If you’re looking for an easier way to keep your pool sparkling clean with hassle-free cleaning, you’ve come to the right place.
Dolphin Explorer E20 is a great robotic pool cleaner designed to clean your pool thoroughly, leaving you with more time to relax and enjoy your backyard oasis.
In this review, we’ll take a closer look at the Dolphin Explorer E20, its features, and its performance, so you can make an informed decision about whether this pool cleaner is right for you.
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At a glance
Last update on 2024-04-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
1-minute Dolphin Explorer E20 review
The Dolphin Explorer E20 is an easy-to-use and efficient robotic pool cleaner. It’s designed to automatically clean small in-ground swimming pools, and with its scrubbing capabilities and superior coverage, you can relax and enjoy your pool without worrying about cleaning.
The Explorer E20 uses a high-speed scrubber, strong suction, and a large filter basket to remove debris and dirt particles from your pool. Its powerful motor can circulate up to 4000 gallons of pool water per hour, and it takes only 2 hours to clean your pool thoroughly.
And with its programmable weekly timer, you can schedule cleaning sessions and forget about manual cleaning.
- Very efficient and easy to use
- Climbs and cleans pool walls
- Durable scrubbing brush
- Has automation mode and weekly timer
- Comes with a 2-year warranty
- Power cable gets tangled
- No waterline scrubbing
- Pool caddy is sold separately
Last update on 2024-04-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Let’s take a closer look
How the Dolphin Explorer E20 works
Dolphin Explorer E20 robotic pool cleaner is all about seamless pool cleaning, it’s equipped with an active scrubbing brush that can really get in there and scrub the pool’s floor and walls. This is no ordinary brush, it’s an intense scrubber that can really get the job done. Plus, with the grippy rubber tracks, it can cling to the walls and floor with ease.
Next up is the filtration system. As the scrubber dislodges dirt from the pool surfaces, this Dolphin Explorer robotic pool cleaner uses a strong suction to filter the swimming pool water at the rate of 4000 GPH. The debris then gets trapped in a large filter basket that is conveniently located at the top of the robot. It’s easy to access through a latch, so you can clean it out quickly and easily.
The motor on the Explorer E20 is powerful enough to drive the grippy rubber tracks and dislodge dirt effectively. It’s really quite simple – the brush scrubs, the suction sucks, and the filter basket traps debris. It’s perfect for cleaning the floors, climbing the walls, and scrubbing them all pretty well.
Key features
Super Scrub
The E20 uses a single active scrubbing brush to forcefully dislodge dirt and grime from pool surfaces. This intense scrubbing ensures thorough cleaning.
Easy Access Top Load Filter
The Explorer E20 setup includes an easy access fine filter basket that can capture a range of debris in the pool. The fine filter basket is able to capture large floating debris, small sticks, twigs, small stones, bugs and leaves.
Cleverclean
Like most Dolphin pool robots, the Explorer E20 incorporates Maytronic CleverClean technology to navigate pools efficiently and avoid objects while cleaning. With this navigation software, the robot cuts to the chase and gets the job done without pathetically wandering about and making ridiculous turns.
Weekly timer
The weekly timer feature enables you to choose the days for automated cleaning, with options ranging from daily, every other day, or every third day.
2-hour cleaning
A standard cleaning cycle takes only 2 hours to completely clean a pool. The E20 will take your pool from messy to clean in just 2 hours.
Quick water release
With this feature, once you lift the robot off the pool, water quickly drains from the unit. This makes it easier to pull the E20 out of the pool.
Performance
The cleaning performance of the Dolphin Explorer E20 is truly outstanding. It climbs the walls with no problem, and the suction is super strong. With a standard cleaning cycle that lasts for two hours, it scrubs both the floors and walls of your pool, leaving it looking as good as new.
Explorer E20 is very efficient, and it does a great job of making pool cleaning effortless. Another great thing about the pool robot is its CleverClean technology and obstacle avoidance. This feature ensures that the robot can clean your pool seamlessly, without getting stuck or missing any spots.
And the best part is that it can clean in-ground swimming pools of any shape – whether it’s rectangular, round, kidney-shaped, or free-form – as long as the pool size isn’t above 33 ft.
The Dolphin Explorer E20 robotic pool cleaner is a fantastic investment for anyone with an in-ground pool. It’s easy to use, efficient, and will consistently give you a sparkling clean pool.
Limitations
While the Dolphin Explorer E20 is a good investment, there are a few limitations that you should be aware of before making your purchase.
Firstly, the 50-foot-long cable doesn’t have anti-tangling swivel technology, so you may have to manually straighten it out after each cleaning. This can be a bit of a hassle, but it’s a small inconvenience compared to the benefits of having a clean pool.
Another thing to keep in mind is that while the Dolphin Explorer E20 can clean walls, it doesn’t have waterline cleaning like the Dolphin Sigma, Dolphin E50 and Dolphin Premier. This means that you may have to manually clean the waterline to ensure that your pool is completely clean.
Maytronics also recommends cleaning the Dolphin Explorer E20 after each use, which may be a bit of an inconvenience for some people. It’s not exactly a “set it and forget it” kind of device, like robot vacuums.
But if you’re willing to put in a little extra effort, you’ll be rewarded with a consistently clean pool.
One limitation that did frustrate me personally was finding out that the Dolphin Explorer E20 won’t pick up fine settled dirt or silt with the included filters. I had to spend extra money on ultra-fine filters to get the job done.
While this may be a bit of a letdown, it’s important to remember that the Dolphin Explorer E20 still does an excellent job of cleaning your pool overall.
Ease of set up and use
The Dolphin Explorer E20 is an incredibly user-friendly pool cleaning robot. It’s straightforward to set up and operate, and you don’t have to do any assembly.
You only have to plug in the power cable to an outlet, drop it in the pool, and watch it go. Or you can walk away and come back 2 hours later to a clean pool. And it’s very energy-efficient, unlike pressure and suction cleaners.
You can also schedule it to clean your pool automatically each week using the programmable weekly timer. Although it doesn’t have remote control capabilities, the automation mode makes up for it.
At 13.8 lbs, the Explorer E20 is relatively lightweight, so you can quickly pull it out of the pool.
Reliability
The Dolphin Explorer E20 was designed to effortlessly clean your pool and is easy to use and maintain. With the touch of a button, you can schedule it to clean your pool automatically. As the leading brand in the swimming pool industry, Dolphin robotic pool cleaners are always reliable.
And thanks to its programmable weekly timer, you can set it to clean every day, every other day, or every 3rd day. It’s a convenient feature that makes pool cleaning a breeze.
This pool cleaner is also designed to be easy to clean and maintain. It works great for cleaning fiberglass pools and is able to climb over foot ledges that go around the pool. It even cleans above the waterline, which is a nice touch.
Although it doesn’t have the Dolphin Quick Clean mode, the programmable timer is a great substitute. And while some users have experienced tangling with the 50-foot-long cable, the Explorer E20 is generally a reliable pool cleaner that will keep your pool consistently looking great.
Ongoing maintenance
Maintaining your Dolphin Explorer E20 is a straightforward process, and by following a few simple steps you can help ensure that your Dolphin Explorer E20 stays in good condition for as long as possible.
First, you will need to remove the Explorer E20 from the pool after each cleaning session, discard the debris in the filter basket, and use a garden hose to give it a good rinse.
Note that when using the Dolphin, it’s important to release only enough cable for it to cover your pool properly. Leaving excess cable loosely rolled outside the pool helps to avoid tangling.
Since the cable doesn’t have the anti-tangle swivel technology, it’s recommended that at least once a week, you unplug the cable from the power supply and unwind any tangled portions of the cable. Straighten it out and leave it in the sun for a few hours.
This will help remove any tangling or knots that have developed and keep your cable in good condition. And when storing your Dolphin on a caddy (sold separately), take care to wrap the cable, so it doesn’t develop any tight twists and place it around the top of the caddy.
Extra purchases and ongoing costs
The Explorer E20 pool robot comes with every part you need to get it started, so no extra purchases required, except you need a caddy of course. It has a pool caddy that is sold separately.
It also has some parts that will certainly get worn out with continuous use, and to ensure that the performance of the robot isn’t compromised, these parts will have to be replaced when need be.
Replacement parts like scrubbing brushes and filter baskets are readily available on Amazon, and they don’t cost so much. These parts are also easy to change, and you can figure out how to quickly replace them yourself without technical support.
FAQs
Can the Dolphin E20 be used in an above ground pool?
No, E20 is for in-ground pools, only just like Dolphin Proteus DX4. If you want a Dolphin pool cleaner for above-ground pools, check out the Nautilus or the Escape.
Can it clean vinyl pools?
Yes, it works great with a vinyl lined in-ground pool, including climbing the walls.
Will it clean steps in the pool?
No, it won’t clean pool steps, but it does a pretty good job with the walls of the pool. It may attempt to climb the steps and do a little bit of work on them, but you should expect to manually brush the steps, ledge, and benches if you have those.
Does this work well with rectangular pools?
Yes, it does. It works in swimming pools of any shape, provided the pool is under 33 feet.
Does the 2-year warranty come standard at no cost?
No, there isn’t any additional cost for the 2-year warranty.
Final thoughts
Dolphin Explorer E20 is a great investment for anyone with a small in-ground pool. It’s got everything you need to keep your pool clean and clear of debris, and it’s easy to use and maintain.
It’s easy setup and operation, combined with powerful cleaning capabilities and efficient navigation technology, make it a top choice for pool owners.
Whether you’re a first-time pool owner or a seasoned pro, the Dolphin Explorer E20 is a reliable and effective solution for keeping your pool in pristine condition.
