Roomba?
- Thread starter Bull
- Start date
Oh Boy... This smells of "If you buy 1 more freaking Blackhawk tool" you are in charge of Cleaning the House from now on.
toolchaser
Well-known member
I have a 5 yr old model . House has all wood floors but also area rugs. It works pretty well but the onboard dirt cup is kinda small. If you have pets it will fill up with fur before it finishes a medium size room. I think it's best application is to run it frequently to prevent any accumulation.
nate379
Banned
I have a black and gray one, about 3 years old. Runs every other day, helps keep the dog hair down to some degree. Just does the laminate floors in the house, about 1000 sqft or so. (living room, kitchen/dining room and the hallway)
Honda guy
Well-known member
My brother has one about 3 or 4 yrs old. It died after it bumped into the cat's water bowl and ingested water. He was satisfied with the way it prformed and plans on buying another one.
nonewmoney
Active member
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2011
- Messages
- 25
I have the "Neato" robotic vac, got it at costco, works amazing... fired the maid...
BigAl62
Well-known member
They make great cat ride on toys, just look up "cat on roomba" on youtube, very funny!
Displaced Hokie
Well-known member
Have a Roomba 561 I'm about to tear into as today's project. It's @ 2yrs old, and LOVE IT! It makes a huge difference. Has the self-dock and timer, so I just dump the canister every day. We have three dogs and five cats, and this thing makes dust/fur bunnys a thing of the past.
But...it's not w/o fault. Given the heavy hair work we are giving it, dog hair has apprently gotten into the guts. It uses brass bushings for the rotating parts, and hair gets pulled into them. I'm going to open up the gear case and clean it out. I'll post pics when done. Keep in mind we have some pretty harsh conditons and this took 2yrs to happen. Nice thing is that there is a mod you can do for $25 to end the hair problem by replacing the bushings with tiny roller bearings.
This what I'm talking about: Roomba bearing mod
But...it's not w/o fault. Given the heavy hair work we are giving it, dog hair has apprently gotten into the guts. It uses brass bushings for the rotating parts, and hair gets pulled into them. I'm going to open up the gear case and clean it out. I'll post pics when done. Keep in mind we have some pretty harsh conditons and this took 2yrs to happen. Nice thing is that there is a mod you can do for $25 to end the hair problem by replacing the bushings with tiny roller bearings.
This what I'm talking about: Roomba bearing mod
spongerich
Well-known member
We've had several of them since they first came out.
They work great, especially on pet hair. You still need to bring out the old skool vacuum once in a while, but the Roomba does a surprisingly good job.
In theory, it vacuums while you do something else. Unfortunately, it's fascinating to watch, so you might find yourself just sitting and being amused by it.
They work great, especially on pet hair. You still need to bring out the old skool vacuum once in a while, but the Roomba does a surprisingly good job.
In theory, it vacuums while you do something else. Unfortunately, it's fascinating to watch, so you might find yourself just sitting and being amused by it.
nate379
Banned
I set it when no one is home. It's come on before when I had a day off and it pissed me off after about 5 mintures of bumping into the same thing, not to mention it's quite loud too (not much quieter than reg carpet vac.)
And yup like the others said it's not a replacement for a real vaccuum or sweeping. I end up sweeping the floor once a week or so... otherwise though I'd need to do it almost daily.
And yup like the others said it's not a replacement for a real vaccuum or sweeping. I end up sweeping the floor once a week or so... otherwise though I'd need to do it almost daily.
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Well, these are all pretty favorable reviews, overall. I am glad for the "Neato" reference, too, as I was unfamiliar with that machine. A few people in the Costco site who reviewed it compared it to the Roomba, and claimed they liked it more.
I didn't want to pull the trigger on a $350+ robot if it wasn't going to do a good job.
I didn't want to pull the trigger on a $350+ robot if it wasn't going to do a good job.
SweetD
Well-known member
I've had a love/hate relationship with our Roomba for about 5 years. It's the Roomba 580 model.
As mentioned above, when it works, it works AWESOMELY on hardwoods / area rugs for picking up pet hair. It also travels under our living room couches, which is HUGE for keeping the dust bunnies down.
That being said, I had to send it in for a total overhaul to a third party shop, just outside of warranty. It cost me just about as much as buying a new one.
Since then, it's worked well. I've also "invested" in a third party sealed gearbox for the brush drive. My original one failed due to dog hair intrusion.
For us, it's really important to empty the collection chamber and clean the brushes frequently.
Here's the site for that repair and aftermarket stuff:
http://www.protechrobotics.com/index.php
Certainly still have to break out the old vacuum cleaner weekly, but the Roomba maintains well.
