Robot Died

[Emiliano]

My robot died yesterday. When I pulled it out of the water I found the lid broke where it is holded by one of the white brackets and caused water to flood the electronics. I don't see how this could happen, my only guess is that the weather was much colder when I opened the box to repair the pump motor and when weather got hotter, pressure built up and the lid couldn't hold. Again just a guessing.

I read in another post someone mentioning that they fill the cavity with some specific gas when building the robots, who knows. Probably I should have heated the box just a little with a heat gun before sealing it .

I'll be shopping for another one, not sure I want it to be Maytronics.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Dolphin and Polaris are the biggest makers of robots but they’ve all had problems lately in the 3 to 5 years of their lives. Seems like the manufacturing has just gotten very poor and the manufactures don’t care because they want you to have to buy a new robot every 3-5 years. That’s how they make their money. There’s no money to be made in repairs (and even the repair shops know this ).

Aiper is another manufacturer of cordless robots that has come on the scene in the last two years but their track record has yet to be proven.

Pick your poison, they all have downsides.

 

[Emiliano]

Dolphin and Polaris are the biggest makers of robots but they’ve all had problems lately in the 3 to 5 years of their lives. Seems like the manufacturing has just gotten very poor and the manufactures don’t care because they want you to have to buy a new robot every 3-5 years. That’s how they make their money. There’s no money to be made in repairs (and even the repair shops know this ).

Aiper is another manufacturer of cordless robots that has come on the scene in the last two years but their track record has yet to be proven.

Pick your poison, they all have downsides.

This was part of a conversation About Repairing the Pump Propeller motor on the bellow post. By this time I've already figured out Dolphin is Crud and is made to NOT last. The problem is that they are pretty expensive for not lasting more that 5 years.

Maytronics Dolphin Drive Motor

Mine was in the pool full time. My pool needs vacuuming daily. It seemed silly to have to put it in and pull it out every day, and it also seems silly to me to build an AUTOMATIC pool cleaner that you can program to run on a timer once daily that CANNOT be left in the water. However, that's...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[tcat]

Dolphin and Polaris are the biggest makers of robots but they’ve all had problems lately in the 3 to 5 years of their lives. Seems like the manufacturing has just gotten very poor and the manufactures don’t care because they want you to have to buy a new robot every 3-5 years. That’s how they make their money. There’s no money to be made in repairs (and even the repair shops know this ).

Aiper is another manufacturer of cordless robots that has come on the scene in the last two years but their track record has yet to be proven.

Pick your poison, they all have downsides.

My Aquabot 4WD is 9 years old and still going (no repairs). I bought their new SP200 from Target start of last season and it's even better (swivel cord & better filters, and 4WD baskets are interchangeable). I stayed with Aquabot because of the repair stories for Dolphin. It was also under $500 last season.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

My Aquabot 4WD is 9 years old and still going (no repairs). I bought their new SP200 from Target start of last season and it's even better (swivel cord & better filters, and 4WD baskets are interchangeable). I stayed with Aquabot because of the repair stories for Dolphin. It was also under $500 last season.

Forgot to mention AquaBot. I believe they’re a USA company as well if I recall correctly.

 

[tcat]

Forgot to mention AquaBot. I believe they’re a USA company as well if I recall correctly.

Hard to tell. I believe BWT bought Aquatron that makes Aquabot. I think BWT is German. Just hope I never need service, no clue where to go.

 

[Emiliano]

My Aquabot 4WD is 9 years old and still going (no repairs). I bought their new SP200 from Target start of last season and it's even better (swivel cord & better filters, and 4WD baskets are interchangeable). I stayed with Aquabot because of the repair stories for Dolphin. It was also under $500 last season.

I've been checking Aquabot after reading some of your comments on the other post. How often do you run it? Because I'm running it almost daily.

 

[tcat]

I've been checking Aquabot after reading some of your comments on the other post. How often do you run it? Because I'm running it almost daily.

I pull it out after each run. When leaves are falling, once or twice a day, but usually once a week. Filters trap dead algae, and pretty much anything on the bottom. Filter material is cloth like, so takes a bit longer to hose down, but why they catch so much fine stuff.

