Solarr-Breeze NX--just pre-ordered... Tell me I didn't make a huge mistake

[danamalis]

Hello, I'm a first-time poster. I love this website and have scanned everything I can find on the Solar-Breeze and Solar-Breeze NX pool skimmers. I saw that there were some issues with their company maybe a year or so ago and there were some complaints on Amazon about customer service but for the most part people seem pretty happy with this skimmer. We live in the Midwest and put our pool in about a year ago and had a lot of problems last fall with leaves. I've looked into leaf nets, pool service and other various things and really like this. We have a robot that works great for the bottom (has a skinny cord) but we'd like to get the leaves off the top before they sink if we can. I just pre-ordered the Solar-Breeze NX for $558 and it should come in September. I see that I should have done this earlier to save some $$ but oh well...

Any updates and/or advice on Solar-Breeze NX owners...? And how are you maintaining these (or at least the older Solar-Breeze model)? I saw somewhere that they recommend you take them in to be evaluated and maybe battery replaced/cleaned.

Advice appreciated. I purchased with a credit card and know if I am unhappy with the purchase I can get my $$ back from my credit card but really hoping it works! Thanks!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Hey there Danamalis Welcome to TFP

Have you tried to tweak your valves so that you have more pull from your pool's skimmer and less from any lower drains/main drains? Also running the pump on multiple shorter runs helps some folks keep their surface cleaner.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

If you put the term "Solar-Breeze NX" (with quotes) in the Search box at the top of the website (it's a Google powered search), you'll get lots of hits from the past two years regarding the SolarBreeze. I believe the NX model is new and not yet shipping (Sept 2016) and that they are sold out of units right now. It's a small startup making them (got funding using a Kick-Starter campaign) so there's always issues with longevity, warranties, being bought out by a big equipment maker, etc, etc. But it seems like those that own them love them.

Hopefully some folks will respond to your post. If not, use the Search box like I suggested and just PM a few of the users to get some honest feedback.

It's an interesting product, but for me and my pool, I'd rather put the $560 it costs for one of those towards a robotic cleaner and get rid of my suction side cleaner...

 

[gvc]

I'd rather put the $560 it costs for one of those towards a robotic cleaner and get rid of my suction side cleaner...

it is a robotic cleaner, just for skimming though. I love mine. saved me lots of time. always amazed at the amount of stuff it catches when I clean it. the real question for me is how quickly the battery capacity starts to diminish over time, but for right now the robot goes well into the evening which is great since normally the winds that kick up in the afternoon heat die down. Also , I expect its performance to lessen in the winter months when there will less direct contact with the sunshine and our pool is half shaded all day. But , so far , I'm very pleased with the unit.

 

[JayG]

I received one of the pre-order units and sadly, I'm sending it back. The idea is fantastic but there were a couple of problems:

1. The unit would get stuck in the skimmer slot if the pump was running. Not enough power to back out even if the pump was only moving 30 GPM.
2. The unit would ground itself on the first step of our pool and was unable to dislodge itself. Yes, the pool was properly filled.
3. The basket that catches the floating stuff was coming dislodged. Nearly 9/10 times, I would find the basket sitting on the bottom of the pool while the unit was floundering on our first step.

That said, the unit worked well when the pump wasn't running and the step issue is probably unique to our pool. The basket issue was something that Hana in customer service thought she could resolve (apparently there were some baskets shipped that had a slight "bow" in them that kept them from sliding into the slot properly.)

The company has been super responsive to my inquiries and if we didn't have the step issue, I think I could have found a work-around for the rest. It is a great idea and a well-designed product. I'm disappointed that we weren't able to make it work.

Jay

 

[textommyboy]

We got a pre-order unit as well and have been happy with ours. It basically supplements our two skimmers and we like the fact it's solar powered. It'll startup shortly after sunrise and run until after sundown (and throughout some of the night if it gets a good charge). We also had an issue with it getting stuck in the skimmer slots when the pumps were on but fixed that by installing some skimmer slot covers.

The only other time it might get stuck is if we leave our ledge loungers on the tanning ledge. It's not smart enough to navigate around them back to the pool if it happens to end up over in that section. But if we remove the ledge loungers then there's no problem with the tanning ledge area.

Overall it does the job and picks up additional floaters (i.e., bugs, hair, grass, etc.) that the skimmers may not or when they're not turned on.

 

[KenFirch]

The unit would ground itself on the first step of our pool and was unable to dislodge itself.

Jay, how many inches below the water is the step that was causing the issue? I'm just wondering if there's a range that potential buyers need to consider before pulling the trigger on this pricey toy. Are we talking something like between 2 and 3 inches, then beware?

Thanks, Ken

 

[JayG]

Jay, how many inches below the water is the step that was causing the issue? I'm just wondering if there's a range that potential buyers need to consider before pulling the trigger on this pricey toy. Are we talking something like between 2 and 3 inches, then beware?

Thanks, Ken

I would guesstimate about 2 inches. I'm away on business, but I'll check for sure when I get back next week.

 

[salinda]

I have had my Solar-Breeze NX since this past spring. I got it early because I jumped in on crowdfunding. I don't think you made a mistake AT ALL. I have a large (37,000 gallon) pool in an odd shape. I have a cleaner with a floating hose. I decided to not make any modifications to my pool and just let it run. I have to tell you, it did not work well at first but it turns out mine had a faulty battery pack and once it was replaced, most things have gone well. The most important thing is that we have 2 trees which drop debris on the pool. We also usually have lots of pollen in the pool at all times. We had the Solar-Breeze running for the entire swim season so far. We have rarely had to skim the pool. If we don't use the pool (so no splashing of tile etc.) for a while, we do have to brush the tile line as we always did before, but that is very unusual. The Solar-Breeze outdid itself this past week. Our large redwood is in its shedding phase and drops 8-10" floating twigs/leaflets (I don't know the formal botany term--sorry) in massive quantities in our pool and yard. We went away for a weekend over Labor Day and I could tell that there had been a windstorm while we were gone by the quantity of redwood droppings in the yard. The pool, however, was spotless. I could see a large quantity of redwood stuff in the skimmer of the Solar-Breeze NX through the viewing window, but I was too lazy to actually dump it out that day, or the next day, or.... Finally, yesterday, 5 days after we returned, I heard the Solar Breeze was a little louder than it should be. I took the 2 minutes to empty the basket and found it to be overflowing but STILL picking up debris!!! There was ONE twig which was over the front of the skimmer tray and the front paddle on the Breeze was brushing it as it turned. That was the noise, but the thing was still running!

The best part is that the tree pollen is prolific around here from pine trees etc. I realize that I no longer have that fine yellow skin of pollen on my pool at all times and the tile is also much cleaner this year as a result. I have a pool with an older construction with insufficient skimming, so this is a huge improvement.

It is NOT perfect--
-It does occasionally get stuck on the skimmer but I have decided to ignore that. It eventually backs itself out and the pool is obviously well-skimmed so I don't care if it gets stuck for minutes or hours since it is a rare event and doesn't hurt it or my pool.
-It does occasionally get stuck on the floating cleaner hose which is always in my pool. It eventually backs itself out or the cleaner drags the hose out of the way. If it gets stuck when the cleaner is not running at night, it will simply stop itself from running. It starts up fine the next morning, so, again, I don't care.

I used to want perfection from everything in my pool. Now I look at it as more of a black box. If the input (effort, $$$, and chemicals) is low and predictable and the output (beautiful, clear, clean pool) doesn't take any time to get ready to swim, I am now satisfied.