Instapark Betta Automatic Pool Skimmer

[stormook]

I have had the Betta for a little over a month and a half (since Feb. 18, 2021). The first one had several problems within the first two days. The company, which has excellent customer service, immediately sent me a new replacement. The second one went into service on Feb. 24. It runs day and night even during cloudy weather. It does take breaks for charging and except for one problem has done a great job keeping my pool clean. I am wondering if the problem I have had twice has occurred with anyone else. The problem is the propellers stop turning though the paddle wheel keeps turning and the blue flashing lights flash properly. The only way to get it going is to turn it off then right back on and it then operates fine.
The company is willing to send me another one and said they have had no reports of this glitch from other users, but this same problem, among others, did occur with my first unit. If no-one else has experienced this maybe I just got two not quite perfect units, but if others have had this problem it will not be good after the warranty period for us.

 

[Orion7319]

I have had the Betta for a little over a month and a half (since Feb. 18, 2021). The first one had several problems within the first two days. The company, which has excellent customer service, immediately sent me a new replacement. The second one went into service on Feb. 24. It runs day and night even during cloudy weather. It does take breaks for charging and except for one problem has done a great job keeping my pool clean. I am wondering if the problem I have had twice has occurred with anyone else. The problem is the propellers stop turning though the paddle wheel keeps turning and the blue flashing lights flash properly. The only way to get it going is to turn it off then right back on and it then operates fine.
The company is willing to send me another one and said they have had no reports of this glitch from other users, but this same problem, among others, did occur with my first unit. If no-one else has experienced this maybe I just got two not quite perfect units, but if others have had this problem it will not be good after the warranty period for us.

So far mine has been running fine. Nothing like what you are describing.

 

[stormook]

So far mine has been running fine. Nothing like what you are describing.

Thanks Orion for your input. If it happens again I will not do anything and see if it corrects itself. If it does correct itself I will just assume that it happens occasionally and I just happened to catch it a couple of times.

 

[Orion7319]

I’ve had my betta since March 5th and it completely died last week. It just cycles from blue and red lights, and the propellers never turn. The good news is the company is very responsive and is sending out a replacement. I hope it proves to be more robust then this one.

 

[stormook]

Mine finally failed like yours did, Orion, on Mar. 19th. I sent it in for repair with the shipping label Instapark sent me. They said a 3 day turnaround time. When I called after three days they said that parts had to be ordered and they did not know when they would be in. Mine was a supposedly Feb. 2021 model. Apparently we are the beta testers for this skimmer and maybe that is why it is called the Betta. It has been out a year and I guess they have not got the problems worked out yet. The good news is that their customer service is so great.

 

[Orion7319]

Mine finally failed like yours did, Orion, on Mar. 19th. I sent it in for repair with the shipping label Instapark sent me. They said a 3 day turnaround time. When I called after three days they said that parts had to be ordered and they did not know when they would be in. Mine was a supposedly Feb. 2021 model. Apparently we are the beta testers for this skimmer and maybe that is why it is called the Betta. It has been out a year and I guess they have not got the problems worked out yet. The good news is that their customer service is so great.

Haha! Yep that’s what I was thinking just yesterday, this is a beta product all right! Yesterday my replacement started swimming in circles and wouldn’t go straight. It didn’t want to work all day. It would work fine with the remote though. I took it out of the pool and let it sit overnight in an area on my pool deck that gets the first morning light like I do every day. I put it in the pool this morning and it swam straight for around 2 minutes and eventually ran right into the wall with a bit of force. It started swimming in circles again. This made me realize that most likely something is loose in it, and it more then likely has something to do with the sensors. So I took it out of the pool, gave it a firm whack at each of its 4 sensor locations and put it back in the pool. It has been running fine now all day so far. When you get yours back and if it acts up again, try giving it a few good whacks. I emailed instapark about it last night, but due to Memorial Day they aren’t in. I’m going to ask them what’s up with it and might ask for another replacement.

