robot pool skimmer recommendations

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Arcpool13

Active member
May 5, 2020
34
Maryland
Pool Size
24000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Hello,

We are looking into purchasing a robot pool skimmer. I swore there was a thread on TFP about the go-to robot. I see posts on Betta 2.

Is there one go-to reliable robot pool skimmer that people have had success with?
 
I have had the Betta SE Plus for almost a year now (got it on sale and added 3 year warranty), and have had no issues besides one of the green flashing lights go out (will get it replaced if I need to send it in for functional issues).

After going through a season of falling leaves and pollen, that thing was a gamechanger.
 
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NaCLTPool said:
I have had the Betta SE Plus for almost a year now (got it on sale and added 3 year warranty)
Click to expand...
My only regret is not getting the SE Plus for the auxiliary charging. We've had rain 3 days in a row, and rain expected tomorrow. Mine won't charge in rain, but it will charge some when cloudy.
 
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NaCLTPool said:
I have had the Betta SE Plus for almost a year now (got it on sale and added 3 year warranty), and have had no issues.

After going through a season of falling leaves and pollen, that thing was a gamechanger.
Click to expand...
Same without any issues. Best purchase I've made for my pool
 
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Aiper has upped the ante in the pool skimmer battle with their new Surfer S2. In a previous post, I mentioned some attributes that the Aiper Surfer S1/M1 features. The S2 retains most of these qualities and adds several improvements.

Compared to the S1, the S2:
  • Adds pool-edge cleaning. Aiper is vague on how this works, other than showing the skimmer will run along the pool edge. Still, a welcome intent.
  • Has a larger battery: 5.2K mAh vs. the S1’s 4K mAh: Claimed battery life is now 35 hours.
  • Faster charging time for both solar and DC charging.
  • Improved solar panel for faster solar-reactivation from a low-battery state
  • Self-Rescue algorithm to free itself when stuck. This is a consideration for us since I have a Negative-Edge pool.
  • Finer mesh 150um vs 200um
  • Optical sensors replace the S1 Ultrasonic. Not sure if this is an actual improvement or just a wash.
  • The Aiper App now includes Scheduled Cleaning: Seems this might extend the units lifetime since the skimmer would be operating only when desired rather than 24/7.
  • Salt Chlorine Tolerant (SCT) Motors. (Gotta keep up with Betta)
  • Standard 2-year warranty vs 1-year for the S1.
Downsides: The basket size has dropped from 5 liters to 4 liters. This is not an issue for most of the year, but in the fall when leaves start dropping, even 5 liters is woefully inadequate for me. This is an unfortunate backslide.

Quirky: Aiper added a pocket in the skimmer basket which is intended for a chlorine puck. Even speaking as a pool owner who chlorinates with Trichlor, this is silly. If my robotic skimmer is sitting motionless in the pool for any length of time, I would not want to soak it in an acidic chlorine bath.

Then there’s the price: $339.99 at the Aiper store. In addition, they currently have a “one-hour-only” 5% discount offer.

I put my money where my mouth is. I placed an order for a Surfer S2 this morning for $323.00/ No tax, no shipping charge. We’ll see if it lives up to the hype.
 
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I also just yesterday purchased the Betta SE Plus. Unlike my normal process, I did zero research and purchased after reading some positive comments in another thread. So far, I have only 1 issue and that’s the Betta getting stuck at the skimmers. It covers the entire skimmer opening and creates a suction that’s too strong for it to pull away from. Betta includes a small piece of a pool noodle that you can cut to size and put in the skimmer opening to supposedly fix this problem, but I haven’t tried it yet. I really need 2 pieces since the one they included isn’t large enough for both skimmers.

Other than that, the Betta SE Plus has exceeded expectations. Hard to remember the last time I could say that about anything I bought. Our pool is surrounded by large trees, which strangely grow so that every piece of debris that falls, however large or small, does so directly into our pool. Probably our neighbors’ trees, as well. I’m constantly scooping stuff out, emptying skimmer baskets and running the Polaris cleaner. I dropped the Betta in the pool yesterday afternoon and there hasn’t been anything floating on the surface since. And today has been very windy. Skimmer baskets are almost empty. The few leaves on the bottom of the pool were probably there before I started using the Betta. Might be the first time in 18 years that it has been this clean. Additionally, I didn’t even charge the device before using it. I pulled it out of the box and turned it on. It had power, so I placed it in the pool. It’s been running ever since, including running all night. It was still running this morning before sunrise.

1747859814709.jpeg

And I’m not seeing any debris coming out when it reverses, as some others have reported. I even used the remote to reverse at the highest speed possible and nothing came out. Fine debris, like pollen, is also getting picked up, or at least I don’t see it on the surface any longer.
 
jark87 said:
I also just yesterday purchased the Betta SE Plus. Unlike my normal process, I did zero research and purchased after reading some positive comments in another thread. So far, I have only 1 issue and that’s the Betta getting stuck at the skimmers. It covers the entire skimmer opening and creates a suction that’s too strong for it to pull away from.
Click to expand...
Same issue here, but ours only gets stuck in the skimmer when the VS-900 is on high speed. At 50% or less speed, it glides right by the skimmer.
 
Arcpool13 said:
Hello,

We are looking into purchasing a robot pool skimmer. I swore there was a thread on TFP about the go-to robot. I see posts on Betta 2.

Is there one go-to reliable robot pool skimmer that people have had success with?
Click to expand...
Ive had the Betta SE+ for a year. Love it. Leave it in 24/7. Keeping junk off the surface keeps the bottom cleaner too. The only thing it struggled with was a deluge of oak catkins (stringy seeds) that get wrapped around its collection wheel. Highly recommend.
 
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