Would you repurchase your dolphin?

[Jimrahbe]

P,

If by "wheel floats" you mean the foam climbing rings, mine fell off after several years. I never replaced them, and it did not seem to affect the operation, one way or the other.

I do not have any videos..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[BowserB]

This is the second full season with a Dolphin M500. If I had it to do over, I'd have bought the M400 with all the same features (three brushes, waterline cleaning) except the nearly useless bluetooth remote control app. Note. I do not leave the robot in the pool I run a 3.5 hr cycle about once a week. At the end, I take it out, empty the collector bins and rinse the whole thing inside and our with fresh (soft) water, then put it on its stand to dry and after dry cover it with a chair cover. It is left off but plugged in on the stand on a covered patio.

Pool was built with pressure side plumbing and a Pentair GARBAGE booster pump that mostly made noise. Two different pressure side Pentair cleaners were tried--Racer, which always ended up on the tanning ledge on its side, then another Pentair the name of which escapes me. The replacement worked for a while then lost its ability to move and only ran in circles in the deep end. Tried all the tech advice and gave up. Anyone who wants to come by my house in Katy, Texas is welcome to it.

My only complaints. The M500 cannot clean the sunshelf--not deep enough water there. Also it cannot clean the attached spa, as it's just too big. For now I just redirect all the water to the spa and brush to stir up the stuff in the spa to spill out into the pool. Only kindof works. I'm considering a self powered spa vac now. As a cleaner for the pool, though, it is excellent. I only hope it lasts.

 

[mwemaxxowner]

I had a Pentair Warrior SE that I absolutely loved, until it quit just outside of warranty. A $700 robot (now $850) needing a $450 repair after two years puts a bad taste in my mouth. That said, Pentair was gracious enough to send me parts for free, so I'm very thankful for that!

However, there's no denying that it worked great, it was convenient, and it made pool life easy while it was working.

I sorely wish my pool was equipped with a suction port, but alas, it was not. I would love to use a suction cleaner, but I don't want to render my skimmer useless for actual skimming (so that's out for me).

My pool was, however, equipped with a pressure port and a booster pump. I do not have a large enough filter pump to run a non booster pump pressure cleaner (360) so that is also out for me. I am going to purchase another pressure cleaner (undecided on the more simple 280 or the better performing 380) and try that for a while (alongside my rebuilt robot).

The jury is out for me. If I find the pressure cleaner with the booster pump to clean to my satisfaction, I will probably not repair my robot the next time it quits. However, if the pressure cleaner just does not live up to my expectations, I hate to say it, but I'll have to reluctantly shell out $450+ every 2 to 3 years.

Prior to buying my Warrior I was cleaning my pool solely with manual vacuuming, and that's a lot of work in this pool. It's surrounded by Leland Cypress trees and two old and large Crepe Myrtles.

 

[arri]

I just hopped online to ask this exact question and saw this thread!

Long story short, yes I will probably repurchase a pool robot, possibly even a Maytronics simply because it's the devil I know.

I also have had a 300i for about six years which I have replaced the bearings in twice and the entire drive package was replaced by Maytronics two years ago. I have also replaced the cable once in that time although arguably the failure there was leaving it in while I was slamming the pool a number of times.

Today my 300i died, yet again although with a CF_ ImpellerNoCurrent_1 message that I hadn't seen before. This was the first time I opened up the "replacement" drive package from Maytronics planning to replace the bearings on the impeller motor. The good news is the impeller motor in this one appears improved over the prior one in both bearing and case design. The bad news is it is still a brushed motor spewing carbon dust which this time nearly destroyed the commutator (explains the no current message). For just a few dollars more they could use a brushless motor and all of the complaints would go away!

Anyway, I got it running again by cleaning everything up but there isn't much left of the brushes so the clock is ticking. Given the state of wear on the rest of the robot it's really about time to replace it entirely. I'd say five years is about the practical lifespan of one of these if everything goes well. For me its about convenience, the robot is much easier to deploy and maintain on a day to day basis meaning my wife and kids have no trouble handling it, cleaning its basket, etc. than a pump driven unit was. The robot also seems to do a better job cleaning at a lower overall electricity cost (California electricity is very expensive).

 

[BoHpool]

I just hopped online to ask this exact question and saw this thread!

Long story short, yes I will probably repurchase a pool robot, possibly even a Maytronics simply because it's the devil I know.

I also have had a 300i for about six years which I have replaced the bearings in twice and the entire drive package was replaced by Maytronics two years ago. I have also replaced the cable once in that time although arguably the failure there was leaving it in while I was slamming the pool a number of times.

