Has anyone ran this pool skimming robot ?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
L

Leeboy20

Bronze Supporter
Jun 12, 2022
134
Canada
Hey Gang , we get so much stuff blowing off the neighbours trees , clogs the skimmer basket etc . Saw this on sale at Best Buy Canada. Ours is 36x18 vinyl liner with soft corners ( like they are not tight to the wall) Wondering if this little guy would be ok in our pool , or is there a better option In similar price ? Thanks 🙏

 
I have a Surfer M1. Others to consider in that price range include the Betta SE Plus, Wybot F1 and Smonet SR5, though I am unaware of the availability and cost in Canada. The Betta in particular is quite popular and well-regarded on TFP.

I’ve been happy with the M1. It did have an early failure after three weeks, Aiper Customer Service took good care of me. I documented my experience here and here. The unit has worked well since then.

The Surfer M1 and S1 are identical except for color and the distribution channels through which they are sold.

The Surfers have some interesting features:
  • In addition to charging via the solar panel, they include an A/C charging adapter. A/C charging was a requirement for me.
  • The 5L basket is accessed from the top of the skimmer (instead of sliding out the ends) and has a 200um mesh. The basket is fully enclosed - as opposed to an open top or side - so debris won’t fall out when the skimmer reverses in the pool or when you’re carrying the basket to dump the contents.
  • It has an App which is used to communicate with the skimmer, which shows:
    • the connection status (Bluetooth & WiFi),
    • Surfer Status (e.g., moving, stuck on something, etc),
    • battery charge (in 1% increments) and
    • displays the current water & (approximate) air temperatures.
  • The App has a Remote Control to manually maneuver the skimmer. The Remote Control works, but has a 2-3 second response lag. Still, it's kind of fun leisurely playing with it and directing it to floating debris. Most importantly, it entertains the grandkids!
  • You can remotely put the Surfer into Standby mode. The Standby mode is useful to conserve battery life when active skimming isn't needed - as with calm winds overnight or on cloudy days. Then when needed, you can reactivate the Cleaning mode.
  • The app works from anywhere you have internet access.
Hope this helps!
 
  • Like
Reactions: mickey4paws and Leeboy20
I have the Betta SE Plus. I'm sure either would be a good choice. There's no control via app with the Betta, but it does have a nearly useless remote. I'm happy with my bot. Check pricing and availability in your neck of the woods and choose the best value. Just my two cents.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mickey4paws and Leeboy20
Aiper now has an S2 out. Seems to be slightly better than the S1.

One thing that caught my eye is they reference some sort of anti dump design. One weakness of the Betta is that when they reverse sometime they do spit out some of the debris. Now I am not saying the Aiper is better, I have no evidence of that.

Also my Bettas do occasionally get stuck at the skimmer due to suction. Dont know if the Aipers would be better at that.

If I did not already have two working Betta’s I would buy the Aiper for fun.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mickey4paws, Buggs and Leeboy20
The Surfer S1/M1 has a 4,000 mAh battery vs. the Betta's 4,400 mAh. So compared to the Betta, the Surfer has a smaller battery & more gizmos.

The Surfer will not run 24/7 for me currently. The Aiper specifications state a full-battery-only run-time of 20 hours. In my experience, my Surfer's no-solar run-time is closer to 15 hours. Earlier this year, I tried letting it run in Cleaning mode overnight following a cool, sunny day. The battery peaked at the end of the afternoon with ~90% charge. It goes into "sun-seeking" mode after falling to about 30% charge and then into Standby at around 25%. Running through the night and into the early sunrise, it went into Standby mode before the sun started shining on the pool. It sat motionless for a couple hours until the solar-charge got the battery power high enough to restart it. Perhaps it will last a full 24-hours when the days get longer and sunnier.

Typically, at the end of a sunny day, the Surfer has around 90% charge from solar charging. By bedtime, the charge is down to 80%. When I retire for the evening, I use the App to set the Surfer to Standby mode. In the morning, the charge has dropped to around 70%, when I use the App to change it back to Cleaning mode. It runs the rest of the day (assuming its sunny) and subsequently charges back to 90%.

Katodude, The Surfer similarly gets stuck on my pool skimmer. When it does, the Surfer goes into Standby mode & Aiper App reports "Help! I'm Stuck! Please Assist!" I haven't installed the pool-noodle fix yet.

gvc, I noticed that the recently-released Maytronics "Skimmi" cleaner also has paddle-wheels. I'm very surprised it doesn't have A/C charging capability - that seems like a huge oversight. It has several other "features" that I consider puzzling and troubling, especially considering it's relatively high price.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: mickey4paws
We have the Aiper Surfer S2 on order being delivered next week. I think the battery is 5200mAh, but I don't know what else might be different from the M1 mentioned. The Surfer S2 comes with a 2 year warranty and my credit card has an extended warranty benefit for another 2 years. So hopefully this will work great because we had so much stuff in the pool that came down from the trees (of course right after we cleaned the pool), I need something good.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rancho Cost-a-Lotta and Buggs

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply