Replacing Dolphin Active 20

[DAB942]

Mine bit the dust. Went through the troubleshooting with Maytronics -- they suggested to replace or repair. Talked to the only repair joint in the county -- $600.00+ to repair. Couple more bucks for a brand new one.

I've narrowed it down to: Explorer E30 and the Active 30.

Leaning toward the E30. I don't need BT and WiFi. I have an enclosed pool -- it mostly picks up leaves now and then -- mostly sand.

I'm not married to Dolphin -- just had really good luck with the last one.

Thoughts?

 

[mknauss]

Read the review by Jimrahbe on the Aqua robot Marina carries.

 

[DrewLG]

Thoughts?

If you decide to stick with that family of Maytronics robots, parts of your old robot may be useful as spares for the new one: power supply, cable, filter basket/insert, maybe even tracks and brushes if they're not worn out.

 

[Jimrahbe]

DAB,

The guys at Marina Pool and Spa are not all that happy with the recent high Dolphin failure rates, so they started selling a new Robot called EVO.

I got one instead of my normal S200 'style' robots that I have been getting. So far I really like it, but I have no clue if it will last 10 more days or 10 more years. Only time will tell.

The main thing that will turn most Dolphin owners off is that it has no weekly timer. Basically you need to turn if on, each time you want to use it.

You can see my review here..

New EVO 614i Robot Pool Cleaner Review

About a month ago I needed a new robot pool cleaner and I contacted Margaret at Marina Pool and Spa. My initial goal was to buy another S200 "style" robot as I have been happy with them so far. Margaret suggested that I might want to look at a new line of robot cleaners that Marina is now...

www.troublefreepool.com

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[DAB942]

DAB,

The guys at Marina Pool and Spa are not all that happy with the recent high Dolphin failure rates, so they started selling a new Robot called EVO.

I got one instead of my normal S200 'style' robots that I have been getting. So far I really like it, but I have no clue if it will last 10 more days or 10 more years. Only time will tell.

The main thing that will turn most Dolphin owners off is that it has no weekly timer. Basically you need to turn if on, each time you want to use it.

You can see my review here..

New EVO 614i Robot Pool Cleaner Review

About a month ago I needed a new robot pool cleaner and I contacted Margaret at Marina Pool and Spa. My initial goal was to buy another S200 "style" robot as I have been happy with them so far. Margaret suggested that I might want to look at a new line of robot cleaners that Marina is now...

www.troublefreepool.com

Thanks,

Jim R.

Thanks Jim,

I read your review last night. The only feature that gives me pause is the lack of a timer. If the app had a timer, that would be fine. Although I am a techy, I don't really see the need for an app for my pool robot, since I want it to clean the whole pool every time. Unless, of course, I can schedule with it. Is it a deal breaker? I'm not sure. I have the box mounted under the eave just outside, about eight feet from one of the doors out to the pool.

I have to do something soon -- it's been a couple of weeks since the Dolphin stopped working, with the back and forth with Maytronics. I don't think I have anything to manually vacuum the pool. I'm pretty sure I gave it all away when I bought the robot.

 

[Jimrahbe]

DAB,

As it turns out they updated the app yesterday, but still no timer. I find that a huge mistake.. I can use the EVO at my house, but not at my rent house pools.

The app update allows you to drive the robot around, and to make it come up at a wall so you can take it out. I just updated the app this morning and won't be able to test it out until later this afternoon. But.. I'd trade both of those useless features for a simple timer.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[DAB942]

DAB,

As it turns out they updated the app yesterday, but still no timer. I find that a huge mistake.. I can use the EVO at my house, but not at my rent house pools.

The app update allows you to drive the robot around, and to make it come up at a wall so you can take it out. I just updated the app this morning and won't be able to test it out until later this afternoon. But.. I'd trade both of those useless features for a simple timer.

Thanks,

Jim R.

That's my only misgiving. I don't want to have to walk outside and press a button.

 

[Jimrahbe]

DAB,

You don't have to walk outside at all, but you still have to press a button on the app..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[DAB942]

DAB,

You don't have to walk outside at all, but you still have to press a button on the app..

Thanks,

Jim R.

Jim,

Would you recommend the EVO or Dolphin E30?

 

[Jimrahbe]

DAB,

That puts me between a rock and a hard place..

I'd say they are pretty equal.. I have been recommending Dolphin robot for a long time and am pretty happy with them. But recently I have been seeing a pretty bad failure rate for S200 style units. This is the main reason that I got the EVO.

That said, I have no clue what kind of lifespan the EVO will have .

