anyone have any experience with the Skim Shark?

[waldreps]

Just curious if anyone has any experience with the Skim Shark battery operated skimmer that floats and moves randomly around on the surface to pick of debris? It has a rechargable battery and In the Swim has it for $69.99. Anybody out there used it?

Thanks,
Stacy

[waldreps]

Here's a link to look at it.

http://www.intheswim.com/Automatic-P...-Pool-Skimmer/

[leejp]

I can't imagine any battery powered unit like this would have enough power. I do have a leaf/pine needle problem so I'm thinking about this:

http://www.thepoolskimmer.com

This thing looks pretty simple and it actually looks like it may work. I'll try it for $60.

There is a similar product that according to the folks here (before the server went down) doesn't work and is a waste of money so stay away.

http://pooldevil.com

[jabre]

leejp, please post your experience with the Poolskim when you get it! I agree, it looks worth the try. Thanks for volunteering to be the one on the forum to shell out the $60 to try it out :-)

[leejp]

leejp, please post your experience with the Poolskim when you get it! I agree, it looks worth the try. Thanks for volunteering to be the one on the forum to shell out the $60 to try it out :-)

Will do...

You'll have to wait until the end of May though... that's when the cover comes off here in Upstate, NY (after most of the pine needles and the norway maple spinners have come down).

[waldreps]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm also interested in your results. I only have one skimmer in my 18x36 inground pool and it has a hard time keeping up. I'm looking for something to supplement it.

I don't think the skim shark actually sucks the debris. I think it just moves around and the debris ends up in the "mouth" of the shark. So the battery power just causes it to "swim" around. I'll wait for your results though on the pool skim. Thanks.

[gwrace1]

Well I decided to be a guinea pig for all three products. I ordered the Skim Shark, Pool Devil and PoolSkim. I'll report back results after doing some testing with each.

[gwrace1]

Well I received the Skim Shark from In the Swim this weekend. About the only thing good I can say about it is, it's cute. The little propeller barely has enough power to do anything but give it a very slow push across the pool. The plastic filter basket has holes large enough so that a lot of small top debris like pollen and insects (ants) go right through it. There is no suction for the debris. The leaves are gathered into the mouth during the slow movement across the pool. After charging it for the recommended time I could only get about an hour's worth of run time. I would not recommend this product to anyone unless you like it's "cute appeal" Mine is going back to In the swim on Monday. It's not a real pool cleaner.

[gwrace1]

Well I received my PoolSkim yesterday only to be disappointed again. The product only comes with 2 inch pvc fittings even though it is marketed as working on both inground and above ground pools. If you have an above ground pool with standard 1.5 inch return fittings you will have to order their adapter for $5 plus 2 dollars shipping. I plan to make a trip to Lowes on the way home to see if I can come up with some fittings to make it work.