But it doesn’t have to be this way. Aiper, a startup founded in 2017, created a wireless pool cleaner you can set up once and then leave to do the job. We’ve been testing this device in our private resort for over a month now, using it to clean the pool for our guests once or twice a day.
A Smart, Wireless Pool Cleaner
The Aiper Seagull 3000 is a battery-powered wireless pool cleaner that can scrub your pool’s floors and walls. This device has enough battery power to run for two hours and can clean up to a 3,229-square-foot (300-square-meter) pool.
But this robotic pool cleaner differs from all other wireless because of its floating battery and interior filter. These two features make it efficient since it doesn’t carry the extra battery weight, especially when going up your pool’s walls. And by avoiding the external filter bag, it ensures that water currents do not affect its operation.
What You Get in the Box
Aiper’s top-of-the-line pool cleaner comes in a rather large but well-packed box. Inside, you’ll get the pool cleaner and its permanently-attached floating battery, a small box containing the charging brick, the manual, and some extra buoyancy foams.
The device itself is almost ready to use out of the box—all you need is to install the Aiper app, connect the pool cleaner, and you’re good to go. You also have to ensure it’s fully charged before using it, but it typically comes with a 100% battery level from the factory.
Specifications and Dimensions
Aside from its 3,200+ square-foot (300-square-meter) capacity, the filter can go through 71 gallons per minute (267 liters per minute). While cleaning, it moves at a 32.8 foot/minute (10 meters/minute) pace—this speed is quite brisk, but it still ensures you get a clean pool.
All this power is backed up by a massive 7,800mAh battery, providing enough power to run the cleaner in two hours. However, because of this, fully charging up the device takes some time. It takes an average of four to five hours to bring it back to 100% battery.
The Seagull 3000 works best between 50 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit (10 to 35 degrees Celsius), with a recommended pool pH between 7.0 and 7.4. That means you can use this device with most pools—even saltwater pools (maximum of 5,000 ppm) and hot springs. However, it’s still wise to check your average pool temperature and wash the machine down after each use to extend its life.
The cable for the floating battery also has a length of around 9 to 10 feet. That means it can accommodate pools up to 8.2 feet deep (allowing around 1 foot for some slack).
Operating the Aiper Seagull 3000
Although you can use the robotic cleaner without an app, it’s much more convenient to use the cleaner with it. Before placing it in the water, you must first connect it to your phone. To do so, turn on the device, turn on your phone’s Bluetooth, and then open the Aiper app.
In the app’s upper-left corner, tap on the Bluetooth logo to see the available pool cleaners nearby. Look for Seagull 3000-[code] and tap on it to connect. Once the phone connects, go back to the app’s main menu. Once done, it’s time to place the pool cleaner beside your pool to start the process.
To start cleaning, place the device at the side of your pool. You must place the floating battery into the pool and follow it with the main device. Ensure to lower the heavy robot cleaner slowly into the pool bottom-side first to avoid scratching your pool. Once it floats on the water’s surface, just let go of it, and it’ll slowly sink to the pool’s floor.
At the bottom menu bar, tap on the first icon to open the automated menu. You can then choose between four cleaning options: pool floor, pool wall, once floor + once wall, or three times floor + once wall. Once you’ve made your choice, tap on Start Cleaning. You’ll hear a beep from the floating battery to confirm the action, and then you can leave it on its own to finish.
Cleaning a pool usually takes two hours; once it’s done, you’ll hear another beep. The cleaner will then head to the side, ready for you to pick it up from the pool. If the pool cleaner still has more than 20% battery left, you can use manual control in the app to make it climb up the wall, making it easier for you to grab the Seagull 3000.
Since the Aiper Seagull 3000 is wireless, you can safely dip in the pool with it. Just press the ON button on the floating battery to turn it on, then press MODE to choose your cleaning program based on the indicator mode.
ALL cleans the pool floor and wall once, WALL only cleans the pool walls, and FLOOR means the machines will only go over the pool floor. If you pick ALL and FLOOR simultaneously, the Seagull 3000 will clean the pool floor thrice and the pool wall once.
Usability and Practicality
Although the Aiper Seagull 3000 is a pretty heavy device, a single person can still carry it around with a little effort. So if you’re planning to control it with your phone, it’s best to secure the phone on yourself or leave it first on a table to avoid accidents.
But the great thing about this pool cleaner is that it has complete coverage of your pool despite seemingly going around randomly when cleaning. Although it’s designed to work best with rectangular, rounded, or kidney pool shapes, you can also use it for pools with more unique shapes—you just have to place it per section manually to ensure complete coverage.
The cleaner also uses soft bristles and a sponge to ensure a firm grip on the pool surface. This ensures it can capture dust, debris, and even tiny particles. However, the cleaner failed to pick up a coin left in the pool. And for fresh leaves lying in the bottom, there’s a great chance that its light form will simply be pushed away by the robot.
Nevertheless, after a couple more passes by the robot, all of the leaves in the pool we tested were eventually sucked by the machine. When we lifted it, we saw some fresh leaves stuck in its bristles, but still, the job was done.
It can also go over small obstacles, like pool lights, pool filters, and even jacuzzi vents, with no problems. But don’t use it with your jacuzzi on, as the pool cleaner won’t work and might even damage the soft bristles.
However, if you have algae on your pool floor, the pool cleaner will have difficulty sucking it. The manufacturer recommends that you scratch off any algae build-up before starting the cleaning process with the Aiper Seagull 3000.
It might also have difficulty gripping slippery pool walls. And if you’re pool corner has a small radian, the rollers might not be able to grip it efficiently, so the machine will be unable to cover that area. Furthermore, it can’t climb stairs, so if you want it to clean a section like that, you’ll have to place it at each step to ensure coverage.
Things We Want to See in the Future
Although the pool cleaner has a Bluetooth connection to program and operate it manually, the connection will time out after a few minutes of no communication with your phone. That means you have no means of tracking the cleaning progress, nor will you know the status of the cleaner.
So, if it becomes stuck or runs out of battery in the middle of the operation, you’ll have no way of knowing. You just have to trust it has completed its cycle when fishing it out of the swimming pool.
Because of the Bluetooth timeout, you also won’t get any notification that your pool cleaning job is done. If you set it for cleaning and forgot it was there, it might spend hours underwater or even days.
It would be great if Aiper could let the device map your pool, so you can check which section has been cleaned already and which one needs more passes. And since this robotic pool cleaner is essentially a set-and-forget machine, it would be great if the company could include a Wi-Fi connectivity option.
That way, it could notify you when the cleaning job is done or if it runs into any issues, similar to a Roomba. With a feature like that, you can even synchronize it with your smart home, allowing you to start and end cleaning even when you’re not around.
Have a Pool? You Need This
The Aiper Seagull 3000 is an excellent robotic pool cleaning machine. As pools need consistent maintenance if you want to use them as needed, this automatic pool cleaner ensures you can take a dip anytime without worrying about getting an icky feeling.
It can also help reduce your long-term maintenance costs by capturing small particles, hair, and other debris, preventing them from clogging up your pool’s filtration system. And since it’s start-and-forget, it will only take fifteen minutes out of your day to set, retrieve, and recharge.
While other options are available, the Aiper Seagull 3000 has the best battery life, efficiency, and ease of use. It’s absolutely worth the time and effort you save for basic pool maintenance.
