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I am returning my Dolphin Dynamic and thinking about a Blue Pearl. Does anyone know anything about them. There is a website that sells them at: http://www.pooldrstore.com
But I cannot find too much info elsewhere. They said they sell them on the web but the main rep is Watertech but they are actually made by a company called Aquatron.
I posted same question a while ago and got no replies. That's why I went with the Dolphin Diagnostic.
I'll let you know how the Pearl works in a week or so. I ordered one yesterday and will be returning my Dolphin Dynamic to Costco shortly. The Dolphin is what I would call a Semi-Automatic cleaner. It keeps getting stuck in a rut where it will go back and forth in the same 10' track and never move to another area unless I cut power and reboot it. Their customer support sucks too.
I have the Diagnostic and so far I've had no problems(well, one-it did stop in the middle of a cleaning once. It turned out the GFI tripped on the outlet). I have only had it about 3 weeks though. Too early to tell. I am pleased with how it cleans the water line. It reaches the top and then scrubs sideways for about 2 feet before reversing down. I hadn't expected that.
I have read very good reviews about the Blue Diamond and so many here love their Poolbusters one would hope the same for the Pearl.
One thing I liked about the Pearl over the Dolphin is, from what I could see online, it looks like the brush and treads are softer and flatter. I have a vinyl pool and the Pearl looks less damaging to me, but I couldn't afford to be a guinea pig since no one here had used it before so I went with the Dolphin.
Please do write a review after you've used it a while.
Hey cleancloths I just did the same thing. My brand new Dolphin Diagnostic would not climb the walls properly and would only cover a limited area of the pool, often getting stuck making the same passes over and over again. Tried dealing with customer service at SmartPool and got a bunch of excuses and at one time was treated rudely. Dolphin went back today as defective and the Blue Pearl should be here on Wednesday....
I'm in the same boat, but my Dynamic is 2 years old. It actually WENT to Smart Pools but magically it was healed when they tested it and it was returned to me, still with the same problems.
It SEEMS to work when I turn off wall-climbing--but I'm done with it and the Blue Diamond Remote is ordered.
The Blue Pearl is the economic model of the Blue Diamond line. I'm hoping the whole line is solid.
Still waiting for soemone with a Blue Pearl to report.
Well my Pearl should be delivered today or tomorrow, so within a few days I will report back on its initial results.
Good, I'll keep checking. In a perfect world, I would like to hear comments on:
1) Pool rover Plus/Aquajet-- do other people have a problem with getting full coverage of pool? (I had problems with oval pool which caused repetitive cycle over same area if you extended cyle oover 8 seconds to try to cover whole pool.)
2) A review of the Orion. Maybe a less ambitious model than Dolphin style might work better.
Well my Blue Pearl came about an hour ago. FedEx dropped it at the front door, rang the bell, and then just left it without waiting for anyone to sign for it.
Opened it up and my first impression is that it is made cheaper than the Dolphin. What I mean by this is that the plastic is less rugged, but it also costs less so you would expect that. But the proof will be how it works. I don't care if I have to be more careful not to abuse it if it really is a fully automatic cleaner.
I placed it in the pool and away it went. While it may be the bottom end of their line, it sure goes much faster than the Dolphin Dynamic which lists for almost double its price. It appears to travel at about one foot per second!
I saw it get close to but not go over a leaf and figured it would get it next time, but I was wrong. The leaf got caught in its wake and trailed behind the unit by about 4 inches for maybe five to eight feet and then when the unit hit the slope going up from the deep end the leaf got sucked into the back of the unit. I was impressed. The water flow through the unit looks much stronger than from the Dolphin. There is noticeable turbulence on the surface of the pool above where the units is running, much more so that with the Dolphin.
I watched it climb a few walls, climb the steps once and pass over the maindrain without getting stuck. One negative thing (well maybe) that I noticed is that when it stays at the water line for a while when it goes all the way down it appears to tumble a little, but it quickly gets its bearings and moves on. I also watched as it was going straight and then in the middle of the pool made a 120 degree turn just for the hell of it. I like that, no more just going over the same straight path.
Will let you know later in the day how well it actually cleans the pool.
Sounds like a good unit right off the bat! Dolphins are heavy--but that doesn't make them better.
Well the Jury is back and the verdict is in -- so far it seems to be a good purchase!
