Dolphin Escape Robotic Above Ground Pool Cleaner

I had an Aquabot Breeze XLS and the power supply went out. So I decided to try something different and order this Dolphin.... oh my goodness! The difference it makes is amazing! The Aquabot is a lot messier to use and doesn't pick up nearly the debris that this Dolphin does! Plus the Aquabot has 2 baskets and they don't go in to the cleaner part smoothly and you have to put cloth bags inside the baskets in hopes that it will pick the fine debris up... but it doesn't and what it does pick up pretty much comes out when you lift it out of the water. NOT so with the DOLPHIN... it picks up the finest particles just using the basket that came with it and when you lift it out of the water nothing goes back into the water but water! YAY! And, clean up is SUPER easy! The basket fits perfectly and has a spring loaded handle so when you put the basket in the cleaner and close the top, it automatically goes down and the top shuts nice and tight! Then when you open the top of the cleaner, the handle springs up and when you remove the basket, everything stays in the basket. Clean up of the basket is easy... there is a latch on the side that opens the bottom so all the debris falls out and then you just rinse the sides and bottom off... the sides also come off if there's lots of debris you need to rinse off. I have not used the fine particle basket yet as there has been no need! The Dolphin keeps my pool cleaner than it's ever been! The only negative I have is the cord could be a little bit longer. My pool is 33 ft round - we have a room off the deck where the plug is located and it's not near the ground but a little over halfway up the wall so when I plug the power supply in and attach it to the cord, the cord isn't quite long enough to reach to the other side of the pool. That's the only issue. Overall, I love this pool cleaner for ease of use and clean up and the fact it gets all the debris up! The only other negative I have is about the manufacturer who will not answer emails no matter how many I send. I am trying to find out if there is a caddy I can get for this model so I don't have to turn it upside down after every use (I guess that's so the tracks and brush hold their shape.

Died after a 15 months. No warranty no customer service. Nothing. Very very very poor & disappointing experience.

So I have been suffering....and let me repeat this....suffering for over 5 years with a Kreepy Krauly Great White which retails for over $400 bucks. I have been looking at robotic cleaners for a while. This project came in 2 steps. 1) Eliminate most of the tree limbs around/above the pool dropping leaves in, and 2) Purchase a REAL robotic pool cleaner. Step one was completed this weekend. As many limbs as could be removed were cut, and above the pool is completely clear now. Step 2 started on Monday, I found this robotic vacuum out of the blue and it had several good reviews AND a $50 rebate, so I thought WTH, I might as well get it. Yesterday (Wednesday) the vacuum arrived, but I had work to do first. Three huge piles of tree limbs from the tree cutters to haul to the streets so the city waste will pick it up. 3 hours later I had the 2 piles next to the pool clear. Next I had to remove the winter net from the pool which in the past is the only defense against leaves and debris. Of course removing the net means all the debris stuck around the edges of the net most likely goes in the pool, which FYI already had a lot of debris in it because my Kreepy Krauly Great White refuses to go to the shallow end. EVER. So we have a pool full of debris and I removed the Great White and took pictures of it for its ebay auction. I opened the Dolphin Escape excitedly. I couldn't wait to try it. It was ready to go out of the box. Connected the power cable to the power supply after untangling the cord completely, dropped the thing in the water and hit start. 1 hour later, the pool looked like the photo I attached. Now, granted, it didn't get every single thing out on the first try. I ran it for a second cycle and went to bed and when I woke up I'd say 99 percent of the debris was totally gone. I was so happy. I pulled it out, opened the lid and found all that stuff in the debris canister. Easily emptied it, washed it with a hose, and put it back in the unit. I disconnected the power cable, untangled and coiled the cable onto the unit, and placed it upside down as instructed in my storage shed so it could get a nap after all the hard work. I can't say enough how pleased I am about this purchase. I also got the 4 year extended warranty available, which I encourage you to also do. I would say this is a huge win, factoring in of course it it lasts a long time. I'm thinking I'll have to do this maybe 2 or 3 times a week in the winter time but I may not even need the pool net anymore! EDIT: I noticed when the cleaner switches directions it leaves the ground and floats, popping a wheelie. I called maytronics and they said this is a feature, not a flaw. I find that difficult to believe, however since it still cleans properly every single time, I cannot hold it against them. Edit 7/20/17 - Unit is still working GREAT. I use it once a week, have had no problems. I will stress to you, buy the extended warranty. Getting an extended warranty on a pool cleaner is almost unheard of, and it's cheap, so buy it. But still this thing is running like a freaking champ! Fast forward to 2020- The unit still works great. My ONLY issue is the one design flaw with this thing and it is that it pops stupid wheelies every time it changes directions. This is definitely not a feature. When it's popping wheelies it's not cleaning.

Good product when it works. Had some issues at first with not cleaning well and sent back. Was told to send all filters so I sent the ultra fine and regular filters I had. Only got the regular filter back but they sent a replacement regular filter instead of the ultra fine when asked for it so I ended up buying another ultra fine filter. Got mixed responses on the problem. One source gave some parts needing replacing and another said there was not any problems. Customer service, when called took days to respond. Had to really stay on top to get things answered so I would not give customer service a good review but the returned "repaired" version works good. Having this robot when it works really makes pool maintenance a lot easier.

Simple set up, easy use, good quality.