My pressure cleaner has bitten the dust and I'm going to switch to a robot. I think I've narrowed it down to the Dolphin S300 vs the Polaris 9550. They both have good reviews and seem like good robots. Anyone have direct experience with both of them and can provide a comparison / evaluation? Thanks. Jon
Dolphin S300 vs Polaris 9550
- Thread starter JonCr
- Start date
I have a Doheny's Discovery which is an S200 and I love it. Not familiar with the 9550. More good words about the Discovery here, First Robotic Cleaner, Doheny's Discovery
That thread is a big reason I'm considering the Dolphin S300 - it paints a great picture for that series.
I own a Dolphin S300 and I couldn't imagine not having him. Its maintenance free with this robot.
I have the 9550 and love it. One reason I got it when looking around was that it has 3 large collection basket options. It comes with a general basket, which work well. My new pool had lots of red clay silt in it, so I purchased the "fine" basket, which is good for silt/sand and after a couple of runs it was great. Also can get a leaf basket (largest holes). It climbs the walls very well. I like the little turbo jet in the rear as it will blow off dirt from my ledge that runs around the pool below the water line. When done cleaning, you can select where it will climb up the pool wall so you can lean over and pick it up by its handle. Easy to remove basket and take to where you want to rise. The caddy is nice so you can roll it all to where you want. This is my first pool and I bought it before finding this site, but have zero regrets, Love being able to go out in the morning and drop it in and come back later to a clean pool.
Why do you need a 300? Are you really going to use the extra features for the money? Most likely the 200 would work just fine for you.
The S200 is an option I'm considering, but I'm leaning toward the S300 because I want a cart. I figure by the time I buy the S200 and a cart, I may as well pay a little more and get a S300 with some extra features.
I've had a 300 for a full season and it's a great performer. I also have an older Maytronics Diagnostic, which worked well but was a nightmare to clean (bottom bag filter). The 300 performs great and cleans in a snap.
I ended up ordering a Polaris 9550 because I thought it might be a better match to what I'm looking for. Thanks for all the opinions.
Let me know how it works out for you. I am considering the 9550 too
- - - Updated - - -
How long have you had the 9550? What's the warranty length?
I received mine today. As I've seen from other orders from PSW, I received a P955 instead of a 9550. Would rather have had the blue 9550 vs the white P955, but no big deal. I put it together and ran it in the pool for a little while. My pool is full of leaves since my pressure cleaner broke and it only took about 15 minutes for the P955's basket to fill with leaves. There was also an impressive amount of dirt/mud/sand in the filter. The lift out system didn't work very well - it didn't go very high on the wall. I think that is primarily due to the 20 lb of leaves in the basket and the fact my pool has no straight sides probably didn't help. I'll try it this weekend without a basket full of leaves and see if it does better.
I'm impressed with it so far. I got the package deal that comes with all three of the filters in addition to the one that comes with the unit. Once I get the leaves out, I'll be curious to try the sand/silt filter.
I also used the remote because there are only a couple areas where I think the lift out function will work, so I used the remote to steer it over to that area.
I'm impressed with it so far. I got the package deal that comes with all three of the filters in addition to the one that comes with the unit. Once I get the leaves out, I'll be curious to try the sand/silt filter.
I also used the remote because there are only a couple areas where I think the lift out function will work, so I used the remote to steer it over to that area.
My pool was install this spring and I ordered the robot that first week. The pool guy that the PB sent over to clean pool and give me "pool school" left lots of red clay silt in the pool, so I ordered the 9550 after studying the robots for a few days and got the optional "fine" filter. After some brushing and running twice the pool was clean. It has a 2-year limited warranty.
Yes, it is. And the Triton is the same as the S200 which is also the same as a Doheny's Discovery. More here about that, First Robotic Cleaner, Doheny's Discovery
The Triton is the S200 and the Triton Plus is the S300, the difference is Bluetooth remote control capability.
I think you'll enjoy it. I really like the sand/silt basket, as I have lots of red clay in the area. It will only climb as high as the waterline, so yes, you will need to bend over to grab it. You can direct the climb also with the caddy by pressing the button and holding it down until it turns to the wall you want to exit - found there's a little lag there, so release button slightly before it points to wall.
Enjoy
It didn't get anywhere near the water line - I had to stick my arm in to the shoulder to grab it. It basically sat at the bottom of the wall. But I really think that was due to the weight of the leaves. I'll try it empty and verify to make sure it doesn't have an issue.
Do the various baskets for the 9550 have any nomenclature on them to state which ones they are? I bought a package deal that was supposed to come with one standard, one sand/silt, and one leaf basket. But according to the labeling on the boxes, I got one standard and two sand/silt. I don't see any markings on the baskets themselves that state what type they are. On one hand, having two sand/silt might not be bad - it gives me an extra for when the first one wears out. Not sure what I would be missing if I didn't have the leaf basket. Thanks. Jon
I have the regular and the fine, and all I see on mine is a little bar code. I can tell them apart by the mesh. The "fine" mesh is much smaller. Would expect the "leaf" to be the most open so it lets small stuff though to allow better capture of the leaves before it were to lose suction. I get mostly pine needles, so the regular one works well with it.