Today my 300i died, yet again although with a CF_ ImpellerNoCurrent_1 message that I hadn't seen before. This was the first time I opened up the "replacement" drive package from Maytronics planning to replace the bearings on the impeller motor. The good news is the impeller motor in this one appears improved over the prior one in both bearing and case design. The bad news is it is still a brushed motor spewing carbon dust which this time nearly destroyed the commutator (explains the no current message). For just a few dollars more they could use a brushless motor and all of the complaints would go away!

Anyway, I got it running again by cleaning everything up but there isn't much left of the brushes so the clock is ticking. Given the state of wear on the rest of the robot it's really about time to replace it entirely. I'd say five years is about the practical lifespan of one of these if everything goes well. For me its about convenience, the robot is much easier to deploy and maintain on a day to day basis meaning my wife and kids have no trouble handling it, cleaning its basket, etc. than a pump driven unit was. The robot also seems to do a better job cleaning at a lower overall electricity cost (California electricity is very expensive).

That is what Maytronics says also, 5 years.

 

[arri]

That is what Maytronics says also, 5 years.

It's such a shame because everything else about the robot seems capable of lasting considerably longer. It's just that that choice of a permanent magnet dc motor (pmdc) in a sealed container is doomed to fail after a fairly narrowly defined number of hours of operation. There is a lot of dirt in the air where I live (California's central valley) which finds me running the dolphin almost every day through the summer months to keep the pool inviting. I suppose Maytronics makes the assumption one might use the dolphin an average of once per week in order to hit that 5 year lifespan without servicing the impeller motor.

 

[BoHpool]

It's such a shame because everything else about the robot seems capable of lasting considerably longer. It's just that that choice of a permanent magnet dc motor (pmdc) in a sealed container is doomed to fail after a fairly narrowly defined number of hours of operation. There is a lot of dirt in the air where I live (California's central valley) which finds me running the dolphin almost every day through the summer months to keep the pool inviting. I suppose Maytronics makes the assumption one might use the dolphin an average of once per week in order to hit that 5 year lifespan without servicing the impeller motor.

I agree. I spent most of my adult life working in electronics manufacturing plants. A few dollars at the beginning could make all the difference in the long run. Perhaps we can find a motor that would make the Maytonrincs products last?

 

[Mdragger88]

I am 18 months in with my nautilus cc, my open pool season is 7 months long. The robot runs every day for 2 hours on a schedule & mostly stays in the pool. (I do generally loop the cord up on the deck after it runs) I paid $500 for it refurbished. One season of paying someone to clean my pool only once a week would cost more than that. This way I get a clean pool every day! The cord is also much easier to deal with & easier on the eyes than the hoses from my pressure side & manual vacs. It is nearly impossible for me to manually vac without getting in the pool so that poses an issue when the water is 60 degrees around opening & closing. The dolphin does a much better job than my old pressure side cleaner as well. I figured 3 -4 seasons of use would be plenty of roi for me.
I would likely purchase another, however, I wouldn’t get one with crazy bells & whistles, they are mostly unnecessary & add alot to the price. I really like the fact it works independently of the pump so even if I have an equipment failure (which has already happened once) I can still easily remove debris & enjoy a clean pool.
Since u are in the building phase u have the flexibility now to make it possible to use multiple cleaner types over the lifespan of your pool by adding a suction port as mentioned above as well as placing receptacles in key locations that would work well for a robot while making provisions for how to store it’s control box while in use & the bot itself when not in use. Those things can be on purpose instead of just being an afterthought. There are other brands of robots coming on the scene so they are likely to still be a thing for many years to come (hopefully getting better & better, as well as more robust & affordable)

 

[johnnydot]

Matt, my understanding was that suction side cleaners are better for smaller pools and pressure side cleaners for larger pools, is there any truth to that? There is also the Polaris 360 pressure side cleaner that doesn't require a booster pump, but I don't know how well that works. There are also more energy efficient booster pumps like the Polaris PB4SQ and Hayward 6060 which would reduce running costs. I'm not advocating for anything in particular, but the OP has a few options he could explore if he decides against using a robot.

I have a 18x33 above ground and have been using the Hayward Aquadroid suction cleaner for years without a problem.

 

[SoDel]

My only complaints. The M500 cannot clean the sunshelf--not deep enough water there. Also it cannot clean the attached spa, as it's just too big. For now I just redirect all the water to the spa and brush to stir up the stuff in the spa to spill out into the pool. Only kindof works. I'm considering a self powered spa vac now. As a cleaner for the pool, though, it is excellent. I only hope it lasts.

