2023 Dolphin Premier Robotic Pool Cleaner Review

Here at Pool Partz, after selling thousands of Dolphin robotic pool cleaners by Maytronics over the past decade and assisting our customers with their pool cleaner selection, we understand their thoughts as they go through their Dolphin pool cleaner selection. Our review of the Dolphin Premier pool robot provides all the information that you need to determine if this pool cleaner fits your needs. Due to the myriad of Dolphin pool cleaners that are available, there is a model for everyone that meets their swimming pool needs and budget.

For almost 40 years, Maytronics has been a global leader in the swimming pool industry by developing technologies and solutions for swimming pool maintenance. The Dolphin robotic pool cleaner line is one of those solutions, providing efficient and easy pool maintenance. One of the primary benefits of the Dolphin pool cleaners is that the units are not tied to the swimming pool filtering system but rather have their own filters along with efficient motor technology which provides for low cost maintenanace of your swimming pool from debris.

When reviewing the Dolphin Premier robotic pool cleaner, or any Dolphin pool robot, we have found the best way to educate our customers is by looking at the pool cleaner using the following sections:

  • Dolphin standard features
  • Dolphin Premier product description
  • Dolphin Premier general features
  • Dolphin Premier cleaning features
  • Dolphin Premier other features
  • Dolphin Premier optional acccessories

Dolphin standard features

There are some standard capabilities that come with all Dolphin robotic pool cleaners regardless of the size of the pool that you have. For instance, all Dolphin pool cleaners come with a power supply, a cable that connects to the robot, and the robot itself. Because the robot has its own filtering system and uses efficient motors, the cost to run these units is minimal.
   Plug and Play
Dolphin pool cleaners are extremely easy to use - simply drop the pool cleaner into the pool, plug the power supply into an electrical outlet, press the power button and the unit will begin the cleaning cycle.
   Pool Mapping
Every Dolphin pool cleaner has electronics in it that provides sophisticated algorithms for mapping and cleaning the swimming pool. It is recommended that you drop the pool cleaner close to the center of the pool as it begins the cleaning process for optimal cleaning coverage.
   Debris Filtering
Since every Dolphin pool cleaner has its own filtering capabilities, it is independent of any of the swimming pool equipment. The Dolphin collects the debris, you hose off the debris from the filters, and you are ready for the next cleaning!
   Energy Saving
Since every Dolphin pool cleaner has its own filtering capabilities, it is independent of any of the swimming pool equipment. The Dolphin collects the debris, you hose off the debris from the filters, and you are ready for the next cleaning!
   Customer Service
Whether dealing with Maytronics or Pool Partz customer service, both have a great reputation in the industry in providing exceptional customer service both pre-sales and post-sales. For over a decade, Pool Partz has been the exclusive resellers of Dolphin pool robots and have great knowledge of the every Dolphin pool cleaner.

Product Description

Whenever we conduct a product review for a Dolphin pool cleaner, we always like referring to the manufacturer's product description which provides some insight to the capabilities that the product provides:

The Dolphin Premier is an advanced level model that cleans the floor, walls and waterline for pools up to 50 feet in length.

DOLPHIN EXCLUSIVE FEATURES
Full filter indicator

Patented swivel cable helps prevent tangling
Scrubs, vacuums and filters the pool with a cycle time of 3 hours.
Incredibly efficient - costs less than 15 cents to clean the pool.
In-store repairable right at your local Dolphin retailer!
Plug-n-play! No pre-installation needed, no connections to pool system.
Self-programming for optimal pool scanning

Shipped product has everything you need to clean your pool spotless:

  • Dolphin robot
  • Power supply
  • Brand new filters

General Features

When selecting a Dolphin robotic pool cleaner, there are two primary things that will narrow down the Dolphin model that will meet your needs. The first is the size of your pool and the second is you need to decide what areas of the pool you want the robot to clean. There are 3 areas in a swimming pool: the floor, the walls, and the waterline. When we refer to the "waterline", we are referring to the area around the pool where the tile meets the coping and it is synonymous with "waterline scrubbing". If a unit cleans the walls but does not scrub the waterline, the unit will move up to the waterline and then move down the walls.

When measuring the size of your swimming pool, simply use the longest dimension of the pool. For the majority of residential swimming pools, whether above-ground or in-ground, the size of the swimming pool is less than 50 feet which is why many of the Dolphin robotic pool cleaners are designed for pools up to 50 feet.

What pool area would you like the unit to clean? All Dolphin pool robots clean the floor and cove (the area between the floor and walls if that area is sloped) but the higher-end models can also clean the walls and waterline.

The Dolphin Premier pool robot is designed for pools up to 50 feet. The areas of the pool that the unit will clean are floor/walls/waterline.

Cleaning Features

When reviewing the various Dolphin pool cleaners that fit the size of your swimming pool, the unique cleaning features are the key differentiators between the various models. Since the Dolphin Premier cleans all surface areas, it's nice to know that the pool robot is capable of cleaning every surface. The amount of time that it takes a Dolphin pool cleaner to perform a regular cleaning cycle is referred to as the cycle time. Depending on the Dolphin model, some models have different cycle times that provide for a quick cleaning of the floor or a more lengthy cycle known as a deep scrub. Each model has an optimized cleaning cycle.

