I just got a Deltec MCE300 and I'm very impressed with it. I have also read the negative reviews... but mine must be a 'good' one or something. It skims tons of stuff, is really quiet and starts up without issue every time I turn it on.
I've had this skimmer hooked up for about 5 days, so there might be some unpleasent suprises coming. But so far, the MCE300 is everything I was looking for in a skimmer. Highly recommended.