Dolphin Premier Robotic Pool Cleaner | Review

Before we discuss the Dolphin Premier Robotic Pool Cleaner let’s discuss robotic pool cleaners.

The beauty of having your own pool can far outweigh the initial cost and setup. There is nothing better than getting home from work and taking a relaxing swim, or spending a hot summer afternoon with friends and family, splashing and enjoying the weather.

The History of Robotic Pool Cleaning

And then there’s the cleaning… Let’s face it – cleaning the shower can sometimes be a trial. Now imagine that on a grand scale. Underwater. It’s a daunting thought, isn’t it? Pool cleaning services are available to do this for you, but they don’t typically do a very good job and it can really add up. According to the HomeWyse pool-cleaning calculator, it will run you between 39 cents and 54 cents per square foot to have your pool cleaned in San Diego County. If you have an average-sized pool of 500 square feet, that is between $195.60 and $271.59 PER VISIT.

So what about pool cleaning machines? It all started back in 1912 – John M. Davidson finally decided that cleaning the swimming pool was a thankless and rather unsavory task, so he set about creating the first-ever pool cleaning machine. He applied for the patent in November of 1912 and was approved a few months later in April of 1913. This marvel of “modern” technology was a brilliant idea, given the era. His explanation shows a little forward-thinking, too, with his interest in water and energy conservation, as evidenced in his application:

It is well known that in tanks, such as swimming pools for example, there is a rapid collection of sediment or slime on the bottom, due in part to the matter washed from the bodies of the bathers, and in part to chemicals used in purifying the water. Heretofore it has been considered necessary in order to clean such tanks to entirely empty the water therein. This is an expensive proceeding, because of the waste of water, the suspension of the use of the tank, and the cost 0 heating a new charge of water. While the original focused mainly being able to isolate debris and remove it from the water without removing the water itself. – John M. Davidson, Patent Application

Dolphin Premier Robotic Pool Cleaner

We’ve all seen those slightly alien-looking pool vacuums moving about under the water, their strange tubes protruding from the water’s surface. There are many pool cleaners available on the market, but the design of many is antiquated, with very little change since 1974. Forty-two years ago. In theory it’s a great design and a few decades back it sure as heck beat the net method, or just ignoring the “floaties” until the pool was drained and refilled. The downside of these models is that they use incredible amounts of electricity, running for upwards of 6 hours a cycle. They also don’t clean the walls, which is where the majority of the water-contaminating debris, biofilm and algae accumulate.

Your pool is a major investment that needs to be properly cleaned and maintained to preserve its longevity and usefulness. Just like your car (which you probably paid about the same amount for as the pool), without regular maintenance it will start to have problems. On the upside, you don’t have to have a live-in pool guy with a toothbrush to keep your watery oasis in tip-top shape or scrub your own fingers to the bone. Save your hard-earned money for annual maintenance of your filters and all the mechanical bits and pieces that are no fun to mess with.

Part robot, part cleaning demon

Comes with an impressive 3 year warranty that Maytronics refers to as the “No-nonsense” warranty, which IS NOT prorated and not limited by the number of cycles you operate the cleaner. Basically, the warranty is exactly what you would expect but often don’t get from manufacturers. The Pentair Premier is covered under warranty no matter what the reason — “will be free from defects in material and workmanship for 3 years.”

Features:

• Navigation: Microprocessor controlled SmartNav learns the optimal path to clean your pool.
• Logic: Calculates optimal pattern for faster cleaning & improved efficiency.
• Propulsion: HyperGrip rubber tracks improve power delivery and control.
• Capabilities: Vacuums leaves, debris, pollen & green algae.
• Energy efficiency Reduces energy costs up to 90% over AC powered cleaners.
• Surfaces: Power scrubs and vacuums doors, steps, walls, and water line.
• Dual ballasts:  Delivers superior agility, maneuverability & climbing performance.
• Micron rating:  2 micron – removes the smallest particles, even green algae.
• Air sensor:  Learns water line elevation for superior water line cleaning.
• Filtration rate: Micro filters 75 gallons per minute for remarkable water quality.

You can also purchase a pool caddy for this cleaner which will come in handy for storage, transportation and organization.

✓Maytronics has an excellent site dedicated to the Dolphin Premier. I highly recommend visiting the site at some point. Maytronics produces exceptional information resources for their customers. Peronally, I wish more manufacturers were as thorough and professional as Maytronics. The goal of our site is to do the research so you don’t have to spend countless hours researching products  — so thank-you Maytronics for making it easier for us to do our jobs.