 

[stormook]

Haha! Yep that’s what I was thinking just yesterday, this is a beta product all right! Yesterday my replacement started swimming in circles and wouldn’t go straight. It didn’t want to work all day. It would work fine with the remote though. I took it out of the pool and let it sit overnight in an area on my pool deck that gets the first morning light like I do every day. I put it in the pool this morning and it swam straight for around 2 minutes and eventually ran right into the wall with a bit of force. It started swimming in circles again. This made me realize that most likely something is loose in it, and it more then likely has something to do with the sensors. So I took it out of the pool, gave it a firm whack at each of its 4 sensor locations and put it back in the pool. It has been running fine now all day so far. When you get yours back and if it acts up again, try giving it a few good whacks. I emailed instapark about it last night, but due to Memorial Day they aren’t in. I’m going to ask them what’s up with it and might ask for another replacement.

If they would only guarantee that they would take care of us until they get it right I would be happier. I am worried about what will happen after a year goes bye and the warranty is gone. I forgot to mention that on my second unit one day I noticed that the left wheel assembly was gone. I found it quickly on the pool bottom but it took awhile to find the long bolt that secures it, so check the tightness of your wheel bolts. Since I haven't had the thing for over a week now I can see what a great job it was doing. I skim the pool by had everyday but do not do anywhere near as good a job as the Betta did.

 

[Orion7319]

If they would only guarantee that they would take care of us until they get it right I would be happier. I am worried about what will happen after a year goes bye and the warranty is gone. I forgot to mention that on my second unit one day I noticed that the left wheel assembly was gone. I found it quickly on the pool bottom but it took awhile to find the long bolt that secures it, so check the tightness of your wheel bolts. Since I haven't had the thing for over a week now I can see what a great job it was doing. I skim the pool by had everyday but do not do anywhere near as good a job as the Betta did.

That’s exactly how I feel about it! They should offer a much longer warranty. I am very skeptical that these things will last more then a few months. It sounds to me like their first round of issues with the motors rusting up on people were a design flaw issue. These issues with these newer ones we are having sound more like a manufacturing issue. I am thinking that at some point we might have to figure out how to repair these ourselves, or at least figure out how to make them a bit more robust. Thanks for the heads up about the wheel bolts.

 

[stormook]

That’s exactly how I feel about it! They should offer a much longer warranty. I am very skeptical that these things will last more then a few months. It sounds to me like their first round of issues with the motors rusting up on people were a design flaw issue. These issues with these newer ones we are having sound more like a manufacturing issue. I am thinking that at some point we might have to figure out how to repair these ourselves, or at least figure out how to make them a bit more robust. Thanks for the heads up about the wheel bolts.

You are welcome. It would be great if we could repair them ourselves. Outside of the prop motors and the paddle wheel motor the only other thing (and it is a major thing) is what passes for a brain in the unit. If it's programming fails we are out of luck I think. Let me know what they do about your latest problem.
My first one went in circles like yours did and I noticed that one of the motors had stopped. After I turned it off and back on it worked ok for awhile then messed up in other ways. That is when I sent that one in for a total replacement.

 

[Orion7319]

You are welcome. It would be great if we could repair them ourselves. Outside of the prop motors and the paddle wheel motor the only other thing (and it is a major thing) is what passes for a brain in the unit. If it's programming fails we are out of luck I think. Let me know what they do about your latest problem.
My first one went in circles like yours did and I noticed that one of the motors had stopped. After I turned it off and back on it worked ok for awhile then messed up in other ways. That is when I sent that one in for a total replacement.

Yes if the brains fail we are out of luck. I think mine was having something going on with its sensors. I have no idea what it’s using for sensors. Lasers? Supposedly this replacement I got has updated programming then my first one. It does seem to try and avoid obstacles more. The first one liked to run full steam into the pool wall. This one tries to avoid that. They upgraded the motors apparently, and then rated it for use with saltwater pools afterwards.

 

[textommyboy]

How is everyone's Betta holding up now and are you'll still happy with them? My second Solar-Breeze just bit the dust and I am considering getting the Betta to replace it.

 

[stormook]

Well Tommyboy, I just got my repaired Betta back on Monday. This is my second Betta, first one received in early Feb. 2021 and the new replacement they sent me received in later Feb. The first one had motor failure and who knows what else. The second one had motor failure and other problems after 3 months. It looks like they replaced a motor on the repaired one but they do not tell you what they did. How long this will keep working is anyones guess. As I mentioned in a past post I do not believe any of these skimmers are reliable. Everyone is now watching the new SolarBreeze Arial to see if that has any reliability.
The Betta is a great machine when it works, quiet, large easy to clean basket and it does a great job cleaning, but so far it has not been dependable. The Betta has been out for about one year I believe.

