Sunday, November 3, 2024

Dolphin Supreme M400 Review – Robotic Pool Cleaner Review

I have spent too long with the Aquabot series of robotic pool cleaners. I am glad to be moving onto Maytronic, a company known for sleek full featured builds that are both high quality and expertly targeted to different demographics. The Supreme series is something of an upgrade over the DX series, they both function well, but there are quite a few design decisions in the Supreme bots that I am a big fan of. I have made it my mission over the last few weeks to sort out the good robotic pool cleaners from the bad, I know what features are great, and I know when a firm is slapping a pointless feature on a product in order to sell it for a slightly higher price. Maytronic tends to not do that, but rest assured that when i call a feature unnecessary, I mean it.

The M400 is an upgrade over the M200, and some of the added features are fantastic. Maytronics standard practice when introducing a new range is to build three models. A basic model, a mid range and an advanced. The added features for each bot in the range tends to be similar, remote controls, notifications etc. I love the regimented style, as it makes it very easy to decide what features are worth it for you.

So let’s dig right in, see if this is the right product for you.

Maytronics Dolphin Supreme M400 Design and Build Quality

Dolphin M500 Bag I do not review knock off products, so this section is becoming a little repetitive. The pieces fit flush and there is little rattle in the M400, that is how you can tell you have a high quality build. If you find your robotic pool cleaner is making a lot of noise when you pick it up then you either have a bad pool cleaner or a defective product and you should seek a product exchange. The Aesthetics here are similar to the higher level DX machine, but with a nicer blue plastic finish. I am not a fan of the look, but it at least looks rough and ready. The elongated handle is fantastic though.

Interesting side note here, the M400, M500 and the Liberty all share the same look, the differences are all on the inside. Fantastic quality here though.

Maytronics Dolphin Supreme M400 Features and Specs

First let’s see what this shares in common with the M200. They are both for in ground pool only, so be sure to check out some of my other reviews for above ground pool cleaning robots, plenty of options there. The core feature set is here, cleans pool floors and can climb the pool wall all the way to the lip. Plenty of robotic pool cleaners can’t do the 90 degree transition to the wall, but Dolphin pool cleaners have that as a universal feature, and it really increases their utility. The 60′ swivel cable is here, which is tangle resistant, and the Supreme series all use a mesh screen filter system instead of a filter bag. I much prefer this not only for the quality of the filtration, but also for the lack of expense long term when buying replacements.

New features include a full filter indicator, which increases the utility of the week timer function, and a third brush. The third underside brush gives us not only a deeper clean, but also a faster clean, with an average cycle time of 2.5 hours, thirty minutes faster than the M200. The best of these newly added features is the rudimentary remote control options. It isn’t 1:1 control, but you can use the remote to guide the M400 to certain areas in the pool that you feel require more attention. At 22 pounds this build is a little more cumbersome than the M200, but the longer handle compensates for that nicely. The pump used is the standard 4,233 gallon per hour Maytronic pool pump, a powerful self contained pump.

In all this is a very similar feature set to the DX4, but with all the benefits of the Supreme series streamlining. Top loading the filter, and switching to a filter mesh system address two of the biggest problems I had with that line.

Maytronics Dolphin Supreme M400 Ease of Use

There are really only two kinds of robotic pool cleaner really. the easy to use and the not so easy to use. There not so easy to use machines all require advanced set up with an external pump system to work. I am not a fan of theme, in this day and age we can make mini pumps that are more than sufficient to clean a pool well. The M400 is a plug and play device, a self contained unit. In order to use it all you have to do is plug it in and drop it in the pool. done. There are a few more options with this model that are not seen in the M200, making it a little harder to use, but they are presented cleanly. The remote has a few cycle options and some minor manual control options. The only real issue I have with the M400, and this extends to the M500 as well, is the weight. Maytronics have done their best to make this as light weight as possible, but 22 pounds still fairly hefty. The handle mitigates the issue somewhat though.

With the DX series I was critical of the bottom loading filter bag system it uses. I am glad to say that issue has been resolved, the Supreme series of bots all use a top loading mesh filter system instead, and it is much easier to replace filters here. The only issue there is the fact that you have to clean the bot more often.

Overall there are few issues with this build. I love the top loading filter, and the remote does not take long to get to grips with. Biggest issue is cleaning the whole bot out when it gets full, but it is as easy as cleaning a filter bag.

Maytronics Dolphin Supreme M400 Pricing, Value, & Discounts

Dolphin M400 in water The price is the deciding factor for most of us, and Dolphin pool cleaners tend to run a little higher than their counterparts over at Aquabot. i would argue you get more for your money though. The M400 runs between $900-$1200. We have reached the point of post $1000. If that is out of your range you could shop around, maybe go second hand, but that would lose you a warranty. I always point out the real reason to buy a robotic pool cleaner. You are buying time, few things can say the same. Any robotic pool cleaner will allow you to spend you leisure time on actual leisure activities, reading, writing, watching TV, maybe swimming? No matter what one you buy they will have paid you back in time within a year.

The other major cost to take into account with a robotic pool cleaner is the cost to run the machine. With the Aquabot range I was able to breakdown the actual running cost, as they released the power draw of all of their machines. Maytronic has not done so for the Dolphin range. They claim an average cycle cost 15c, but they say that of all of their products. You need to take a look at the price per kilowatt hour in your area. I don’t imagine it will be much per, but that will add up, and should be considered when buying.

The warranty from Maytronics should be fantastic. At least when I look at the coverage period it seem so, but they do not have detailed warranty information available for me to confirm. I have contacted the firm and hope to receive the full details of their various warranties soon, but as it stands I cannot give a real breakdown. The M400 is listed as having a 36 month bumper to bumper warranty. I will update this review with more detail when Maytronic respond to my inquiries.

Maytronics Dolphin Supreme M400 Conclusion

Feeling a little ambivalent about this one to be honest. the price is a bit of a jump from the M200, and the feature set, while impressive, seems a little lighter than I would like for the added cash. The lack of real warranty information further compounds my issues with this build. Perhaps that will change when I find out how full the coverage is, but probably not. I would recommend the DX4 over this, and the M200 over both.

Pros:

  • Automatic, requires no supervision.
  • Rudimentary remote control options
  • Cleans walls well
  • Weekly timer frees up more of your time.
  • Excellent price.
  • Top loading mesh system

Cons:

  • You have to clean out the machine itself rather than just a filter bag.
  • A little more expensive than I would like at the moment.
  • Warranty info is light on the ground.

 

Barry W Stanton
Barry W Stanton
Irish born writer who drinks too much caffeine and reads too much Terry Pratchett. I enjoy long walks on the server and Korean cuisine.
RELATED ARTICLES

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here