A solar skimmer floats on the surface and collects leaves, pollen and bugs before they sink to the floor. It charges from a panel on its top, and some add a wall adapter for shady pools. It works alongside a floor cleaner and leaves the floor and walls to it.
What sets them apart
Basket, mesh and how the battery fills.
Capacity
Basket size
From 4 L on the EcoSurfer to 9 L on the Beatbot iSkim. Under heavy leaf fall a small basket fills in hours.
Mesh
Filter fineness
Given in microns; a lower number catches finer debris. Skimmer meshes run from 150 to 550 µm, much coarser than a robot's. They catch what floats, not silt.
Charging
Solar only, or an adapter too
Solar-only units depend on hours of direct sun. An adapter fills the battery on cloudy days or in shade.
Fit
Pool shape and depth
Small round pools and infinity edges are listed as poor fits by some makers. Betta asks for at least 5 in of water.
Matched to the pool
Common pools and the model that fits each. The name jumps to its card further down.
A solar-only skimmer with twin motors and a 200 µm basket. The listing gives 30 hours or more on a charge and 5 to 6 hours of direct sun to recharge.
Power
Solar (listing)
Runtime
30 h or more on a charge (listing)
Recharge
5–6 h of direct sun (listing)
Filter
200 µm basket (listing)
Pool
Not round pools under 14 ft (listing)
Warranty
1 year (listing)
Suits: Rectangular and larger pools in full sun, where leaves and pollen land on the surface.
Weigh: Betta has no maker site; every figure is from the listing. It is not for round pools under 14 ft or infinity pools, and it needs at least 5 in of water.
A top-loading 4 L basket with a 150 µm filter, a built-in dispenser for 3-inch chlorine tablets, and up to 35 h of battery life when charged by adapter.
Power
Adapter charging, solar top-up
Battery life
Up to 35 h (adapter charged)
Charge
4–6 h
Filter
150 µm; 4 L top-load basket
Extras
3-inch chlorine tablet dispenser
Warranty
24 months (maker)
Suits: Pools that already use 3-inch tablets, and owners who want maker-published figures.
Weigh: The 35 h is the adapter-charged figure. Sunlight tops it up rather than filling it from empty; adapter charging takes 4 to 6 hours.
Skimmer runtimes come with conditions. Aiper's 35 hours is on a full adapter charge. Beatbot's 28 hours for the iSkim is a full charge with no sunlight. Wybot's listings for the F1 give several different modes and figures. Compare the maker's figure under the same condition, or not at all.
Beatbot's own product descriptions for both iSkim models describe a floor robot; the spec tables are the skimmer's. The Wybot F1 had no Amazon listing that could be checked.