 

[jkozas]

I would still suggest maytronics as they are still the most simplistic design overall. I work on pool cleaners for a living and I still think they are the most resilient. this video helps explain the many differences

 

[Emiliano]

I would still suggest maytronics as they are still the most simplistic design overall. I work on pool cleaners for a living and I still think they are the most resilient. this video helps explain the many differences

After completely disassembling my maytronics robot the only I can say is that the design might be simplistic but the thing is meant to fail. The brushed motors that they use have a very limited life span before needing repairs (mostly the pump motor) and the lid that closes the motor box is not sturdy and falls not short of weak points around the o-ring where it can break (and it did in my case).

I don't know if any of the Maytronics model uses brushless motors because, although super important, that's not a piece of information they normally publish nor something that most of the people is going to check. In any case, I'm sure that if they had a brushless motor model it's going to be in the thouthands of dollars range.

I can not tell about other bands because I have no experience with anyone, but I just ordered a refurbished Rapids 2500 from BWT's refurbished site. Time will tell how durable it is.

 

[jkozas]

After completely disassembling my maytronics robot the only I can say is that the design might be simplistic but the thing is meant to fail. The brushed motors that they use have a very limited lifespan (mostly the pump motor) and the lid that closes the motor box is not sturdy and falls not short of weak points around the o-ring where it can break (and it did in my case).

I don't know if any of the Maytronics model uses brushless motors because, although super important, that's not a piece of information they normally publish nor something that most of the people is going to check. In any case, I'm sure that if they had a brushless motor model it's going to be in the thouthands of dollars range.

I can not tell about other bands because I have no experience with anyone, but I just ordered a refurbished Rapids 2500 from BWT's refurbished site. Time will tell how durable it is.

the wave series from dolphin has brushless motors.

 

[Emiliano]

the wave series from dolphin has brushless motors.

That's good to know. But still, it comes with a hefty price tag.

When you say you work on cleaners for a leaving, you mean you repair them or you sell them?

I'm crossing my fingers on the R2500. I only paid a little over $600 for it and it comes with a 12M warranty . As I said, time (and probably some luck) will tell.

 

[jkozas]

That's good to know. But still, it comes with a hefty price tag.

When you say you work on cleaners for a leaving, you mean you repair them or you sell them?

I'm crossing my fingers on the R2500. I only paid a little over $600 for it and it comes with a 12M warranty . As I said, time (and probably some luck) will tell.

repair of course

 

[JoyfulNoise]

The real problem with Maytronics isn’t so much their design choices (although those can always be improved), it’s the fact they make the motor assembly completely unserviceable. You are locked into either trashing the robot or laying out 50% or more of the cost of a new one for a replacement motor assembly. The drive motor and impeller motor probably cost less than $30 each with the drive motor being more because it has a transmission on it. You can’t get these motors anywhere except on eBay from so shady dealer in Israel where they headquartered. So Maytronics has made a business model choice - they want you to buy new when the old one breaks. That is their revenue model. It’s one I will not support. They need to make all spare parts available instead of playing games with people. Until they do that, they’re not worth it.

 

[Emiliano]

repair of course

Maybe you can help me unveil the mystery. Like a week ago and a couple of weeks after opening the motor box to replace the brushes on the pump motor, I found the robot dead at the bottom of the pool. When I lift it off the water, I found one of the white brackets wasn't engaged and a small piece of the lid had broken (see red line in the picture), exposing the o-ring and flooding the box with water.

Do you think the temperature difference between the day I opened the box (probably in the high 60s) and the day the lid failed (probably in the high 70s) could have built up enough pressure to break it??

Do you fill the box with any special gas or have any precautions when you close back the box after repairs?

 

[jkozas]

Maybe you can help me unveil the mystery. Like a week ago and a couple of weeks after opening the motor box to replace the brushes on the pump motor, I found the robot dead at the bottom of the pool. When I lift it off the water, I found one of the white brackets wasn't engaged and a small piece of the lid had broken (see red line in the picture), exposing the o-ring and flooding the box with water.

