Aiper Seagull Pro Review

[tcat]

Once I removed the risers on mine it does not seem to get stuck. I did notice that when it was getting stuck it was getting onto the drain ok but then high centering where all four wheels were not touching. With the solid pebble portion of my drain I beleive it was sucking itself down so it was unable to rock off. Maybe if you move your bumper mod all the way forward so it cannot traverse the drain in the first place?

I have no riser. But yes, seems all 4 wheels don't touch, just lays on the flat pebble surface (about 1/2" high). I was thinking if the rear wheels were slightly larger so they touch. I've seen some people use skimmer baskets upside down with a weight strapped to them. Replacing the drain covers with a taller one might work (other than pita removing them). $15ea. for the drain clips might be easiest.

 

[Ahultin]

I have no riser. But yes, seems all 4 wheels don't touch, just lays on the flat pebble surface (about 1/2" high). I was thinking if the rear wheels were slightly larger so they touch. I've seen some people use skimmer baskets upside down with a weight strapped to them. Replacing the drain covers with a taller one might work (other than pita removing them). $15ea. for the drain clips might be easiest.

The Pebble portion of yours must have just enough more "dome" than mine to high center. The risers add 3/4", which for mine was high enough to get it stuck but not high enough to keep it from trying. Maybe the key for you is the risers plus the additional mound of pebble.
I've got 6 of these drain covers(2 spa, 2 main' 2 wall). If it looks like it's getting stuck again maybe I'll find the tallest combo and the shortest combo put them on the two floor drains and see if 1 is a clear winner.

 

[tcat]

Looks the wheel bottom to flat underside is .75". My drains must stick up close to .80 for it to get stuck. I would think the right placement of bumps on the bottom of the unit would prevent sticking. New run after recharge.... At least it's running and charging as it should! Pretty sure it spend 30% of it's time spinning and thinking!

 

[gworrel]

I've had the Aiper Seagull Pro for two weeks now. When I started using it, my pool was very cloudy which made it extremely difficult to find the Seagull to pull it out of the pool. Score one for corded.
I also could not see how good of a job it was doing but I thought it was pulling up less than my 7 year old Dolphin that died a few weeks ago.

Now that the pool water has cleared up, I am less than impressed with how many areas still have very visible dirt. I was coming off a winter with no cover so it was a worst case scenario but it still seems like the Dolphin would have done better. The Dolphin failed to pick up sand which this one seems to get if it actually goes over the spot at all. But the Dolphin would cover the entire pool better in a couple of runs. I don't know why the battery powered devices like this and the Pool Blaster Max seem to have better suction than the Dolphin. You'd think with the cord, they could put stronger motors in the Dolphin but there is definitely room for improvement there.

In watching the Seagull move, it seems to spend way too much time stopping and turning. Like it is trying to be too smart by half. I think it would do better in my 16 x 32 rectangular pool if it just turned randomly and went until it came to a wall, then turned again. It just doesn't cover enough ground in the time it is running. The on/off switch is not well thought out. You basically have to turn the knob 1, 2, or 3 clicks to choose your mode of operation, then you have to turn it back the same number of clicks to turn it off. It is difficult to see where the knob is at. I see that someone already posted a hack to improve that function by using some paint.

I also just recently started using a Betta pool skimmer, and the two of them would be a great combo. The Betta is 100% recommended. It keeps the pool surface all but spotless. It is a dream come true. I am just not sure the Aiper Seagull Pro is ready to replace something like a Dolphin. I hate the idea of needing both. If I could fix my Dolphin for less than the $300 price of a replacement motor, I would do so.

 

[tcat]

Agree, random for floors, smart for walls would be much better. Agree, knob design is stupid. I highlighted the tick mark (there is one), but it doesn't point to what you want. A "click" should be 90 degrees, but it's 45. Should be 4 touch buttons (easier for them to seal too).

On floor only, mine seems to hit 95% or more of the floor. It "tries" to be smart, but kidney with large radii just throws it random half the time. I tried turning my pump off, but still gets stuck on drain. It's like it gets confused and just want to rotate on it. The bumps I added seem to help, because it does find it's easy off after a minute or two. I'm going to try adding some diameter to the rear wheels (rubber bands?) to see if that helps. If you watch it long enough, you can see how it's being "smart", but there should be an option to turn that off for floors, and should run forward and backwards in that mode (not so much turning). I believe it's a keeper for me if I can get the drain thing worked out. Fine basket please!

 

[Darkjuju]

Well wall cleaning was a bit of a failure, it only made it half way though my small-ish pool (15x25 rectangle play pool) before the battery died. It had a hard time with the waterline, the scrubber doesn't seem to run very "aggressively". I agree with @tcat the dial is a stupid and must have been overlooked deign, there is no pointer, you have to just count the clicks to the mode you want. I am so far happy with floor cleaning though, I am going to try and run the wall mode again today but start it on the deep end and see what happens. I did start with a clean pool and only expected this unit to provide the weekly maintenance, not replace deep cleaning. I don't think you have any chance of dropping this into a dirty pool and getting a successful outcome.

