Sure Baracudda markets itself as having no moving parts, but the one part that does all the action also wears out on a yearly basis. If you ask me, it’s also a moving part, so their literature is pretty misleading.
If you’re budget allows spending over a grand, then the Polaris vac sweep 360 or 380 is most certainly the way to go. The only issue here is if your pool currently has a plumbing line going to the pool it can use. Without one, you’ll have to go the over deck route, which then is a hose to trip over, lying on the deck. That’s the only drawback.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s_d5V7l92c

These two cleaners are totally different in their collection and operation. The Kreepy uses suction side plumbing (debris to the pump basket and filter), the Polaris uses pressure side, with it’s own booster pump and it’s collection is a bag attached to the Polaris head. So check out these befor settling on a Dolphin Automatic Pool Cleaner.

Depends on the kind of dirt you need to pick up. Generally speaking, “suction side” cleaners that constantly vacuum your pool (hose goes into your skimmer) are best when you have mostly dust and dirt. They tend to have difficulty with larger debris like leaves and needles. If that is you main debris then I suggest a “pressure side” cleaner. Some of these have a booster pump, some don’t. But they all use a hose with water pressure to propel them. They have a debris bag that will collect the leaves very well, but dust and dirt may go through the bag.

Pro Hayward – from ScubaBob:

The Hayward Navigator is a good one. They swallow just about anything in their way but they do have an issue regarding the mesh on the turbine intake on the back of the unit. You need to watch to see that it doesn’t get clogged with debris. That inlet provides one of the turbines water, that in turn powers the turning gears that stop the cleaner from getting hung up in a corner or against a wall. Easy to fix, but annoying if you get fine debris clogging it all the time.
The other good one, that’s virtually bomb proof but can be a picky eater ( hates twigs) is the Kreepy Krauly. They are so simple in design that there’s virtually nothing that can go wrong with them and they work pretty well.

From Stateof:

I’ve used the Dolphin Pool Cleaner and it works very well. Good for sand, and small stuff, not so much big leaves and what not, but thats what a skimmer net is for.

But does this make the Dolphin Pool Cleaner difficult to use or maintain? On the contrary and this post will explain how to maintain the Dolphin Pool Cleaner.

Maintenance of Dolphin Pool Cleaner –

Dolphin Diagnostic Residential Pool cleaning robot

Before removing the Dolphin from the water, switch off the power supply. Pull the cable with a steady motion to the surface. Your Dolphin should be lifted out of the water by the handle – not by the cable. When removing the Dolphin from the water, rest the dolphin on the pools edge for a few seconds to allow the water to drain. When out of the water place the Dolphin on its side, not on its brushes and always rinse the filter bag immediately. Slide back locking plates to release bottom lid. Remove filter bag clips and remove the filter support wires. Empty the debris into a garbage can. Reverse the filter back and hose the filter down or machine wash in synthetic rinse. Always clean the filter bag before leaving it to dry. Remove cover and flaps, hose down, and reassemble. Place the clean filter bag on the support wires, make sure the label is on the outside and is placed centrally along the bottom lid. Put the bottom lid assembly back into the body, slide the locking plates under the wire clips.

Other parts that may need cleaning includes the filter screen and impeller blades. Before removing the impeller cover be sure to that the power supply is in the off position. Untwist the impeller cover, to clean around and under the impeller blades.

Don’t forget to change the diagonal position of the handle before storing the Dolphin Pool Cleaner.

It is in a situation like that you wish you had bought a Dolphin Pool Cleaner, an automatic robotic pool cleaner that takes care of the hard and tedious work of keeping you pool clean. The Dolphin Pool Cleaner even climb the pool walls and the stairs too. Many of the Dolphin Pool Cleaners come with a remote control, so you can manually remove the worst dirt before letting the robot do its job.

Swimming pool maintenance is done much more easy and less expensive when you are doing it right and on a regular basis. This is where the automatic pool cleaner really shows its worth. Just slide the cleaner into the water in the morning when you leave for work, and the pool cleaner will go through its cycle and make the water cleaner as ever.
The Dolphin will quickly “learn” some basic facts about your swimming pool (.e., its size and shape, its shallow and deep parts, and the water quality) through its on-board sensors and artificial intelligence software.
Some Dolphin owners report the pool cleaner does not work well in too warm water and others complain that it either will not climb the walls at all or simply climbs out of the water.

Some also states that the automatic pool cleaner cleans the deep end nicely, but tends to avoid the shallow end. These are all issues that should be takenup with the supplier, since this is probably due to a defect pool cleaner. Some complain that the Dolphin Pool Cleaner is very hard to lift out of the pool, but when doing so you have to make sure that you rest the cleaner on the pool side, letting the water run out of the cleaner.

If you are the owner of a automatic pool cleaner, please share your experiences with us.

Cleaning the pool is for most pool owners the least fun part, but if you really want to enjoy your pool all through the season, there is no way around it. But instead of doing hours of hard work cleaning the pool or spending a fortune on a pool cleaning company, why not consider the automatic pool cleaner robot?

The Dolphin Pool Cleaner comes in many different varieties, each suited for different kids of pools. When choosing which pool cleaner suits your needs, you need to consider the following factors:

• The size of the pool
• The shape of the pool
• The surface of the pool
• The need for a specific cleaning cycle duration

One of the most popular model for private use is the Smartpool Dolphin 2020 Dynamic Pool Cleaner, which was the one I chose.

The Smartpool Dolphin 2020 Dynamic Pool Cleaner with Remote and Caddy In-Ground Pool Cleaner is designed for residential pools up to 20 x 40 feet. My pool is a little smaller than that, so the pool cleaner should have no problems solving the job.

The assembling did not take long and within 10 minutes it was ready to hit the water. The Dolphin Pool Cleaner really lived up to its reputation: It scrubs and vacuums the entire pool floor, wall, and waterlines. It also includes a joy stick that enables you to manually guide the Dolphin into and out of tight spots and to tailor your own cleaning program for unique pools.

The Smartpool Dolphin 2020 Dynamic Pool Cleaner with Remote and Caddy In-Ground Pool Cleaner is manufactured with 2 drive motors, each driving its own brush to facilitate tight turns.

The Dolphin Pool Cleaner is an outstanding robotic pool cleaner, which is very easy to set up and use. Just take it out of the box and it will be cleaning the pool within minutes! Cleaning of steps in the pool is the pool cleaners weakest point, but this will usually only takes a couple minutes to brush them down manually. Another weak spot is large or stiff leaves (for instance magnolia leaves) or large chucks of leaves. Some leaves are simple to large to go into the cleaner, and might clock up the cleaner. Large leaves should first be removed manually or raked up before cleaning the pool. Once the large leaves is out of the way, the cleaning robot picks up virtually everything else that’s visible to the naked eye, keeping the pool crystal clear.

All in all I can only recommend the Dolphin Pool Cleaner – in this case the Smartpool Dolphin 2020 Dynamic Pool Cleaner.