Suggestions on which Dolphin Robot?

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DesertSloth

0
Apr 26, 2017
163
Phoenix, AZ
I have a 20,000 IG pool, plaster (sorta pebbletec), 36' long, rectangle shape with inward curved corners (classic 90's design), 5' deep. I'm looking for a robot- top filter, remote, caddy is bonus but not required. I see the S300i and M4/5's are popular. The drawback to the S that I can see is the lack of a swivel, and some program options? How badly do these things tangle up without the swivel? I've read soo many threads the past 2 weeks I can't think straight! I'd love to hear some suggestions for me, as well as the best price/place to purchase.

Thanks guys!
 
Swivel cords are largely unnecessary and only one more component that can easily break. I just bought an S300i and it executes equivalent numbers of CW and CCW turns. The cord does not tangle. As for programming features, if connect via Bluetooth, you'll get all the programming options and features you could ever need - custom daily schedule, floor mode, normal mode, tile line only, fast clean mode, ultra clean mode, manual steering, 1.5/2/2.5 hour cleaning cycles, etc. Can't imagine you'd need anything more than that. It comes standard with a dual-filter basket (no need to change filters) and a caddy and a 2 year bumper-to-bumper warranty. I love mine.

See my thread here - So this just happened....
 
Thanks for the replies!

Matt- so the S300i does all those program modes you mentioned, is that right?

Also- for the daily schedules to work- does that assume you're leaving the cleaner IN the pool all day/night? Aren't you supposed to remove it and store it dry, as well as clean the filters after each run?

Thank you!
 
DesertSloth said:
Thanks for the replies!

Matt- so the S300i does all those program modes you mentioned, is that right?

Also- for the daily schedules to work- does that assume you're leaving the cleaner IN the pool all day/night? Aren't you supposed to remove it and store it dry, as well as clean the filters after each run?

Thank you!
Click to expand...

If you pull it out to clean every few runs, then tangling will not be an issue. After about four runs I'll get s couple twists, but it doesn't effect it's movement. Any more than that without removal might become an issue or at least limit the length of travel.
 
DesertSloth said:
Thanks for the replies!

Matt- so the S300i does all those program modes you mentioned, is that right?

Also- for the daily schedules to work- does that assume you're leaving the cleaner IN the pool all day/night? Aren't you supposed to remove it and store it dry, as well as clean the filters after each run?

Thank you!
Click to expand...

Yes, S300i does it all.

I do remove my cleaner after every use, clean the filter basket, hose it down and store it on the caddy outside away from the sun. But I'm the exception, not the rule. The robot service guy I talked to about it at my local shop said it's perfectly ok to leave them in weekly just as long as you pull them out and hose them off every so often and let them dry out. Leaving them in 24/7/365 will degrade them faster but not by much.

When I'm on vacation I leave it in the pool while I'm gone with a custom clean schedule. If you use a weekly schedule they must remain in the pool but the unit has the ability to sense when it's not in water and will shutdown to protect the motor.
 
The M5 is a whole different cleaner model. There is an M-series thread around here too.

My S200/Doheny's Discovery is set to run daily for a week. After a week it powers off. Mine stays in 24x7 spring and fall and most of the rest of the time. I empty it weekly-ish right now, more often when the trees are busy, and detangle the cord only when I empty it. The cord tangles a bit but does not interfere with the performance.
 
With the M-series you're moving to a different class of cleaner. I believe the tracks can move separately on the M making it able to execute much tighter turns. It's also more complicated. With the S series you have only three things that can fail - power supply, cable and/or motor unit. That's it. They are monolithic components that just get replaced upon failure; no opening anything up trying to fix a particular sub-component. That makes them much easier to service. My local shop told me they sell many more S series units nowadays and people with older M class cleaners are going to S class. The cost difference between M and S is not seen in any great boost in efficiency.
 
