Aiper Scuba S1 Review

[Belo]

It is disappointing because it is a good looking bot, well designed and when it works it seems to work pretty darn good and it's priced right with all of the discounts.

In my unprofessional opinion it seems like a competent programmer that has reviewed/analyzed customer feedback could solve this pretty quickly.

I sent Aiper a follow up note today to check on the status of another firmware update. But maybe they'll ignore me now that they refunded my money.

yep this is my thinking too and maybe next generation or by next season they figure that out. I also believe it's possible the slope/vinyl combo is tough for the entry level motor version and maybe just needs a bit more juice.

As someone who has had 2 generations of roombas for over 5 years, they've done nothing but improve. What's interesting is that they clearly spent a ton of money on review sites to get their name and brand out there. When you read the non-paid review sites you'll see most of what we're sharing in this thread. Doesn't surprise me to hear someone got a full refund to remove a negative amazon review.

I've dealt with companies like this before. It's like they know their product isn't that great so they spend more of their budget on image/brand/marketing when they should be spending it on engineering. A good product will sell itself through word of mouth on sites like this.

 

[piezon]

It is disappointing because it is a good looking bot, well designed and when it works it seems to work pretty darn good and it's priced right with all of the discounts.

In my unprofessional opinion it seems like a competent programmer that has reviewed/analyzed customer feedback could solve this pretty quickly.

I sent Aiper a follow up note today to check on the status of another firmware update. But maybe they'll ignore me now that they refunded my money.

The sad thing about returning it is that you lose the discounted price that made this such an attractive purchase in the first place. It ceases to amaze me that after I throw the bot into my sparkling clean pool, I take it out 2+ hours later to find a lot of “green” pollen and other dirt in the filter that was invisible to the naked eye. That, plus the Betta SE Plus, has made this a relatively maintenance free summer so far. No hand skimming and no vacuuming. My only issue remains the wall cleaning so I just use it in wall only mode. I’m happy

 

[Bbp]

My replacement should be here today. I hope it works as well as the last one.

 

[piezon]

My pool goes from 3ft to 9ft and the Pro doesn't have any issues. It seemed to during the first couple runs, but after that, no issues.

If only it would charge, I'd be all set.

How does it handle the wall cleaning in your deep end? I don’t even bother as once it backs down the wall, it’s programmed to level off on the 90 degree flat bottom and then start up the next section. Since there is no flat bottom for it to level off on, it basically backs down the 5’ concave “wall” of the hopper until it gets down to the flat floor 8.5’ down. Then it has no idea where it is in relation to where it left off and it’s a crapshoot from the point.

 

[Bbp]

How does it handle the wall cleaning in your deep end? I don’t even bother as once it backs down the wall, it’s programmed to level off on the 90 degree flat bottom and then start up the next section. Since there is no flat bottom for it to level off on, it basically backs down the 5’ concave “wall” of the hopper until it gets down to the flat floor 8.5’ down. Then it has no idea where it is in relation to where it left off and it’s a crapshoot from the point.

I only used it for the floor. Assuming the new one works well on the floor, I'll try it on the walls and report back.

 

[Bbp]

First floor run with the replacement Pro was good. I think it kept to a pattern better. I didn't watch it the entire time.

The negative was when I pulled it out of the pool a bunch of debris leaked out of it and back into the pool.

 

[Belo]

First floor run with the replacement Pro was good. I think it kept to a pattern better. I didn't watch it the entire time.

The negative was when I pulled it out of the pool a bunch of debris leaked out of it and back into the pool.

ha that's funny and I had the same thing happen and was like what the heck! I believe this product has potential, but they're going to need a gen2 to solve some design flaws.

 

[Esloser]

So far, I've had it about a week and only use it in floor mode. It does seem to get stuck on the incline when going back or forth. I keep an eye on it and move it a couple of feet and it resumes without issue. If this were solved, it would be perfect in my eyes. However, it does a much better job than I've ever done using the vacuum head and hose connect to the skimmer and a better job than the pressure side Hayward cleaner that came with the pool. That thing would get stuck in corners, and I'd find it spinning out of control in the middle of the pool, or I'd find itself tangled in its own hose. So, for the price of the basic S1, I think this is lightyears ahead of where I was even if I do have to go out and move it a couple of feet when I find it stuck cleaning the same path over and over.

