Instapark Betta review

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As promised some photos. Last empty was about 3.5 hours ago. Betta stopped moving. This is how a clumped paddle blockage looks - not as nice as the rounded mess earlier and the other photo shows the accumulation around the shaft.
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You'd think it would be easy to put a rubber seal in there to prevent stuff from wrapping. Send the photos to Betta, maybe they'll redesign.
 
I wanted to let the people who may be waiting for their Betta II to come in, I ordered mine about 1.5 weeks ago. I thought it would ship soon so I contacted them about a tracking number. They got right back to me and said they were having a shipping issue and I would get the tracking within a week. I never did get the tracking but the Betta showed up 2 days ago. It is an amazing little machine, I am stunned at how long the battery runs for. Anyways, I wanted to let you know yours still may be showing up soon even if you are waiting for the tracking number.
 
Same story, I'm supposed to get mine tomorrow. Had a tracking number 10 days ago, just hadn't left the warehouse until yesterday.
 
I've read this thread with great interest and would love for the Betta 2 to work well for skimming the pollen, catkins, and everything else that's blowing around and covering our pool. I'm disappointed to read that catkins wrap around the paddle. I'm guessing that's no fun to clean and could be a show stopper for me. Is there any benefit/disadvantage/warranty concern with buying from Amazon rather than direct?
 
djpool21 said:
I've read this thread with great interest and would love for the Betta 2 to work well for skimming the pollen, catkins, and everything else that's blowing around and covering our pool. I'm disappointed to read that catkins wrap around the paddle. I'm guessing that's no fun to clean and could be a show stopper for me. Is there any benefit/disadvantage/warranty concern with buying from Amazon rather than direct?
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I wouldn’t decide against the Betta because of the paddle wrapping annoyance. It isn’t that disgusting to clean. Rather simple. If I would remember to bring a plastic knife with me it would be cleaned in no time. Otherwise it just takes several minutes of spinning and grabbing a freed end of a catkin or pine straw. Betta is probably the best purchase I’ve made in a long time.

Given all the customer service contact I read about before purchasing I decided to buy from Betta. I’m not 100% sure but it’s likely Betta pays Amazon a fee for orders. I figured if I had to bug them they might be more “appreciative” that I purchased directly from them.
 
djpool21 said:
I've read this thread with great interest and would love for the Betta 2 to work well for skimming the pollen, catkins, and everything else that's blowing around and covering our pool. I'm disappointed to read that catkins wrap around the paddle. I'm guessing that's no fun to clean and could be a show stopper for me. Is there any benefit/disadvantage/warranty concern with buying from Amazon rather than direct?
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It’s not that big of a deal when things get wrapped up in the paddle. If you have a lot of stuff in the pool the basket can fill up very quickly. There is no advantage or disadvantage to order from Amazon. They don’t honor amazons warranty, but do honor their standard 1 year warranty. I recommend buying their 3 year warranty for $60.00 as they are great at resolving warranty issues. Make sure you register it on their website.
 

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tcat said:
Well, looks like another delay ☹️
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I think they had a very small initial run. When I ordered mine over the phone, Amazon was only showing 6 in stock and I’m pretty sure I got one of those 6. They are supposed to have them in blue as well, but I don’t think they have gotten those in yet.
 
Recently ordered a Betta 2 myself. Received it one week after ordering. So far I'm pleased with the process. I had several of the SolarBreeze models/repairs. They were great models and I might have gone for the Ariel but I figured I at least needed to try an alternative since the Ariel reviews were not 5 star no brainer upgrade status.

First impressions:
Company had good response on website chats and informed me that the blue variant was out of stock but available for order and immediate shipment. Ordered white on Thursday AM. Didn't receive a confirmation on processing/shipping until Tuesday. That was a little underwhelming only because they had made a point of saying in stock for immediate delivery. When I chatted (customer service bonus!) they informed me of logistics delay and that is should ship this week. It arrived 2 days later, tracking numbers and all!

First Operation:
It does not get stuck! I have an irregular pool with flagstone copping. The SolarBreeze wheels got stuck under it all the time and lodged. The Betta has been cleaning well for the last 24 hours. Pool looks infinitely better. Remote control works well too!
 
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Some observations I’ve noticed between the two after having the Betta 2 for a couple of weeks now. The original beta has smaller propellers and the motors spin faster then the beta 2. It’s like the 2 has a different propellor pitch and gear ratio. The 2 seems more energy efficient to me as I haven’t yet seen the battery die.
 
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Mine's "on the truck" about 5 miles away one the map. Took 2 weeks, but looks like it's going too show up. Now that catkins have stopped falling....
 
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Finally here! Glad it was charged, since it's cloudy and late. Running well. Don't think remote was linked, but turning unit off and pressing a button got it working. Remote works well. Seems to move faster and more buoyant and stable than Aquabot. Doesn't stick on top step (about 4" deep). Does make a racket bumping into Poolskim, and if it grabs an oak ball (about 3/4 dia), it continues to make noise until you remove it. I could see sticks doing the same. Grabbed all 6 leaves and all 4 catkins! Be interesting to see how long it runs in a full day with my 50-75% shade. Time to fill out the warranty card.
 
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tcat said:
Finally here! Glad it was charged, since it's cloudy and late. Running well. Don't think remote was linked, but turning unit off and pressing a button got it working. Remote works well. Seems to move faster and more buoyant and stable than Aquabot. Doesn't stick on top step (about 4" deep). Does make a racket bumping into Poolskim, and if it grabs an oak ball (about 3/4 dia), it continues to make noise until you remove it. I could see sticks doing the same. Grabbed all 6 leaves and all 4 catkins! Be interesting to see how long it runs in a full day with my 50-75% shade. Time to fill out the warranty card.
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Congratulations! I thought catkins were finished last week but they came back after a recent storm. You may have another short round!
 
My Aquabot always stopped about an hour after dark. Betta2 still moving!

Wow, still moving at 7am!

 
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