Onwards to new and better things. The Dolphin Endeavor is an interesting machine. In many ways it resembles the Atlantis, with its low center of gravity and twin handles. The yellow finish is gone, in its place is a lovely rich read plastic top section. On the inside there are few differences, though there is one big difference that I will be going into more detail down in the features section. It is pretty common for companies to reuse stamped parts when designing a new product, but here the similarities do not end with the externals. The feature set is identical too.
This is by no means a bad product, that must be stated clearly. The core feature set of any Dolphin product tends to surpass most other companies offerings in the same price range. But that’s enough conjecture in the opening section. Read on for the full breakdown, and for once a surprise twist ending.
Maytronics Dolphin Endeavor Design and Build Quality
Overall I was impressed with the quality of this build. I love the Atlantis chassis, and it is nice to see it in a different color. Whether this bot outranks the Atlantis overall will come down to one thing though, the price.
Maytronics Dolphin Endeavor Features and Specs
I have already mentioned that this is essentially the Dolphin Atlantis with a new coat of paint, so the feature set is, as you might imagine, identical. This is an in ground pool cleaner with a 60′ swivel cable. It is tangle resistant, and as you might know by now, cord tangling is one of the main reasons for cycle stoppages. Few companies give this much thought, so it is nice to see this on a relatively low end machine. not only does this bot clean the floor, it can also make the 90 degree floor to wall transition, and climbs it all the way to the lip. Again, not a feature of many low end machines from other firms, and speaks volumes on Dolphin’s dedication to high quality products.
The build is small, and weighs a mere 18.75 pounds, the short handles are not much of an issue considering how light weight the build is. The internal filter pump is Dolphin’s usual high powered pump, able to filter 4,233 gallons of water every hour. Shortest cycle time is 3 hours, again matching the Atlantis. Not the fastest time I have seen, but fast enough for most purposes.
For a bare bones device this build sure is packed full of features. I am a fan of Dolphin’s builds in general, but I am a bigger fan of a bargain, so we shall see if this one if worth you money in just a moment.
Maytronics Dolphin Endeavor Ease of Use
I only review easy to use products. I use this section mainly to inform you of the other options out there that are less easy to use, warn you against them, then tell you the nitty gritty about day to day use of the robotic pool cleaner in question. All in one units are so prevalent these days due to the power in mini pumps. There are options out there that require connection to an external pump system, but considering that even the meanest of robotic pool cleaner can process 4,322 gallons of water an hour I see little point in them.
The Endeavor is an all in one unit, plug and play. Simply select the cycle and drop it in the water. it will do the rest. The light weigh nature of the machine makes getting it out of the water for cleaning simple, and the handles are a nice touch too. There is one minor issue with this build though. the bottom loading filter mesh is silly. I know that Dolphin can make top loading filter mesh systems, so seeing this here is not great.
The mesh system is the main difference between this and the Atlantis. The Atlantis uses a filter bag, that can be converted to filter mesh, while this uses a filter mesh that can be converted to a bag system. I believe this is simple an Atlantis that starts with the filter mesh. Now the Atlantis was a great machine, marred only by a high price. Let’s see if the Endeavor is worth the money.
Maytronics Dolphin Endeavor Pricing, Value, & Discounts
The other major cost is the cost per cycle. Now with an Aquabot robotic pool cleaner I can be very specific here. they release the full power consumption information on all of their bots. Not the case with Maytronics, so you have the estimate. Use 180 W as a base power consumption figure and slot that into the price per kilowatt hour in your area. It should come out to a little over 10c per cycle. Not a big price at face value, but it does add up, so best to consider it at the beginning.
Now the warranty. I spend a good portion of my time reading through warranties and making sure you are not getting ripped off. My critique of the limited warranty from Aquabot should be evidence enough of that. I was looking forward to breaking down the bumper to bumper warranty from Maytronics for their Dolphin line, but after much digging I discovered that it is not available in full. I have contacted them regarding this, and expect to hear back from them later in the week, but as it stands I cannot pass judgement on the value of their 24 month bumper to bumper warranty on the Endeavor.
Maytronics Dolphin Endeavor Conclusion
This is a great buy. the price is a little less than the Atlantic, the mesh filter system is in built, the color is great, really this is everything you need in a robotic pool cleaner. I would like more information on the warranty, and the bottom loading filter bag is ludicrous, but for the most part this is great. If you are in the market at this price range it is one to consider.
Pros:
- Automatic, requires no supervision.
- Anti tangle cable
- Cleans walls
- Weekly timer function
- Wonderful simplicity
- Excellent price
Cons:
- Bottom loading filter
- Warranty info is light on the ground.