Right now, I'm testing to see if I can figure out where to drop it into the pool to limit the "stuck" issue.

 

[JayZed]

Finally, a proper review comparing all of the top battery powered robot pool cleaners, including our favorite Aiper models and others that users are considering, like Beatbot, Seauto and Polaris.

This is only a 21 minute video, but could easily be 30 minutes long if the reviewer spoke at a normal pace!
That's fine though because he doesn't get stuck for too long on areas you might not be interested in.

He also literally covers every single possible area you might be concerned with and he has some very good critical comments.
The time lapse photography for each cleaner is fantastic.
He draws many great conclusions from his testing and presents them in an easy to understand table with recommendations depending on your needs, although I think most people who visit this forum will be able to figure that out for themselves.

Spoiler alert: No direct correlation between price and performance as there are several measurable aspects to performance.

If you watch only one video about this, this should be the one.

2024 Ultimate Pool Vacuum Review

See attached picture for table of contents for the video.

 

[Bbp]

I shouldn't have watched that.

 

[Belo]

watching now, but my aipier is like a pinto compared to my ferrari beatbot. This is my personal experience with having both.

 

[HermanTX]

watching now, but my aipier is like a pinto compared to my ferrari beatbot. This is my personal experience with having both.

The pinto becomes the Ferrari if that is what your budget allows and comparing it to a pressure side cleaner with a hose that gets tangled.

 

[Belo]

7 minutes in and I see they didn't review the beatbot pro, so while it's a great video, it's kind of silly to exclude what is probably the most hyped and effective robot out right now.

 

[Belo]

The pinto becomes the Ferrari if that is what your budget allows and comparing it to a pressure side cleaner with a hose that gets tangled.

my issue with the aipier is that it didn't clean enough. So it's like I needed my pinto (aipier) and still my truck (pressure side hose) to get me where my pinto couldn't. So maybe ferrari was a bad choice, my beatbot pro is like range rover. can do it all.

It's not fair to compare a $400 bot to one that cost me $2100, but the beatbot pro truly has left me hose free. I haven't got the hose out since I got my beatbot and I think that's worth its price alone... but I could afford it too, so I'm conscious of that.

 

[piezon]

Well, I’m glad I watched that video. There’s no one clear choice for “best of the best” but, for less than $500, I’m glad I purchased the Aiper S-1. At 800 square feet, it has a lot of floor area to clean and does a great job in doing so. At a runtime of around 3 hours, it easily covers the entire floor at least twice for a 95% coverage rate (my guesstimate). The weight is also a factor as I’m 75 and find it easy to remove by myself.
I don’t use the wall mode as that’s not why I bought it, nor is that where 95% of the dirt resides.
So, IMHO, the Aiper S-1 should be on one’s list of top contenders.

 

[cssnms]

Is it normal for these filter baskets to smell like a rotting corpse? Man oh man, for what little amount of debris ends up in the basket the STANK is something else.

 

[JayZed]

Is it normal for these filter baskets to smell like a rotting corpse? Man oh man, for what little amount of debris ends up in the basket the STANK is something else.

That reminds me of what my parents used to tell me when I took bitter tasting medicine...

"That means it's working!"

 

[JC707]

Is it normal for these filter baskets to smell like a rotting corpse? Man oh man, for what little amount of debris ends up in the basket the STANK is something else.

Omg I was wondering the same thing!!!

 

[bcre3306]

Question for all you experienced pool people......Do I really need a robot if I have a caged in pool which only gets minimal silt and salt(from the decking). I'm not against buying one but not sure if it's worth getting for something I would only need to run say once a week. Not going to hurt my opinion so let it fly!

 

[Katodude]

That is only a decision you can make. Will it make your pool cleaner, yes. Is your pool clean enough already, that is your call.

We do not push any pool products or solutions here (other than proper testing). We provide you data and facts. You decide on the value.