Dolphin do update their range quite often, however generally updates are fairly minor so you can grab bargains by picking up older models, perhaps via eBay or other classifieds websites like our very own pool cleaner store right here at cleanerpoolsonline.com

The current range of Dolphin pool cleaners stretches to about ten models of pool cleaner, for below ground pools, above ground pools, commercial and residential pool cleaning applications. So there is a model out there for everyone, from the robo-kleen for above ground, smaller residential swimming pools to the Dolphin 2×2, which is almost two dolphin pool cleaners in one, designed for larger commercial pool cleaning functions.

But there are alternatives to the Dolphin pool cleaner range, aquabot is a large and increasingly popular brand, SmartPool are promoting their new Nitro robotic pool cleaner, which has bags of unique selling points, and SmartPool claim to be a truly revolutionary robotic pool cleaner, for in ground pools.

It’s well worth taking your time when shopping around for your ideal pool cleaner, don’t always go for your first choice before researching this ever increasingly competitive market, there’s plenty of choice in pool cleaner and Dolphin pool cleaner will have to keep pushing their own range forward to keep ahead of the market.

The Kreepy Krauly really is the Granddaddy of the dolphin automatic pool cleaner, in fact it’s really the granddaddy of all automatic pool cleaners, and it wasn’t born in the USA as you may expect, but in South Africa, the brain child of Ferdinand Chauvier, who himself had travelled to South Africa from the Belgian Congo.

Chauvier quickly spotted a demand for an easier and more efficient way to clean swimming pools, and in 1974, 23 years after moving to South Africa, and around ten years before the Dolphin pool cleaner came into being, the Kreepy Krauly was born.  The company is now America owned, and offers a range of other pool maintenance products, but the Kreepy Krauly itself remains true to the original concept, and while not as smart perhaps as the fully automatic, robotic pool cleaners offered by the likes of the Dolphin pool cleaner, the Kreepy Krauly is without doubt a great time saving pool servicing tool.

Fortunately though, that doesn’t always have to be the case.  Those with above ground pools, such as your author here, can have a little of the good thing that is a robotic pool cleaner, although the Dolphin Robo-kleen cleaner will not climb your pool walls, it is designed with above ground pools in mind.

The Robo-Kleen is a lighter and smaller cleaner than your regular Dolphin pool cleaner, but it also also costs a great deal less than your regular Dolphin pool cleaner, as you might expect.

As with all robotic pool cleaners the Robo-Kleen is operated in a set it and forget it manner.  You plug it in, pop it in your pool, and it scoots around the base of your flat bottomed, dished or foot printed pool.

The Robo-Kleen will swallow up small particles, as well as larger objects such as leaves and other swimming pool debris, saving you time, and saving your pool filter work in the process.

It may not be as impressive as those fully automatic, robotic wall climbing pool cleaners those with below ground pools can enjoy, but this particular Dolphin pool cleaner is well worth considering for those with above ground pools. 

We have taken some time to find independent reviews of various products from the Dolphin pool cleaner range, and what we found, it must be said, was overall extremely positive.

Most reviews, it seems, came from owners who had previously owned some form of automatic swimming pool cleaner previously, be it a dolphin automatic pool cleaner or another brand, most commonly Aquabot, who really seem to be Dolphin’s main competitor in the robotic or automatic pool cleaner market, although probably lesser known and with perhaps less international outlets.

One review of the dolphin diagnostic robotic pool cleaner found on pricegrabber.com starts with the summary “Just plain AMAZING!!!!!!! Worth every penny”, the only faults the reviewer in question could find to comment on were the colour choices and high price. According to the review the dolphin pool cleaner cleaned their 20 x 40 in-ground vinyl pool in less than two hours, cleaning also took minutes in total.

A reviewer from amazon.com on the Dolphin automatic pond cleaner with caddy gave a slightly more conservative four star review, and even gives the remote control a cautious thumbs up as being handy to send the unit back to pick up a missed leaf from the base of the swimming pool.

Epinions.com carries a review of the Dolphin dynamic pool cleaner with remote, again we step down a star to three stars in this instance. The main concerns raised with the pool cleaner revolved around the power cord, which could apparently become tangled and interfere with proper sweeping of the floor, and the fact the unit could come up the pool walls too high and “gulp” air, meaning it would fail to submerge properly back into the swimming pool. At the time of writing the viewer seemed more inclined to swap back to an Aquabot unit rather than replace the cleaner with another Dolphin product when the time came for a replacement.

On amazon.com there is another interesting, damning one star review of the dolphin automatic pool cleaner with caddy, however this is countered by a reply which offers a glowing endorsement of using the unit to clean a swimming pool overnight following an Arizona dust storm. So make of that what you will.

Feel free to share your own experiences of the Dolphin pool cleaner, Aquabot or others with us here at CleanerPoolsOnline.com.