Blue Diamond versus Aquabot T2

[dssxxxx]

Check with Aqua Distributors, Wyckoff. Prices and service are the best. You must/should haggle with them over price. My Aquabot w/remote was less than $950.00

[cruzmisl]

Yes, Costco's return policy is the best anywhere. I returned a patio umbrella after 2 years (it rotted) and they happily refunded my money. That is not to suggest I take advantage of their system just that they are very willing to make the customer happy. If your Dolphin fails and you have the receipt they will have no problem exchanging it or giving you all your money back.

I can guarantee no other robot vendor will do that.

Anyway, my pool is an irregular kidney 18x36 vinyl. The cycle is 6 hours (this is the default - it is programmable though). I put it in before I go to bed and it's done when I wake up.

BTW, you'll have to buy it at costco.com. I have never seen the Dolphin in the B&M stores.

[CarlD]

B/Ds are expensive. Are they that much better? I dunno. It works really well but I HAVE to take the ladder out each time. They lead you to believe you can just toss it in any pool and 1 hour later, it's clean, no matter the shape.

This is misleading: They really are only designed for rectangular pools--all their claims of "superior" software are B/S. Luckily, I have a rectangular pool. Otherwise, you need to use the remote as a joystick--what's the use of THAT?

If your pool is NOT rectangular, do not get a Blue Diamond. You will be disappointed. But if it is rectangular, you'll be delighted by it.

[cleancloths]

Check out the blue pearl, I bought one when I returned the Dolphin to Costco. It works better and faster than the Dolphin and only costs about $700.

[cruzmisl]

So what have we learned? All the robotic pool cleaners have their pros and cons. None of them are perfect, all are overpriced and all will fail sooner or later. I can say that despite all the negatives posted about every robot I would never go back to using a manual vacuum. That sucks (excuse the pun). I feel a robotic pool cleaner (insert brand here) and a Poolbuster is the ultimate combo.

[Skillset]

CleanCloths: Why did you return the Dolphin? How long does the Blue Pearl take to clean the bottom only?

CarlD: I saw a thread awhile back regarding the BD's performance in a non-rectangular pool. I think you posted this, too. Anyway, this is one of the questions I wrote to PoolDrstore.com, where they hapily told me the BD will clean any shaped pool. My pool is sort of oval that is pinched in on both sides - sort of like a figure 8.

Cruzmisl: What's the cycle time required for just bottom cleaning?

Everytime I use my Polaris Raptor suction cleaner I keep telling myself I really need something else. It really is bad.

Thanks for the replies everyone.

[hzz]

My Dolphin is still going strong after almost 3 years.

No problems. I have the remote model,but if I had to do it over again I am not sure it was worth the extra cost. I rarely use the remote feature.

I put the dolphin in the pool on the 6 hour cycle, but usually the pool is pretty much clean after about 2 hours. I have a 20x40 rectangle with steps and a ladder.

[CarlD]

CarlD: I saw a thread awhile back regarding the BD's performance in a non-rectangular pool. I think you posted this, too. Anyway, this is one of the questions I wrote to PoolDrstore.com, where they hapily told me the BD will clean any shaped pool. My pool is sort of oval that is pinched in on both sides - sort of like a figure 8.

What they didn't tell you, that the service center told me, is that you MUST use the remote to clean odd-shaped pools. You have to guide it over the whole thing.

[cruzmisl]

I never really tried to see how long it would take to clean just the bottom. I can try tomorrow am if your interested.


Update

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...1658#post31658

[ohpoolboy]

What they didn't tell you, that the service center told me, is that you MUST use the remote to clean odd-shaped pools. You have to guide it over the whole thing.

I have an odd-shaped pool that is 44' at it's longest point and 24' at it's widest. I've been using the BD (non-R/C) for two months now without a problem. It seems to cover the entire pool and does a great job.

When I first started using it I found that it did a better job if I started it in the shallow end. Maybe that was just a coincidence. It also has not had an issue with the ladder.

I guess the rule of thumb for these robot cleaners is that there is no rule of thumb. You won’t know how well it will clean YOUR pool until it cleans your pool. The stores return policy seems to be the most important feature.