JoyfulNoise said:
With the M-series you're moving to a different class of cleaner. I believe the tracks can move separately on the M making it able to execute much tighter turns. It's also more complicated. With the S series you have only three things that can fail - power supply, cable and/or motor unit. That's it. They are monolithic components that just get replaced upon failure; no opening anything up trying to fix a particular sub-component. That makes them much easier to service. My local shop told me they sell many more S series units nowadays and people with older M class cleaners are going to S class. The cost difference between M and S is not seen in any great boost in efficiency.
Click to expand...

Is this thread visible to the M crowd?:D
 

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bmoreswim said:
Is this thread visible to the M crowd?:D
Click to expand...

Just sayin' ... no need to be hatin' ;)

I called three shops in my local area that are all Dolphin resellers (two are authorized Dolphin chop-shops ;) ). Every time I brought up M versus S, all of them trashed the M class as overpriced and unnecessary for most residential pools. Now they may just make more profit margin off of the S series, who knows. But all of them said they prefer to deal with the S series machines. I figured I wasn't getting a "better-enough" cleaner to justify spending $200-$400 more on an M series, so I went to the highest end S model. I'm happy with it and it works amazingly well.

Part of the problem with Dolphin/Maytronics is they make all these competing product lines without much practical distinction between them. It makes deciding on a model very difficult for the average consumer.
 
DesertSloth said:
Interesting... so where's the best place to get these for the lowest price?
Click to expand...

I went with a local shop because I wanted to be able to drop off for repairs and not have to ship it out. The shop I bought from also has loaner models that they give to customers when repairs will take longer than a few days. You'll find sometimes that shops will only do warranty work on robots that they sell and not just on anyone who walks through the door. With all that, I probably paid a little more than what I could have had I gone online.

That said, you have to be careful with online sales. Dolphin specifically voids all warranties if you buy online from a shop that is not an authorized Dolphin seller. This is why you won't find them on Amazon. So if you found a super deal online, say from eBay, there may be no warranty. Again, that's why I went local brick & mortar to avoid those hassles.

By the way, if you have any local shops around you that sell Dolphins, ask if they'll let you take a demo model home? Some do that to give customers a chance to test drive before they buy.
 
The M series is great but now that they have identified and solved 2 of the major drawbacks to the Dolphin line, I can't for the life of me figure out why those innovations haven't found their way to the M (other than the obvious).

1.The original Dolphins all had bottom-loading canvas bags which were fitted around a wire frame, inserted in the bottom of the cleaner and were a huge pain in the butt to clean. Then came cartridges, which were a big advance but still had limited capacity and ease of cleaning. The new top-load basket is crazy easy to remove/replace and clean, and isn't that what convenience is all about?

2. The float handle was a way of maintaining orientation and sensing when the cleaner hit the top of the sidewall. The new propulsion system makes much more sense and while it can't turn on a dime, does a sideways sweep at the tile line that does a very effective job that the M can't match.

And let's not forget weight, the dry S-series cleaner is very light.

The M has advantages, but the S, in my opinion, is more convenient and no less effective at cleaning.
 
Whoa. Wait a minute. You're in Phoenix??? You should have a ton of shops that deal in Dolphin/Maytronics equipment. I'm in Tucson which has a swimming pool market about 1/10th the size of Phoenix (in terms of pool builds annually) and I have three shops within miles of my home.

Keep looking....
 
Yup- turns out if you go to a different website, I found 4 dealers up here. 2 tried talking me into lesser units, for the same or more money. No thanks.

One shop has the S300i for $1150 + tax.

Another has the Active 30i for $1199 + Tax.

Now I'm exploring the option of the Triton Plus for about $1k... any input? It appears to be the exact same?
 
Yeah, hard to tell. But it's a $250 price difference... Guy over at Epic is trying to convince me on . Oasis Z5- it DOES look decent too... but no basket (filters only with sorta basket in them)- but 3yr warranty w/ online purchase, incl caddy, etc. Not bad for $1k. Ugggghhhh too many choices!!!
 

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