Dolphin Escape: Above Ground Pool Cleaner With Rubber Tracks

The Dolphin Escape is the Maytronics company’s new pool robot for above ground residential swimming pools that is only available online. Can you escape from manual pool maintenance by using this robotic pool cleaner?

Which pools can the Dolphin Escape clean?

This robotic pool cleaner is designed for above ground swimming pools. It works on most surfaces such as gunite, plaster, fiberglass and vinyl. It has a 40-foot cable: for that reason, it can only clean above ground pools that are up to 30 feet in size.

You can read my Cayman review if you want a Dolphin robotic pool cleaner for inground pools that looks similar to the Escape.

Can the Dolphin Escape clean an Intex above ground pool?

It will clean an Intex above ground pool with a vinyl surface. A few people have used it for cleaning either a 24′ by 12′ or 32′ by 16′ pool size. They were satisfied with its performance. It is not recommended for anything larger than 30 feet due to the pool robot’s 40-foot power cord.

How does the Dolphin Escape work?

The power supply unit plugs into a 115-volt wall outlet. A 40-foot rubber cable sends the power to the two 24-volt DC motors inside the pool robot. These energy efficient DC motors power the continuous tracks and the spinning brush. There are no belts that need replacement: direct drive systems are used.

The rubber tracks give better traction with less slippage on pool surfaces. It also distributes the weight of the pool robot more evenly and give it better traction when rolling over obstacles such as drains.

Continuous rubber tracks provide better grip.

The Dolphin Escape pool cleaner has the new patented Hyperbrush which spins twice as fast as other rotating brushes. This gives it double the scrubbing power to remove lingering algae and tenacious dirt.

The dirty water and debris is vacuumed through the top-load large internal filter cartridge basket by the pool robot’s internal pump. The filter basket traps leaves and debris, but it is not fine enough to catch all the tiny particles. It seems that the pool robot is shipped with a mesh filter basket. However, you might be able to buy an ultra-fine filter cartridge basket so that it can be more efficient at removing finer contaminants such as silt, sand and algae (view ultra-fine filter basket on Amazon).

The filter cartridge basket is removed from the top of the pool robot. Throw out the debris and rinse it clean before returning it. Still, it would have been nice if an ultra-fine filter cartridge was also included in the package. Instead, you now have to buy it separately.

This robotic pool cleaner uses a microprocessor controlled smart navigation system to scan and map the pool. It tries to determine the best pattern for cleaning the swimming pool without aimlessly cleaning the same spots. It also scans the pool for obstacles such as ladders and drains in order to avoid getting stuck in those places.

How long does the Dolphin Escape clean?

It has a 90-minute (1.5 hours) cleaning cycle, and it will turn itself off after cleaning for that time duration. This is probably long enough for a mostly clean above ground pool. However, you might have to run it for an additional cleaning cycle if the pool is very dirty with debris.

How well does it vacuum leaves and debris?

The Escape robotic pool cleaner seems to be good at vacuuming leaves. It has a large suction port and a large mesh filter basket which holds a good amount of debris. Nevertheless, it might be a good idea to trim the trees and remove most of the leaves before dropping the robot into the pool at the start of the swimming season. You might have to clean out the filter basket a few times if you do not remove excess leaves. If you do not mind doing this, then the robot will eventually vacuum up the leaves from the pool bottom.

Dolphin Escape filtration cartridge basket
A large mesh filter basket holds a lot of leaves.

Does it vacuum away algae?

Algae do not escape the notice of this pool robot. However, the standard filter cartridge might not be fine enough to trap all the dead algae. You could upgrade it with an ultra-fine filter to trap finer stuff such as algae and silt.

How well does it climb walls?

The last time I checked, the specifications of the Dolphin Escape on the Maytronics website stated that the cleaning coverage is floor only. This might explain why some owners complain that it does not climb the walls of their swimming pools. This pool robot will definitely not try to escape from the pool by climbing up to the waterline.

Dolphin Escape vs. Pool Rover S2-40i

The Pool Rover S2-40i is probably the nearest alternative for the Escape because they are both above ground pool robots. They both have 40-foot power cables, but the Pool Rover has an anti-tangle swivel cable.

These robotic pool cleaners have top-access filter compartments. However, the Escape has a filter cartridge while the Pool Rover still uses filter bags. The filter cartridge basket is probably easier to remove and clean when compared to the bag system.

These above ground pool robots clean the floor of an above ground swimming pool. However, the Pool Rover still has wheels while the Escape has rubber tracks that offer better traction. The Escape also has smart navigation pool scanning software. It has a 90-minute cleaning cycle, while the S2-40 can clean for either 60 or 120 minutes.

The Dolphin Escape costs almost twice as much as the Aquabot Pool Rover S2-40i (reviewed here). However, the Pool Rover S2-40i has an anti-tangle cable swivel device to reduce cable tangling problems, while the Escape does not have a swivel cable. This is one feature that could have been included when you look at its price tag. Nonetheless, the Escape is a more advanced above ground pool cleaner than the Pool Rover S2-40i.

Conclusion

The Dolphin Escape pool robot is shipped with a standard mesh filter, which is good for picking up leaves and acorns, but not so good for trapping all the tiny sand particles and algae. The ultra-fine filter basket should really be included when you consider the significant price you pay for this pool robot.

The Escape has a 40-foot cable without an anti-tangle swivel. You have to unplug and untangle the cord when it becomes twisted. Furthermore, its 1.5-hour cleaning cycle might not be enough to clean large above ground pools completely.

To conclude, the Dolphin Escape is a little expensive, but it is probably one of the top-rated robotic pool cleaners for above ground swimming pools. Be that as it may, consumers seem to be divided on whether it is worth the money or not (check price on Amazon).