A little disappointed with the Betta SE Plus

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Katodude

Katodude

Silver Supporter
Aug 22, 2017
3,028
West Palm Beach/Florida
Pool Size
15000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
So I have had an SE Plus and and SE for about a year now, both running in the pool at the same time. The SE consistently gets more debris than the SE Plus. Sometimes the SE Plus is almost empty while the SE has a bunch of leaves.

The one that really bugged me was yesterday there was one leaf at the bottom of my pool. I went swimming and picked it up and then just dropped it on the SE Plus. A few hours later the leaf was on the bottom of the pool again. I looked inside the SE Plus and there was no leaf.

Is anyone else noticing behavior where there Betta as not picking up as much as they should or dumping some of the their contents back in the pool?
 
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So the golf course was doing some maintenance yesterday and dump a bunch of grass clippings in the pool. I just cleaned out both units and the SE has 2-3X the amount of clippings compared to the SE Plus.
 
Katodude said:
So the golf course was doing some maintenance yesterday and dump a bunch of grass clippings in the pool. I just cleaned out both units and the SE has 2-3X the amount of clippings compared to the SE Plus.
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I have the SE Plus and have not had that happen, although most of my stuff is small debris like bugs small rose leaves, pollen etc. Can you see a physical difference between the two units, such as basket size or location from the water line?
 
Yes there is a small physical difference.

The back of the SE Plus rides higher than the SE. The switch is well out of the water compared to the SE where it is almost at water level. There seems to be some sort of a float at the bottom back of the SE Plus that the SE does not have.

I emailed Betta to see what they say.
 
Katodude said:
Yes there is a small physical difference.

The back of the SE Plus rides higher than the SE. The switch is well out of the water compared to the SE where it is almost at water level. There seems to be some sort of a float at the bottom back of the SE Plus that the SE does not have.

I emailed Betta to see what they say.
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It will be interesting what they have to say, maybe mine is not picking up as much as it should be or putting some back into the pool after picking it up.
 
I just went out and checked mine. Pool surface is clean and nothing on the bottom of the pool. There are organic floaties in the spa where the bot does not travel.

The waterline at the back of mine is about 1-1.5 in from the switch. At the front, water level is at the middle of the bumper wheels.

Betta seems to infer that the units water level will adjust over time. Curious how that works...

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I notice it doesn't get all the fine stuff like pollen so I put two skimmer socks in my Betta's basket and there is a lot less pollen floating on the surface of my pool now. I literally just got them wet and laid them flat in the basket. I can see that they've shifted around in the basket but there is a definite difference in the amount of fine material floating in the pool.
 
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I just picked up an SE Plus yesterday. I was reading another thread that mentioned it and without doing any research, I just went a bought one - very out of character for me! But so far, so good. Our pool is surrounded by trees, so there’s always something floating on the surface. I pulled the SE Plus out of the box, turned it on, and it had a charge, so I placed it in the water. It ran all night. Nothing on the surface of the pool when I got up. No need to scoop leaves today!

I primarily wanted to clean up the finer debris - almost dust like - that floats on the surface and the SE Plus has checked that box. The debris chamber has leaves and twigs that are visible. I haven’t pulled it out yet to determine how much fine debris was collected, but based on a visual observation of the surface, it seems to be doing the job.

My only complaint so far is that it gets stuck at the skimmer. The skimmer suction pulls it to the side and creates a vacuum strong enough that the SE Plus can’t move. It came with a pool noodle piece that I’ll have to cut to size and stick in the skimmer inlet to prevent that from occurring. I’m not thrilled with that and will do some research on other skimmers to see if they have the same problem. I have 30 days to evaluate.
 
jark87 said:
I just picked up an SE Plus yesterday. I was reading another thread that mentioned it and without doing any research, I just went a bought one - very out of character for me! But so far, so good. Our pool is surrounded by trees, so there’s always something floating on the surface. I pulled the SE Plus out of the box, turned it on, and it had a charge, so I placed it in the water. It ran all night. Nothing on the surface of the pool when I got up. No need to scoop leaves today!

I primarily wanted to clean up the finer debris - almost dust like - that floats on the surface and the SE Plus has checked that box. The debris chamber has leaves and twigs that are visible. I haven’t pulled it out yet to determine how much fine debris was collected, but based on a visual observation of the surface, it seems to be doing the job.

My only complaint so far is that it gets stuck at the skimmer. The skimmer suction pulls it to the side and creates a vacuum strong enough that the SE Plus can’t move. It came with a pool noodle piece that I’ll have to cut to size and stick in the skimmer inlet to prevent that from occurring. I’m not thrilled with that and will do some research on other skimmers to see if they have the same problem. I have 30 days to evaluate.
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Betta mentions that if the skimmer is sucking in the bot then you can reduce the flow to the skimmers by opening the main drain a little more if you have one. I am not really interested in the pool noodle idea either, and I have two skimmers.

I am still in favor of my Betta SE Plus, after three days of use. I have pulled it from the pool because we are getting heavy rain the next couple of days, even though they say it is 100% waterproof. I guess I just want to take care of my new toy 🙄
 
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SecoSteve said:
Betta mentions that if the skimmer is sucking in the bot then you can reduce the flow to the skimmers by opening the main drain a little more if you have one. I am not really interested in the pool noodle idea either, and I have two skimmers.
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I’ll give that a try. I had seen the flow reduction recommendation in a thread but didn’t see it in the Betta instructions. I also have 2 skimmers and I don’t think the piece of noodle that Betta included is large enough for both.
 
I’m not sure what position to put the valve in. The main drain and east skimmer both go through the same valve. If I move that valve to 7 o’clock and 2 o’clock, does that restrict both the east skimmer and the main drain? Same question for 10 o’clock/4 o’clock. Thanks!

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BTW, my pool surface has never been cleaner!

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I have 3 short step areas and a baja shelf. No matter what length legs I put on the Betta (including aftermarket ones) it would get stuck somewhere. And sometimes in the skimmer even with a noodle. Great idea but not for my pool.
 
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Rancho Cost-a-Lotta said:
Betta seems to infer that the units water level will adjust over time. Curious how that works...
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Water intrusion acts like a full ballast so the device sinks. It takes a week or two to fill, and three more weeks to fail. :laughblue:
 
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chazas said:
I have 3 short step areas and a baja shelf. No matter what length legs I put on the Betta (including aftermarket ones) it would get stick somewhere. And sometimes in the skimmer even with a noodle. Great idea but not for my pool.
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Mine cruises right over the tanning ledge. I haven’t adjusted anything - it’s right out of the box. Skimmer is definitely an issue and I’m hoping I can avoid the noodle.
 
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jark87 said:
I’m not sure what position to put the valve in. The main drain and east skimmer both go through the same valve. If I move that valve to 7 o’clock and 2 o’clock, does that restrict both the east skimmer and the main drain? Same question for 10 o’clock/4 o’clock. Thanks!

View attachment 648164
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If you turn the right handle (east skimmer) clockwise 90 degrees, it’ll shut the main drain off. Turn it slightly less than 90 to not shut it off completely.
 
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So the Betta folks responded to me. Apparently the very first generation of the SE Plus as an issue with not absorbing this water so it rides a little higher and can result in spilling its contents. They suggested a 1lb weight or send the unit back for a fix.
 
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