There’s really nothing like having your own robotic pool cleaner to do the dirty, weekend-long work of scrubbing away dirt and algae.
With a robotic pool cleaner at your disposal, specifically a Maytronics-made product of beauty, you’ll have more time to enjoy swimming in your pool than experiencing the misery of cleaning up after everyone else.
The Dolphin Saturn was released roughly four years ago, but it remains one of the most relevant, most reliable robotic pool cleaners today.
This compact little robot does everything you’d expect and much, much more. Let’s take a look at what the Saturn is packing and what it can deliver.
Cleaning Performance
The Saturn isn’t as feature-rich as many of its brother and sister Dolphin models, but don’t mistake its simplicity for low-quality performance.
In fact, performance-wise, the Saturn is in the same league as the best entry-level robots, and that’s saying something.
This robotic pool cleaner uses a single active brushroll in the front to remove embedded dirt and algae spots from slippery pool tiles. The brushroll then pushes the collected debris into the suction inlet where the Saturn is equipped to move upwards of 3,500 gallons of water every hour.
The rear brushroll moves with the tracks and does a decent job at scrubbing the pool’s base. Running this robot throughout its 2-hour cleaning cycle will produce noticeably cleaner pool water.
HyperGrip Tracks
Like most modern robotic pool cleaners, the Saturn uses a set of extra-grippy tracks to move around at the bottom of the pool and scale walls. They provide enough traction so the Saturn doesn’t go toppling over when climbing and cleaning walls.
However, being a more basic pool cleaner, its jets and high-grip tracks do not allow it to stay afloat and scrub your pool’s waterline. Here, you’ll have to get down on your hands and knees with your old reliable scrubber and get to work.
CleverClean Navigation Software
Similar to most Dolphin robots we’ve reviewed, the Saturn comes preinstalled with CleverClean technology, one of the most trustworthy and comprehensive navigation systems around.
The Saturn uses a series of sensors to scan its surroundings in order to create an accurate digital layout of your pool. Its algorithm then uses the stored map to create the quickest cleaning path to make the best use out of its 2-hour cleaning cycle.
Though an excellent piece of navigation technology, CleverClean isn’t 100% foolproof, especially around pool stairs where immediate changes in terrain can throw the robot off its course. Once again, you’ll need to take your scrubber and skimmer to manually clean certain parts of your pool.
Single Top-Loaded Filter Basket
The Saturn comes with a single fine-filter basket that traps particles up to 50 microns in size. Granted, this isn’t the finest Dolphin filter available, but you can also install ultra-fine filters (30 microns) in the basket (sold separately).
Removing and cleaning the filter is easy thanks to the quick-drain system that allows water to flow freely through the robot when pulled out of the water.
Programmable Weekly Scheduler
This robotic pool cleaner comes with a simple programmable weekly scheduler where users can set it up to clean automatically every day, every two days, or every three days.
Setting up the scheduler is done on the controller module connected to the Saturn via a 50-foot power cord.
50-foot Power Cord
The long power cord allows the Saturn to cover all bases of pools of up to 33 feet in length. However, what’s surprising is that unlike most Dolphin models, this robot doesn’t come with the 360° anti-tangle swivel cord—it won’t tug on the cord or cause damage to the wiring, but it does inhibit movement somewhat.
No Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Compatibility
Because this is an entry-level robotic pool cleaner, you don’t get nearly as many control features as you would in Maytronics’ high-end robots. The Saturn is incompatible with the Dolphin app so manual steering, receiving reports, and scheduling via a smart device is out of the question.
However, this isn’t a deal-breaker by any means; the controller module provides you with everything you need to get started.
Verdict: Is the Dolphin Saturn Automatic Robotic Pool Cleaner Worth It?
Seeing as how the Dolphin Saturn isn’t a high-end model, you can’t reasonably expect the Dolphin Saturn to do everything to perfection. That being said, it’s as near to perfect as you can get with an entry-level robot—high-quality scrubbing, near-flawless navigation and obstacle evasion, and a programmable scheduler for added convenience.
If you have an in-ground pool that measures less than 33 feet in length, then the Dolphin Saturn might is an excellent robotic pool cleaner option.
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Last update on 2023-06-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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