Would you repurchase your dolphin?

[JoyfulNoise]

For the Maytronics robots, it's 43-95 degrees F (6-34 C) from the user guides I found. Sorry Matt, don't mean to seem like I'm following you around correcting stuff . Those just happened to be 2 things I knew offhand since that's close to the annual low temperaturein our pool. You're right that there's probably risk below that to be aware of, and I'm guessing @doug527 gets significantly colder water and then it freezes? In that case I would pack it up below ~45 deg and store for that part of the winter, but above that I am okay with the risks weighed against the big benefit of "Dive" (our E30) picking up the leaves all winter.

No worries, I pulled that 50F number from memory and I’m surprised I got pretty close.

Honestly speaking, I don’t believe a thing Maytronics states about their robots specs. They also spec an IP68 waterproof rating that is meaningless … the spec doesn’t even realistically test accurate pool water conditions but they can still say that they “pass” the spec. In that sense, their temperature specs might as well be pulled out of thin air too.

From an engineering perspective, the motor assemblies are poorly built to last in the conditions that most pool owners will use them. They are ticking time bombs in terms of failure. If a robot owner gets 5 years out of their bot, that’s as good as it get … any more time than that is just gravy.

 

[Turbo1Ton]

To be fair, IP68 just indicates that it can withstand submersion for over 30 minutes. Usually at a depth of more than 1 meter. So dunking it at 1.00000000000001 meters and for 30.0000000001 minutes passes the test. And I'm sure they didn't test it for longer. Why would they if that's all that is required to get the rating? I'm sure there is no temperature rating spec'd for the IP testing, it is probably assumed to be standard temp unless otherwise specified.

But to Matt's point, society has adopted a throw away mentality. It is easier and cheaper and better for bottom lines for the manufacturers to just replace the unit instead of having repair centers that can actually repair the devices. Because if they repair, then people expect warranties and that gets expensive also.

I'm finishing up season 2 with my Active 30. I am going to pull it apart this winter and check the motor and everything, and reseal what I can. If I get 5 years out of it, I'll be happy enough that I'll likely buy another.

--Jeff

 

[Prime_7]

My Dolphin S300 had just died after 4 years and 3 months. In its first year, I was removing the unit after each pool cleaning. Probably was putting it in the pool 1-2 times a week depending. After the first year, I left that sucker in the pool all the time only removing it to clean the filters, then dropping it back in.

I'm now purchasing a new Dolphin S200 for the replacement. In doing research, the S200, S300 and S400 uses the same drive motor with the only differences are in the filter baskets and the app controls technology (bluetooth & wifi) for each upgraded model. I honestly never used the app to control my S300. Also, I was told I can use my existing power supply unit from the S300 with the new S200 and use the app still, so its pretty much like have an S300 with that anyways.

I'll definitely be much more diligent in removing the robot cleaner when its not in use and keep it to a cleaning of 2 hours once a week as much as possible to prolong the life longer than 4 years.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

…
I'll definitely be much more diligent in removing the robot cleaner when its not in use …

This %

Unfortunately that is all you can do. I think the robot manufacturers don’t want to admit this point because it makes their product much less appealing to the consumer. They try to have it both ways by giving the consumer options to run it via remote automation which “implies” that it can live in the water like other cleaners do BUT their documentation leaves the impression that it should be removed from the water on a regular and periodic basis so that it has the chance to dry out. Whenever I have seen these robots in a commercial pool setting, they are used like any other tool - they do a job and then you take them out and put them away in storage. It’s only in the residential world where it’s implied that you can just leave these units in the water all the time and that’s just a recipe for failure.

 

[KJB1]

Yes, every time I drag out the hoses and manual vacuum after a wind storm I remember how much I hate running the main pump, hooking up hoses, purging air…… The Dolphin does a better job with less hassle, less noise, less power and allows me to keep skimmer at full power. I leave it in the pool all the time. Not sure if that’s better or worse. Can’t imagine it’s good for the seals to dry out.

 

[Kaylee34]

My ancient Aquabot developed a hitch in its get along a few weeks ago. I was thinking of getting a new robot then checked into suction cleaners. Very much leaning toward a suction cleaner. With the longevity people are getting from robots today, I can't see spending that kind of money. I'll keep manually vacuuming first. I say that now but with leaf season in full swing, that could change tomorrow! Before dropping a few hundred dollars on a suction cleaner, I tore the old robot apart. Lo and behold, bad slave motor. The plastic seal ring had cracked in two letting water in to fry the motor. Found a new one for less than $200. I'm fixing the old bot and if it breaks again, I figure at 16 years old or thereabouts, it doesn't owe me anything.

 

[thewolf56]

That's super helpful. The E30 is available and price tag does look more reasonable (999 on Amazon).

Curious about one piece of your comment about NOT getting bluetooth/wifi. Is this due to problems with having those features or simply that it's more expensive to get them? The allure of being able to tell it which places of the pool it's missing is strong, but can guess the smarter it is the more it breaks.

If the E30 is equivalent to the Active 20 / S200 models, then you may want to contact Marina by phone or email for their actual price. The were very helpful (especially Margaret) on the phone and definitely did not try to upsell at all. I ended up ordering the Active 30 last month from them.

 

[SoDel]

. . . with leaf season in full swing, . . .

Leaves have started to fall here also and when the wind really wails, my robot doesn’t stand a chance with so many leaves. I recently got one of these for those “day after the storm” days:

https://a.co/d/5oDhjMV

I’d say it’s over-priced for what it is, but priceless at getting all the leaves, even chunks of mulch, in just a few minutes of work. Then the remaining dust and debris the robot can get. The combo of the two has made what used to be major pita clean up jobs into incidental tasks.

 

[DougS78]

Sorry for the delay in responding to these excellent and helpful points. I was gone on vacation and now returning to freezing temps here already. We should be back up into the 70s and 60s for a few weeks, but yes, the water will definitely get below 43 and freeze here. Unfortunately the pool water is currently 49 degrees

Thus, the point about water temp and impact on the longevity is crucial info. I had imagined running it periodically all winter. Guess not! Based those specs it sounds like I wouldn't get much action out of this until spring so maybe it does make sense to wait. I'll ponder.

For the Maytronics robots, it's 43-95 degrees F (6-34 C) from the user guides I found. Sorry Matt, don't mean to seem like I'm following you around correcting stuff . Those just happened to be 2 things I knew offhand since that's close to the annual low temperaturein our pool. You're right that there's probably risk below that to be aware of, and I'm guessing @doug527 gets significantly colder water and then it freezes? In that case I would pack it up below ~45 deg and store for that part of the winter, but above that I am okay with the risks weighed against the big benefit of "Dive" (our E30) picking up the leaves all winter.

 

[DougS78]

Leaves have started to fall here also and when the wind really wails, my robot doesn’t stand a chance with so many leaves. I recently got one of these for those “day after the storm” days:

https://a.co/d/5oDhjMV

I’d say it’s over-priced for what it is, but priceless at getting all the leaves, even chunks of mulch, in just a few minutes of work. Then the remaining dust and debris the robot can get. The combo of the two has made what used to be major pita clean up jobs into incidental tasks.

Great suggestion! Sounds like something I will need a lot in the next month or 2!

 

[mas985]

Just wanted to give my input to this discussion as I have a little different experience. I purchased a Doheny Discovery in Nov 2016 so almost 6 years of flawless operation. I have never had an issue with the cleaner other than replacing the wheel hubs and gear due wear which I had expected.

But given I am a firm believer in low maintenance, I rarely if ever pull the cleaner out of the pool. I can't say for sure if this is the reason it has lasted this long but one consideration is that the temperature extremes the cleaner exhibits is much narrower in the pool than it is outside the pool for my location. Also, it does not give the seals a chance to dry out. The downside is that the plastic is quite faded and I suspect that it is probably getting brittle. But that is a trade off that I am willing to take for longer motor life.