Just wondering why or why not i should consider a robotic cleaner for a small (14x28) enclosed pool (as in screened in)?
Robotic cleaner with an enclosed pool worth it?
- Thread starter SuperMiguel
- Start date
You probably won't have an issue with leaves or bugs, but dirt/dust will still be an issue. Try it for a while without one and see if manual vacuuming is burdensome to you. If not, then you'll save some money. I find it strangely therapeutic.
If it's more than you care to deal with, you can always get one later.
If it's more than you care to deal with, you can always get one later.
We live pretty close to ya ( over on the Gulf ). Same size pool, gunite. We use a Hayward Navigator and love it.
- May 23, 2015
- 24,432
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Dolphin makes a line of very simple robotic cleaners like the S50 or Echo that start at about the same price as a high end suction side cleaner (Pentair Rebel). You might call around to pool shops and see if any of them have loaner units they lend out for demonstration purposes. Two shops near me do that for folks interested in robots but not necessarily ready to take the plunge.
Yeah just saw that, any idea how those S50/Echo compare with a Dolphin Nautilus with CleverClean just saw amazon selling it for $500
- May 23, 2015
- 24,432
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
I’m no robotics expert but the S series all use the same propulsion system and chassis. The only difference is the number of brushes and the features available on the App. But for such a simple and enclosed pool, you only need minimal features.
I would suggest going brick & mortar if you can. Dolphin severely restricts online sales & purchases in terms of waranty coverage. I think they only allow one model to be sold online and there’s limited warranty coverage on it. If you buy from a local shop, they will often get you the longer warranty and many shops will only repair robots that they sell. So if you buy online, you’ll have to find an authorized service center to fix it and you’ll have to ship the unit out on your own dime. That can get costly as these units are not cheap to ship.
I would suggest going brick & mortar if you can. Dolphin severely restricts online sales & purchases in terms of waranty coverage. I think they only allow one model to be sold online and there’s limited warranty coverage on it. If you buy from a local shop, they will often get you the longer warranty and many shops will only repair robots that they sell. So if you buy online, you’ll have to find an authorized service center to fix it and you’ll have to ship the unit out on your own dime. That can get costly as these units are not cheap to ship.
I'm across the bay here in Clearwater. My pool is screened in but significantly larger than your pool. While I don't get a ton of leaves in my pool, I do get debris and pollen that filters down through my screen along with some leaves from plants inside my enclosure. I use my robot twice a week. Even though the pool looks clean, there is still dirt and debris that gets suctioned up each time. It's impressive and effortless. I also like that the robot does a nice job brushing the bottom of my pool. Even gets most of the sides. All that's left for me is to brush my steps which takes just a few minutes.
I have an Aquabot X4. It's been great thus far and came with a handy caddy for a reasonable price. Cleans and brushes my pool for just a few pennies.
I have an Aquabot X4. It's been great thus far and came with a handy caddy for a reasonable price. Cleans and brushes my pool for just a few pennies.
I kinda hate the way Dolphin does their robots with online only products vs instore products
- May 23, 2015
- 24,432
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Dolphin/Maytronics does have one of the most confusing product matrices ever invented!! And they don't sell online for a reason - if brick & mortar stores had to compete with every cleaner being sold online, they'd never be able to make any money. So the wholesalers and distributors have an agreement in place with Dolphin such that Dolphin restricts online sales to only one or two models and the rest of them get sold through normal distribution channels. If Dolphin didn't do it that way, their products would never sell with a wide enough market exposure to make it worth it.
But, there's plenty of deals to be had out there. If you go online to Doheny's or Marina's Pool, Spa & Patio store, they often have very good deals on robots AND, since the purchase is done over the phone, it counts as a brick & mortar sale so you get full warranty coverage. This way, if your local shops are selling the units with a little too much markup for your liking, there's at least another option. Same caveat applies though to repairs - many shops restrict repairs to only customers that they have sold the robot to. So service might require you to ship the unit out.
You can certainly shop around and look at Pentair or Polaris robots. Pentair robots, I believe, are just rebranded Dolphin robots. Polaris (Zodiac) makes their own robot but it's gotten some bad reviews over the years. AquaBot is another company that makes robots but TFP's resident robot service and repair guy says that the AquaBot line is very buggy and they're not as reliable. So Dolphin is really the "top shelf" choice and the leader in the robot industry.