   Surfaces
Depending on the Dolphin robotic pool cleaner model, they are capable of cleaning the floor (including the cove), the walls, and scrubbing the waterline. The Dolphin Premier pool cleaner will clean the floor,walls and waterline.
   Filtration
The Dolphin Premier comes with a multi-layer filter, allowing both small and large debris to be collected in a single cleaning cycle.
   Cycle time
Cycle time is the amount of time that the Dolphin pool robot will take to complete a cleaning cycle. The cycle time for the standard cleaning cycle is 3 hours. During the spring startup of the swimming pool or after periods of having larger amounts of debris in the pool, it may be necessary to run multiple cycles with the Dolphin robot.
   Brushes
Dolphin pool cleaners use brushes to both scrub and collect debris. The Dolphin Premier provides dual brushes for even more efficient scrubbing as the unit is cleaning the swimming pool.
   Full filter indicator
This feature provides an indicator that the filter is full and debris rinsed off before starting another cleaning cycle. The Dolphin Premier comes with the full filter indicator feature.

Operational Features

   Remote control
The Dolphin Premier is capable of using a physical remote. However, this is an optional accessory that is not included in the standard equipment.
   Weekly timer
The weekly timer feature allows you to select days for the robot to automatically clean. The weekly timer allows you to select every day, every other day, or every 3rd day.

Other features

   Anti-tangle swivel cable
The anti-tangle swivel cable is a patented feature of many Dolphin pool robots and prevents the cable from getting twisted during the cleaning cycle. The Dolphin Premier comes with this feature.
   Quick water release
The quick water release feature allows water to quickly be removed from the robot as the unit is being pulled from the swimming pool after a cleaning cycle. The Dolphin Premier comes with the quick water release feature.
   Cable length
The Dolphin Premier pool cleaner comes with a cable that has a length of 60 feet.
   Unit weight
The weight of the Dolphin Premier unit is 20 pounds.

Optional Accessories

   Caddy
The purpose of the caddy is to hold the Dolphin pool cleaner and power supply in place while the unit is not in the swimming pool during its cleaning cycle.
   Caddy cover
The caddy cover is used to protect the robot and power supply from the elements. If a caddy is purchased, the cover is highly recommended since it will protect the power supply when it rains. As a reminder, the power supply is splash-proof but not water-proof so it should not be exposed to rain.

Summary

The Dolphin Premier is an advanced model. These models clean the floor and walls and provide great performance at a low cost. The higher end models in this class will also clean the waterline.

While the Dolphin Premier is a quite capable unit, we don't recommend since it is more expensive than the top selling Dolphin S300 which has the same features that we look for in a Dolphin pool cleaner of this class.

There are several aspects of the Premier which make it prohibitively expensive and less desirable than the Dolphin S300 and other models:

Bottom loaded- because the filters are on the bottom of the unit, it requires you to turn over the robot to gain access to them. Because the unit weighs 20 pounds, it is not an easy task. The S300 and mostly ever other Dolphin provides access from the top of the unit which provides easy and comfortable access to retrieve the filters from the robot. The Premier was never redesigned for top loaded filter access.

Dual motors- because the Premier is designed with two motors, it requires more parts to operate. If one of the motors fails, the unit becomes inoperable and expensive to repair. While the Premier is promoted with this feature, we feel this design was over-engineered since all Dolphin robots make multiple passes over the cleaning surfaces while performing a cleaning cycle.

Filter bag- while the Premier comes with a bag that is advertised to collect more leaves, this is overcome by the new designs of the Dolphins which have top loaded larger filter baskets. Besides having to store the filter bag when not in use, you have to flip the unit which weighs 20 pounds upside down to change the filter cartridges and replace them with the bag. Unfortunately, this feature is used by very few customers but the cost of it is passed onto the consumer.

No quick clean mode- the standard features of the Dolphin Premier does not allow you run the unit and only clean the floor. The Dolphin S300 includes this feature which allows you to run a cleaning cycle of one hour where the robot will only clean the floor. This is useful when you are having a swimming pool party in an hour and you want to do a quick cleaning of the pool.

No smartphone capability- while a physical remote is available at an additional cost to the consumer, the Dolphin Premier is not capable of using a smartphone to set cleaning schedules and do spot cleaning while the newer higher end models include this capability. Unfortunately, the Premier is showing its age by not having this feature which has been available for several years now in the other models.

Lastly, the cost of the Premier is more expensive than the top selling S300. We suspect the higher pricing is related to the fact that the Dolphin Premier is a private label model and more money is spent in advertising the product which is then passed onto you the consumer.

Interested in the Dolphin S300? For over a decade, Pool Partz has been the exclusive reseller of Maytronics certified refurbished Dolphin pool robots that come directly from the manufacturer in GA. These units sell out quickly because of their popularity in the cost savings that they provide and have the same quality standards as a new Dolphin pool robot.