Ultenic S1 Pool Skimmer review: A rare combo of cheap & effective

Price When Reviewed

$199.99

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As a category, pool skimmers aren’t the most effective at cleaning your pool, but they’re better than just letting surface debris sink to the bottom. What makes them potentially more compelling is when they’re inexpensive, and the Ultenic S1 Pool Skimmer is as cheap as they come.

And much to my surprise, it works as well as (or better than) anything else in its class that I’ve tried.

Specifications

The Ultenic S1 measures 8 x 15 x 19 inches (HxWxL) once it’s assembled, and it weighs just 6 pounds. Like many modern pool skimmers, it features a solar panel on top (this one puts out 9 watts) that keeps its 5200mAh battery charged. If the weather isn’t cooperating, you can charge it manually with the included custom USB cable (power adapter included). The unit offers a 6-liter debris basket, and as its sole bonus feature, it comes with a slim remote control that lets you drive the robot around the surface of the pool on demand.

The solar-powered Ultenic S1 Pool Skimmer would commonly run all day, even in relatively cloudy weather.

The filter basket includes a small chamber that can be used to hold a chlorine tablet, dispensing chemicals as it moves around the pool. This can be removed if you don’t need it.

The device does not have any wireless capabilities aside from its remote control, and it does not connect to a mobile app.

Installation and setup

The Ultenic S1 comes in a jumble of pieces, and considering how simple the product is, it’s remarkably confusing to set up. You’ll need to attach various components to the core device, including two propellors, guide wheels, anti-stranding bars, and the filter basket, which comes in two parts. Assembly is far from intuitive and even after studying the quick-start guide, I struggled for longer than I care to admit to figure out how the guide wheels clipped into place. The longer, printed manual is, fortunately, more thorough and explanatory, but the process still took longer than I expected to complete, about five minutes.

I fully charged the device as the manual suggested via wall power in advance of its initial deployment. At this point I noticed the power port on the underside of the device has no cover to prevent water ingress, though I ultimately did not notice any ill effects of water getting into this part of the device during several days of testing.

Lastly, a skimmer blocking system—a slim piece of foam rubber—is included in the box should you find your robot getting stuck in the wall-skimmer intake. I didn’t encounter a problem with this, so I didn’t use it.

Using the Ultenic S1 Pool Skimmer

A physical switch on the front of the S1 is all it takes to power up the robot; and in fact, it’s the only onboard control. It’s clear that, much like Ultenic’s Pooleco 10 floor-cleaning robot, there is not a lot of intelligence built into the device.

There’s no real rhyme or reason to how it moves, alternately pushing straight ahead or opting to turn. When it comes to a wall, the S1 just plows right into it, and the guide wheels in front of the robot are not soft or padded in any way. Over time I can imagine this might have an impact on your pool’s waterline tiles, possibly leading to cracks or looseness. The device just feels flimsy, almost like a toy.

Ultenic promises 15 hours of running time on a full charge, and while that’s difficult to properly test given that solar power is constantly recharging the battery—and there is no battery level meter—I did note that the Ultenic S1 would commonly run all day, even in relatively cloudy weather, stopping only for occasional breaks and then starting back up again once it had enough juice. The device can always be charged via cable overnight, but I usually didn’t bother and let the unit pick up where it left off each morning once the battery had enough charge to work with.

The remote control works well, and while it’s always difficult to control something that has momentum on water, I was easily able to navigate the skimmer around the pool to pick up debris on demand. Another button can be used to instruct the S1 to “dock” against the side of the pool with a single press, but I found it easier to simply drive it to the wall.

I had low expectations for the Ultenic S1, but much to my surprise it was more effective than I guessed it would be; in fact, it was better at cleaning than many other much more expensive skimmers I’ve tested. Despite an intake that measures just about 14 inches across and no real sense of direction, the unit gobbled up more than 50 percent of the test material in my test run, after about 5 hours of uninterrupted operation.

While most of the remaining debris sank to the bottom of the pool, which might not sound like a great result, it’s because debris won’t float forever. The bottom line is that that’s the best score I’ve seen from a skimmer to date.

My theory for explaining the Ultenic S1’s unexpected effectiveness is that its very light weight creates less bow wake as it moves across the water. This, in turn, causes fewer leaves to be pushed out to the sides, escaping the skimmer’s “mouth,” as you’ll see with larger skimmers. The front-mounted paddlewheel, meanwhile, is effective at pulling in debris—it even captured small branches.

The debris basket’s confusing two-part design, on the other hand, makes cleaning a little more difficult than other skimmers; but once you’ve done the disassembly and reassembly a few times, the hassle eases.

Should you buy the Ultenic S1 Pool Skimmer?

I’m still not convinced most pool owners need a robotic skimmer at all, but in times of significant wind and rain, it can be helpful to have something to complement the wall skimmer if the pool gets a heavy dusting of leaves.

The price is, of course, what makes this product worthwhile: At less than $200, the Ultenic S1 is an exceptionally low-risk investment to have on hand in case of emergency.

This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best robotic pool cleaners.