Is the Dolphin Sigma one of the best Dolphin robotic pool cleaners that are available online? The Sigma is definitely one of the best internet-only Dolphin residential robotic pool cleaners. It is in the same class as the Triton PS Plus and the Proteus DX5i. Those are some upper class pool cleaning robots! My review of the Dolphin Sigma robotic pool cleaner sums up its key features, benefits and problems.
Dolphin Sigma: Key Features
The Dolphin Sigma is suitable for all pool surface types, while its cleaning coverage includes the floor, walls and the waterline. The Sigma can be remotely controlled with your fingertips by using the MyDolphin Plus App on your smartphone. Here are its main features:
- Advanced gyroscopic smart navigation and scanning software increase cleaning efficiency.
- Anti-tangling cable with swivel reduces twisting problems.
- Automatic 2.5-hour cleaning cycle plus weekly schedule function.
- Control the pool robot via Bluetooth connection with smartphone app.
- Dual-scrubbing brushes remove dirt, algae and bacteria.
- It cleans and climbs floor, wall and waterline.
- Made for cleaning residential swimming pools up to 50 feet.
- Top-loading cartridge filters capture fine debris and dirt.
Benefits And Problems
The Dolphin Sigma is easy to get working right out of the box when compared to suction or pressure pool cleaners. There are no hoses to connect and no extra pumps or fittings to install. The robotic pool cleaner has its own motors and filters: as a result, the pool filter will require less backwashing. This means wasting less water and pool chemicals.
The Dolphin Sigma does not have its own caddy. Nevertheless, the Dolphin Premier caddy is available separately (view it on Amazon) and seems to work for a few Dolphin pool cleaners, including the Sigma. The benefits of a caddy are easy transportation and convenient storage. The caddy elevates the robot so that its rubber roller brushes are not flattened by the weight of the pool cleaner during storage.
The Sigma does well to clean the floor of the swimming pool, yet it might get stuck on the main drain. This is unfortunately an issue with a lot of other pool robots as well. Of course, it might depend on the shape of the main drain.
The Dolphin Sigma does not have a remote control. Instead, it requires a smartphone in order to remotely control the robotic pool cleaner. However, controlling the robot is still a somewhat slow and frustrating experience. You will eventually direct it to the spot that it missed, but it might test your patience.
Dolphin Sigma vs. Premier
The key difference is that the Premier still has the older Dolphin pool robot design with its bottom-loading filters. Then again, it does have the option of using either an oversized leaf bag or cartridge filters. If you are not a fan of filter bags, then this is not an important point for you.
Some features are similar such as the weekly timer, 4500 GPH suction rate and 60-foot power cable with tangle-free swivel. However, the Dolphin Sigma has an onboard gyroscope, three DC motors and smartphone app remote control. The Dolphin Premier has two DC motors and is not Bluetooth capable, but an optional remote control unit is available.
These Dolphin robotic pool cleaners are expensive models. They both have recommended retail prices of more than $1000, yet a caddy is not included. The least they could do is include a caddy when you pay that much for a pool cleaner.
Dolphin Sigma vs. Nautilus CC Plus
The main similarities are the top-loading cartridge filters, anti-tangle swivel, smart navigation and weekly scheduler.
The key difference is that the Nautilus CC Plus does not clean the waterline. Nonetheless, it can now also be controlled with the MyDolphin Plus smartphone app. Overall, the Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus is the slightly more popular and affordable choice. You can learn more about the Nautilus robotic pool cleaners by reading my review.
Dolphin Sigma: Q&A
It seems like the Sigma does not ship with its own dedicated caddy in spite of its high price tag. The Dolphin pool robot caddy is compatible with both the Sigma and the Premier, but you will have to find and buy it separately.
The floating power cable is 60 feet long. That should be enough power cord to cover most swimming pools of about 40 to 50 feet.
For the most part, the anti-tangle swivel device does a good job of preventing the cord from twisting like a pretzel. Even so, you might have to occasionally lay it out straight in warm sunlight to remove one or two inevitable twists.
It seems that a few owners have encountered this problem during operation for the reason that the Dolphin sigma does not have a brush in the center. Therefore, it has no way to brush itself loose from the main drain. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do about it, except to gently pull it off the drain with the floating power cord until it gets going again (or use the smartphone app to move it).
For the most part, it climbs and scrubs both the walls and the waterline of an inground swimming pool.
Conclusion
The Dolphin Sigma provides a lot of features, but you certainly pay the price for those extra things. It offers smart navigation with advanced algorithms and onboard gyroscope, although I am not sure how that actually works. The gyroscope probably helps the pool robot to make sense of its orientation when it is tilting at an angle.
The anti-tangle swivel device provides 360-degree rotation for the floating power cord which significantly reduces tangling problems. The robot cleans all the pool surfaces from the floor to the wall and the waterline. However, it might not clean the stairs.
Its dual scrubbing brushes scrub the pool surface to remove algae and bacteria. The top-loading filter cartridges capture the dirt and debris. The Dolphin Sigma has Bluetooth and can be remotely controlled with your smartphone.
To sum up, the Dolphin Sigma is a bit more powerful than other Dolphin robotic pool cleaners due to its three motors. It has the gyroscope system and Bluetooth remote control. Is it worth paying a few hundred dollars extra for these features? If you want one of the best inground robotic pool cleaners, then you should take a closer look at the Dolphin Sigma (click here for current pricing on Amazon).