If I had to buy another robot today, I would go with the EVO as I like it a little better than the Dolphin. I like the screen basket, which I did not think I'd would, and I like the larger active brushes and the fact that there are two of them. I like the way it cleans the tile line better.

That said, it is easy for me to choose what I would do, but harder for me to make that decision for others.

At this point I'd say they both work well and I suspect that the lifespan will end up being about the same. But, only time will tell.

I did try out the app controls and for sure this is something I can live without. If it had a weekly scheduler then it would be worth the money. But as is, it is something that I will never use.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[DAB942]

DAB,

That puts me between a rock and a hard place..

I'd say they are pretty equal.. I have been recommending Dolphin robot for a long time and am pretty happy with them. But recently I have been seeing a pretty bad failure rate for S200 style units. This is the main reason that I got the EVO.

That said, I have no clue what kind of lifespan the EVO will have .

If I had to buy another robot today, I would go with the EVO as I like it a little better than the Dolphin. I like the screen basket, which I did not think I'd would, and I like the larger active brushes and the fact that there are two of them. I like the way it cleans the tile line better.

That said, it is easy for me to choose what I would do, but harder for me to make that decision for others.

At this point I'd say they both work well and I suspect that the lifespan will end up being about the same. But, only time will tell.

I did try out the app controls and for sure this is something I can live without. If it had a weekly scheduler then it would be worth the money. But as is, it is something that I will never use.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Jim,

I appreciate your review and input. I think I'm going with the E30. I ran across the nautilus CC plus. I thought I liked that - but, it doesn't do waterline. The E30 seems to be a good replacement for what I have and I get set it for the week. And app for the robot doesn't concern me - in this case, I'd probably prefer not to have to have an app. If it had scheduling, that may change my mind. They may or may not include that in an update. I like the features of the EVO -- after thinking about it, the weekly schedule is the tie breaker.

 

[mgarf33]

Jim,

I appreciate your review and input. I think I'm going with the E30. I ran across the nautilus CC plus. I thought I liked that - but, it doesn't do waterline. The E30 seems to be a good replacement for what I have and I get set it for the week. And app for the robot doesn't concern me - in this case, I'd probably prefer not to have to have an app. If it had scheduling, that may change my mind. They may or may not include that in an update. I like the features of the EVO -- after thinking about it, the weekly schedule is the tie breaker.

Sounds like a good choice, I switched from the Maytronics style to the Zodiac style and was extremely disappointed in cleaning ability. I had the Hayward TigerShark QC and thought it cleaned very well despite the poor control ability. So, after rebuilding several times, I decided on the Polaris 9550 Sport. Ugh, this thing blows more dirt around the pool than it picks up. I’ve also upgraded to the silt fine mesh filter and it’s still wont clean my pool like the Tiger Shark did. I just wanted something with more control. While the Polaris is definitely better in that respect, it just doesn’t do its main function like I believe it should.
At this very moment I have my ~10 year old rebuilt TigerShark cleaning the pool with the Polaris sitting in the deck. While I can’t speak to the other models mentioned by others, I can only offer my experience with the Polaris 9550.

 

[Jimrahbe]

33,

I looked up the Polaris 9550 and it is a different design that the EVO.. I have never used the 9550, but the EVO cleans ever bit as good as the Dolphins I have used over the years.

In my mind the biggest drawback for robot cleaners is their lifespan. My personal experience with my older units has been they lasted about 5 years on average. Looking at reported failures here on TFP, it appears the average lifespan on the newer S200 style robots is 3 to 5 years on average, so this means that some do not even make it to 3 years.

I love robots, so I will continue to use them, but everyone needs to balance out the cost vs. lifespan ratio before buying one.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[DAB942]

33,

I looked up the Polaris 9550 and it is a different design that the EVO.. I have never used the 9550, but the EVO cleans ever bit as good as the Dolphins I have used over the years.

In my mind the biggest drawback for robot cleaners is their lifespan. My personal experience with my older units has been they lasted about 5 years on average. Looking at reported failures here on TFP, it appears the average lifespan on the newer S200 style robots is 3 to 5 years on average, so this means that some do not even make it to 3 years.

I love robots, so I will continue to use them, but everyone needs to balance out the cost vs. lifespan ratio before buying one.

Thanks,

Jim R.

I agree. Even three years ($300-$400/yr) is worth it to me -- savings in labor using suction based vacs and having to clean the filters so often. In CFL, we have alot of sand that gets in our pool, even with an enclosure. I was having to clean the filter sometimes every few weeks or more. I clean the filter about once a year, now.