Very cool! I just got a Roomba 981 on the Amazon Treasure Truck deal this week. It arrived yesterday and has been charging, so I get to try it for the first time today.
Robotic vacuums
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Very cool! I just got a Roomba 981 on the Amazon Treasure Truck deal this week. It arrived yesterday and has been charging, so I get to try it for the first time today.
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I purchased a second robotic vacuum this week. It was an impulse purchase. Costco had a great sale on the Ecovacs Ozmo T8 AIVI vacuum with the auto empty station. They normally sell together for $1,050 but Costco had a flash sale for three days where the package was $650.
There is quite a difference between the Ecovacs and my Eufy 30C MAx. The Eufy just bounces around until it hits something and then it changes direction. The T8 maps out the entire house and then vacuums in neat rows until it completes the entire area. It also is much better at recognizing objects like socks or wires and avoiding them. And it mops the floor at the same time that it vacuums. When it finishes the job it sucks all of the dirt out of the bin into a vacuum bag in the auto empty station. The bag needs to be changed out once every 3 months or so.
There is no way I would have paid over $1,000 for the Ecovacs. At $650 it was a bit of an impulse purchase but it’s been fun to try out all of the high end features. I can use it as a video camera to patrol the home. I can identify different areas on the map and selectively tell it to only clean the kitchen and the family room rather than running around the entire house.
For most people a simple $200 robot vacuum is more than adequate. I’ve never had such clean floors as when I started using the robots to keep things clean. It’s really been quite a pleasure to live in such a clean house without having to put any effort into it.
There is quite a difference between the Ecovacs and my Eufy 30C MAx. The Eufy just bounces around until it hits something and then it changes direction. The T8 maps out the entire house and then vacuums in neat rows until it completes the entire area. It also is much better at recognizing objects like socks or wires and avoiding them. And it mops the floor at the same time that it vacuums. When it finishes the job it sucks all of the dirt out of the bin into a vacuum bag in the auto empty station. The bag needs to be changed out once every 3 months or so.
There is no way I would have paid over $1,000 for the Ecovacs. At $650 it was a bit of an impulse purchase but it’s been fun to try out all of the high end features. I can use it as a video camera to patrol the home. I can identify different areas on the map and selectively tell it to only clean the kitchen and the family room rather than running around the entire house.
For most people a simple $200 robot vacuum is more than adequate. I’ve never had such clean floors as when I started using the robots to keep things clean. It’s really been quite a pleasure to live in such a clean house without having to put any effort into it.
Brat
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I am thinking of getting a robot vacuum for my DS & DIL for Christmas. Their home is two stories. Can they program one for two different areas?
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If you are looking at a vacuum in the $200 range there is no programming. You just turn it on and it roams around randomly, vacuuming whatever area it can get to.
If you are looking at something with mapping capability, you will need to check the specific model to make sure it supports multiple floor maps. Many of them do but each model is unique.
There are some amazing pictures on the internet of poop+robovac disasters.
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I just saw that Wyze (a company I'm impressed with) is now accepting $199 pre-orders for its new robot vacuum. If I hadn't already bought my Eufy, I'd be buying the Wyze. It has room mapping and full control from your phone to set schedules, make virtual walls, or run impromptu cleanings.
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Did you get your Tesvor robot vacuum yet? It seems to offer a lot more functionality than other robot vacuums in the $200 price range. I’m curious to know how it’s working out for you.
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I placed a pre-order for the Wyze robot vacuum today. Looking at the features they are promising this vacuum competes with other models selling for at least $400 when they are on sale. I can't find anything even close to offering this set of features in the $200 price range.
They are supposed to ship some time in January. It will be very interesting to see if Wyze can really offer a Lidar based robot vacuum with mapping and smart navigation at a price point that others offer their most basic robot vacuum models for.
Teacher Terry
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I love my roomba and her name is Fido
). One of my Maltese follows it around barking and has even bit it.
). One of my Maltese follows it around barking and has even bit it.
pb4uski
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We have an older Roomba up north and a newer Deebot down south. I prefer the Deebot... it is much quieter and the dust bin is more convenient.
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As an old guy who uses a broom and dustpan to clean the curb and gutter in front of my house I can't relate to this thread.
Car-Guy
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We've had several Roomba's over the past 10+ years and they do an okay job... We still need to pull out the big "sucker" for a deeper cleaning a couple of times a year. It seems like the lifespan is about three years and then something breaks that's not easily fixable so we get another one...(And I'm pretty good at fixing things) However, the last one I bought was a Shark IQ robot with a self emptying base, which really works well... It seems to do about the same job as the Roomba's "so far"... About once a month it gets "confused" and I need to remove the battery to reset its memory... Other than that it works fine. I like them since they don't throw out all the dust particles like the regular vacuums do. The DW likes them so that is what really matters....
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Focus
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Fingers crossed!
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I guess it's returnable if it doesn't work. But they have already charged my credit card for the purchase even though it won't be shipping until January. Is that how these early backer preorders work?
My Roomba 960 was a gift and I wasn't sure I was going to like it.
I love him! His name is Homer and he keeps my 1050 square foot condo really clean, hardwood, carpeting, and tile. He does a great job maneuvering around and under the furniture, even climbing over the metal bars of a coffee table frame.
