dolphin model with a 3rd brush? Does it make any difference?

Any other dolphin model that really cleans the angles & corners well? I'm referring to the wall angles at the bottom of the pool particularly. At this point Im Ok with bottom load designs & filter bag designs. Just want something that works.

I would normally just go ahead & buy an Aquabot product but there are no local dealers & its hard to find any product info these days.

Thanks!

Anybody want to buy an Active 30i cheap??????

What is the shape of your pool, especially where it misses the correct etc.

I have a M600 and it gets places other cleaners would miss.

My shape is a lazy L with rounded to transitions and a hopper style deep end.

 

[Cephrael]

I just bought an active 30i on Friday. Hoping for better results.

 

[Geebot]

Plenty of people are more than satisfied with Maytronics models, especially the S-series/active. Clearly the OP was happy with his previous non-Maytronics cleaner but is now having issues finding an equivalent. Not sure what his options are other than finding a refurbished version of his old one

 

[BowserB]

I have the M500, but in terms of features I actually use, I could have the M400. The third brush and overall design of the Mx00 allow it to just clean better, and especially at the water line. However, it has limitations in my pool. It cannot get up the three steps to the sun shelf, and indeed because of the height of the M400-500, it also can't clean the sun shelf (too shallow). The freeform shape of my pool also gives it fits in a couple of tight corners. So my routine is to brush the sunshelf, steps, and two tight corners before running the M500. Even though it cleans the waterline, I still do a five minute water line brushing first.

The Mx00 comes with two sets of filters, and I use the fine pleated filter pretty much all the time, which is every other day. It always picks up stuff both small and tiny. I rarely have a leaf make it to the bottom, but when one does it gets picked up. The combination of two vacuum slots, vertical exhaust, the third brush, and large pivoting floats makes it really good cleaning the sides too. It comes with a caddy which is advised for storage to protect the tracks and brushes. The caddy also holds the power supply. Down side: This sucker is heavy. 26 pounds not counting the water that is in it until it drains. Because of the weight and the height of my coping, I use a shepherd's hook on the handle/floats to pull it out of the water until I can reach the handle. I then tip it against the side of the pool to drain. Two top doors open to remove the two filter compartments. The filters and holders are easy to clean with a water hose, after which I also hose off the cleaner inside and out and store it on the caddy with the filter doors open.

If it sounds like it is a lot of trouble, I guess it is. It cleans about 10,000 times better than the pressure side Kreepy Krauly Platinum cleaner and booster pump that the pool builder provided. If I knew then... While I clean it out each time I use it, that's because I choose to. I think I could leave it and clean the filters out maybe every third or fourth cycle. I run the 3.5 hour cycle. 2.5 hours is standard. It's my impression from the manual and videos that it would be even better in a rectangular or even L shaped pool--anything with straight sides. Kindof expensive, except Marina Pool and Spa price beat everyone I could find. In fact, their low price was why I bought the M500 instead of the M400 (which I should have, as I don't ever use the app, and functionally, the M400 is just as good.)

 

[Jimrahbe]

Dad,

I suggest that you send it to me... I'll run it for the next 4 or 5 years and see if I can figure out what is wrong with it. And because I am such a generous guy, I won't even charge you for troubleshooting it...

Jim R.

 

[Newdude]

After that I will offer my services for a few more years, also free of charge. That way we can compare how it works in different regions. Happy to help in the name of science.