By Justin D. • August 8th, 2024
Hey there, and welcome back to the Pool Nerd. I’m Justin, your resident pool aficionado. And today I’m reviewing the Aiper Seagull Pro cordless robotic pool cleaner, one of the most expensive Aiper pool cleaners unit which finally includes a filter basket and multiple cleaning cycles. But is it enough to make Aiper a viable option?
Update: Since posting, the Aiper Seagull Pro has officially been recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. This is the 2nd recall for Aiper pool cleaners in the past few years.
The Aiper Seagull Pro has now been recalled due to burn and fire hazards. Please see the updated post with more details.
Battery Life and Convenience
Let’s start with the most obvious – this cleaner is super heavy for a cordless model. Previous Aiper units have all been on the light side. Not the Seagull Pro.
While cordless sounds great in theory, in order to run the unit on a daily basis, you have to charge it every single day. You might touch a normal robot once, maybe twice per week. With cordless, you have to put the robot in the pool, let it run, then fish it out of the pool with the included hook, and finally charge it overnight. Rinse. Repeat.
This is a world of difference compared to a fully automated robot with a cord and programmable timer. For example, the Dolphin Cayman, Quantum, and Premier all include programmable timers and are much more hands-off. You can set the unit to run daily, every other day, or every three days. Then, once a week, you can just clean the filter and you’re good to go for another week. Not the case with the Aiper Seagull Pro.
User Experience
Let’s talk about the user experience. The heft is mostly due to the weight of the battery. Weighing at over 21 pounds dry, once this unit fills up with water it’s even heavier. There's no way around it, this unit is difficult to pull out of the water.
You have to snag it with the included small plastic hook, and then drag it up the wall. The thought of the back-breaking daily struggle to pull it out of the water and then charge it is a deal breaker in itself.
Pool Coverage
Next, let’s dive into pool coverage. While improved over entry-level Aipers, it’s simply not on the same level as established brands. I noticed it got stuck on my main drain on multiple occasions, and I had to push it off with my pool brush. The Aiper Seagull is the first Aiper unit to reach the waterline.
The active brush is on the front of the unit, rather than the back like the Aiper Elite Pro, meaning it’s in the right place to clean the waterline. The problem is the Seagull Pro’s power cannot consistently get the heavy unit up to the tile line and effectively clean.
This is evident at the waterline in particular, as the Seagull Pro does reach the waterline on occasion but it doesn’t stay there long enough or have enough power to deep clean it. For a quick comparison, just look at the Dolphin Quantum which has two brushes and Powerjet 3D mobility, which helps it adhere to and move horizontally along the waterline. The Aiper simply cannot compare to these units as the battery cannot deliver enough power, which is highly disappointing. After watching it struggle, you quickly miss the power of corded units like the ProLine.
Filtration
Let’s talk about filtration. The Seagull Pro has one level of filtration. At this price point, I would expect to see multiple filters that include ultrafine or Nanofiltration. The Dolphin Quantum, for instance, includes a Nanofilter XXL MaxBin so you can clear up your cloudy pool water.
The Premier includes an impressive four filter options so you can clean whatever you need to in your pool. Without any extra options, the Aiper Seagull Pro does just alright, but won’t clear up cloudy water or filter out fine debris or algae.
Charging and Cleaning Modes
Let's talk about charging. The Aiper Seagull is an upgrade over the cheaper Aiper models because you can select from three different cleaning cycles and see the state of its charge. On older Aiper models, it could be hard to tell when the robot was fully charged and ready to clean, but the Seagull Pro has an LED ring around its power switch, which makes it easy to tell when the unit is ready. It’s a small upgrade, but a welcome one.
Another upgrade with the Aiper Seagull Pro is its three cleaning modes: Auto, Wall, and Floor. These modes allow you to select where the unit cleans, so you can maximize its efficiency. This worked well in my testing, but it isn’t as helpful as a programmable timer, which lets you set a weekly schedule for truly hands-off cleaning. So while the cleaning modes are an upgrade, the overall improvement is small, and still falls short of Dolphin units from the Cayman to the Premier.
Final Verdict
So what’s my final verdict on the Aiper Seagull Pro?
It’s Pool Nerd Disapproved.
The battery technology simply isn’t there yet. The Aiper Seagull Pro isn’t competitive with top robotic pool cleaners at the same price level. You are definitely overpaying for a low level of performance and cleaning power. Pool owners would be well advised to look for a corded model with a swivel and more power. A great alternative is the similarly priced Dolphin Cayman, or if you want Nanofilters and commercial-grade motors, look into the Dolphin ProLine, which includes the Quantum, Premier, and Sigma.
If you want to keep nerding out over your pool, check out the rest of our website to keep learning how to make pool maintenance way easier. View my comparison page and see all the differences between the many robotic pool cleaners out there. Until then, enjoy that pool and check back soon for more pool maintenance tips and insight.
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