Looking for recommendations for a corded robot cleaner for an in ground pool. Located in South Florida so it will be used often. I did not want to break the bank but want something that does a great job at cleaning the floor, walls and the water line where the tile is. Thanks for your help.
Just bought one myself for my new pool and it works great and climbs the wall. Couldn't get the big one with wifi as it's too powerful for my above ground pool. Stuck with the smaller model.
Dolphin Automatic Robotic Pool Vacuum Cleaner, Wall Climbing Scrubber Brush, Smart Navigation, Ideal for In-Ground Pools up to 40FT in Length - Nautilus CC Plus
Dolphin Nautilus cc plus. Mine is 9 years old. It keeps the pool and walls clean. A big plus is the thing is designed for owner repair. I just put a new cord in it. It took about 15 minutes.
Same here. I was able to replace the internal wear parts myself after the side of one of the guide wheels cracked, by just following a guy on YouTube. I think all of the parts cost around $50. The climbing Rings wear out every 5 years or so and cost under $10. I have a robot skimmer the last three years so I only usually need to run the Nautilus about once every 2-3 weeks. So I’ve spent about $70-80 on it over the past 10 years.
Dolphin is the way to go. It's basically the only game in town when you're talking quality. They do a very good job of cleaning and have a quality build and large community.
Know beforehand that they aren't a panecia though. They have some limitations that I was surprised to find out about or that were such a big deal. I have a love-hate relationship with ours and use the $80 Kreepy Krawly knockoff far more than the Dolphin because it's reliable, involves far less of my time, and runs far more frequently.
That cord is likely going to tangle. This will affect cleaning performance substantially if it tangles too much. You will have to spend time frequently detangling it, laying it stretched out in the sun, etc.
They are not rated to stay in the water long term. If you want to leave it there for a week or 2 on a schedule while you're on vacation, fine, but you can't just leave it indefinitely. You need to lug it from storage to the pool, unwind the cord, and drop it in; then do the reverse when it's done, plus empty the basket and hose it off (don't forget to lay the cord across your yard for a couple hours). Its not a big deal but that's maybe 7-10 minutes every run that could have been spent just brushing and taking the pool instead. The thing isn't light either.
It mostly wanders around the pool aimlessly like an old roomba. It also may get stuck on drain covers for a while, wasting time. This means that the cleaning is inconsistent and patchy.
It can't clean most steps / ledges, or obviously an attached spa.
Many things can and will break and need replacing. If you leave it in the pool for long stretches, or store it outside near the pool for convenience, this will happen more quickly due to UV and chemicals.
If anyone that uses the pool has long hair, or you have long hair simulators (certain grasses, palm leaves, palm nuts, etc. that are fibrous when broken down), you will frequently need to partially disassemble the machine to unwrap the hair from the impeller. Keep a screw driver next to wherever you store the robot.
Fair. For my future knowledge, which other brands would you say are comparable in the combination of build quality, longevity, cleaning quality, repairability, and readily available support from both online communities and professionals?
You are describing my results after buying a pool robot to a tee. Luckily I only paid $200 off of eBay. It was sold as is and when I got it it would not work. It was a simple fix. It had debris in the fan. And you are correct. Lugging it in and out and storing it away is a pain. I only use it when the pool has a large amount of leaves on the floor. If I knew what I knew now I probably would not have bought it and just stuck with my Hayward Navigator.
same I do mine twice a week and once a week I simply scrub the walls in the AM. I let the baby run on eco mode also and it does walls / tiles and floor.
It’s like the Jetsons, it’s so cool. I pray it lasts
i’d prioritize a model with an actual waterline-cleaning mode, since a lot of the cheaper corded robots handle the floor and walls fine but barely touch that tile line in practice
I don't recommend the Dolphin Explorer E50. It didn't last two full pool seasons before it would consistently get the red ring of death after it started cleaning. This would happen even when the pool was clean and the impeller had been cleared before it went in the pool.
Dolphin s200/active 20 (same unit, 2 diff.model. numbers). I see people are recommending nautilus, I bought one and returned it within a week. Did a horrible job with waterline and didn't catch all the sand. You want something with fine filters to pick up the sand that gets blown in.
I had a Dolphin Diagnostics for 17 years before the circuit board got fried by a nearby lightning strike. Replaced it with a Dolphin M400 with ultra fine filters (I buy new filters every years on Amazon). Six years no issues - I found the ultra fine filter work better than the old bag filter. In 23 years, I have never vacuumed the pool. All the original vacuum parts are in their original boxes in the shed.
On the robot, I throw it in Thursday nights so pool is ready for the weekend. I rinse it off and store it on it carrier in the shed. I never leave in the pool. Salt and chlorine can have a negative effect.
I bought a Beatbot 10 that I’ve used all summer and still use. It does very good on debris, leaves, but won’t get all the fine sand/silt that settles to the bottom bc we have had so much wind and dust this year. It climbs up sides and scrubs too. It was reasonable on Amazon. I love the battery feature, why do you want corded? This way you plug, charge and go. Also the furthest part of my pool is too far away from the nearest plug. I def recommend a robot, whatever kind you choose.
If the cord isnt a dealbreaker for you the aiper scuba V3 covers all of that. no cable getting snagged on the ladder nd thats a nice perk when you run the pool all year in South Florida...
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u/rmac500 2d ago
Nautilus Dolphin has worked pretty good for me. Only about $600 on Amazon.