Instapark Betta review

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When my pump was at high speed (>2700, which seems to make my heater work better), the Betta sometimes pauses at the skimmer. It seems to figure its way out on its own. It could be that when the pump slows down as the heater shuts off it makes it easier for it to move away. Before I put the guards on, it would sometimes get wedged in and even turning off the pump wasn't sufficient for it to free itself. Now, I set it and forget it, so to speak. It has been moving around without my intervention for weeks (except to empty the tray).

Instapark originally referred me to a YouTube video that recommended putting some kind of buoy in front of the skimmers, but that seemed too complicated. The referred me to time stamp 4:32.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQDYinuFSb4

The Hydrotools guard was a bit less obtrusive and pretty inexpensive.
 
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DanF said:
I am thinking of ordering a Betta today. How do I ensure I get the latest model i.e. the one with the small power button?
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I think they should all be the new ones, but I’m not sure. I do know that they were out of stock until recently of their blue ones and just got those in. Everyone posting here of their blue ones seem to be the new ones. I hope that helps. You could just contact them directly to make sure you get the newest model with the smaller power button. (Scroll down for contact info) BETTA Warranty Information
 
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Thanks again gents. I just placed my order over the phone with Instapark. I told them that Amazon had a $30 coupon and they matched it. I also asked if the unit would be the latest, with the small red power button, and was told yes. They're shipping today :cool:.
 
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Orion7319 said:
I think they should all be the new ones, but I’m not sure. I do know that they were out of stock until recently of their blue ones and just got those in. Everyone posting here of their blue ones seem to be the new ones. I hope that helps. You could just contact them directly to make sure you get the newest model with the smaller power button. (Scroll down for contact info) BETTA Warranty Information
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Hi Orion. How has your new Betta been doing. Mine had a glitch a little over a week ago. The props stopped but the impeller kept turning. I turned it off and back on and it has been operating properly since. Maybe it needs a break every week or so. I have not noticed this one shutting off for charging at all like my past ones did. I only get small stuff in the basket so I only clean it out about every two weeks. It does keep the pool very clean. This one also seems more powerful than the earlier ones.
 
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e_sully said:
Here are some pictures. They are also good at keeping floats and toys out. You can get several to cover the entire skimmer inlet, but I was only interested in blocking the Betta. They are just held in place by the tension of the curved plastic bars.View attachment 350641
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I noticed my Betta getting stuck in one of our skimmer inlets and will need to reinstall the cover (same as above). We originally got these to keep the kids' toys out of there but quit using them. Hopefully I didn't throw them away and can find them again.
 
stormook said:
Hi Orion. How has your new Betta been doing. Mine had a glitch a little over a week ago. The props stopped but the impeller kept turning. I turned it off and back on and it has been operating properly since. Maybe it needs a break every week or so. I have not noticed this one shutting off for charging at all like my past ones did. I only get small stuff in the basket so I only clean it out about every two weeks. It does keep the pool very clean. This one also seems more powerful than the earlier ones.
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I haven’t experienced any major glitches. Once it threw the red and blue flashing fault code for no apparent reason and stopped itself. I turned it off and on again and it worked fine. That’s been about it.
 
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Orion7319 said:
I haven’t experienced any major glitches. Once it threw the red and blue flashing fault code for no apparent reason and stopped itself. I turned it off and on again and it worked fine. That’s been about it.
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Mine did that again today. Last time I noticed the left prop was binding, this time the right prop was binding. Both times the paddle wheel kept going. Turning it off and right back on gets things going again. This is the second time since last Thursday this has happened so my confidence in Instapark has diminished again. With the earlier units once problems started they continued. When this happens it has a long blue flash, no red.
 
stormook said:
Mine did that again today. Last time I noticed the left prop was binding, this time the right prop was binding. Both times the paddle wheel kept going. Turning it off and right back on gets things going again. This is the second time since last Thursday this has happened so my confidence in Instapark has diminished again. With the earlier units once problems started they continued. When this happens it has a long blue flash, no red.
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You are right when these things start to go they do kind of start out as minor glitches at first. If the motors are going bad inside the housing there is not much you can do about it other then return it. The only other thing I could think of that might cause the propellors to bind like that is some grit in between the prop and the shaft. I noticed some grit inside of mine when I took them off.
 
