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

[Katodude]

So as my Betta makes its way across the country, I have promised to do a side to side comparison.

Step 1 is how much stuff does each one pick up. So I cleaned out the Ariel and put it into the pool this morning with a clean basket. I will leave it in for 5 days (until Tuesday morning) and then see how much stuff it has picked up. I will pass it at least once to run the robot as there is some stuff in the bottom of the pool and the landscaper comes tomorrow and the Ariel will not get everything.

Tuesday Ariel comes out and Betta goes in for the same 5 day period.

Now I agree this is probably not completely scientific as debris may vary over the 5 days.

Actually, wait. I am going to run the robot now, and start with a clean pool. I will refrain from running the robot until I take the Ariel out. Then will run a full robot session and measure what gets picked up. This should help measure how much the two skimmers miss.

 

[Katodude]

So I am a YouTube star. Created my own YouTube channel (Andy the pool guy).

I set up the GoPro10 to record time lapse of the Dolphin cleaning the pool. Hey GoPro guys you really should include a tripod adapter with your very expensive camera!!! Anyway ordered one from Amazon for $7. Managed to rig up the tripod so it worked good enough for today.

Here is my first official YouTube video. I recorded it, and uploaded it all by myself (can you tell I am very proud)!!! I did the time lapse at every 5 seconds, I might slow that down a little for the skimmers.

Dont forget to like and subscribe (not sure what that means but everybody on YouTube says it).

My goal is to get to about 7 or 8 followers and 20something views. I think that should be able to fund my lifestyle!!

 

[SteveK52]

Received my Betta 2 yesterday and I will have to say I am very disappointed. First issue it gets stuck on the steps with or without the extensions down. Second issue it has been sitting in front of the skimmer sideways for the last two hours. Apparently not enough power to get out of either of these situations. My pump is set on a very low flow so it's not like there's a lot of suction there. Looks like it will be going back. A huge disappointment.

 

[Orion7319]

M

Received my Betta 2 yesterday and I will have to say I am very disappointed. First issue it gets stuck on the steps with or without the extensions down. Second issue it has been sitting in front of the skimmer sideways for the last two hours. Apparently not enough power to get out of either of these situations. My pump is set on a very low flow so it's not like there's a lot of suction there. Looks like it will be going back. A huge disappointment.

Mine will get stuck in the skimmer like that if the water level gets a bit low.

 

[SteveK52]

We'll see how easy it is to get my money back.

 

[Katodude]

So advantage Ariel on that one. The Ariel has never gotten stuck at the skimmers (I remember the first generation solarbreeze did that). The paddles and motors are pretty strong.

However, it does beach itself on my first step. When I fill my pool manually I tend not to put a lot of water in so I can leave room for the 2-3 inches of rain that can come out of nowhere. I was hoping to see how the legs on Betta manage that.

But Ariel caught a break, we got an inch of rain the other night and so its not benching itself anymore. We will probably get a bunch more as a tropical storm is barreling in my directIon.

 

[SteveK52]

I typically try to keep my water level about 1 1/2 inches below the point where it will go out the overflow, leaving room for some rain. From my observations it appears the Betta just doesnt have enough power to get out of the two situations. I would be interested in trying an Ariel accept there appears to be no extended warranty option and its to pricey for a 1 year warranty.

 

[Orion7319]

So advantage Ariel on that one. The Ariel has never gotten stuck at the skimmers (I remember the first generation solarbreeze did that). The paddles and motors are pretty strong.

However, it does beach itself on my first step. When I fill my pool manually I tend not to put a lot of water in so I can leave room for the 2-3 inches of rain that can come out of nowhere. I was hoping to see how the legs on Betta manage that.

But Ariel caught a break, we got an inch of rain the other night and so its not benching itself anymore. We will probably get a bunch more as a tropical storm is barreling in my directIon.

All of the betas I have gone though so far has only gotten stuck in my skimmers 4 times. I have had to send the old bettas off more times then they have gotten stuck in my skimmer. With my pool the water level has to be just so for it to get stuck. A quarter of an inch either way from that particular level and it doesn’t happen ever. I do have a variable speed pump though and I rarely run the pump on max. For people with a single speed pump I would imagine any of these skimmer bots could get stuck in the skimmer. To prevent them from getting stuck in this scenario a skimmer wizard or something similar, might be necessary.

Skimmer Wizard

We regret that due to the high increase in shipping we had to raise our shipping cost for the first time in 7 years

skimmerwizard.com

 

[Katodude]

Well looks like I already broke my open mind rule. Thanks Orion for calling me out on it. I will make sure this report stays objective as possible.