Overview | Dolphin Premier

So what’s a pool owner to do? Enter the Dolphin Premier Robotic Pool Cleaner. It may be small, but it’s mighty! It will give any pool cleaner – human or electronic – a run for their money and win every time. Maytronics Dolphin Premier is unlike any other pool-cleaning machine out there. Countless hours of research and development have gone into creating a pool cleaner that does just that – cleans. It leaves no corner, crevice or step unattended. This is a huge feat, considering the majority of pool cleaners on the market merely stir up and then siphon debris from the pool floor.

As if the fact that the Dophin Premier cleans so thoroughly isn’t enough, it will end up paying for itself in just a couple of months. Maybe less, if you actually clean your pool the recommended 3 – 5 times a week. Most people only clean theirs once a week, some just once a month. Just think about how much cleaner your pool would be with just two or three cleanings a week!

It climbs the walls so you won’t

99% of the debris and potential water-fouling contaminants in a pool are stuck to the walls and floor – not free-floating along the bottom. This can include bacteria, biofilm and algae. Haven’t you ever noticed how the walls of some pools can feel a bit slick or even rough? This is because they are coated with one, two or all three of the components of pool grunge listed above. Luckily, the Dolphin Premier Robotic Pool Cleaner gets to all of that and more.

The Dolphin Premier Robotic Pool Cleaner is designed to literally climb the walls of your pool, scrubbing away the buildup as it goes, all the way to the waterline. This allows your entire pool – not just the horizontal surfaces – to be cleaned. The engineers at Maytronics thought long and hard about creating a machine that could easily achieve this feat. They came up with an innovative design that not only allows the Dolphin to scale the walls with unique Hyper grip rubber tracks, as opposed to wheels. These special tracks provide superior control and eliminate slippage, all while conserving energy!

Brush the responsibility…

Off your own shoulders and onto your new Dolphin. This is where the Dolphin can really make a difference in your pool-cleaning practices. With Premier’s PowerClean system, the dual set of high RPM brushes dig deep (without scratching or scouring) into the grime and algae, removing it and depositing it in your chosen media. Most algae, bacteria and biofilm lives on the walls of the pool, not the floor, which makes it necessary to address these issues on a regular basis to maintain a clean and healthy pool.

There is only so much the filters and addition of chlorine and other chemicals can do. Your Dolphin Premier Robotic Pool Cleaner will relentlessly scrub every inch of your pool efficiently. With less algae, bacteria and biofilm present, your water’s quality is less likely to be compromised and the whole pool will stay cleaner longer and require less overall maintenance.

Intelligent Navigation

With SmartNav Robotic Scanning, your Dolphin will be able to determine where it’s been and decide where it needs to go next. Its built-in software helps determine the most efficient cleaning path, calculating each pass. This ensures that your pool is getting a thorough clean everywhere. What’s even better is that the Dolphin Premier Robotic Pool Cleaner takes about half the time of a traditional pool cleaning machine.

Multimedia Takes on New Meaning

With four different types of filter media, the Dolphin can perform numerous levels of cleaning, from the tiniest particles to yard debris such as leaves and small sticks. With micro-cartridges, standard cartridges, disposable debris bags and over-sized debris bags, you can accomplish multiple tasks with one machine. An over-sized debris bag, for example, can hold an entire bushel of leaves. That’s a lot of wet plant matter!

Worried about all of that bacteria and algae being released into the water? Don’t! With the micro-cartridges, you can rest assured that all of that stuff being scrubbed off your pool walls and floor will end up trapped in the media. The true showstopper here is that this unit is dual-media capable. That means twice the cleaning ability with the advantage of a single session!

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SCRUB-A-DUB-DUB

Have you ever noticed that build-up that sits right at the surface of the waterline? Cleaning that slimy substance from the waterline and tile is a joke when using a traditional pool cleaning machine. With the Dolphin Premier Robotic Pool Cleaner you won’t find yourself pulling your hair in frustration. Equipped with specially-designed Dual Control Ballasts, it’s a snap for your Dolphin to maintain its position along the wall effortlessly. Scrubbing those little pockets of yuck out of your tile has never been so simple!