I have same problem. For self-powered spa vac, I bought one of these this season and very satisfied with the performance.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001B3SKN4

First season with it so time will tell but so far, seems solid and makes quick work of the spa. As a caveat, it won’t do shallow pool ledges (I just brush them towards the pool and let the robot do the rest).

For the original question would I buy another robot if it broke — pool care is very expensive around here and the one job I really hate to do myself is vacuuming the pool. Even if the robot only lasted a couple years, I’d still buy another. I really like the elegant simplicity of the suction side cleaner idea, but already got the robot and I’m happy with it.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

... I really like the elegant simplicity of the suction side cleaner idea, but already got the robot and I’m happy with it.

This has been an upside of me ditching the robot and going back to a suction cleaner. While some do not personally like seeing a hose floating around in their pool all the time, it doesn't really bother me at all. Being able to leave the suction cleaner in the pool 24/7 and not taking it in and out has reduced a lot of the weekly burden on the pool care schedule. The inline leaf trap with a hairnet in it has been doing an excellent job of trapping all the fine debris and dirt and I basically pull the cleaner out once per week to clean the trap. It's been a lot less work compared to pulling the robot and hosing it all off.

I had been concerned that my filter cleaning frequency would go up since the suction cleaner was "loading" the filter instead of an external filter basket but, my pool has gone the entire swim season (May-Sept) without any change in pressure. The 25% rule doesn't really work for my pool so I usually gauge when to clean the filter by the spa overflow. When the filter is clean, the overflow peals away from the edge and creates a sheer descent almost immediately. As the filter gets dirty, the flow rate decreases and the peel away time increases. Once the overflow stops peeling away and just dribbles down the outer wall, that's when it's time to clean the filter. The filter pressure only goes up by maybe 1.5psi on a 11psi starting pressure so it never makes it to 25%. In fact, years ago I let the filter go for 18 months before cleaning it and no backwashes and it was only then that the filter pressure barely got above a 20% change. In that case though, the flow was markedly reduced.

For me, the suction cleaner wins hand's down ...

 

[SoDel]

This has been an upside of me ditching the robot and going back to a suction cleaner. While some do not personally like seeing a hose floating around in their pool all the time, it doesn't really bother me at all. Being able to leave the suction cleaner in the pool 24/7 and not taking it in and out has reduced a lot of the weekly burden on the pool care schedule. The inline leaf trap with a hairnet in it has been doing an excellent job of trapping all the fine debris and dirt and I basically pull the cleaner out once per week to clean the trap. It's been a lot less work compared to pulling the robot and hosing it all off.

I had been concerned that my filter cleaning frequency would go up since the suction cleaner was "loading" the filter instead of an external filter basket but, my pool has gone the entire swim season (May-Sept) without any change in pressure. The 25% rule doesn't really work for my pool so I usually gauge when to clean the filter by the spa overflow. When the filter is clean, the overflow peals away from the edge and creates a sheer descent almost immediately. As the filter gets dirty, the flow rate decreases and the peel away time increases. Once the overflow stops peeling away and just dribbles down the outer wall, that's when it's time to clean the filter. The filter pressure only goes up by maybe 1.5psi on a 11psi starting pressure so it never makes it to 25%. In fact, years ago I let the filter go for 18 months before cleaning it and no backwashes and it was only then that the filter pressure barely got above a 20% change. In that case though, the flow was markedly reduced.

For me, the suction cleaner wins hand's down ...

It’s funny but seeing many “open all year” pools over the years in various travels, the image in my mind of a pool has a hose and cleaner rummaging silently around in it. I don't have any objection to the hose and on the robot side, no matter how well isolated the power supply may be, I still insist on unplugging it and removing it before anyone gets in the pool, which can be a small pain at times.

The routine upkeep you mention doesn’t seem any more than a robot at all. I have to rinse the screens in the robot after each use. Emptying a canister is no more trouble. My filter operates similar to yours — plenty of room for plenty more dirt. I don’t have a dedicated suction port, but two skimmers and the way the wind blows most of the summer, only one is doing most of the work. Hmm, maybe when the robot dies it would be worth a try. Question for you — can it do the walls at all? I do brush the pool once a week but some weeks it’s a little half-hearted lol. I’d have to up my game a little.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

It’s funny but seeing many “open all year” pools over the years in various travels, the image in my mind of a pool has a hose and cleaner rummaging silently around in it. I don't have any objection to the hose and on the robot side, no matter how well isolated the power supply may be, I still insist on unplugging it and removing it before anyone gets in the pool, which can be a small pain at times.

The routine upkeep you mention doesn’t seem any more than a robot at all. I have to rinse the screens in the robot after each use. Emptying a canister is no more trouble. My filter operates similar to yours — plenty of room for plenty more dirt. I don’t have a dedicated suction port, but two skimmers and the way the wind blows most of the summer, only one is doing most of the work. Hmm, maybe when the robot dies it would be worth a try. Question for you — can it do the walls at all? I do brush the pool once a week but some weeks it’s a little half-hearted lol. I’d have to up my game a little.

Around here, suction and pressure cleaners are hands-down more common cleaners and EVERYONE leaves them in the pool. I bet if you took a look at Google Earth images for this area and zoomed in to every pool (there are lots) that you would see a hose in every pool image.

I always found that hosing off the robot and it’s filter basket used way more water than cleaning my suction canister. For the suction canister, it’s literally just a splash of water to get rid of some dirt since the hairnet catches everything and I just toss that out. I could even ditch the hose entirely and just dip the parts in the pool to rinse them off. The robot basket not only needed to be emptied of large debris but then hosed off with a strong blast of water from the hose on each panel to get rid of the fine silt and sand. Plus rinsing the bot off, coiling up the cable, etc. Not a huge amount of time just a lot more fiddling work … which is probably the reason why I started leaving the robot in the pool for longer and longer stretches of time. Taking the robot out meant cleaning it all up.

As for wall climbing my suction cleaner can absolutely do that, but I don’t run the cleaner at a high enough flow for it to do that. It’s just not necessary and it’s a lot higher pump speed. I care more about running the cleaner using the existing skim/SWG pump speed so as to not incur a higher energy cost. But if I had to do a fast cleanup I could run a HIGH SPEED pump program and pull all the suction on the suction cleaner. At that configuration the suction cleaner will rocket around the pool and go up the walls/steps/etc. You need to be a bit more mindful/watchful when you do that because the cleaner will suck air and that can throw the pump back into prime mode if the strainer basket loses water volume.

 

[Bperry]

Around here, suction and pressure cleaners are hands-down more common cleaners and EVERYONE leaves them in the pool. I bet if you took a look at Google Earth images for this area and zoomed in to every pool (there are lots) that you would see a hose in every pool image.

I always found that hosing off the robot and it’s filter basket used way more water than cleaning my suction canister. For the suction canister, it’s literally just a splash of water to get rid of some dirt since the hairnet catches everything and I just toss that out. I could even ditch the hose entirely and just dip the parts in the pool to rinse them off. The robot basket not only needed to be emptied of large debris but then hosed off with a strong blast of water from the hose on each panel to get rid of the fine silt and sand. Plus rinsing the bot off, coiling up the cable, etc. Not a huge amount of time just a lot more fiddling work … which is probably the reason why I started leaving the robot in the pool for longer and longer stretches of time. Taking the robot out meant cleaning it all up.

As for wall climbing my suction cleaner can absolutely do that, but I don’t run the cleaner at a high enough flow for it to do that. It’s just not necessary and it’s a lot higher pump speed. I care more about running the cleaner using the existing skim/SWG pump speed so as to not incur a higher energy cost. But if I had to do a fast cleanup I could run a HIGH SPEED pump program and pull all the suction on the suction cleaner. At that configuration the suction cleaner will rocket around the pool and go up the walls/steps/etc. You need to be a bit more mindful/watchful when you do that because the cleaner will suck air and that can throw the pump back into prime mode if the strainer basket loses water volume.

Does the suction cleaner clean as well as the robot did? That would be the thing I’d care about. The robot is a hassle to deal with the cord and cleaning the baskets but cleans way better than my pressure cleaner did.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Does the suction cleaner clean as well as the robot did? That would be the thing I’d care about. The robot is a hassle to deal with the cord and cleaning the baskets but cleans way better than my pressure cleaner did.

My suction cleaner does just as good a job as the robot. I’m basing that claim mostly on the visual appearance of the pool (large debris on the floor) and the fine stuff that gets captured in my in-line leaf trapped. I think that there’s probably more silt that gets through the hairnet and goes into my filter but, as I stated previously, that hasn’t impacted my filter cleaning frequency at all (no noticeable increase in filter pressure or reduction in flow rate). So for me and my setup, the suction cleaner is doing the exact same cleanup job as the robot.

 

[BoHpool]

It’s funny but seeing many “open all year” pools over the years in various travels, the image in my mind of a pool has a hose and cleaner rummaging silently around in it. I don't have any objection to the hose and on the robot side, no matter how well isolated the power supply may be, I still insist on unplugging it and removing it before anyone gets in the pool, which can be a small pain at times.