However, we are going to have to hit the pause button on it. It has been raining and overcast all day and the Ariel did not even turn on today. And since we have a tropical storm on the way this probably wont get better in the next few days.

We are predicated to get another 7 inches of rain. The pool is already up to the overflow so it should be fun to watch.

 

[Orion7319]

Well looks like I already broke my open mind rule. Thanks Orion for calling me out on it. I will make sure this report stays objective as possible.

However, we are going to have to hit the pause button on it. It has been raining and overcast all day and the Ariel did not even turn on today. And since we have a tropical storm on the way this probably wont get better in the next few days.

We are predicated to get another 7 inches of rain. The pool is already up to the overflow so it should be fun to watch.

We get tropical storms here as well. Usually hurricanes spinning down by the time they get this far inland. Sounds like your going to get some flooding. Stay safe!

 

[Newdude]

We will probably get a bunch more as a tropical storm is barreling in my directIon.

NOT cool man !!!! I hadn't seen that yet and it means I'll have to duck about 3 days later.

 

[Katodude]

Well right now it is only Potential Tropical Cyclone One. Expected to develop into a tropical storm before it crosses Florida and visits us. Dont worry @Newdude its suppose to go out to sea after that.

But we are already getting gifts from it. Good thing I added a bag of salt a couple of days ago.

 

[Orion7319]

Well looks like I already broke my open mind rule. Thanks Orion for calling me out on it. I will make sure this report stays objective as possible.

I think your being objective. You can’t really compare them though until you have both units in. If the motors are more powerful on the Arial, that should be pointed out. I suspect though that because every pool is different there probably isn’t going to be one of these that is going to be the best for every type of pool and under every type of circumstance.

I wish someone with one of these would do a review. But I’m not sure they have made one of these in quite a while. The website said they were sold out last season as well.

The Skimdevil Pure

The Pure is currently sold out BUT coming back soon! We've worked hard to improve upon our first Skimdevil model to create the Skimdevil Pure. The new robotic pool skimmer - Skimdevil is updated with: - 15% more efficient solar panels - Large, updated debris basket and backwash flapper...

www.skimdevil.com

 

[Katodude]

Ok, getting a 3rd pool skimmer might be a little excessive, even for me. Dont know if they are still making those anyway. Nice that it has an external charger. I wish some of these did too for those excessive cloudy days.

 

[Orion7319]

Ok, getting a 3rd pool skimmer might be a little excessive, even for me. Dont know if they are still making those anyway. Nice that it has an external charger. I wish some of these did too for those excessive cloudy days.

Lol! That would be excessive! I just want to know more about that one and if anyone could review it. It’s the external charger that sets that one apart. It’s like vaporware at this point though, so a review is probably pointless. Right now I’m happy with the warranty and performance of the beta so far, but if the beta 2 didn’t adequately address the reliability issues of the original beta and if their customer service ever takes a dive that would change my opinion about them. Its always a good thing to have other alternatives. I am looking forward to your side by side comparison.

 

[Newdude]

Can we wear fancy hats to the races like the Kentucky Derby ? Let's go all out !!

 

[Orion7319]

Can we wear fancy hats to the races like the Kentucky Derby ? Let's go all out !!

I’m hoping he puts them in the pool at the same time. I keep hoping that they are programmed to try to destroy each other on sight… like battle bots.

 

[tcat]

I had the Solar Breeze for 3 years and the Betta2 for a month or two. Betta2 wins on all counts for me. Breeze got stuck in skimmer and on top step (it rides a bit lower). So far neither has occurred with Betta2. Basket on Betta2 is much larger and much easier to empty. Less stuff goes back into pool pulling Betta2 out (no stuff). Breeze died at about 9PM after sunny day and did not go during cloudy days. Betta 2 will last until 6 or 7 am! Will move most of the time if cloudy. Remote on Betta2 is fun and useful. If this lasts 3 years (which it's warrantied for if purchased), it's a no brainer. Betta2 with 3 year warranty costs less. Betta2 has much better Amazon reviews.

 

[Katodude]

Well now I am just excited. We are going to have bot races and bot wars!!!

For the races, yes we can wear fancy hats and have mint juleps.

Then for the wars, we need to dress all funny like the hunger games.

This will be much more fun than I initially thought. Now if this rain we stop and we can get some sun we can restart the games!!!

 

[Orion7319]

Well now I am just excited. We are going to have bot races and bot wars!!!

For the races, yes we can wear fancy hats and have mint juleps.

Then for the wars, we need to dress all funny like the hunger games.

This will be much more fun than I initially thought. Now if this rain we stop and we can get some sun we can restart the games!!!

Think of all the money you can make on bets..