Tangle-free Core Mechanism

The Dolphin Premier Robotic Pool Cleaner is tangle-free. Seriously. The carefully engineered 360 swivel keeps it from tangling itself up in its own cord. This makes it a brilliant no-brainer. There is nothing worse than trying to untwist your pool robot from its self-inflicted mass of power cord. With a free-moving swivel, there is no wear and tear on the cord or the connections. It also allows the Dolphin to get into and thoroughly clean those tight, awkward corners even the most aggressive manual brushing can’t conquer.

More power, less energy

The original pool cleaner – designed and built in 1974 with an AC motor – is still being used today, sucking a stunning 1,470 watts of power. Think of it this way – that is the equivalent of 36.75 lamps with 40 watt bulbs running. The cost for this is about 40 cents an hour. It may not seem like much, but when you multiply that by an average of six hours a day, you’re looking at about $10 a week in electricity, just to run the pool cleaner. The Dolphin Premier Robotic Pool Cleaner only pulls 180 watts an hour using a ultra-efficient DC motor – 87% less energy than their AC motor contemporaries. That’s about 5 cents per hour to operate, and about 15 cents per session.

Do it yourself… no, really!

If you’ve ever had a vacuum with a worn-out brush bar, you know the frustration that can set in if it’s impossible to change yourself. With the Dolphin Premier Robotic Pool Cleaner, you will be able to change out that brush easily. We think that’s probably the most common issue you might ever encounter. And isn’t it reassuring if your brush wears out after a while? It just means it’s really doing its job.

Maytronics believes that you should be able to service your own Dolphin Premier Robotic Pool Cleaner. There is no reason you should have to experience any downtime, so to ensure that you won’t ever have to go for more than a few minutes without your Dolphin, the clever engineers designed the entire machine with DIY Modular Engineering. What exactly does this mean? In short, it means that you can replace pieces yourself. Every. Single. Piece. In about ten minutes flat.

If you don’t feel like being handy, no worries! There are also plenty of service centers available to take care of the work for you, allowing you to get back to your day.

No Babysitting Required

You can set your Dolphin Premier Robotic Pool Cleaner to run automatically, so you don’t have to worry about remembering to set it, or be there to turn it on and off. This alone makes it worth its weight in gold. It can clean the pool while you’re at work, out shopping, or taking a luxurious siesta.

The Maytronics family

Maytronics knows pools and is taking the industry by storm with their eco-friendly pool maintenance equipment. Founded in 1983, Maytronics has been a leader in innovative pool technologies such as automatic pool cleaners, pool safety equipment and pool water treatment systems for the last thirty-three years. With a history like this, it isn’t a wonder they have managed to create some of the world’s most efficient high-performance pool equipment!

A well-established enterprise, Maytronics believes in its people and its products. Many of the staff members have been with the company since its founding! Over thirty years! That should tell you just how devoted they are to the brand and the products they create.

Maytronics isn’t just a U.S. company – their subsidiaries can be found as well in Australia, France and Argentina. This allows their products to be put to use in varying conditions around the world, allowing for new developments and innovations, improving on their designs with real-world feedback.

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Additional Information

Technical Data (Dolphin Premiere Robotic Pool Cleaner):

• Operating cost:     Approximately 5 cents per hour
• Electrical input:     115 volts, plugs into a standard wall outlet
• Cycle time:     2.5 hours. Faster cleaning for improved energy savings
• Warranty:     3 yr limited warranty -not pro-rated – not limited to hours/cycles
• Cable:     60 feet thermoplastic rubber cable reduces frictional drag
• Compatibility:     Gunite, concrete, tile, fiberglass or vinyl-lined up to 55 in long
• Service type:     DIY serviceable in 10-15 minutes by the dealer or owner
• Wattage:     180 watts
• Dry weight:     22 lbs.

Standard Features (Dolphin Premiere Robotic Pool Cleaner):

• Motor type:     Dual 24 volt brushless DC energy-efficient, long-life motors
• Multi-media:     Twin micro-filter cartridges included. Opt. debris bag available
• Patented swivel:     It’s the world’s only true cable swivel, a patented Dolphin exclusive
• Drive type:     Direct drive means no belts to replace, ever
• Brush type:     Dual power rotating, scrubbing brushes for aggressive cleaning action
• Bi-directional:     Vacuums even when in reverse for superior efficiency
• Installation:     Plug and play. Simply plug into a wall outlet and you’re done.
• Smart timer:     Integrated multi-function timer allows daily, 3x or 2x per week cycles
• LED alerts:     Lets you know when the media should be emptied
• Plug & Play :     No installation required. Simply plug in and turn on.

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