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By Brian Williamson | Written on April 9th, 2024
The Dolphin Nautilus Pool Up robotic pool cleaner. The entry-level Dolphin Nautilus pool cleaner is a new arrival for 2024. Built on a Maytronics platform that has been around for over a decade, reintroduced, and rebranded for 2024, how does the Dolphin Nautilus CC Pool Up compete with modern robotic pool cleaners?
After weeks of testing, it’s a solid and reliable cleaner but lacks any automation or filtration that makes a pool robot great. However with only a simple on and off timer, it does not have a weekly timer that allows you to schedule cleanings.
Within the robotic pool cleaner world, there are two types of cleaners. Ones that can be automated and ones that can’t. This one can’t, which is a big deal. I thought I could get around this by plugging it into an external weekly timer, but due to the setup of the power supply, the robot requires you to manually start it by pushing the better.
Every. Single. Time.
Let me tell you. This got annoying fast.
In the over 60+ robots I have tested, you would be surprised how few pool robots can automatically run and clean daily. You would think this is a must-have – well apparently not. As of 2024, Maytronics has stripped this functionality from many of its top pool robots. From the Dolphin Nautilus CC to the Dolphin Explorer E20, Maytronics has removed the weekly timer from a lot of their pool robots.
After testing the 2024 Dolphin Cayman, which retained its weekly timer, the Nautilus CC Pool Up with a pain to clean in comparison. Not only did it not have a weekly timer, but the bottom load filter was more difficult to clean.
Read our experince with the Cayman in our review →
Within the box of the Nautilus Pool Up, here is what is included:
The one bright spot is the pool coverage. Compared to the Dolphin E10, which only sticks to the pool floors, the Nautilus Pool Up can climb walls. I was impressed with our testing, as the Nautilus was able to scale my 90-degree walls to climb across the walls scrubbing.
This is a feature common in most Dolphin pool robots. Especially in this price range, but it is the cheapest Dolphin with wall climbing currently. But after the pool coverage, it doesn’t quite provide all the features I came to love and expect in Dolphin pool cleaners.
The most disappointing thing about the Dolphin Nautilus Pool Up? The Power Supply.
With a simple on/off design, I had to manually start the Dolphin daily to run it. This isn’t just a problem in the Pool Up though. Dolphin has stripped the weekly timer out of other units as well. From the Nautilus CC to Explorer E20, which both had timers, Dolphin has removed them. But don’t worry – the Dolphin Cayman retained its weekly timer.
Read more about a Weekly Timer in the Cayman →
This weekly timer is a must-have feature. I couldn’t imagine living using these cleaners without one. With Dolphin’s AutoStart Weekly Timer, the robot will automatically start at the desired frequency and begin to clean. This feature is not present in the Nautilus Pool Up.
Another big complaint is the filter. It only has a filter bag, which loads directly from the bottom of the unit. There are no standard mesh filters or NanoFilters included.
With just the filter bag, we noticed it didn’t do as great a job as the NanoFilters. It would leave some smaller dirt and debris in the pool – which I had to manually go back over with a handheld pool vacuum.
A positive of the Dolphin Nautilus Pool Up compared to other pool cleaners in this price range is the spinning brush. Compared to popular cordless cleaners, such as Aiper which uses a static brush or no brush at all, the rotating front and back brushes do a great job.
While not as effective as Dolphin’s HyperBrush, which spins 2-times the speed of the Nautilus Pool Up, it is an improvement from its competition.
Another thing I liked while using the Nautilus Pool Up was its vacuuming power. Compared to the cordless pool robots I tested; the increased power was noticeable. From the surface, you could see water breaking as the Pool Up moved throughout the pool.
The limitations of the bottom-load filter and lack of a weekly timer set it back compared to other top Dolphin cleaners.
Without a weekly timer, it takes the “automatic” out of the automatic robotic pool cleaner.
While it may seem like an easy way to save, you give up a lot of features that make a robotic pool cleaner special. Whether you are an inground or above-ground pool owner, you’ll want options like NanoFilters, a Weekly Timer, and top-loading filtration.
These will enhance the performance of your pool robot and the user experience.
There are a few alternatives to the Nautilus Pool Up that are significant upgrades for not a lot less. Adding a HyperBrush, Maxbin, NanoFilters, and even a Weekly Timer! Explore all robots that you'll want to consider before purchasing a Dolphin Nautilus Pool Up.
The Dolphin Cayman robotic pool cleaner is the ultimate upgrade to the Nautilus Pool Up. For just a little more money, you get a set of features you won’t find in any other pool cleaners in this price range. With the addition of a Weekly Timer, HyperBrush, and MaxBin, the Cayman is a big step up – and well worth it!
Read more in my in-depth Dolphin Cayman Review →
The Dolphin Escape is a part of Dolphin’s 2024 Max-Series. Built for easy pool cleaning, it improves upon the Pool Up with the addition of the HyperBrush and MaxBin (with free NanoFilters at Pool Express for a limited time).