I was a little worried when I first went out to the pool about 20 minutes ago and saw the unit sitting on the bottom of the pool not moving. I paniced at first and thought oh no not another Dolphin situation. But I called them up and asked what was going on. When I ordered it they told me that one of the differences between the Blue Pearl and the Blue Diamond was that the Pearl had no built in timer and it would run forever. They even told me many people go out and buy a $15 electric plug-in timer to shut it down. But when I told him what happened he said I probably got a 2007 unit (my gut response was yeah right). But he asked me what color the unit was and he said yes, they ran out of the 2006 units and have started shipping the 2007. The 2007 has a built in timer and he said he thought it cuts out in a little less than three hours but was not sure about the exact timing.
In anycase, it did a very good job in cleaning the pool in just under 3hrs, it is a 20'x40' IG vinyl pool. There was quite a bit of crap in the pool too, as it has not been cleaned in 5-6 days since I returned the Dolphin. I'll keep you posted.
Anyone want to buy an almost new Dolphin?
Nice review.....makes me anxious to try out my new Aquabot Viva AKA Blue Diamond RC when I get home in 8 days. :)
Good review, my dolphin is 2 years old now and still working great (crosses fingers) I will look forward to the reviews in a year from now as a lot of us loved the dolphin at first, I still do, because of course mine is actually working great!
Anyway best of luck and can't wait for Carl's review of the Diamond.
R
Any new news. Is everything going good with the unit? Mine came in the mail the other day but have not had a chance to use it yet...
Its like the Eveready Energizer -- it just keeps going and going, no problems to report as of now.
Well I ran my Blue Pearl yesterday for the first time and I believe I also have the 2007 model. It shut off after about 2 hours.
Seemed to get most of my pool and was much faster than the Dolphin. Way more powerful as well. One problem I saw was it would do wheelies occasionally when coming down from the wall transitions. I have a 35 degree or so slope in the deep end and I saw it ride the back tracks and almost flip on its back when it reached the bottom a couple of times. Like it was too light. Cleancloths is that what you meant when you said you saw yours tumble? Other than that it seemed to do a good job. Most of the pool was cleaned in one cycle, 85% or so, with the only missed spots in the shallow end... Still not sure if I'll keep it or not, I have another week to decide.
Yes I guess that is a similar description to what I noticed. But I am very pleased with it. I was away for 5 days and just came home and threw it in the pool. In just 30 minutes the pool looks great already. I think mine runs closer to 3 hours than 2, but you can always restart it. It does a much better job than the Dolphin. What is really nice is that it makes random turns and does not go in just straight lines.
After using the Blue Pearl some more I've decided it's a keeper. I've run mine about 5-6 times now and am really happy with the results. The coverage is good and it gets the job done very fast. It covers my pool within the first hour or so. 22x40 figure 8.
My old classic aqaubot has gotten stuck 2 of the last 3 times I used it. One time it got stuck on the pool light (of all things) and once on the built in steps of plaster pool. I have read all the info here and the websites on blue pearls. In both "stuck" situations, the aquabot hadn't left the water and couldn't remove itself in either direction it tried. So, even with the advances of the Blue Pearl, what might keep it from getting stuck the same way? Maybe the better brush?
My old pool rover plus had issues with being stuck in a pattern, but have to say that the jet drive was very good about not getting compleltely stuck in 1 place. Regardless of the company, do all belt driven robotics risk getting stuck the same way?
My Aquabot is broken. I think it could be repaired if I shipped it in but this is its 8th season and I'm not sure it's worth the trouble of shipping it to a repair place. Figure it will cost me a couple hundred by to get it shipped, fixed, and return shipped. Not sure it's worth that to fix an 8-year-old $800 machine.
Anyway, I'm in the market for another robot. Tempted just to get another low-end Aquabot but am looking at the Blue Pearl based on the recommendations here. I see that the brush-head thing looks to be the obvious difference and it's replacement cost is $115 on pooldr. What is that made of? It looks like the stuff pool noodles are made of, am I right? What is the advantage of that over the rubber brush that is on the aquabot? I'm not sure that would clean as well as the rubber brushes. Seems like it would wear faster and not hold up as well to extended exposure to chlorine as the rubber brushes. I have had to replace the rubber brushes on my aquabot once, they get dried out and crack or split in time.
What is your experience so far?
PS. Look, it says I joined Dec 1969! Wow! Talk about an early internet user! I'm quite the innovator!
Its not even close to pool noodle material. I forget the name of the poymer, but it is rock hard when dry and soft and holds about a gallon of water when it is wet. It does a great job of brushing the walls.
