Battle of the Solar Skimmers: Ariel vs Betta 2 Bake off!!!

[SteveK52]

I played around with the avoidance post and a reasonable change in water level and was never able to achieve acceptable results. I also think with the post in the lower position it is more likely they will get broken as now they are below everything else and when out of the pool I would be setting the skimmer on them.

 

[Katodude]

Betta had a bad day yesterday. So at a lower water level it got caught in a skimmer once, but more importantly it beached itself on my steps several times. No amount of messing with the posts would prevent that. That was really disappointing as I was hoping that the posts would help with that. It just appears that they are poorly designed.

 

[Katodude]

Ok we had a windy day yesterday and despite both skimmers being in the pool (albeit one spending most of their time on the steps) a bunch of leaves managed to sink to the bottom. So out come both skimmer and in goes the robot (nobody likes a dirty pool).

Anyway here is a picture of both baskets. It looks like Betta caught more fine debris (might be related to the fact that it runs all night while Ariel is idle). But since Ariel was running all day yesterday during the windy time she caught more leaves.

 

[Orion7319]

Betta had a bad day yesterday. So at a lower water level it got caught in a skimmer once, but more importantly it beached itself on my steps several times. No amount of messing with the posts would prevent that. That was really disappointing as I was hoping that the posts would help with that. It just appears that they are poorly designed.

I wonder if you added some weight in its basket if it would ride lower and the legs would work. The circle in the middle I think is there for pucks, seems like a good place to put a rock or something. My steps are just the thermoplastic type that comes with any vinyl pool. Never had any one of these get stuck on the steps at any water level. The legs are new to the beta 2 which does tell me that this must be a common enough problem that they did try to address it with a design change.
EDIT : A hockey puck has a 3 inch diameter same as a chlorine tab, is made of rubber and has a weight of about 6 ounces.

 

[Newdude]

What about extending the legs 2 inches ? It sounds like it's really close. You'd just need that little bit to ensure the bot completely floats over or hits the step.

Cut a dowel / bbq skewer / etc and secure it with a few wraps of electrical tape for the experiment. If it works then do similar but more permanent.

 

[Orion7319]

What about extending the legs 2 inches ? It sounds like it's really close. You'd just need that little bit to ensure the bot completely floats over or hits the step.

Cut a dowel / bbq skewer / etc and secure it with a few wraps of electrical tape for the experiment. If it works then do similar but more permanent.

They also come completely out. I could see someone designing these in different lengths and and making them with a a 3D printer.

 

[Katodude]

Sometimes you guys are sooooo smart.

One bamboo BBQ skewer and 4 tiny zipties later. Tada!!!!

But I agree with @Orion7319 the longer term solution is to fabricate some type of replacement. We should probably contact the company to see if they would build a few longer ones for us. A set of extra long legs should just be part of the package.

 

[Orion7319]

Sometimes you guys are sooooo smart.

One bamboo BBQ skewer and 4 tiny zipties later. Tada!!!!

But I agree with @Orion7319 the longer term solution is to fabricate some type of replacement. We should probably contact the company to see if they would build a few longer ones for us. A set of extra long legs should just be part of the package.

We just need to find someone that knows how to design 3D parts. There are plenty of companies online that can print parts from a file that you can buy. Just need someone to design the file really.

 

[Katodude]

I sent the company a chat describing the problem and asking if they had longer legs or even a CAD diagram of the legs to get a set printed.

 

[DanF]

Me to Instapark: I'll have the long-legged version, because, well...I'm a leg man"!!!
Sorry - just had to.

 

[SteveK52]

It seems to me, the real solution would have been for the manufacturer to have the lower molded part sit lower in the water. I would think this would prevent both the step and skimmer conditions. I have an Solarbreeze NX2 which is on its last legs but has never gotten stuck in the skimmer and the only time it gets stuck on the steps is if I let the water get really low. It also runs 24 hrs a day, day after day. I'm still hoping that some day spare parts will be available.

 

[Orion7319]

It seems to me, the real solution would have been for the manufacturer to have the lower molded part sit lower in the water. I would think this would prevent both the step and skimmer conditions. I have an Solarbreeze NX2 which is on its last legs but has never gotten stuck in the skimmer and the only time it gets stuck on the steps is if I let the water get really low. It also runs 24 hrs a day, day after day. I'm still hoping that some day spare parts will be available.

From what I’m gathering, it seems that the NX2 was better then the Ariel?

 

[kimkats]

The brain trust here at TFP is something else that is for sure!

 

[Katodude]

From what I’m gathering, it seems that the NX2 was better then the Ariel?

No the Ariel is better than the NX2. The only thing it does worse is battery life. NX2 had all day and night battery life while the Ariel has about 2-3 hours of battery power when the sun is not shining.

In everything else the Ariel is superior.

 

[SteveK52]

I would call battery life a major issue, my NX2 runs all night and probably picks more up during the night than they day. Mainly spiders and other bugs. Battery life of the Ariel is a show stopper for me.

 

[Katodude]

It is absolutely a major issue. Especially since they advertise 10 hour battery life.

 

[Katodude]

So, on another note the folks at Bettabot are very responsive. However, very unhelpful. They denied my request for longer legs, or the CAD files of the current legs. I asked for just some additional legs so that I could modify them. They denied that request saying they dont have any and cautioned me against modifications that would void my warranty.

They suggested I block my stairs to avoid the issue. Not very helpful.

 

[Orion7319]

So, on another note the folks at Bettabot are very responsive. However, very unhelpful. They denied my request for longer legs, or the CAD files of the current legs. I asked for just some additional legs so that I could modify them. They denied that request saying they dont have any and cautioned me against modifications that would void my warranty.

They suggested I block my stairs to avoid the issue. Not very helpful.

Yeah that’s not very helpful. I don’t see how making the legs longer would damage anything or be a reason to void the warranty. I didn’t expect them to give you any CAD files though.

 

[Newdude]

. I don’t see how making the legs longer would damage anything or be a reason to void the warranty.

Because it's the easiest way to get him off the phone. The person on the phone has zero technical expertise, unless they happen to be enthusiast also, but even so wouldn't be allowed to go off script.

 

[Orion7319]

Because it's the easiest way to get him off the phone. The person on the phone has zero technical expertise, unless they happen to be enthusiast also, but even so wouldn't be allowed to go off script.

I wish I had a 3D printer. I’d give it a go if I did. Seems like a very easy part to mock up.