Dave
As mentioned above, when it works, it works AWESOMELY on hardwoods / area rugs for picking up pet hair. It also travels under our living room couches, which is HUGE for keeping the dust bunnies down.
That being said, I had to send it in for a total overhaul to a third party shop, just outside of warranty. It cost me just about as much as buying a new one.
Since then, it's worked well. I've also "invested" in a third party sealed gearbox for the brush drive. My original one failed due to dog hair intrusion.
For us, it's really important to empty the collection chamber and clean the brushes frequently.
Here's the site for that repair and aftermarket stuff:
http://www.protechrobotics.com/index.php
Certainly still have to break out the old vacuum cleaner weekly, but the Roomba maintains well.
Dave
ajchien
Well-known member
I love the roomba. The battery though... Needs replacing sooner than you want. 
nate379
Banned
Yeah, forgot about that. I am on #2. First one lasted about 2 years running everyday before dog hair killed the gear box. It was getting loud, beat up, so I ended up buying another one. This one has yellow discs on the end of brushes so maybe will last longer?
Something I did too was put the fuzzy part of the velcro around the whole unit as a pad. Otherwise it will beat up the baseboard moldings after a while.
Something I did too was put the fuzzy part of the velcro around the whole unit as a pad. Otherwise it will beat up the baseboard moldings after a while.
american lockpicker
Banned
My mom had one and it exploded... Don't ask I don't know the details.
Displaced Hokie
Well-known member
UPDATE:
Sure enough...dog hair in the gearbox. Luckily, the thing (or at least the newer ones) are smart enough to sense the extra drag and shut down and give an error code before any damage is done. Took @ 20 minutes to open up the gearbox and clean it up.
Before:
After:
Should be good to go for awhile. I'll do the bearing mod later in the year. The engineering that went into this is is very impressive, and the modular design makes it very easy to service or repair. Not sure if this gearbox problem has been addressed on later models.
Sure enough...dog hair in the gearbox. Luckily, the thing (or at least the newer ones) are smart enough to sense the extra drag and shut down and give an error code before any damage is done. Took @ 20 minutes to open up the gearbox and clean it up.
Before:
After:
Should be good to go for awhile. I'll do the bearing mod later in the year. The engineering that went into this is is very impressive, and the modular design makes it very easy to service or repair. Not sure if this gearbox problem has been addressed on later models.
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nate379
Banned
Dunno but all that gloop you smeared in there (I'm not even go to say what it looks like on my screen... YUK!) will be sure to pull in dog hair in short order.
v7guy
Well-known member
We've used one for about a year, it seems to do the job pretty well. Like others have noted, you do still need to pull out the real vacuum once a week or so and you need to frequently empty the debris cup. But it makes life easier without a doubt.
honcho
Well-known member
I'm still waiting for Roomba to make one with a shop vac........would be great for cleaning up oil absorbent granules!
kc-steve
Well-known member
Displaced Hokie
Well-known member
LOL.
Yeah, I know. It's lithium grease, the recommended lube. I used the spray kind. We will see. I know, the dryer the better in a dirty environment.
Hair gets in from the opposite side, around where the gears exit the housing to mate with the brushes. It sure is quiet now though! It took two years for it to happen before, so I'll watch for it.
HoosierBuddy
Well-known member
I have an iRobot dirt dog in my garage. It does a nice job. I've had to replace the battery a couple of times. I had to replace the whole unit one time when it didn't make it to the charging station and instead parked under the back tire on my pickup truck.
Phil
Phil
nate379
Banned
It's a time saver bud. Until someone figures out how to make a 28hr day or 8 days in a week, it was worth it to me so instead of sweeping the house daily (takes about 20 mins) I can do it weekly. That saved me 2 hrs a week.
Person I rent to was all gung ho about taking care of a house for the first couple weeks, but now it's turned into stay in a housecoat all day and watch Court TV... I'd go insane if I couldn't get outdoors or at least tinker in the garage everyday.
Person I rent to was all gung ho about taking care of a house for the first couple weeks, but now it's turned into stay in a housecoat all day and watch Court TV... I'd go insane if I couldn't get outdoors or at least tinker in the garage everyday.
boomerangg22
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2009
- Messages
- 264
Well Bull which did you get? Now you got me wanting one and i'm leaning towards the Neato, seems to be a fine machine.
Have not pulled the trigger but am also leaning towards the Neato!
boomerangg22
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2009
- Messages
- 264
never bought any thing from HSN but they have the Neato for Sale Price: $339.95