My Dolphin: Now I'm getting rid of it

[cleancloths]

The Dolphin is so bad on obstacles that my kids had left one of those rubber torpedoes in the pool and the Dolphin ran over it and just hung there and would not move at all. The same torpedoe has no impact on the Blue Pearl.

[CarlD]

Y'know, I didn't have much in the way of problems with my Dolphin for almost 2 years. It didn't climb my drop in steps--neither does the Diamond, but it didn't affect its cleaning. Once, the Dolphin got its cord hooked on the bottom of the ladder, and once since I've been having problems, but it never got bothered by the ladder--the Diamond gets stuck under it and I have to remove the ladder. The Dolphin NEVER got stuck on anything else--the Diamond has already grabbed its cord.

Also, a Diamond DaVinci (which I have) is not recommended for ANY shape pool but a rectangle--unless you are willing to use the remote to control it. The Dolphin can handle rounds and other odd shapes. Luckily, I have a rectangle.

But the Diamond works--and the Dolphin no longer does. That's a BIGGGGGG difference.

[cheshamjim]

About the only thing I think they could do is have a level switch that started a timer when they went up a wall. A simple program on a chip could capture the time it took between hitting walls and figure out something about the pool lenghth and width.

Thanks, Brent. I appreciate the explanation on how these beasts might get their "smarts" (limited though that may be). It helps to understand how these things might work.

-Jim

[The Pool Newbie]

Wow...I had the EXACT problem... Use to have a Dynamic...This time I bought a diagnostic because I never used the remote control anyway... First few times I started it, it would climb and clean, then back up the other side and then back and forth about 12-15 ft and that was it... I called Smartpool and got a nice tech that asked me to start it in a different section of the pool... The software maps your pool each time it is turned on... If it thinks it is 10 x 10 that is all it will do I guess... So I started it in my shallow end pointed long ways versus in the deep in... Like a charm... From that point on I drop it in at night and in the morning... Clean pool! I was really worried at first though... They should put something in the manual regarding this...

Scott

Now I am ROYALLY ticked off!

The Dolphin was returned yesterday from SmartPool where they allegedly found NOTHING wrong.

I guess they didn't look, or they have a 9'x9' pool. That's because in the first few minutes my Dolphin went to a couple of walls, climbed one, didn't climb the others, then went to the deep end hopper. This is a flat-bottomed rectangular area about 10.5'x14' that is 5.5' deep. It has ramps on all 4 sides.

The Dolphin then proceeded to patrol a 9'x7' box for the next 8 hours. It would go to the base of one ramp, then go back across, stop in the MIDDLE of the flat, and return.

All d*** night. I started it at 8:30, checked it at 11, at 1:35 (don't ask), 2:10 (ditto) and at 6:30, when it had stopped--guess where.

I guess Dolphin can now be counted as another take-your-money-and-run company. Put it with HTH, BioGard and Nature2. I can kiss $1250.-- good--bye. Like one of those cartoons of a bill with wings on it.

I will call them again today, and I will try to escalate it, but I can see I'm going to get nowhere. It's clear they have no intention of diagnosing or fixing it, but intend to use the "Bigger Sucker Theorem".

The "Bigger Sucker Theorem" is this: There's always another and a bigger sucker around the next corner so don't worry about the repercussions from the one you just conned.

The remedy is this:

In my PERSONAL and HUMBLE opinion, buying any Dolphin product is A MISTAKE! I will NEVER buy any Dolphin or SmartPool product again. I will NEVER recommend and Dolphin or SmartPool product again. I APOLOGIZE to anyone who bought a Dolphin product on my say-so. I say to anyone who is considering buying a Dolphin,
DON'T--BUY SOMETHING ELSE INSTEAD!

If you have a Dolphin and still have a window in which to return it, it is my opinion that you should try.

That is my personal opinion. It is not the policy of this forum and it is not opinion of this forum. It is not the opinion of the administration or of the other moderators. It is solely my own personal opinion and reflects my own experience and exasperation.

If, somehow, magically, against all logic, they reverse this and actually fix it, I will let you know. Even so, they will have STILL made me ship it to them twice and put me through all this nonsense.

Meantime, I still have my Polaris 165 and PoolBuster to take care of cleaning duties. Both those have given me trouble in the past, but in both cases, THOSE companies responded as I would expect and hope, and both units now function perfectly--without any run-around.

Carl

[JohnT]

I called Smartpool and got a nice tech that asked me to start it in a different section of the pool... The software maps your pool each time it is turned on... If it thinks it is 10 x 10 that is all it will do I guess... So I started it in my shallow end pointed long ways versus in the deep in... Like a charm... From that point on I drop it in at night and in the morning... Clean pool! I was really worried at first though... They should put something in the manual regarding this...

Scott

Scott, that is an interesting point. How does the cleaner know how big the pool is? Does it use a sound pulse to determine the dimensions? A problem with the size detection would cause a lot of issues, and would explain why cycling the power helps in some cases. I've never used one, but I've been following this thread, because a robot is at the top of my wish list.

[JohnT]

Went to Maytronics' website and found this thing: , which is a diagnostic tester for the unit. Makes me wonder if Carl's unit was just plugged in on the bench to see if it passed this test. Carl, did they tell you it was pool tested?

[brent.roberts]

Scott, that is an interesting point. How does the cleaner know how big the pool is? Does it use a sound pulse to determine the dimensions? A problem with the size detection would cause a lot of issues, and would explain why cycling the power helps in some cases. I've never used one, but I've been following this thread, because a robot is at the top of my wish list.

I "think" it has a level detection switch the tilts when it hits a wall and that causes a reverse and it times itself till it tilts on the other wall. After it sort of figures out that there is a long and short run to the pool, it "knows" how big it is. Not brilliant. The pattern is not efficient or it would finish the job faster ...
but with all our *****ing, I still have not tried my nice new Rainbow vac head that I just got from Poolsolutions. Not the old one either since I got the Dolphin.
It does work for me, in my pool, if I stand on my left foot, push the start button with my right pinky, and whistle yankee doodle. Your mileage may vary.

[ohpoolboy]

This morning the guy at the AquaTron International service center (for Blue Diamond) told me that the Blue Diamond is made in Israel.

Maybe HE'S wrong, but that's what he told me.

I started following this thread a few days before I was ready to order a Dolphin - glad I did ! Needless to say I just ordered a Blue Diamond based on this forum and other reviews I've read. One of the questions I asked the person who took my order was "where is the Blue Diamond manufactured"? His answer was New Jersey.

I was initially interested in the Blue Pearl but decided on the Blue Diamond because of my pool size (24x44 free-form) and the Blue Pearl availability (see below).

Here is some information I got when talking with the sales rep (some of this has been posted already so this may just confirm that info):

- Watertech was started by the son of the founder of Aquabot.
- The Blue Pearls (smaller model than the Blue Diamond) are sold out for 2006. They will begin shipping 2007 models in 3-4 weeks.
- The 2007 Blue Pearl adds the Shut-off timer.
- Blue Pearl / Blue Diamond / Aquabot filter bags - 2 microns. Dolphin - 20 microns.
- Blue Pearl / Blue Diamond use oil to lubricate (and cool) the motors. Dolphin claims to be cooled by water suggesting there is no oil in the motor. This is misleading. There is oil used for lubrication. In all cases it is "a small amount". (This is open for interpretation, I'm not certain of the amount in any of the robots.)
- Blue Pearl and Blue Diamond utilize a "smart processor" which causes the robot to randomly turn on the bottom of the pool. This increases the coverage.
- Blue Diamond "is a better quality machine" than the Blue Pearl. (I'm not sure what that specifically means).
- Blue Diamond - 4 yr warranty / Blue Pearl - 1 year warranty.

I'll post some reviews of the Blue Diamond once I get it and test it out.

Thank you to all who have posted such great information on this forum.

-Anthony

[jimwnola]

Not to beat this to death, but I will anyway. I have touched on this in a number of scattered posts, but thought I would try to approach this again from another angle, as I'm interested on feedback.

As for all robotics, I question just how sophisticated any of them really are. Ths is especially true when you start gettign into irregular shaped pools. I don't see how any could be smart of enough to figure the shape, or know which part of the pool they were dropped, etc. Where their limitations come into play, especiailly in my opinion, is their understanding of walls versus floors or steps. Although I have only owned 2 types (Aquabot and Pool Rover Plus), it sounds like most robots face similar issues, whether they are Dolphins, Aquabots, Tigersharks,etc. However, it does sound like there has been some improvement on soem of the programing, maybe.


Anyway, it seems unrealistic to expect these things to really figure your pool out if isn't a perfect square. Many have complained about robots not climbing walls, but one of my main complaints is how much time spent on walls when there remains a few big leaves by the drain. Whereas I can brush my walls downs in about 10 minutes, it is very difficut to get debris out from the bottom of the pool. Also, attempting to get all the walls and pool bottom starts getting into why they take so long to clean.

So, to me, I started thinking the best device would be to get one that simply cleaned the bottom of pool, a realistic goal, if it could just do that reliably. That is why still owning an Aquabot, I tried a pool rover plus, although theoretically a step down. Although I liked its design for maintenance, its really simple approach to steering didn't work on an oval pool, and it floated away in Katrina before ever gettign to try it on my irregular shaped pool of new house. My old beat-up Aquabot was in attic and back to using it now.

AquaVac had Aqua Queens long ago that just went on bottom of pool, but they seeemd to have gone out of favor. Their Mako Shark is similar, but seems very unpopular. Now, you have the Orion, but no one seems to own to comment. I also wonder how the Pool Rover plus (same as Aquajet) might do in my current pool.

Has anybody else contemplated just trying to get a cleaner that reliably cleans bottom of pool? Am I the only one who gets sick of watching all the time on pool walls, over simply gettng the bottom clean? If the cleaner didn't try to do the walls, wouldn't it be much less likely to get stuck on ladders or trying to climb steps? Anybody using a cleaner just for floor? Am i only one intrigued by Orion as a possible improvement, if it does what it says, rather than step down?

[hzz]

Couple of points to add-

I agree with Jim.Climbing the walls to the surface is pretty much a waste of time. I have my Dolphin set not to climb as I am much more interested in getting the bottom clean.
It still does climb somewhat,even up to my ladder, but it doesn't get stuck there.

As for the sales reps info on the Blue Diamond I would dispute two points.I believe the bag of the Dolphin does filter down to 2 microns, not 20.The Aquabot Turbo goes to 2 microns, and the Dolphin bag is much more substantial than the Aquabot's.

As far as the "smart processor" which causes the robot to randomly turn on the bottom of the pool, the Dolphin does this as well. I have witnessed it do this on many occasions. The Aquabot Turbo does not do this. It relies on wall climbing and then creeping along the water's edge to change it's direction.

Into my third year with the Dolphin-it has been trouble free and does an excellent job of cleaning my 20x40 pool.

I think the point of this thread is not that the Dolphin is a poor cleaner.As Carl said, when it worked it worked well.Any robot can break down.That is not the issue.The issue is the extremely poor service he has recieved from Smartpool. For that reason alone many would shy away from buying the Dolphin and I would agree with them.To spend that amount of money and have the unit fail after two years is dissapointing.Not being able to have it repaired is totally unacceptable.