Okay, so I finally got my hands on the Dolphin S300i. I’ve been wanting a robotic pool cleaner for ages, and after seeing a bunch of reviews, I decided to go with this one. Let me tell you, setting this thing up and watching it go was a pretty cool experience.
Unboxing and First Impressions
First things first, I opened the box. Everything was packed in there pretty neatly. I pulled out the robot itself – it’s not super heavy, but it feels solid, you know? Then there’s the power supply unit, which is surprisingly compact. I also found the floating cable, all nicely coiled up. I quickly read through the instruction manual, which seemed simple enough.
Getting it Ready
So, the first real step was connecting the cable. I plugged the blue floating cable into the power supply. It only goes in one way, so you can’t really mess that up. Then I made sure the power supply was positioned at least 12 feet away from the edge of the pool – safety first, right?
Next, I unwound the floating cable. I had to release enough of it that robot could reach the full distance of the pool and then some.
Into the Pool!
Lowering the Dolphin into the pool was the next step. I just held it by the handle and gently dropped it in. It sank to the bottom pretty quickly. I made sure the cable wasn’t tangled or anything, and then I hit the power button on the power supply.
Watching it Work
This is where the magic happened. The S300i just started moving on its own! It went back and forth across the bottom of the pool, systematically covering every inch. I could see it climbing the walls too, all the way up to the waterline. It’s pretty mesmerizing to watch, honestly. It picked up leaves, dirt, and even some small twigs – stuff that my old manual vacuum always struggled with.
The Cleaning Cycle
I just let the robot work through the entire cleaning cycle. And it took about 2 hours.
- The robot moved.
- It cleaned.
- It automatically shut off.
Pulling it Out and Cleaning Up
Once it was done, I carefully pulled the Dolphin out of the pool using the cable. I didn’t lift it by the cable, though – I used the handle once I got it close enough to the surface. Then came the slightly less fun part: cleaning the filter basket. I opened up the top of the robot, took out the basket, and hosed it down. It was pretty full of gunk, so I’m glad I didn’t have to deal with that manually anymore!
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’m super happy with the Dolphin S300i. It saved me a ton of time and effort, and my pool looks cleaner than it has in years. It’s definitely an investment, but if you’re tired of manually cleaning your pool, I’d say it’s worth considering. The whole process, from unboxing to seeing the clean pool, was pretty straightforward. And I love the fact that it’s automatic, it’s a total game changer!