 

[Orion7319]

How is everyone's Betta holding up now and are you'll still happy with them? My second Solar-Breeze just bit the dust and I am considering getting the Betta to replace it.

I’ve got a thread going here on my experiences with it. I just received their 3rd revision of it, but unfortunately they sent me one with two right propellors installed. Hopefully this newest revision proves to be robust. They do seem to be trying and they will send you a replacement robot and restart your 1 year warranty period should you have any issues. When it works it works great.

Instapark Betta review

I thought I would post my impressions of the Instapark betta and my experience with it. The beta does an excellent job cleaning the pool, it is the only skimmer I found on the market that has a very large container for collecting debris. I get a lot of pineneedles in my pool and this feature was...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[cledee]

So it seems like these fail around, before 1 year mark and they only have a 1 year warranty. That would make me nervous to purchase the device at the current price point of $589. I was looking for something because I only have 1 skimmer and I have like 40 trees from the neighbors spewing pollen, ect.,

 

[Orion7319]

Well Tommyboy, I just got my repaired Betta back on Monday. This is my second Betta, first one received in early Feb. 2021 and the new replacement they sent me received in later Feb. The first one had motor failure and who knows what else. The second one had motor failure and other problems after 3 months. It looks like they replaced a motor on the repaired one but they do not tell you what they did. How long this will keep working is anyones guess. As I mentioned in a past post I do not believe any of these skimmers are reliable. Everyone is now watching the new SolarBreeze Arial to see if that has any reliability.
The Betta is a great machine when it works, quiet, large easy to clean basket and it does a great job cleaning, but so far it has not been dependable. The Betta has been out for about one year I believe.

They have sent me brand new ones each time. I never opt for the repair, I tell them I want a new one. That way you get their latest revision and all the updates. They are on revision 3 now..

 

[Orion7319]

So it seems like these fail around, before 1 year mark and they only have a 1 year warranty. That would make me nervous to purchase the device at the current price point of $589. I was looking for something because I only have 1 skimmer and I have like 40 trees from the neighbors spewing pollen, ect.,

Yes when they named the product betta they meant it. It’s been a bit of a hassle for sure, but when they act up, so far they will ship you a brand new one if you request it and they restart your one year warranty with the new one.

 

[stormook]

Hi Orion. I just got my repaired Betta back on Monday and put it in the pool yesterday. It is still working today. It looks like they replaced a motor but they do not say what they repaired. Now I get to wait and see how long it lasts.

 

[stormook]

So it seems like these fail around, before 1 year mark and they only have a 1 year warranty. That would make me nervous to purchase the device at the current price point of $589. I was looking for something because I only have 1 skimmer and I have like 40 trees from the neighbors spewing pollen, ect.,

Hey cledee, yes they are very expensive but the price on Amazon fluctuates so watch it for awhile before ordering it. The company does have great customer service but that does not mean much if the product constantly fails. As you may have already read I am on my second one and that has now had to be repaired once. The unit is only 3 months old. It works great, when it works. Good luck.

 

[Orion7319]

Hi Orion. I just got my repaired Betta back on Monday and put it in the pool yesterday. It is still working today. It looks like they replaced a motor but they do not say what they repaired. Now I get to wait and see how long it lasts.

Yes this is my 3rd one. Like I said this one is different then my last two and apparently their 3rd revision. If the skimmer wasn’t so great when it works and if they weren’t so easy to deal with as a company, I would have just asked for my money back by now. (Which they did offer to do). It seems to me they are getting their design flaws squared away fairly quickly, but it still remains to be seen if I can get one that holds up long term.

 

[stormook]

Yes this is my 3rd one. Like I said this one is different then my last two and apparently their 3rd revision. If the skimmer wasn’t so great when it works and if they weren’t so easy to deal with as a company, I would have just asked for my money back by now. (Which they did offer to do). It seems to me they are getting their design flaws squared away fairly quickly, but it still remains to be seen if I can get one that holds up long term.

How is this one different. I noticed (I think) on my newly repaired one that the motors are different, or at least different from each other, but otherwise it looks the same as my first Betta.