The best way I can describe the material is it feels like pipe insulation when wet. You know the black insulation material for water pipes? When dry, it is hard as a rock. It gives you the impression of a sponge in that it's hard when dry/soft when wet though. I believe the material is actually PVA, whatever that means. :)
Not to burst anybodies bubble, but the Blue Pearl Robot is a private label, low end Dolphin. Also, this private label in the same level of Dolphin is being sold for $699.00 delivered by many pool suppliers.
Aquabot does the same thing and you can find all kinds of names for their private labels.
But, if it works...........use it.
And where do you get this information from?Quote:
Originally Posted by dssxxxx
I have owned the lower end Dolphin Diagnostic that I believe you are speaking of and returned it because it was not working properly (and customer service was terrible). Ordered the Blue Pearl and it does not appear to be the same unit to me. The programming is definatley different, it's faster, lighter, power cord is lighter, appears to have a lot more suction and different brushes just to name a few.
From a Dolphin Distributor. I guess they would know, right? Open the unit up and look for manufacturing location.Quote:
Originally Posted by rak70
What $699 Dolphin is the equivalent though? I don't see one.
As for the manufacuring location, that gets into my questions about Tematech in Israel, who appears to likely make it. However, Tematech seems to sell to Aquabot, not Dolphin, even though both are in Israel?
The Blue Pearl is manufactured by Watertech , nothing to do with Maytonics' Dolphin cleaners.it is the lower end of the Blue Diamond cleaner line .It is manufactured in the USA .Watertech is owned by the son of Aquabot .Maytronics is a competitor .
The owners of Dolphin and Aquabot were partners in the Dolphin. They had a falling out and the one left and started Aquabot. I have Aquabot and my parents have Dolphin. They love theirs, but service is a bi*ch. I get my Aquabots locally in Wyckoff, NJ from their huge warehouse. Haggle with them and get a great price.....service is great also.
That does not sound right??? I thought the Blue Diamond/Pearl company was founded by the son of the owner of the company that makes the Aquabot, and that the Dolphin is made by a totally separate company out of Israel.
Dssxxx, sorry but you've got it all wrong ! Maytronics (Dolphin) is owned by a Kibbutz, owned by all the members who live there , this is the Kibbutz's business which is their main source of income, Aquabot was started by the US rep for Dolphin, who went on his own .Watertech(Blue Diamond) is owned by the son of Aquabot , Aquabot and Blue Diamonds are made here in the US , Dolphins are made in Israel.To prove your info incorrect you stated you got yours from Aquabot factory and you haggled with them ??? In another post you stated you got yours at Aqua Distributing, that is not owned by Aquabot, they are just a distributor, Aquabot will not sell direct to consumers , neither will Watertech(Blue Diamond) or Smartpool (Dolphin) !!!!
Well, I have better things to do with my time, then defend my statements. I have personally talked with the owner (1) not many in a Kibbutz, who explained the story to myself and my father about the start of Dolphin and breakup of partners and the formation of Aquabot.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rescue30
But, I don't give a good crap about what you're trying to sphew.
Good luck.
Well I just want to add myself to the list of happy owners of the 2007 Blue Pearl.
I was pretty skeptic at first as too how much of the pool could actually be cleaned in the preset three hours. In fact I had planned on running it twice for the first cleaning (I hadn't vacuumed my pool for two weeks in preparation for this), but it accomplished all of this in the first cycle. Color me impressed! The only thing left over was some algae growth on the walls that needed to be brushed off, on the whole the unit worked perfectly. I have a very complex bean shaped pool, and while it didn't climb the steps, I watched it cross over from the shallow to the deep end many times.
I'm not sure what the sensor package in this machine is, but I know it at least has a tilt sensor...When it turns, it tilts up to avoid too much traction, and it if passes a certain angle, it will stop the turning process and begin filtering again. It also has a way to know if it has hit the waterline, as soon as it starts sucking air it will back down again.
And if you guys are deciding on if you need the buggy or not, spring for it! Maybe it was a shipping mistake, but we got the Blue Diamond cart (even says it right on there) instead of the pictured one, and it’s much better than putting the BP on the ground. Only thing is I wish they made it easier to get the spool of wire off the two hooks by swiveling or something equivalent.
I've only done one clean so far so I'll report back after a few weeks have passed, but initial indications are good!
Back to beating a dead horse. There's something about the way all these cleaners are marketed and advertised that doesn't quite add up, which keeps me searching for the real truth about alot of what they say.
One example is that if you look at pooldoctor's website, they have this chart comparing all the cleaners and why the blue pearl is better, but they leave off the chart the Aquabot Bravo and the new Turbo T's, and then just dismiss them at the bottom of the chart in a notation as "limited" or "experimental".