Do you think the temperature difference between the day I opened the box (probably in the high 60s) and the day the lid failed (probably in the high 70s) could have built up enough pressure to break it??

Do you fill the box with any special gas or have any precautions when you close bak the box after repairs?

View attachment 476442

hmmm was it working for a while since the brush replacement? we don't use any "gas" when putting it back together but it can be difficult to make everything sit correctly to safetly snap the brackets back on and still have a perfect seal.

 

[Emiliano]

The real problem with Maytronics isn’t so much their design choices (although those can always be improved), it’s the fact they make the motor assembly completely unserviceable. You are locked into either trashing the robot or laying out 50% or more of the cost of a new one for a replacement motor assembly. The drive motor and impeller motor probably cost less than $30 each with the drive motor being more because it has a transmission on it. You can’t get these motors anywhere except on eBay from so shady dealer in Israel where they headquartered. So Maytronics has made a business model choice - they want you to buy new when the old one breaks. That is their revenue model. It’s one I will not support. They need to make all spare parts available instead of playing games with people. Until they do that, they’re not worth it.

Well, you have a point there. But are the rest of the manufacturers any different?

 

[Emiliano]

hmmm was it working for a while since the brush replacement? we don't use any "gas" when putting it back together but it can be difficult to make everything sit correctly to safetly snap the brackets back on and still have a perfect seal.

It worked like a charm after closing it and I used it almost daily for about two weeks. Actually this was my second time closing it because the first time I opened it I only was able to clean the motor because I didn't have the replacement brushes.

The water went through the broken lid, I have no doubt about that, what puzzles me is how the lid could have broken. Pressure was one of my theories. The other option was some small stones (between 1/2" and 3/4" big) I saw in the pool that morning, but I can't imagine a way a small stone can break the box. Mostly because all the dirt goes through the opening at the bottom and the filter is the end of the road for it.

 

[jkozas]

Well, you have a point there. But are the rest of the manufacturers any different?

The real problem with Maytronics isn’t so much their design choices (although those can always be improved), it’s the fact they make the motor assembly completely unserviceable. You are locked into either trashing the robot or laying out 50% or more of the cost of a new one for a replacement motor assembly. The drive motor and impeller motor probably cost less than $30 each with the drive motor being more because it has a transmission on it. You can’t get these motors anywhere except on eBay from so shady dealer in Israel where they headquartered. So Maytronics has made a business model choice - they want you to buy new when the old one breaks. That is their revenue model. It’s one I will not support. They need to make all spare parts available instead of playing games with people. Until they do that, they’re not worth it.

I think a big factor in this is that they assume most people won't know how to do it. more in terms of putting it back together. even being an experienced repair tech it is admittedly tricky to get those things completely sealed again. the individual motors are available to any dealer to order which is what we do when we work on them. I think their main concern as a business is avoiding this issue: the customer buys one drive motor, opens assembly, replaces the drive motor, and uses a robot but the motor wasn't sealed 100% now all motors and circuit boards are most likely shot. the customer then blames the business.... for them not sealing it correctly.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I think a big factor in this is that they assume most people won't know how to do it. more in terms of putting it back together. even being an experienced repair tech it is admittedly tricky to get those things completely sealed again. the individual motors are available to any dealer to order which is what we do when we work on them. I think their main concern as a business is avoiding this issue: the customer buys one drive motor, opens assembly, replaces the drive motor, and uses a robot but the motor wasn't sealed 100% now all motors and circuit boards are most likely shot. the customer then blames the business.... for them not sealing it correctly.

I hear what you’re saying but that’s again a business decision - treat everyone as too stupid to figure it out so as to avoid some hypothetical liability. So for all of us that enjoy fixing our stuff their attitude is - go pound sand. A simple clause in their end-user/purchase agreement would take care of it -

“If the sealed motor assembly is opened up, all warranties, implied or otherwise, are void and all product liabilities are now the owner’s responsibility.”

Then they can freely sell all the internal parts they want.