Using robotic pool cleaners used on pebble finish pool

[FlyersFan]

I read a number of the pool cleaner threads. Lots of recommendations of what to buy and where. (Thank you all.)

Having said that, I am wondering if anyone uses a Dolphin pool cleaner with a large pebble finished pool? If so, I am looking for recommendations. I would like to know if the cleaner works as advertised on pebble. I watched some videos online of a Dolphin cleaner that only traveled half way up the wall before going back down. I also read some negative reviews where the units can get stuck (like on a step) and ruin the rubber brushes. The main cleaning issue I have with my pool is that it gets very dusty here in Texas and the dirt and dust that gets below the water surface settles in the pebble crevices all along the walls of the pool. It always looks dirty, even when the water looks crystal clear. I am needing to brush it almost every day. Any advice would be appreciated from pebble pool owners.

Thanks!

 

[bmoreswim]

My Dolphin Active 20 (same as S200) goes floor to waterline tile no problem in our 8 1/2' deep pool. Seeing is believing. They are great at all types of debris, especially dust-like debris that some people didn't even know that had until the pleated cartridges are full of it.

Our pool is large with plain plaster, but many here have pebble and they work equally on any surface. Only issue can be some getting stuck on main drain covers - mine does but always frees itself. Mine also occasionally takes a siesta on a bench. Just the way it goes. Maybe 10% of the runs he does that.

I say go for it.

 

[Divin Dave]

I lot of people complain about robots getting stuck on steps, and MD's and what not.

The issue with those things is not necessarily the downfall of the robot. If the step rise is too short or the surface of the steps isnt large enough, the robot wont be able to get on it and maneuver across it. If the main drain covers are too big (there are many designs of them), then all robots will get stuck on em, Dolphin or not.

Whatever the case though, IMO the Dolphins are the best on the market, and if the dolphin wont do the job, none of em will.

 

[riley00dog]

Have mini pebble not regular but I don’t see how it would work any differently. Love our Dolphin so much! He does our 500mm wide bench no worries and the waterline tile above. He doesn’t do our very small steps though. It’s fine as I brush the whole pool once a week anyway just in case he’s missed anything. You will not regret getting one. I couldn’t imagine how much I’d love ours. His name is Jeff by the way [emoji6]

 

[NorCalX]

I did the same robot cleaning research you are probably doing right now

For people who are truly on the fence I think the best suggestion is to borrow from a friend or rent from a local pool store etc. and see how it works in your pool before making a final decision

 

[FlyersFan]

Thanks for all of the advice everyone. Dave, regarding getting a robot stuck on the drain cover, once I get a robot, I will test is running it without the pool pump on, or closing the valve on the main drain. That should eliminate the robot getting sucked over the drain.

Believe it or not, my pool's main drain used to be plumbed to the nearest skimmer. (Not to the pumps.) So it was completely useless. This year, the pool needed to be refinished, so I also had a separate pool drain plumbing installed at the same time. Now I can open or close that valve as much as I need.

 

[mknauss]

It is not the suction that hangs up a robot. It is the raised drain cover.

 

[FlyersFan]

Thanks everyone for all the great advice. After reading numerous threads on TFP on pool cleaners, I decided to call Marina Pool & Spa in Colorado. I talked to someone there who gave me some great advice on cleaners with features that would work best with my pool. I decided to buy the M 400, which was $870 without the cart/dolly. (It would have been $999 with the dolly). I selected that only because my pool has an unusual shape, and it has a little better mobility than the S 200. It also looks like it might be better at climbing walls, but I'm sure they are both great at that. I'll let everyone know how it works out after I get it.

Don

 

[FlyersFan]

Thought I would give you all an update. I got the pool cleaner and used it a couple times. First off, probably better to get the cart/dolly because the instructions say if you don't have one to store the cleaner upside down so as not to damage the brushes. I didn't know that one of the purposes of the cart was to protect the brushes. Now I know. (So I am storing it upside down in the box it came in.)