I love him! His name is Homer and he keeps my 1050 square foot condo really clean, hardwood, carpeting, and tile. He does a great job maneuvering around and under the furniture, even climbing over the metal bars of a coffee table frame.
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As an old guy who uses a broom and dustpan to clean the curb and gutter in front of my house I can't relate to this thread.
As an old gal who has gone to a lot of trouble to clear away anything in my house that I could trip on and fall, I am having a hard time relating, too! I really don't need or want a little Rumba to stumble over or step on and fall flat on my face at this stage in my life.
I do think it would have been fun to have one a few years ago.My Dyson is bigger but also nice and light, and it is just right for me. But it's not robotic.
harllee
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I recently got a Eufy 25c model and I love it. It was only $130 at Walmart.com (it was twice as much at Amazon). I can work it manually, with the remote or with my smart phone. I thought we were clean people but I am amazed at how much dirt Rosie picks up (named for the robot maid on Jettsons). Rosie is able to go places we could not--under the bed, sofa and dresser, etc. It is fun to watch Rosie go.
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Mine is named Ramón. He's my indoor cabana boy
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My Wyze robot vacuum arrived today. This is Wyze’s first entry in the robotic vacuum market. They were taking preorders for early backers in December at an entry price of $199. The vacuum has a LIDAR sensor so that it can navigate in neat rows and avoid obstacles while mapping out the room. Vacuums with similar features typically sell for at least $500.
I’ve only used it once so it’s too early to reach any conclusions, but it worked great in vacuuming our first floor. It created a nice map and found its way back to the charging base without any issues. It’s a little louder than the Eufy robot vacuum we have but otherwise seems to be a very nice vacuum so far.
I’ve only used it once so it’s too early to reach any conclusions, but it worked great in vacuuming our first floor. It created a nice map and found its way back to the charging base without any issues. It’s a little louder than the Eufy robot vacuum we have but otherwise seems to be a very nice vacuum so far.
target2019
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Roomba i3+ placed in service beginning of 2021.
- app setup had a glitch or two with my WiFi
- runs 60-90 minutes without recharging
- not good with fringe on rugs
- creates a map when cleaning completed
- does not map rooms, can't send to a named room
- dirt tank smaller than expected
- instead of clean everywhere command, much simpler to put in a room and push start
- has Home button to send back to charging dock. May get another dock for 2ND floor.
Overall it's a clean machine! Paid $500 or so, with additional warranty. We have a mix of carpet, wood parquet, area rugs, and tiles. So it's a pretty challenging environment, and also shows you why you don't need so much clutter on your floors or under beds.
It sounds like cheaper competition may be a good choice for 2ND floor instead of another charging dock.
- app setup had a glitch or two with my WiFi
- runs 60-90 minutes without recharging
- not good with fringe on rugs
- creates a map when cleaning completed
- does not map rooms, can't send to a named room
- dirt tank smaller than expected
- instead of clean everywhere command, much simpler to put in a room and push start
- has Home button to send back to charging dock. May get another dock for 2ND floor.
Overall it's a clean machine! Paid $500 or so, with additional warranty. We have a mix of carpet, wood parquet, area rugs, and tiles. So it's a pretty challenging environment, and also shows you why you don't need so much clutter on your floors or under beds.
It sounds like cheaper competition may be a good choice for 2ND floor instead of another charging dock.
tfudtuckerpucker
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I bought a Xiaomi roborock 3 years ago for $284. It has Lidar, so it maps rooms and cleans pretty efficiently. We use it 2-3x per week, on 5000 sq ft of concrete, wood, and carpet). Here are the pro's and con's, as I see it.
pro:
- good job cleaning. No "drunken sailor" action. It's fun to watch the progress with the app.
- very reliable, and cheap replacement parts available
con:
- dust bin is small- needs to be emptied often
- can't easily order zoned cleanup (like "clean the den").
- occasionally gets stuck
- can't leave any cables, wires, etc on the floor, 'cause they get wrapped up
I wish I could hack the voice, so it sounds like Consuela (Family Guy).
I might buy Xiaomi's new vacuum, which has zoned cleanup, and mopping options. Not sure if I would be supporting China's military though.
pro:
- good job cleaning. No "drunken sailor" action. It's fun to watch the progress with the app.
- very reliable, and cheap replacement parts available
con:
- dust bin is small- needs to be emptied often
- can't easily order zoned cleanup (like "clean the den").
- occasionally gets stuck
- can't leave any cables, wires, etc on the floor, 'cause they get wrapped up
I wish I could hack the voice, so it sounds like Consuela (Family Guy).
I might buy Xiaomi's new vacuum, which has zoned cleanup, and mopping options. Not sure if I would be supporting China's military though.
I replaced an Eufy with the Wyze vacuum and like it much better. I’ve ran it a few times and it gives you a map of the room and where it vacuumed. I can see that it didn’t miss any spots and the floors look great. I’m debating if I should get another one for the 2nd floor.
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Interesting. I have both the Eufy 30C Max and the Wyze. The Wyze is nice because it has LIDAR and so it can map out a room and navigate in neat rows. But it’s much louder than the Eufy and it gets confused if you try to use it on more than one floor. I feel like the Wyze will get better as they update the software but for now it feels like a V1 product.
I agree the Wyze is a great value at $200. But for now it’s sold out and will likely go up to $249 once they start selling it again.
