Looking for a replacement for my Pentair Warrior SE

[SlipperyPete]

I bought the Warrior SE at the end of 2020. I have shipped it off three times for repairs. In fact, it's been down for over 3 weeks now and I still won't get it back for about another week at best. I believe the warranty is up in a few months so I plan to sell it and buy a replacement b/c my unit is garbage and I don't trust it past the warranty. It's burned through two motors and my pool isn't bad at all. Any suggestions on a decent replacement? I really don't want to spend a grand on the replacement. I definitely want something that scrubs and climbs the water line like my current one.

Bonus question... is there another place people here recommend buying from beside Marina? They are too difficult to contact.

 

[Grubby]

If you're looking for a (basically) 1:1 replacement, I'd go with the E30, or the Triton PS. Those two robots look to be the exact same thing with different body kits and colors. Purchasing through Amazon allows for an extended protection plan (2 or 3 yr options) above the manufacturer. Hope this is helpful!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

All of those robots are basically the same. The Warrior is just a Dolphin robot that has been rebranded by Maytronics for Pentair. The E30 and Triton all use the same underlying motor assembly as the Warrior or any of the S-Series . You can see the link in my signature to my personal saga with an S300i that I took apart and tried to rebuild. Impossible to do because Maytronics actively keeps critical motor subcomponents off the retail market. The only option for these robots when they are out of warranty is to buy new motor assemblies that run nearly 50% of the cost of new robot .... guess what the revenue strategy is there? Make the consumer buy a new robot every time it's out of warranty. You're lucky to get more than 5 years with these pieces of junk ...

If you only want a robot, then check out Aiper or Aquabot. Other members have had success with those.

I went back to suction side cleaner because I'm done with robots, not worth it at all and I'm not here to enrich the Maytronics execs so they can make their boat payments. But then again, my pool was designed to work with suction cleaners from the get-go and so switching back was easy. Your mileage may vary ...

 

[SlipperyPete]

If you only want a robot, then check out Aiper or Aquabot. Other members have had success with those.

Thanks. I'll check those out. I went down the rabbit hole in 2020 when buying my Warrior SE and saw that it was the same as the triton and s200. I get a ton of benefits from my robot so I want to have something that can do the same thing. By no means am I wanting to buy another Maytronics cleaner if I can find something that is equal in function and roughly the same price. In addition to waiting on Marina to get back to me, I even called Pentair to see if there was a local repair shop. They created a work order and sent me to someone local. The guy answered my call and ghosted me as soon as I mentioned my Pentair work order was assigned to him.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

The guy answered my call and ghosted me as soon as I mentioned my Pentair work order was assigned to him.

Yeah, the dirty little secret in the retail pool store market is that they absolutely HATE robots because they absolutely DO NOT want to do any repair work on them beyond what some unskilled tech can do with a #2 Phillips screwdriver and 15mins of time. So Maytronics makes the sale and "service" of these robots palatable to the retail channel by giving them short warranties and easy repairs - ie, the only things that break are the motor (frequently), the cord (not so much) and the power supply (rarely). So the fix is always just the same - diagnose which component is bad and replace it. If it's under warranty, Maytronics eats the cost and the shop gets to bill you for an hour of work that literally takes 15mins. Or, if they don't charge you, they charge Maytronics. If it's outside warranty, they do the same thing - replacement is the only option. Then they get to charge you for the ridiculously overpriced component, which I'm sure they get a decent slice of the revenue from, AND they get to charge you labor. If you don't want to do all that, then buy a new model. In this way, Maytronics has made it profitable for retail shops to sell robots. Without it, no retail shop would ever touch a robot.

Give Aiper a look. Their robots are newer and look a lot like Maytronics (maybe they're all former Maytronics employees ...). There's at least one or two threads on TFP about Aiper. @tcat has used AquaBots for a while and swears by their longevity.

 

[tcat]

I bought this a few weeks ago. I was thinking the baskets would be the same as my 8 year old Aquabot 4wd (no repairs), but they're not. Almost the same, but more fabric like than polyester mesh like (old ones). Both are very fine and trap silt, but the new ones take an extra 3 or 4 minutes of hosing to clean them. Does a good job cleaning the pool. This one has swivel cable, the main reason I bought it (even though old one still works fine).

 

[SlipperyPete]

I bought this a few weeks ago. I was thinking the baskets would be the same as my 8 year old Aquabot 4wd (no repairs), but they're not. Almost the same, but more fabric like than polyester mesh like (old ones). Both are very fine and trap silt, but the new ones take an extra 3 or 4 minutes of hosing to clean them. Does a good job cleaning the pool. This one has swivel cable, the main reason I bought it (even though old one still works fine).

I guess I need to look closer at the Aquabots as well. I really like the wall and waterline scrubbing that my Warrior SE does when it's actually working. I really love the job that my robot can do, but I no longer have any faith in its longevity. That is why I'm having a hard time finding a replacement.

I keep checking amazon for prime day deals. It seems Aiper is the only running deals today

 

[JoyfulNoise]

If you can get a good deal on Amazon for an Aiper and perhaps get the extended warranty as well, I think you’d be covered against failure for many more years than Dolphin would ever offer. And if the Aiper lasts even a few years longer than your Warrior, then you’ve done a lot better. I wouldn’t count on your Warrior coming back from the dead or suddenly working, more than likely it’s a goner and that sucks.

 

[tcat]

I guess I need to look closer at the Aquabots as well. I really like the wall and waterline scrubbing that my Warrior SE does when it's actually working. I really love the job that my robot can do, but I no longer have any faith in its longevity. That is why I'm having a hard time finding a replacement.

I keep checking amazon for prime day deals. It seems Aiper is the only running deals today

Aquabot is not great on walls and waterline. It does climb, just not often. I brush walls anyway, really just needed floor.

 

[SlipperyPete]

If you can get a good deal on Amazon for an Aiper and perhaps get the extended warranty as well, I think you’d be covered against failure for many more years than Dolphin would ever offer. And if the Aiper lasts even a few years longer than your Warrior, then you’ve done a lot better. I wouldn’t count on your Warrior coming back from the dead or suddenly working, more than likely it’s a goner and that sucks.

The 3 options I see on Amazon now are...

Aiper Seagull 1500 (Cordless)
$696

Aiper Orca 1300
$600

Aiper Orca 2000
$900

I'm not sure I want a cordless one b/c it would still need to be 'touched' more often. If i leave town for a couple of days, I like knowing that my cleaner will still run while I'm gone. I wish I could find more reviews and opinions on the Orca models.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Wow. The Seagull for $696 is a steal. But I agree, if you need it to run unattended for long stretches, you have to get the corded models.

 

[Tres Gatos]

I have had a broke Pentair Warrior SE (S200 clone) for several months which needed 2 wheel kits $6.99 each The wheel kit has been on back order from Maytronics for 9 months according to Marina. I gave up and bought an Aquabot Rapids 1500 from the Pool and Spa Supply Store. $599. I have had it for about a month and very impressed with the build and quality. It has a rugged power supply and a very thick power cord which does not tangle. It climbs walls no problem and does not get stuck on main drains. I liked it so much a bought a second for my rental house.