Dolphin Supreme M Series Owner’s Club

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Hello Dolphin M Series users/experts! I am planning to buy a M500 and my local dealer has demo units. I picked up a M400 demo unit (they sold their M500 demo) yesterday and ran it through two 2.5 hour cycles. Indeed it does a great job of vacuuming, but I have a couple of questions. First, we have a gunite pool with an in-pool table/pedestal in a tight cove with in-pool seating/jets. The distance pedestal and the seat wall is narrow enough that the M400 cannot get through. Unfortunately, it goes up to that spot and just sits there running. It acts like it is stuck, but I believe it is just trying to get through. It did it at least 5 times in a 2.5 hour cycle, I would let it sit for 5-10 minutes to see if it would back out, but no luck and I would manually pull it away with the cord. Is this simply a shortcoming in the M400? If so, it defeats the idea of "set it and forget it", since I would need to be around to pull it loose. Since the M500 has more program cycles, do you think it might handle the situation differently than the M400? Secondly, I would say that it cleaned 95%+ of the pool floor. The couple of areas it missed were hard corners up against the steps and in-pool seating. Is this expected? By the way, it did not climb my steps or in-pool seating, but I expected that. I would really like to hear back on this from some users before buying the M500. I called the store and they were helpful, but had never had the question about the pedestal situation.
 
More information. I called the Maytronics US customer service to ask my question, as the dealer recommended. The individual really had no answer, but I found this next part interesting. They said that the S Series would handle that situation and the S Series was their best selling line. I told her that I thought the M Series was their "top of the line". She reiterated that the S Series is their best seller. I found that dialogue really interesting!
 
S selling better would make sense because Toyota sells way more Camry's than Avalon's (Camry hits the sweet spot of functionality and price). S is priced lower and also is newer/sleeker looking with an arguably better basket system. The M is a beefier machine with dual motors but older tech in general I believe.

Not personally sure about how the S and M series would handle that table situation differently.
 
I just recently got an Active 30i which is identical to the S series in functionality but not in looks. I have a pool with two main drains and it doesn't get stuck on my main drains, although my drains are not very high as others might be. When my Active 30i gets to a place it can't go any further it will usually backup and change direction.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Phil_C said:
Same here. Plus mine isn't climbing the walls much at all. He spins out for a while then decides to turn around and go the other way. It's not even close to warm enough to get in the pool to see if there's some algae or something making the walls extra slickery or something.

Yeah - some disappointment but then as I drop him in and take 3-4 minutes max to go around with the brush and knock the junk off the steps and safety ledge and do a 360 swipe of the water line I remember what last year was like. Not a perfect solution - and I have no idea if another bot would make the leap over the safety ledge - but much preferred to doing it all manually. I had dreams of dropping him in and doing next to nothing all year. Turns out I'll have to spend an hour a week or so to help him. I'll take that and admit this is my first bot and I have no idea if this is normal and expected or not, but it's much better so far having him than not!
Click to expand...

I wanted to post a follow up about this - when using the mesh filter instead of the accordion, the M400 shoots right up the walls of the pool without issue. Not sure what the difference is, but if you're still having an issue @ccasanova, try it with the mesh filters.
 
You know I just noticed this same behavior with the accordion filters. With the mess filters it is trying to climb out of the pool, with the accordion it can barely make it to the top. I need to do a test, but it seems like the accordion filters are heavier, thereby making the whole robot heavier and less likely to climb. I am wondering if I can attach some additional bouancy to the robot when using the accordions to see if that makes it climb better.
 
Katodude said:
You know I just noticed this same behavior with the accordion filters. With the mess filters it is trying to climb out of the pool, with the accordion it can barely make it to the top. I need to do a test, but it seems like the accordion filters are heavier, thereby making the whole robot heavier and less likely to climb. I am wondering if I can attach some additional bouancy to the robot when using the accordions to see if that makes it climb better.
Click to expand...

It's due less water flow because of the more restrictive filter. Less suction to suck it to the wall and less outlet pressure to push it against the wall.
 
thebombardier said:
It's due less water flow because of the more restrictive filter. Less suction to suck it to the wall and less outlet pressure to push it against the wall.
Click to expand...

Interesting. That seems like an issue of under-engineering. I wonder how many years ago the basic M series design was originally conceived.
 
So the M400 will not climb on top of the steps or bench seats? No matter what handle position? This is a little upsetting as a lot of dirt collects at those locations? What does everyone do about that dirt? Hate to have to clean the old way then throw the cleaner in?
 
Mine will make it to the top with the accordion filters- so long as the filters are very clean, water's on the warmer side (probably softens up the rubber so it grips better), and the pool walls are clean. I typically use the mesh/screen filters most of the year just because of the amount of stuff falling from trees that gets in the pool; I'll make the switch this weekend. I've through about putting in one mesh and one accordion- though a majority of the water flow would go through the mesh side.

Another thing to check is that all other water entry point are free of debris. If water is coming through from somewhere else besides the filters, you're losing good wall suction. On my m500 I'll get leaves/pollen chunks/whatever stuck in the door "clips" that hold them open a bit such that I'll get a lot of flow through there (taking the path of least resistance) as well as the round "plungers" on the bottom which I assume are there to allow water through when the filters get too clogged up (which they do various times of the year if I'm not vigilant about keeping the filters clean). The tell-tale sign for me is I'll see gunk in the fan outlet on top (meaning there's water coming through for somewhere besides a filter).
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply