Aiper Scuba S3 Review: Robotic Pool Cleaner

Reviewed by

Scott Ayres

Welcome to the Product Demo lab where I (Scott) demo products so you can make an educated buying decision. I keep it real, honest and laid back.

My Pool Was a Mess Until I Got a Scuba Robotic Pool Cleaner

A storm blew through and left the bottom of my pool looking like a compost bin. That’s the situation I dropped the Aiper Scuba S3 into, a cordless, hoseless robotic pool cleaner that charges on the deck and runs solo for up to four hours. At 18 lbs it’s light enough to lift one-handed, which matters when you’re pulling a soaking-wet robot out of the water.

Couple things you notice the second you pick it up. Bulldozer-style tires and two sets of brushes. That combo is doing a lot of the heavy lifting here, and I’ll get into why below.

The Tracks and Dual Brushes Do the Work

Those bulldozer tracks let it climb over stuff most vacuums get stuck on. It’ll roll right over the drain on the bottom of your pool, get up and down steps, climb over wrinkles in a vinyl liner, and it climbs the wall to clean the waterline. There’s a brush on the front and a brush on the back, so it’s in 100% clean contact the entire time it’s running. Floors, walls, doesn’t matter. It’s constantly, constantly cleaning.

Filtration is two-phase inside one basket. There’s a white algae filter designed to catch microorganisms and tiny stuff, and the screen underneath grabs leaves and larger debris. The white piece pops out if you want it out. There’s also a little extra filter tucked in there. The specs list a 3-micron fine filter plus a 180-micron standard filter, and the basket holds 3.5 liters.

Watching It Map the Pool and Take Off

Drop it in, let it fill with water, and you can feel when it kicks on. Mine had already been idling while I did the app upgrades, so it fired up on its own. Once it gets going, it figures out what kind of pool it’s in, looks for obstacles, works out the shape, then takes off. There’s a little camera on the front that helps it avoid stuff in the pool. I watched it hit a wall, adjust itself, then take off straight across to the next one. Every pass it’s grabbing leaves, dead bugs, algae pieces, whatever the storm left me.

The runtime is 240 minutes, 4 hours, and you get to decide how it spends that. You can put 100% of the four hours on the floors, 100% on the walls, or 100% just cruising the waterline. Or mix it. In the app you can switch the floor path between adaptive and a crisscross pattern, which is what I had this one set to. You can also put it on a schedule, run it 45 to 50 minutes a day every other day, and just let it maintain itself.

When it finished, I could see straight to the bottom. Nice and clean. Nothing left down there.

The Filter Comes Out Filthy Every Time

Here’s the part the box won’t tell you: that basket comes out gross, and you’re cleaning it by hand. When I popped mine open after one cycle, I could see a lot of stuff jammed in there. Remember that white algae filter? It was not white anymore. That thing was dark. So there’s real cleaning to do every run. I rinse the outer filter part first, then work on the inside and all that good stuff, then pop it back together.

One heads-up worth knowing: if you’ve got a lot of leaves in your pool, Aiper recommends pulling the white algae screen out and running it without, then putting it back when you’re done. So it’s kind of your choice, but it’s an extra step you have to remember before you hit start. The nice tradeoff is I only carry the basket to my cleaning spot, not the whole 18-lb unit.

Get it now

Aiper Scuba S3 Pool Cleaner

Get the best price on Amazon →

This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Best for Uneven Above-Ground Pools

The bulldozer tracks are the reason to buy this over a suction-side cleaner if your above-ground pool has a wrinkled vinyl liner or a raised drain in the middle. Those are exactly the obstacles that kill traditional vacuums mid-run. Cordless means no hose tangling around the robot every 20 minutes, which was my biggest frustration with the last unit I tested.

Setup Tips I’d Pass Along

On drop-in, set it in and leave it alone for a minute, it needs to fill before the motors engage, and you’ll feel the vibration when it kicks on. When the cycle ends it floats up to the surface briefly; grab it then and you lift it straight out. Miss that window and it parks against the sidewall at the waterline, which is still easy to retrieve, clip the included hook to your pole and you’re done in five seconds.

To charge it, there’s a little covered spot on the side. Make sure that’s dry before you plug it in. Real simple. And connect it to the Aiper app early so you can set your path and schedule before the first run instead of fiddling with it while it’s already swimming around.

Pros

• Only 18 lbs, easy to lift with one hand
• Tracks climb drains, steps, and liner wrinkles that stop other vacuums
• Dual brushes keep it scrubbing on floors and walls the whole run
• 4-hour runtime you can split across floors, walls, or waterline
• Parks itself at the waterline or floats up so you don’t chase it with a hook
• App control for cleaning path and scheduling

Cons

• Filter basket comes out filthy and needs a hand-rinse every cycle
• Leaf-heavy pools mean pulling the algae screen first, an extra step to remember
• You have to keep the charge port dry before plugging in

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Aiper Scuba S3 work in above-ground and in-ground pools?

Yes, it runs in both. I like it in my above-ground pool because the floor is so uneven, and the tracks let it climb around everything. In-ground works the same way.

How do you get it out of the pool when it’s done?

It floats up to the surface when it finishes if you catch it, so you can just grab it. If you miss that, it parks at the waterline against the sidewall and you lift it out with the included hook on your pole.

How do you clean the filter basket?

You pop the basket off, open it, and rinse it by hand. I rinse the outer filter part first, then the inside. You don’t have to carry the whole unit to your cleaning station, just the basket.

What’s the difference between the two filters inside?

The white algae filter catches microorganisms and tiny particles, and the screen underneath grabs leaves and bigger debris. The white piece pops out, so you choose based on what’s in your pool.

Can I schedule it to run automatically?

Yes, through the Aiper app. You can set it to run something like 45 to 50 minutes a day every other day for maintenance, plus switch the floor path between adaptive and crisscross.

Does it clean the waterline or just the floor?

Both. It climbs the wall to scrub the waterline, and you can even dedicate all 4 hours just to the waterline if that’s your priority. You control how the time is split.

How does it avoid obstacles in the pool?

There’s a small camera on the front that helps it spot and avoid things in the water. When it starts, it maps out the shape of the pool and looks for obstacles before it takes off.

How do you charge it?

There’s a covered charge port on the side of the unit. Dry that spot off first, then plug it in. The battery is a 149.76 Wh lithium-ion pack that supports the full 4-hour runtime.

Get it now

Aiper Scuba S3 Pool Cleaner

Get the best price on Amazon →

This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

🛍️ Shop everything in this video

Every product mentioned, in one place — these are affiliate links, so I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

🛍️ Aiper Scuba S3 Robot Vacuum Pool Cleaner — check price on Amazon →

About the reviewer

Scott Ayres

Welcome to the Product Demo lab where I (Scott) demo products so you can make an educated buying decision. I keep it real, honest and laid back.