Betta SE Review After Two Years in My Pool

My rule for robotic pool cleaners is simple: corded power wins. As I explain in my Dolphin Premier review, batteries lose capacity, suction falls as the charge drops, and pulling a wet robot out every day to recharge it defeats much of the convenience.

The Betta SE is my exception because the sun charges it while it floats.

I put it in the pool at the start of the season and leave it there. Sunlight keeps it charged, and it spends most of the day and night collecting leaves, bugs, and pollen before they absorb water and sink. Mine has worked this way for two years, and I no longer remember the last time I used a handheld skimmer net.

Two years later, I know what wears, how long cleanup takes, and why I'd keep it over the Dolphin Skimmi.

How the Betta SE Works

The Betta SE looks like a small solar-powered catamaran. Two pontoon-style hulls keep it steady and high in the water, and a recessed solar panel takes up most of the top deck. As it moves, surface water and floating debris flow through the wide opening between the hulls and into a fine-mesh basket.

Two salt-chlorine-tolerant (SCT) jet motors push it around, one in each hull. There aren't any exposed propeller blades for twigs or hair ties to wrap around. Ultrasonic sensors spot the walls and turn the skimmer, while adjustable bumper rods underneath help keep it off my steps and tanning ledge.

It's much lighter than my Dolphin Premier, which comes from Maytronics' commercial-grade ProLine series. The Betta's plastic is thinner, and it doesn't feel like commercial equipment. It also has an easier job: it skims the surface instead of scrubbing tile and climbing walls. The light body rides shallow, is easy to lift, and doesn't make the small jet motors work as hard.

Useful Carry Handles

The snap-on handles can go wherever you want them. I clipped on the gray bar shown in the photos, and it gives me a firm grip when I take the Betta out for a rinse or storage. The debris basket has its own molded handle, so I don't have to reach into wet leaves. They're simple details, but they keep the job cleaner and quicker.

How It Has Held Up After Two Years

My Betta spends months at a time in chlorinated water and direct sun. After two years outside, it shows some wear, but nothing has stopped it from cleaning.

Battery and motors: The twin SCT motors have lost a little power, so mine crosses the pool more slowly than it did when new. Two years of daily charge cycles have aged the lithium battery, but the basket still collects debris every day.

Exterior: The plastic deck has faded after sitting in full sun, just as the photos show. It's only a color change. The plastic hasn't cracked or turned brittle, the hulls are still solid, and the recessed solar panel still charges normally.

Why the Top-Loading Basket Matters

A fine-mesh basket rated at roughly 200 microns sits in the middle of the Betta. It doesn't have the deep pleats found in many bottom-cleaner cartridges, but it catches the leaves, pollen, and bugs floating in my pool.

Every spring, Texas oak trees cover my pool with a thick yellow film. Before I bought the Betta, that pollen stayed in the water or sank and gave the bottom cleaner more work. Now the Betta catches it at the surface all day.

That basketful came from one day at the height of pollen season. All of that pollen and those oak catkins stayed off the pool floor.

The top-opening lid is my favorite part. I press the release, lift the hexagonal lid, and pull out the basket while the skimmer stays in the water.

Emptying it takes 20 to 30 seconds. I open the lid, lift and dump the basket, rinse it with the hose, and put it back. I do this every day during the fall leaf drop and every few days the rest of the year.

Betta SE vs. Dolphin Skimmi

I bought a Dolphin Skimmi and ran it beside the Betta in the same pool. My full Betta SE vs. Dolphin Skimmi comparison breaks down the two-year head-to-head test. My Dolphin Premier lasted four years, so I expected Maytronics' surface skimmer to be the stronger machine. Instead, I got tired of hauling the Skimmi out just to reach its debris basket.

The basket made the choice for me. I had to lift the whole wet Skimmi onto the deck every time I wanted to empty its tray. That's the same daily handling I dislike about rechargeable bottom cleaners. With the Betta still floating, I can finish the one chore it regularly needs.

The Skimmi also leans more on its app. I prefer the Betta's simpler controls.

Why I Prefer the App-Free Controls

The Betta SE doesn't need an app, account, Wi-Fi connection, or Bluetooth pairing. I press the physical power button and put it in the pool. When I want to grab a leaf from a corner, the basic remote lets me steer over to it.

That's all the control this job needs. The skimmer keeps working without firmware updates, a phone connection, or a remote server.

Living With It Every Day

Steps and Ledges

The Betta rarely gets stuck. Its ultrasonic sensors turn it away from walls, and the adjustable rods underneath help stop it from climbing onto a shallow ledge or top step. I've freed mine only a handful of times in two years, usually after a storm pushed it into an odd position.

The Main Pool Skimmer

The Betta doesn't block my built-in skimmer. It catches roughly 95% of the floating debris, so very little reaches the wall basket. Leaves no longer clog that basket, and water keeps flowing freely to the pump and filter.

Overnight Operation

After a sunny day, the lithium battery has more than 30 hours of runtime. Mine works through the night and into the next day, including overcast mornings. It has almost never stopped in the pool with a dead battery.

Two-Year Verdict

When the Betta catches leaves at the surface, they never make it to the bottom robot or main filtration system. Since I added it, my Clear UV has had less debris to collect, and the wall-skimmer basket stays nearly empty.

After two years, mine has lost a little speed and some color. It still fills its basket every day, and the top-loading design mattered more to me than anything else I compared. Solar charging is why I can live with a cordless pool device.

If you're tired of hand skimming or clearing a clogged wall basket, the Betta SE takes away most of that work. If mine failed tomorrow, I'd replace it with another one.