I note this because all evidence supports that the Bravo and the Blue Diamond are the exact same thing, and this reminds you that these salesman are less than 100% honest when addressing how many of these robots are remarketed under other names or very similar.
I raise this now because another website has the Blue Pearl on sale, with delivery for about $675. They don't claim them to be the 2007 model, like pooldoctor now does. Pooldoctor is selling the Blue Pearl for the "very special" temporary price of $749, but say it is the new improved, 100% faster, 2007 model with automotic cutoff. While the 1st website says they won't get the 2007's for another month or so and will be gettign 2006's from the warehouse, pooldoctor says on their website they had sold out all of the Water Tech's 2006 models. Both may be correct, but makes you wonder if paying the extra $75 really gets you anything different. I kind of got impression the 1st company gets their Blue Pearl's from Water Tech's warhouse, and didn't have their own, so you would think whatever is being sold now is the same from either company.
Then, if you look at Tematech and Aquatron, having to do with manufacture of Bravo which is same as Blue Diamond, there is some indication that the pva brushes were devoloped for very smooth surfaces, and they still make a Bravo with rubber brushes. So, my question is, if you have a plaster pool, are pva brushes definitely better than rubber brushes, especially if you get Turbo T, T2 or T4 with jet action and brushing?
Whereas I am convinced there is something different with the Bravo, the Blue Diamond and Bue Pearl that makes then better at smartly covering pool efficiently, the new Turbo T's are really confusing in their claims here. Since these models have jet action and brushing, they are clearly entirely new models and not repackaged from onother manufacturer. However, Aquaproducts never had a prior model that they built themsleves that had any extra efficent programming like the Bravo. They claim the Turbo T is more efficent and reduces cleaning time in 1/2 (from what?) They also say the Turbo T cleans a pool in 3 hours. They claim a T2 cleans in an hour.
Now if you closely at the claims of the Blue Diamond, their 1 hour cleaning becomes 90 minutes for larger pools, and that is in standard mode just to clean the pools bottom. Therefore, it seems to clean a larger pool and its walls, it would be closer to 3 hours, the same claim as the Turbo T and the Blue Pearl. Ths makes you wonder if the main difference is the option for bottom only cleaning, a feature the Dolphin Dynanmic also has.
So how does a Turbo T really compare with a Blue Pearl or Blue Diamond, if you are cleaning bottom and walls -- is the Blue Diamond any quicker than the Bleu Pearl, and is there any real differnce now in the Blue Pearl being sold from the 2 companies, all of which are in NJ of course, along with Water Tech.
Some truly independent consumer compny really needs to thoroughly analayze all these robots regarding their differences and claims.
This is a copy of an email I got from Blue Diamond... I asked to compare the Blue Diamond Remote and the Dolphin Diagnostic Remote from Costco for $999.99...
>Dear Tom:
Comparing the Blue Diamond Da Vinci Remote with the Dolphin Diagnostic is like comparing a Rolls Royce with a Buick. Dolphin does not make a high end product like Aqua Products and Water Tech do. Aqua Products version is experimental and far from being market or time tested. In fact, many have come back as being defective. The Dolphin Diagnostic is on the same level as the Aquabot Turbo Remote Control, a mid-level cleaner, while the Da Vinci is in a much higher class. O assume you have seen our comparison charts.<
I got my Blue Pearl (2007) model a month or so ago and love it. I returned a Dolphin Diagnostic that was total crap. I was surprised when I first ran the Pearl that after about 2 hours or so it stoped. I called them as they made a point in telling me that the Pearl did not have a shut off timer when I bought it. We discussed its color and the guy at PoolDr was surprised and said that I got a 2007 and that was a new feature that was added.
BTW I love the unit and would highly recommend it.
Where have you all bought your Blue Pearl? Name of website and stores, please;
I am tired of babysitting Polaris while it cleans.
Is the 2007 Blue Pearl Pink and blue, instead of white and blue? I'm still thinking of getting it. I just don't want to pay 75$ more if other company would be sending me same thing. Also, some keeps selling a new, in box Blue Diamond on for $899 on ebay, with a restricted return policy. Others seem to have bought it form same person without hitch. It just seems almost too good to be true. Seems like, if true, might be worth springing for. I wonder if it might be a year old model or something ,but BD changed any recently regardless? Any thoughts on advanatges of paying:
$675 for "2006 Blue Pearl"
$749 for "2007 Blue Pearl"
or $935 for Blue Diamond from ebay?