Dolphin pool cleaners

[sbinplano]

We are going to buy a Dolphin pool cleaner. There are 2 that I see for the money we want to spend ($800 or so). There is a Dolphin Diagnostic and a Dolphin Pro. Anyone know what is the better choice for a residential pool that has a weird shape?

[CarlD]

I was very happy with my Dolphin Diagnostic for 2 years. Then the 3rd year it started to give me trouble and I learned that they are rather grudging about the warranty. I shipped it to them twice. Twice they claimed there was nothing wrong. but it wouldn't climb the walls anymore and kept getting stuck. Their suggestion? That I tape raw lead weights to the handle. I said "No. I'm not putting raw lead into water my children swim in. Not happening." Eventually they sent me a new unit but it never worked very well, and I replaced it with a Blue Diamond.

I have a grudge against Dolphin and would not buy one of their cleaners again.

[ezpool]

I just purchased a Dolphin cleaner (the Deluxe 4 - I think it's Leslie's variant of the Diagnostic) a few weeks ago after a lot of research here and comparison on various sites.
A few things convinced me to buy it:
- The folks at Leslie's admitted that they have had problems with support for previous Dolphin models but said that the vast majority of those problems were due to
"outsourced" support - Maytronics had outsourced all support for the Dolphin to SmartPool. Recently, because of the all the problems with SmartPool, Maytronics
is now providing the support themselves. I think CarlD's problems were mostly SmartPool's fault (Maytronics certainly bears part of the blame for outsourcing
support to a lousy provider).
- Leslie's performs some service themselves on the cleaners.
- The Deluxe 4 comes with a full 3-year warranty (many others are either 1-year or prorated 3-year).
- If it breaks and Leslie's can't fix it, they ship it to the nearest Maytronics service-center...which is ~40minutes from my house .

So far it's worked flawlessly - but all cleaners do initially. This is actually my fourth try at a robotic:
- the first Aquabot kept eating the floating cord; returned to Costco after 4 months;
- the second Aquabot Pool Rover plus died with a motor failure after 1.5-2 years; ~$300 to fix - I decided it wasn't worth it;
- the third was a RoboKleen; it lasted almost a month then just quit - I about expected this based on the reviews; returned to Costco

I'm really, really hoping this one lasts. I like the idea of a robotic but I'm almost at the point of believing it's not possible to make a decent one that can withstand the
environment at a reasonable price. Hopefully the Dolphin will change my mind...if it lasts 3 years and doesn't cost me an arm and a leg in parts/repairs then I'll
consider it worth it.

[CarlD]

DEFINITELY it was SmartPool that made my life difficult. But I was further dismayed to learn that the 3 motors on my Dolphin Dynamic were 1/3 the size of the 3 motors in my Blue Diamond, which is probably why the BD can do the pool in 3 hours and took the Dolphin 8 hours.

Still, if the Dolphin is working for you, go for it! It definitely has a better remote control system than the BD, far more flexible.

Carl

[wsommariva]

My neighbor has a Dolphin; don't know what model. But has worked very well for them for two full seasons. My Tiger Shark never did clime walls and I'll get a Dolphin next and hope it works well.

[TRHOD12]

I've had my Dolphin Diag for 6 years now, and it has worked flawless for me.
I had to buy new clips last year that hold the bottom in the unit, and I bought another bag. My old bag is getting a little worn. It, by no means, is junk yet, but I liked the idea of having the 2nd bag.

One thing to keep in mind w/ these units, in colder water temps (I think it is <60degree F) the unit will not climb the wall. I know the first year I ran it, it wasn't climbing the walls. I got a little nervous it was broke, Once the temp warmed up, it was scrubbing the water line.

Only complaint I have is the cord twist problem. I change my handle directions, like instructed, but I have to untangle my cord almost everytime after I use it. The cable has some kinks in it now, which isn't helping the problem.

I would give you a thumbs up on the dolphin, I love it, and wouldn't be without it.

Blessings,