Robot Vacuum Cleaners

[Deschodt]

Neato > Roomba...

I've had 3-4 Rombas, and one Neato. In that order... not only does it still work 5 years later, something the Rombas never suceeded to do, but it sucks up dirt and dog hair instead of brushing, and gets stuck a lot less... Now it's possible that Roomba improved in that time frame, but to me once you move from VW to Porsche, you don't go back to VW "just to see if they got better"...

The Neato picks up 75% of the dog hair I'd say, to the point when I feel the urge to sweep/vacuum once a week instead of every other day. It's louder but runs when I'm not home. We also dispensed with the usual ways to prevent it from falling down the stairs and surprisingly it never did, it's pretty clever. I'd buy another Neato, not another Roomba, based on that sequence of personal experience... But if things changed, you VW people let me know please ;-)

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by KC911

If I had full app capabilities on my mom's D7, I would map out virtual "no go" areas, decrease total lap times, and have better battery management....just one problem...no Internet or Wireless . Just have to investigate further...

Welll **** why’d you buy the fancy one if she’s got no internet!

My D3 doesn’t have all of that, but the reminders have been good. Only hiccup so far is that we manually docked it the other night and it didn’t charge so it missed it’s scheduled run.


Also the missus has already requested a second one for upstairs. Damn this will get pricey.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

Welll **** why’d you buy the fancy one if she’s got no internet!

My D3 doesn’t have all of that, but the reminders have been good. Only hiccup so far is that we manually docked it the other night and it didn’t charge so it missed it’s scheduled run.


Also the missus has already requested a second one for upstairs. Damn this will get pricey.

I don't have Internet either ....I use my D3 by just hitting the start button....takes 70 minutes on my hardwood/tile floor (1 hour recharge after 60 minutes)....love it! Got the D7 strictly on the double battery life....glad I did as it didn't last nearly that long on the first pass (carpets), and got stuck a few times. I'm gonna tweak it....manually (obstructions, etc.), but I need it to be bullet proof about not getting stuck. Depending on the Neato "smarts".... how much runs in the "cloud" verses a "one time" connection for mapping, management, etc. I might not need a permanent WAP...or see which of her neighbor's has one . I'll figure it out...D7 looks slick by comparison, but love my dumb D3 too !

[TechDad]

My roomba can't connect to the network, but I think I'll be fine without it, lol. What we're most particular with in a vacuum is really the suction, especially that we have dogs who shed so much. I'm good with the good suction only. One thing we don't like much about it though is the noise, I can't stand it, it's just too loud.

[72doug2,2S]

3 years on "Ruby" the roomba here. No issues, other than programming is not intuitive

[greglepore]

Originally Posted by TechDad

My roomba can connect to the network, but I think I'll be fine without it, lol. What we're most particular with in a vacuum is really the suction, especially that we have dogs who shed so much. I'm good with the good suction only. One thing we don't like much about it though is the noise, I can't stand it, it's just too loud.

Good thing-story on NPR the other day about how their server has "maps" of the inside of homes stored...

[TechDad]

I believe that's for the high end models. It is kind of creepy! Though I read here that they do have "mapping" for navigating purposes, but the vacuum doesn't really "save" what it has captured since it sort of makes a new map everytime it runs, not sure if I got their point right. lol.

[KFC911]

Both my Neato D3 and mom's D7 are proving to be awesome with no Internet access. The AI in the D7 is impressive....could "I" improve it a bit...yep, but not necessary...KISS .

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by TechDad

I believe that's for the high end models. It is kind of creepy! Though I read here that they do have "mapping" for navigating purposes, but the vacuum doesn't really "save" what it has captured since it sort of makes a new map everytime it runs, not sure if I got their point right. lol.

Yeah, it makes a map each time (which is pretty cool), but in a future update (may already be there), you can draw on the map to define no-go zones so clearly it will remember the map. Locally or on the server ? Not sure...

I honestly do not care. That map is unreadable and of very little interest if you don't live at my house. Floor plans are available at the city offices. The layout of my kitchen/living room is not exactly classified info... I'd be more worried about Alexa or Siri listening on me... All I know is the damn bucket is full of golden retriever hair daily and it's a life saver.

[Deschodt]

Here's monday's cleaning map... Dark spots are zones it did not go to (stairs, under sofas, coffee tables, etc). I wonder what the NSA will do with this ;-)

[RSBob]

Disappointed in my $600 Roomba. It’s path is completely random, which means it wastes energy going over the same spots and completely missing others. Then if we don’t Roomba-proof the downstairs, it gets stuck under furniture, ruins my wood floor vents, closes itself in the bathroom and plays “MIA” when it dies under something. For the price, am very disappointed. The model I have, non-internet, is not ready for prime time.

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by RSBob

Disappointed in my $600 Roomba. It’s path is completely random, which means it wastes energy going over the same spots and completely missing others.

See map above. I'm not paid by Neato but I've had 4x Roombas and since switching to Neato I am not going back. Every day I have "mapped proof" that it covered everything it should. Never falls down the stairs, very rarely get stuck - when it does it's something the kids or the dog left on the floor like a dog toy (rope ting that tangles in the brush). When I observed it (which is rare because it *is* loud) it also covered the same area several times needlessly, BUT it also eventually did the rest of the house so I cannot complain. It was also $450, < $600.

This and the the Pure Blue 3 stage air filter have made signs of my dog's presence disappear. I get home and it doesn't smell like we own a smelly yellow shedding machine ;-)

[911boost]

Which Neato do you have?

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

Here's monday's cleaning map... Dark spots are zones it did not go to (stairs, under sofas, coffee tables, etc). I wonder what the NSA will do with this ;-)

No dead body outlines in the middle of the room....you're probably OK

When I first used mom's D7....I figured I might have to use apps/maps, etc. but as I posted...the AI in it is impressive....it's getting "smarter" each time too. My D3 at half the price is perfect for my needs also.

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by BSiple

Which Neato do you have?

D5... Cheaper than the more sophisticated ones, but in my case needed for pet hair...

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by KC911

No dead body outlines in the middle of the room....you're probably OK

That would be funny as hell, I'll have to try and make one ;-) might be faster using photoshop !

[RSBob]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

See map above. I'm not paid by Neato but I've had 4x Roombas and since switching to Neato I am not going back. Every day I have "mapped proof" that it covered everything it should. Never falls down the stairs, very rarely get stuck - when it does it's something the kids or the dog left on the floor like a dog toy (rope ting that tangles in the brush). When I observed it (which is rare because it *is* loud) it also covered the same area several times needlessly, BUT it also eventually did the rest of the house so I cannot complain. It was also $450, < $600.

This and the the Pure Blue 3 stage air filter have made signs of my dog's presence disappear. I get home and it doesn't smell like we own a smelly yellow shedding machine ;-)

Great advice. I will definitely put one on the list when this one croaks.

[KFC911]

What's a good D3 replacement battery....mine is dead . Hadn't used it all that much....just sat for a while (on the charger)....nada....dead.

I want a 2-cycle vacuum cleaner....batteries suck

[TimT]

NSFW, NS if your offended by strong language

O got a good chuckle though

[pitargue]

Any experience with the Eufy brand? Was looking on Amazon and it came up as a top pick.