The routine upkeep you mention doesn’t seem any more than a robot at all. I have to rinse the screens in the robot after each use. Emptying a canister is no more trouble. My filter operates similar to yours — plenty of room for plenty more dirt. I don’t have a dedicated suction port, but two skimmers and the way the wind blows most of the summer, only one is doing most of the work. Hmm, maybe when the robot dies it would be worth a try. Question for you — can it do the walls at all? I do brush the pool once a week but some weeks it’s a little half-hearted lol. I’d have to up my game a little.

I think the only concern with a robot is that it will try to clean you and would probably result in broken toes at the least. I run ours nearly every day and don't find the filter cleaning and stowing to be onerous. I am retired and maintaining the pools is my duty so...

 

[BoHpool]

Around here, suction and pressure cleaners are hands-down more common cleaners and EVERYONE leaves them in the pool. I bet if you took a look at Google Earth images for this area and zoomed in to every pool (there are lots) that you would see a hose in every pool image.

I always found that hosing off the robot and it’s filter basket used way more water than cleaning my suction canister. For the suction canister, it’s literally just a splash of water to get rid of some dirt since the hairnet catches everything and I just toss that out. I could even ditch the hose entirely and just dip the parts in the pool to rinse them off. The robot basket not only needed to be emptied of large debris but then hosed off with a strong blast of water from the hose on each panel to get rid of the fine silt and sand. Plus rinsing the bot off, coiling up the cable, etc. Not a huge amount of time just a lot more fiddling work … which is probably the reason why I started leaving the robot in the pool for longer and longer stretches of time. Taking the robot out meant cleaning it all up.

As for wall climbing my suction cleaner can absolutely do that, but I don’t run the cleaner at a high enough flow for it to do that. It’s just not necessary and it’s a lot higher pump speed. I care more about running the cleaner using the existing skim/SWG pump speed so as to not incur a higher energy cost. But if I had to do a fast cleanup I could run a HIGH SPEED pump program and pull all the suction on the suction cleaner. At that configuration the suction cleaner will rocket around the pool and go up the walls/steps/etc. You need to be a bit more mindful/watchful when you do that because the cleaner will suck air and that can throw the pump back into prime mode if the strainer basket loses water volume.

We probably don't have the water restrictions you have. I bought this hose sprayer and it really cleans the filters. It is great for cleaning the deck too. I bought a pressure washer at about the same time and I have only used it twice. The hose end sprayer is very convenient.

 

[Mdragger88]

I think the only concern with a robot is that it will try to clean you and would probably result in broken toes at the least. I run ours nearly every day and don't find the filter cleaning and stowing to be onerous. I am retired and maintaining the pools is my duty so...

It will definitely bump into you but it’s easy to nudge it in another direction. I can see entrapment with the cord or long hair getting in the rotating brush if it climbs the wall next to you being a danger if you aren’t paying attention or with kids.
Mine is on an external timer/smart plug so the only time it has power to the unit/controller/power supply is when it’s scheduled to run so I have no qualms about leaving it in the pool when it’s not running as far as electrical risk goes. It runs at 9:00 am so the only one who might use the pool at that time is me on occasion for a quick dip. If the kids wanna get in then I turn it off via the plug & move it to its shady resting spot against the wall in the pool & roll up the cord on the deck out of the way. I have a 33’ round pool so it’s not in the way at all inside the pool with just my family. If I have a bunch of kids over/party I remove it completely because it’s kind of expensive to be a pool toy & kids are curious.
All this holds true for suction or pressure side cleaners as well, entrapment risks & I always removed the pressure/suction side cleaner when using the pool because it was in the way, then I had to look at it’s large hose on the deck when not in use.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I think the only concern with a robot is that it will try to clean you and would probably result in broken toes at the least. I run ours nearly every day and don't find the filter cleaning and stowing to be onerous. I am retired and maintaining the pools is my duty so...

Our rule is the cleaner ALWAYS comes out of the pool while swimming. I have kids so it’s both a hazard to them (suction/physical injury) and too much of a curiosity that they would likely fool around with the cleaner and potentially break it.

 

[BoHpool]

Our rule is the cleaner ALWAYS comes out of the pool while swimming. I have kids so it’s both a hazard to them (suction/physical injury) and too much of a curiosity that they would likely fool around with the cleaner and potentially break it.

An excellent rule. We have many people in their second childhood here so I apply the same rule.