Recent content by MarkTX

  1. MarkTX

    Dolphin Getting Stuck on Drains - (Partial) Solution

    Just a follow up on the Teflon here, for anyone experiencing similar issues. Our Dolphin has worked great all summer! I don't even bother turning off the pump to run the robot anymore. The robot has gotten stuck on a drain cover maybe 5-6 times in the last 3-4 months. I haven't really been...
  2. MarkTX

    Single speed pump vs. Variable speed pump

    I work with hydraulics so my two cents hydraulic power = flow rate x pressure Throttling a valve will decrease the flow rate but increase the pressure. I agree that slowing the impeller (less rate, less pressure) will net much larger power savings. /edit oh well pretty much an exact restatement...
  3. MarkTX

    Dolphin Getting Stuck on Drains - (Partial) Solution

    This quarantine has me minding my robot it seems. I think I finally found a solution. This has been working for a week straight and our robot has not gotten stuck once. Whereas it used to take about 5 minutes. And this is AFTER I removed the foam! Full disclosure, I cannot run the Dolphin and...
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    skidplate.jpg

  6. MarkTX

    Dolphin Getting Stuck on Drains - (Partial) Solution

    Very tidy! I used synthetic cord but yours looks cleaner.
  7. MarkTX

    Dolphin Getting Stuck on Drains - (Partial) Solution

    My Dolphin Z5 worked fine for 4-5 months then started getting stuck on our drains. There is a thread from 2016-ish where I detailed cleaning parts and replacing parts one by one, but nothing helped. Now (after 4 years!) I have discovered a solution that does not completely solve the problem but...
  8. MarkTX

    Is that pool going to increase the value of your house by $x?

    I am never gonna move again... my kids can swim in it today and deal with it later... :)
  9. MarkTX

    Dolphin getting stuck

    ...and now we have a hurricane and flooding rains coming. Won't know about the new covers this weekend either, looks like. You should maybe get a GoPro and film that thing getting stuck. May help others one day. Anyway I would like to watch that!
  10. MarkTX

    Dolphin getting stuck

    I received the new covers, it took about 8 weeks :( And I do not know if they will work yet. I find myself lacking an 8 ft screwdriver...maybe a cheap screwdriver cemented into a pvc pipe will work. Been having too many guests and spending too many hours at work to fool with it. Did I mention...
  11. MarkTX

    4th of July Party!

    My kind of pool party dv, sounds good but I tune the bluetooth to a local iHeart pop station to the justin bieber and what not songs. I am not familiar with them, but the younger ones seem to enjoy more. I saw Crazy Train in concert with Oz and R Rhodes and it was awesome.
  12. MarkTX

    A Cheap Pool Cooler for the end of Summer

    I believe in this theory and our pool gets too hot also... here is a pre-made one for $12. I installed this 16 hours ago, and I do believe it is working... The water droplets are cooler than the pool water. The cool thing about this one is it has o-rings or the equivalent to point and shoot how...
  13. MarkTX

    SLAMing Works!

    My CYA is 30, so minimum is 2 and target is 4-6. But I recommend higher CYA; I can't seem to keep mine. Testing for FC at least every other day is best. Waiting till the third day (in TX at least) can lead to trouble. For me, it's pretty simple. If I test, I will add chlorine as needed. If I...
  14. MarkTX

    SLAMing Works!

    One and a half year pool owner here. For the first six months, I followed this forum's instructions exactly. Pool was awesome. But because I am inquisitive, and lazy, I let the chlorine go to zero a few times during the following winter, just to see what happens. So I had to scrub the walls and...
  15. MarkTX

    Dolphin getting stuck

    Not sure, I shall see and let you know.