Aiper has upped the ante in the pool skimmer battle with their new
Surfer S2. In a
previous post, I mentioned some attributes that the Aiper Surfer S1/M1 features. The S2 retains most of these qualities and adds several improvements.
Compared to the S1, the S2:
- Adds pool-edge cleaning. Aiper is vague on how this works, other than showing the skimmer will run along the pool edge. Still, a welcome intent.
- Has a larger battery: 5.2K mAh vs. the S1’s 4K mAh: Claimed battery life is now 35 hours.
- Faster charging time for both solar and DC charging.
- Improved solar panel for faster solar-reactivation from a low-battery state
- Self-Rescue algorithm to free itself when stuck. This is a consideration for us since I have a Negative-Edge pool.
- Finer mesh 150um vs 200um
- Optical sensors replace the S1 Ultrasonic. Not sure if this is an actual improvement or just a wash.
- The Aiper App now includes Scheduled Cleaning: Seems this might extend the units lifetime since the skimmer would be operating only when desired rather than 24/7.
- Salt Chlorine Tolerant (SCT) Motors. (Gotta keep up with Betta)
- Standard 2-year warranty vs 1-year for the S1.
Downsides: The basket size has dropped from 5 liters to 4 liters. This is not an issue for most of the year, but in the fall when leaves start dropping, even 5 liters is woefully inadequate for me. This is an unfortunate backslide.
Quirky: Aiper added a pocket in the skimmer basket which is intended for a chlorine puck. Even speaking as a pool owner who chlorinates with Trichlor, this is silly. If my robotic skimmer is sitting motionless in the pool for any length of time, I would not want to soak it in an acidic chlorine bath.
Then there’s the price: $339.99 at the Aiper store. In addition, they currently have a “one-hour-only” 5% discount offer.
I put my money where my mouth is. I placed an order for a Surfer S2 this morning for $323.00/ No tax, no shipping charge. We’ll see if it lives up to the hype.