My primary reason for getting this cleaner was the dirt/dust/debris in the pebble finish along my pool walls. The first time I ran the cleaner, I installed the pleated filters. The cleaner would maneuver to a pool wall, then go up one pool cleaner length, then stop and go the other direction. So after one cycle and seeing the pool walls didn't look much cleaner, I decided to try again using the screen filters. (I thought maybe the cleaner wasn't getting enough suction using the pleated filters.) This time it went all the way to the water line each time it got to a wall. But the brushes still didn't clean the pebble adequately. I ran it one more time, but this time I installed pleated filters in one chamber and screen filters in the other chamber. In this configuration it continued to travel up the walls to the water line. When I cleaned the filters out, there was pollen/dust type debris in the pleated side and other pool debris in the other side.

Bottom line: I think the cleaner is working properly, but this M400 cleaner, even working properly, is not capable of cleaning my pebble pool walls. Having said that, it does a better job on the pool floor than my Polaris 360. I have decided to keep it, and once the weather gets warm again, try again and see how it cleans. My issue with these pebble pool walls was I needed to brush them often. (The steps too.) And after brushing them, get the debris into a pool drain. That is not easy because of how my pool is shaped. With this cleaner, I can brush the pool walls down, and leave the dirt where it lands. Then the pool cleaner can drive around the pool floor and pick up that debris. This is much less time than my old process.

I didn't expect it to clean the steps, but I was hoping it could clean the walls. Although it can't clean them, I like being able to run the cleaner without the pool pump on. This way the dirt and debris doesn't get pushed around too much and missed.

Don

 

[bmoreswim]

My primary reason for getting this cleaner was the dirt/dust/debris in the pebble finish along my pool walls.

I'm having trouble understanding what you are describing above. If there is material that is attached to the pool walls, it is unlikely and even unexpected that a cleaner will remove it. The primary purpose of a robot is to get free floating material. Yes, they do have brushes that come in contact with the pool surface, which do provide some agitation to that surface, which can be an algae preventative (along of course with proper water chemistry) but I think you have an issue that needs separate analysis. Some people have what you might call dirt/dust/debris in their pool, but it almost exclusively refers to loose material on the horizontal surfaces of the pool. Material on walls is generally staining or algae.

With that in mind, I have smooth plaster, not a pebble finish. However, I still feel the above is valid for pebble finishes as well.

 

[riley00dog]

I’m wondering how dirty your walls are and what’s on them? My walls don’t look any different after I brush or after the robot cleans them. They are not visibly dirty to start with. I know my robot is working as intended though as any debris on the bottom of the pool (leaves etc) is gone after a cycle. Do you have a photo of your pool?

 

[FlyersFan]

I had my pool resurfaced with a pebble finish in April. I was unaware that since a pebble finish is quite rough, the side walls of the pool can catch dirt and pollen in between the pebbles. If I stick my hand under the water and push a stream of water in the area of the dirt, it just blows the dirt away. My water chemistry is great and the water is crystal clear, but it is very dusty and dirty here in Texas. When I first had the problem, I thought it was algae. But even after a SLAM, it came back in 2 days. (Backwashing also didn't help.)

I have since used the cleaner again, and brushed the walls to get any dirt on them to the ground. (The walls have been pretty clean lately.) I used the pleated filters and let the cleaner do the pool bottom and it looks pretty clean.

When my pool was smooth plaster, I could see the dirt on the pool bottom, but there was nothing on the sides. Lesson learned.

Don

 

[FlyersFan]

Riley00dog,

If your walls were clean before brushing, I would expect them to look the same after using the pool cleaner.

Here is what my pool looks like when the walls are dirty. In the area above the center of the picture, you are seeing the reflection of the flagstone. (Although that is dirty too.) But you can really see the dirt in the area below the center of the picture. Smears of dirt like that everywhere on the walls. Comes off easily. So what I have been doing is that I brush down the walls and steps, then turn the pump off and let the cleaner pick it up off the pool floor. Seems to be working.



Don

 

[FlyersFan]

Here is what it looks like when clean. It's been like this ever since I started the new protocol of brushing before running the M400. It's overall more clean than when I used the Polaris 360.