 

[tcat]

Well wall cleaning was a bit of a failure, it only made it half way though my small-ish pool (15x25 rectangle play pool) before the battery died. It had a hard time with the waterline, the scrubber doesn't seem to run very "aggressively". I agree with @tcat the dial is a stupid and must have been overlooked deign, there is no pointer, you have to just count the clicks to the mode you want. I am so far happy with floor cleaning though, I am going to try and run the wall mode again today but start it on the deep end and see what happens. I did start with a clean pool and only expected this unit to provide the weekly maintenance, not replace deep cleaning. I don't think you have any chance of dropping this into a dirty pool and getting a successful outcome.

Something wrong if only climbing halfway. I have a 85' perimeter (13x34 kidney), 8' deep end, and it goes to waterline, scrubs for a few seconds, goes down and moves over 12", repeat. One charge makes it around twice. Sounds like you need a replacement.

 

[Jriola]

Just received the Seagull pro today. Charged it and put it in the pool for the first time. Having an issue where as soon as it starts to move forward the front wheels come off the ground and then it will stop and spin around for a bit. It will try to start moving forward again, but within a second or two the front wheels will pop up and then it will stop itself and spin around again. Anyone else have this issue? I tried removing from the pool, cleaning the filter and reinstalling back into the pool but still same result.

 

[tcat]

Just received the Seagull pro today. Charged it and put it in the pool for the first time. Having an issue where as soon as it starts to move forward the front wheels come off the ground and then it will stop and spin around for a bit. It will try to start moving forward again, but within a second or two the front wheels will pop up and then it will stop itself and spin around again. Anyone else have this issue? I tried removing from the pool, cleaning the filter and reinstalling back into the pool but still same result.

Auto or floor? Mine does that occasionally, but only for a few seconds.

 

[Jriola]

Have it on floor only. Mine does it the entire time. Pretty much stays in the same area and because the brushes are up off the ground will miss large sections of dirt/leaves or whatever is on the floor. Kinda “wheelies“ over areas.

 

[tcat]

Have it on floor only. Mine does it the entire time. Pretty much stays in the same area and because the brushes are up off the ground will miss large sections of dirt/leaves or whatever is on the floor. Kinda “wheelies“ over areas.

Take a video and send it to them. I'm guessing you need a replacement. My pool's not that dirty, but sucks everything in, sticks, leaves, sand. It will sit and rotate way more than it needs to, but does move on.

 

[div_0305]

This is exactly what mine is doing on the first try. So disappointed. I hope they will take it back during their 30 day guarantee without trouble.

 

[Jriola]

Just contacted customer support. At first they tried to say it was normal, but I pressed and they asked to send a video as tcat had already mentioned. Sent them 3 videos and will wait for their response.

 

[div_0305]

I contacted them, too. First, they offered to send me a new one. I said no, just want to return. They asked for a video and told me they'd send me a prepaid label to return. I sent them the video and called to follow up, but for the last 3 hours, the number gives an automated message saying it's busy and then hangs up. I suspect it's ringing to a foreign number based on the automated message. Haven't received the prepaid label yet.

EDIT: Reached them by phone just now. It's hard to understand the person, but I think he said it can take 3 business days to receive the prepaid label.

 

[gworrel]

I have seen mine do some wheelies sometimes but it does not seem to be a big problem. It settles back down and continues on its way.

 

[tcat]

"Think" I fixed my struck on drain issue. Bought these and slipped them over rear wheels (barely clears the fender after exacto-ing one side of white tire).

Amazon.com

I think it adds just enough diameter to keep it from spinning on the drain. A lot cheaper than new drains or the $18 drain clip thing.

Edit: it's good until the tires slide off . Guess I may need to use some silicone caulk.

 

[Planoaggie123]

Got mine in and went ahead and ran it. Happy with first round. Did floor only. Will do walls only later this week.

Was a bit shocking how much dirt etc was at the bottom. Got all leaves but like 2.

Pool looks noticeably better after 1 run.

My pool is mostly rectangle and still could not understand the cleaning pattern.

No issue at all with drain.

 

[Planoaggie123]

Walls only went well last night. Never seemed to get too confused with steps and a sitting bench. Made it around entire pool. Continue to be overall positive on this. Running floor only again tonight most likely.

 

[tcat]

I'm very positive as long as I can solve the drain thing. I used some gorilla glue to make sure my "bumps" stayed in place on the bottom. It helps a lot, but will still get stuck spinning, but eventually finds its way off. I think larger rear tires is the best solution if I can keep them from slipping off. Looks like that's the next gorilla glue test. Its floor logic is rather amazing! Even when it hits a curved wall at an angle, it seems to know it's position corrects itself and does the next line about 12" over. In 2.5 hours, even with a few spinning quirks, it gets the whole floor. Suction is great, I see it pulling stuff in from the sides as it passes. Shape of pool attached, 34' x 13' at far end, 8' deep.

 

[Kaylee34]

Still waiting on my replacement to arrive. Hopefully by the weekend.