Initial Impressions of the Solar Breeze NX2

[dallasaggie]

Hey guys-

After I realized the pool in my recently purchased home only had one not-so-effective skimmer, I decided to take the plunge on the Solar Breeze NX2. It just arrived today and I was pretty impressed after seeing its skimming ability. I did have some questions on how it would operate in my pool, so I called the customer support line.

I was surprised to hear the CEO's voice when the answered my call! (I had recognized it from a YouTube video of the product) He very patiently explained how the unit operated and told me to call back if I ever had any questions.

The jury is still out on whether this will be worth the significant investment, but I thought I would share the great customer support experience I received. If you have any questions about the NX2 I'm happy to share.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

@Katodude has several posts on his experience with the original Solar Breeze NX model. Looks like he got about 3 years out of it before it gave up the ghost. Hopefully the NX2 has better longevity as $600 is an awful lot of money to pay for a robotic skimmer.

Why is your current skimmer “not effective” ? Is it poor placement (wrong end of the pool for the prevailing winds) or is it plumbing?

 

[dallasaggie]

Good question. I’m still in the 30 day guarantee period so if there’s a smarter way to spend my money I’d love to know.

Yes, the single skimmer is on the wrong side in my opinion, and it’s missing a Weir door. It does fill up with debris but there’s still just so much between the pollen and leaves. I’ll try to post some pictures later and get everyone’s opinions.

 

[Katodude]

I am absolutely loving the NX2. I have had mine for about 30 days now and it is working great. The old one seem to get stuck a lot, but not this guy. It picks up a lot of debris and the surface of the pool just looks cleaner. The solar panels, motor, batteries are all improved and it seems to run almost 24 hours.

I am willing to go in the highly recommend category.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Good question. I’m still in the 30 day guarantee period so if there’s a smarter way to spend my money I’d love to know.

Yes, the single skimmer is on the wrong side in my opinion, and it’s missing a Weir door. It does fill up with debris but there’s still just so much between the pollen and leaves. I’ll try to post some pictures later and get everyone’s opinions.

I’m sure the Solar Breeze will be great BUT I would highly suggest you look into replacing the weir door on your skimmer. There is absolutely no function to a skimmer when there is no weir door, that’s the entire purpose. I agree that skimmer placement is key as I have a single skimmer pool and wish there were one at the deep end because of prevailing winds, but placement of the skimmer can’t be easily fixed. A weir door can be replaced.

Keep us posted on the NX2. Someday I might consider one but not right now.

 

[dallasaggie]

I am absolutely loving the NX2. I have had mine for about 30 days now and it is working great. The old one seem to get stuck a lot, but not this guy. It picks up a lot of debris and the surface of the pool just looks cleaner. The solar panels, motor, batteries are all improved and it seems to run almost 24 hours.

I am willing to go in the highly recommend category.

I see you use a Robot floor cleaner. Do you remove the NX2 while your robot cleans? My NX2 gets caught on my Polaris hose even after removing a few floats. My coping rocks are also uneven so even after raising the water level it’s still getting stuck for hours at a time.

To be honest at this point I’m not super wowed- for slightly More I could’ve upgraded my Polaris to a robot...

 

[Katodude]

I turn off the NX2 while the robot cleans. When I know the landscaper is coming. I run the M500 in the morning. Pull it to the side, and start the NX2. I then go golfing. When I come back I turn off the NX2, run the M500. Then turn the NX2 on again.

I am OCD about the pool, and this is a system that works for me. If there is a piece of technology that will remove labor from me I am ready to pay for it.

 

[dallasaggie]

Well after using the NX2 for a couple of weeks my wife and I decided our money was much better spent upgrading to a robotic vacuum over our Polaris pressure cleaner. So we have now returned the NX2 and purchased an Active 20 robot. I liked the NX2 but skimming manually is much easier than vacuuming manually. I think eventually I'll want to purchase an NX2 again, but I will definitely snag a refurb model on sale for $400- a much more reasonable price for the unit I think.

 

[ap3004]

Dallasaggie, good decision....I have had the Solar Breeze version 2 for about 5 years now. It has its shortcomings! It gets stuck all the times when the water is slightly above normal (like now with all this rain). Also with all these clouds it has not been able to charge. I wrote to the CEO years ago and asked for a secondary way to charge the unit, in case of multiple days of cloud cover. No luck (some competing units allow for secondary charging). I still have to manually skim the sides by the tile line as the solar breeze does not get the stuff off the tiles. All in all, in my opinion, not yet ready for prime time. Its ok but not 600.00 worth of OK!