Pentair DORADO™ Suction-Side Pool Cleaner

This is the NEW Pentair DORADO™ Automatic Suction-Side Pool Cleaner. The Dorado is a unique cleaner with bristle brushes all along the bottom to help it clean and scrub your pool surface.

The Dorado is part of Pentair's Trade Grade product line which means it is not sold online but only available from your pool service tech or your local brick and mortar pool store.

The Dorado is based on the Kreepy Krauly Great White cleaner and it has the same internal design of that cleaner. The outer body is the main difference, and I find the Dorado to be an overall better balanced design. The reason manufacturers are making cleaners only available at your local pool store is to basically level the playing field. Retail stores and pool service guys can't compete with the online pricing in most cases - online retailers do not need to keep an inventory, they just simple drop ship an item in most cases.

So to keep pool stores and dealers doors open Pentair offers the Dorado cleaner as well as their Rebel cleaner and certain pool pumps with longer warranties. I like the idea because it is important to support your local businesses and help keep that segment thriving. Nothing inherently wrong with ordering products online,  this just gives consumers more options.

Currently their is a rebate on the Dorado until September 5th 2016:

http://www.pentairpool.com/support/pool-cleaner-rebates.html 

The Dorado is a simple geared type cleaner with actually very few moving parts. This makes the cleaner very reliable as well as very easy to fix yourself.

The bottom sports brushes all the way around and the cleaner has a slight bouncing motion also as it moves along the surface. The opening for debris while odd, is large enough for acorns and other large debris. I like the unique pop out turn mechanism as it is simple yet very effective.

The cleaner also has a bouncing motion as it is moving along the pool floor and walls. This bouncing motion helps loosen up dirt and debris similar to the bouncing motion of a traditional cleaner like the Kreepy Krauly cleaner.

The Dorado has a large cleaning path, 15 inches across. This is great for a large pool as it can cover a lot of area in a shorter period of time. It also is designed to climb the walls to the tile line and the gearing inside will turn the cleaner often to prevent it from getting stuck on the steps or the main drains on the bottom.

It comes with 12 one meter hoses or 40 feet of hose which is plenty for most pools. Also included are the parts to connect it to a pool skimmer or side port/ vacuum port. It is pretty easy to set up, the only thing that is crucial is getting the proper suction. If the suction is too low it just won't work it's way around the pool or climb the walls.

The brush design makes it ideal for pools with a lot of dirt on the walls and the overall design allows it to clean the entire pool in about 6-8 hours. It will spend more time in the deep end and on the deep end walls but if the suction is set properly it will also clean the shallow end of the pool effectively. The manual also makes note of this as most of the dirt and leaves is usually in the deep end bowl of the pool.

It comes with a two year warranty and after that the parts are pretty affordable. Overall it is very easy to work on and the longevity and parts replacements is a plus for this cleaner. You should have minimal problems as it is a very simple gearing program.

I like the Dorado cleaner and it is a solid option for your pool.


Related Videos:
KREEPY KRAULY® GREAT WHITE® Suction Side Cleaner Review:
https://youtu.be/pWHiOulHSNw
Pentair DORADO™ Set Up and Installation Video: https://youtu.be/8YflHTmv3MY
Great White and DORADO Tips and Troubleshooting: https://youtu.be/qptNudQJPhk