Instapark Betta review

Lol same here. My 50-foot blue oak is taking a dump straight into my pool, and my dual Bettas are doing a pretty good job at keeping up.

We had a solar heater installed a few weeks ago, so hopefully we'll be swimming this weekend :D
How many panels? I have a heat pump, but it's 10 years old, so will likely be buying something soon.
 
I take it out of the pool while running Dolphin and would like it to keep charging.
Yeah I do that. They all seem to charge with the switch turned off. Not sure why they say to have it on. I wouldn’t leave it in the sun out of the water when it’s super hot, apparently the electronics can fry. I’ve never had that issue with one before. I’ve sent a lot of them in for repair due to failure and the main issue they used to have (not sure about the SE units) is that the inside of the motors were lined with rubber. When a piece of grit got caught, the rubber would rip and the electro motor would rust and seize. I just got my new SE plus so I don’t know how the motors are constructed. Never fried one myself and I also live in SC. Not sure how hot it needs to be to damage one.
 
I just got the Betta SE and it's cleaning pretty well, except my pool has a shallow slanted "shore" type area where it keeps getting stuck. I put the extended guards on it and no good...they just catch on the bottom and keep it from going further but they tend to stick and it won't reverse.

So next thing, I put a pool pole across the front of the shore area like an underwater dam. The guards hit the pole so the betta no longer moves forward, but it just stays there continuing to try to go forward. Once or twice, it has eventually backed up and turned around, but for the most part it just stays there, motors running, trying to go forward.

It works great for the remainder of the pool and the guards keep it from going over the shallow steps. For some reason, its not reacting the same way when it hits the pool pole barrier as it does when it hits the step. Any idea how to make an underwater barrier that will actually deter the Betta? Or does it have to be something high for the sensors to see it?
 
For anyone interested , the SE Plus is on sale on Amazon for $358, and I got a $30 coupon to bring the price to $328. I jumped on it as the used one I bought for $60 less on Amazon hasn't arrived yet.
 
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I have been online with Betta sales trying to get a better deal but they are not budging from the $358.90 price. They did provide me a link to purchase the warranty separately after purchasing at Amazon.

 
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I have been online with Betta sales trying to get a better deal but they are not budging from the $358.90 price. They did provide me a link to purchase the warranty separately after purchasing at Amazon.

The $30 Amazon coupon showed initially for me, then disappeared, before finally reappearing, which is when I got it for $328.
 
For anyone interested , the SE Plus is on sale on Amazon for $358, and I got a $30 coupon to bring the price to $328. I jumped on it as the used one I bought for $60 less on Amazon hasn't arrived yet.
Purchased on Amazon with the $30 coupon. It also had a faster delivery. 2 days.

If you wish to purchase on Bettabot.com there are 2 codes - each for 5% but can only use one or the other - not both on same order.
FRIEND-CJV6K76
or
JG-YK6LV
Either gets you $17.95 off of the current $358.90 price. If you purchase warranty then the 5% is applied to that as well.
There is no tax on warranty.

So I purchased on Amazon for $328.90 + tax (using the $30 coupon) - my total was $352.75
Then on BettaBot website, purchased 3 yr warranty using one of the codes above - got $3 off of $59.99 - so paid $56.99 for 3-yr warranty - no tax applied.
Total cost $409.74 via my hybrid method vs. $426.07 on BettaBot website with a 2-6 day delivery. So a savings of $16 - that will buy lunch for the grandkids at Chick-Fil-A (barely)
 
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So is the shallow water guard on the new model just that it rides higher in the water or did they change the extension legs?
Just got mine and tested the SE first. It got grounded on the sundeck almost immediately and the extension legs did not help. I then tried the SE plus and it was able to navigate the sundeck without getting stuck, so it definitely rides higher in the water. Water is about 3.5" deep in that section.

I see the SE plus also comes with 2 longer extension legs in the box. I'll be keeping the Plus model.
 
Update. Received the 2 day shipping from Amazon. Charged the BettaBot SE Plus over night and put it in the pool this morning. I had to remove the Polaris 280 cleaner to avoid having the bot hang on the hose.

The unit comes with 4 "legs" that can be extended for shallow water. Then in the package is an additional 2 "XL legs) that can replace the front 2 to make an even longer leg. The unit does not ride up higher but the legs are just longer for the front if you need them.

I have now officially entered the world of pool bot ownership!!!

IMG_1929.jpegIMG_1927.jpeg
 
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I just ran a test on my B2. With switch off, sitting in sun all day yesterday, turned it on this morning (cloudy day), only ran for 30 minutes before lights went red. Earlier last week I had it in the sun with switch on all day, then turned it off. Ran it next day (early before sun), and it ran all day. So I think the manual is correct, doesn't charge with switch off. The SE Plus is a lifesaver (just turned red after 48 hours).
 
I had a pleasant surprise this morning. I had closed the pool back in late October and put the B2 in the pool house with a towel covering it. The pool was opened a couple of days ago and this morning I put the Betta in and turned it on. It started running immediately. While it is sunny I expected it to sit still for at least a little while before having enough juice to get going.

It will be interesting to see if I make it all the way through tonight.
 
I just ran a test on my B2. With switch off, sitting in sun all day yesterday, turned it on this morning (cloudy day), only ran for 30 minutes before lights went red. Earlier last week I had it in the sun with switch on all day, then turned it off. Ran it next day (early before sun), and it ran all day. So I think the manual is correct, doesn't charge with switch off. The SE Plus is a lifesaver (just turned red after 48 hours).
Just passed 24 hrs with the SE Plus. Had it fully charged before starting at 9am. Ran all day and night and still going with the sun out this morning.
 
Amazon has it back on sale for $358. No coupon this time around tho.

Delivery tomorrow for my area, going to pull the trigger and pick one up!

Then buy the warranty separately.
 
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I had a pleasant surprise this morning. I had closed the pool back in late October and put the B2 in the pool house with a towel covering it. The pool was opened a couple of days ago and this morning I put the Betta in and turned it on. It started running immediately. While it is sunny I expected it to sit still for at least a little while before having enough juice to get going.

It will be interesting to see if I make it all the way through tonight.
The Betta finally ran out of juice overnight. Not surprising after a couple of days with cloudy conditions. More troubling is that now one of the LEDs is out. I'm not going to send it in for a warranty claim just for that. I'll get them to fix it when it goes back for a more serious problem.
 

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