Orion7319 said:
You are right when these things start to go they do kind of start out as minor glitches at first. If the motors are going bad inside the housing there is not much you can do about it other then return it. The only other thing I could think of that might cause the propellors to bind like that is some grit in between the prop and the shaft. I noticed some grit inside of mine when I took them off.
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Unfortunately I don't believe it is anything external that got into the motor as it starts up immediately when I turn it off and back on. What I have felt when this problem occurs (the problem being that the Betta's propellers stop but the paddle wheel keeps going) is that when I try to spin the propellers one moves freely but the other resists spinning as if a magnet is restricting it. This restriction is felt when the unit is still powered on. As soon as I turn it off I can spin both propellers easily.
 
stormook said:
Unfortunately I don't believe it is anything external that got into the motor as it starts up immediately when I turn it off and back on. What I have felt when this problem occurs (the problem being that the Betta's propellers stop but the paddle wheel keeps going) is that when I try to spin the propellers one moves freely but the other resists spinning as if a magnet is restricting it. This restriction is felt when the unit is still powered on. As soon as I turn it off I can spin both propellers easily.
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That’s no good! I thought they had worked out the issues with the propellors with the redesign of them.
 
For what it's worth, mine got caught up in a volleyball net a couple of days ago that had fallen in the pool. One of the propellers was completely tangled up. Untangled the net and set the Betta on it's away. Seems to be working as usual, maybe the newest motor is more robust than before.
 
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Overall I've been pretty happy with the Betta thus far, after having it in the pool for about a week. The battery definitely makes it through the night, even after a few rare cloudy days here. The skimming action and debris pick up is very good, and I anticipate needing to use my bottom cleaning robot less as a result. I have had a few instances where the unit stopped, with alternating red/blue lights, requiring me to stop and restart the unit. Hopefully those occurrences will quit in time. Also, the Betta was getting stuck at the skimmer when the pump was on high speed; once I switched to low speed it did not get stuck.

I haven't found myself needing to use the remote much, but I could not figure out hoe to stop the Betta with the remote. Is there a trick to that?

One last note in case Instapark Customer Service hasn't contacted you yet...I received an email saying:
Hello,

Just a friendly reminder.

Now that the weather is hotter, ONLY CHARGE THE BETTA POOL SKIMMER IN THE POOL.

DO NOT charge the Betta Pool Skimmer on the ground. If you charge it on the ground, it will overheat and damage the robot.

Thank you,

Instapark Customer Service
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DanF said:
Overall I've been pretty happy with the Betta thus far, after having it in the pool for about a week. The battery definitely makes it through the night, even after a few rare cloudy days here. The skimming action and debris pick up is very good, and I anticipate needing to use my bottom cleaning robot less as a result. I have had a few instances where the unit stopped, with alternating red/blue lights, requiring me to stop and restart the unit. Hopefully those occurrences will quit in time. Also, the Betta was getting stuck at the skimmer when the pump was on high speed; once I switched to low speed it did not get stuck.

I haven't found myself needing to use the remote much, but I could not figure out hoe to stop the Betta with the remote. Is there a trick to that?

One last note in case Instapark Customer Service hasn't contacted you yet...I received an email saying:
Click to expand...
Interesting, that’s the first I have heard about charging it in the pool. They should really start including that warning in the manual.
 
Orion7319 said:
Interesting, that’s the first I have heard about charging it in the pool. They should really start including that warning in the manual.
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Actually, my bad. It was also in my manual, as a "stickie" over some previous text.
 

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