Thinking about getting one of this gadget. However, I notice that
there are three types for Roomba : Standard, Roomba Red (or is this
Pro Lite?), and Roomba Discovery (or the one with SE on it). The price
starts around US $150, $225 form Pro-lite and $260 for Discovery. What
are the differences in those three? Which one is the best one... the
most expensive one (the Discovery)? I like the red colour (Pro
lite)... but does it has less features than the Discovery?
Then, I saw the Electrolux Trilobite ... a very nice machine, but it
costs around US $1600! Why is there so much difference in cost
between Roomba and Trilobite? Is Trilobite for real, heavy duty
cleaning (rather than a robotic "toy" like Roomba)? Is it worth to
get $1600 vacum cleaner in the long run? Has it better quality,
service and performance?
Need some opinion on this. Thanks.
Do any of these cleaners need a special order vacuum bags, which is
only supplied by the manufacturer?
I also heard about rechargable batteries... How fast that we need to
keep buying new batteries?
I am a little wary that I can get sucked by these manufacturers, which
probably have strategy to sell more of the accessories (just like a
cheap printers, when you have to pay a fortune for the ink... or a
free cell phone, but you have to pay arm and legs to use it).
Thanks for info.

I have to think these things are a passing fad... there is simply no
way a unit that small, running on batteries, can clean carpet decently.


Maybe it would be ok for a kitchen floor or something.

I'm sure it would be fun to watch.... for a while... and then one day
you realize that you are still lugging out the Hoover every week anyway.

We tried a Roomba and returned it the next day. It didn't do a
particularly good job of cleaning and the carpet looked like crop
circles had been cut into it. If you miss the psychedelic 60's you might
like that but it looked awful to us.

From:aniram


Thinking about getting one of this gadget. However, I notice that
there are three types for Roomba : Standard, Roomba Red (or is this
Pro Lite?), and Roomba Discovery (or the one with SE on it). The price
starts around US $150, $225 form Pro-lite and $260 for Discovery. What
are the differences in those three? Which one is the best one... the
most expensive one (the Discovery)? I like the red colour (Pro
lite)... but does it has less features than the Discovery?
Then, I saw the Electrolux Trilobite ... a very nice machine, but it
costs around US $1600! Why is there so much difference in cost
between Roomba and Trilobite? Is Trilobite for real, heavy duty
cleaning (rather than a robotic "toy" like Roomba)? Is it worth to
get $1600 vacum cleaner in the long run? Has it better quality,
service and performance?
Need some opinion on this. Thanks.
Do any of these cleaners need a special order vacuum bags, which is
only supplied by the manufacturer?
I also heard about rechargable batteries... How fast that we need to
keep buying new batteries?
I am a little wary that I can get sucked by these manufacturers, which
probably have strategy to sell more of the accessories (just like a
cheap printers, when you have to pay a fortune for the ink... or a
free cell phone, but you have to pay arm and legs to use it).
Thanks for info.

"BruceR" wrote in news:nS5Rd.3502$VD5.2965
@twister.socal.rr.com:

We tried a Roomba and returned it the next day. It didn't do a
particularly good job of cleaning and the carpet looked like crop
circles had been cut into it. If you miss the psychedelic 60's you
might
like that but it looked awful to us.

Wow, that has so not been my experience with the Roomba. Do you have
high pile carpeting? It's better with low pile.

The Roomba Discovery is the way to go, even if it is a little more
expensive. It has a larger dust bin, its battery recharges faster, and
it returns on it's own to is docking bay when the battery gets low. I'm
sorry, but what more do you want from a vacuum? I have one and I really
appreciate it as a convenience. Now I only do the old fashion vacuuming
once a month instead of every Sunday, which I hated. I'm happier and my
floors stay clean. Win Win in my opinion.

Yes we have thick carpeting so maybe it's OK on thinner stuff or berber.
Maybe new models are better - we tried it a year ago. They sell a lot of
them so they must work for someone and if the choice is Roomba vs. not
vacuuming weekly then it's probably worth it.

Fromurian


"BruceR" wrote in news:nS5Rd.3502$VD5.2965
@twister.socal.rr.com:

We tried a Roomba and returned it the next day. It didn't do a
particularly good job of cleaning and the carpet looked like crop
circles had been cut into it. If you miss the psychedelic 60's you
might like that but it looked awful to us.

Wow, that has so not been my experience with the Roomba. Do you have
high pile carpeting? It's better with low pile.

The Roomba Discovery is the way to go, even if it is a little more
expensive. It has a larger dust bin, its battery recharges faster, and
it returns on it's own to is docking bay when the battery gets low.
I'm sorry, but what more do you want from a vacuum? I have one and I
really appreciate it as a convenience. Now I only do the old fashion
vacuuming once a month instead of every Sunday, which I hated. I'm
happier and my floors stay clean. Win Win in my opinion.

Matt wrote:
I have to think these things are a passing fad... there is simply no
way a unit that small, running on batteries, can clean carpet decently.


Maybe it would be ok for a kitchen floor or something.

There are those of us who don't like or want carpet, and
therefore have hardwood floors or tile everywhere.
These little suckers probably rock in that kind of environment.

Still waiting for one that will do stairs though.
(actually, I'm going to build it soon as I know enough
on how to do it...)




--
Marc D.
(reply-to is black hole. Contact: list on domain ryuu in Canada)

Durian wrote:
"BruceR" wrote in news:nS5Rd.3502$VD5.2965
@twister.socal.rr.com:

We tried a Roomba and returned it the next day.
It didn't do a particularly good job of cleaning
and the carpet looked like crop circles had been
cut into it. If you miss the psychedelic 60's you
might like that but it looked awful to us.

Wow, that has so not been my experience with the
Roomba. Do you have high pile carpeting? It's better
with low pile.

The Roomba Discovery is the way to go, even if it is
a little more expensive. It has a larger dust bin,
its battery recharges faster, and it returns on it's
own to is docking bay when the battery gets low. I'm
sorry, but what more do you want from a vacuum? I
have one and I really appreciate it as a convenience.
Now I only do the old fashion vacuuming once a month
instead of every Sunday, which I hated. I'm happier
and my floors stay clean. Win Win in my opinion.

Yes I don't think you can throw away the old fashion
vacuum. Ours has a vibrator that brings sandy particles
to the surface for removal. We need a robot that can
use vacuum cleaners the way we do for those monthly
cleans

JGCASEY wrote:
Durian wrote:

"BruceR" wrote in news:nS5Rd.3502$VD5.2965
:
Yes I don't think you can throw away the old fashion
vacuum. Ours has a vibrator that brings sandy particles
to the surface for removal. We need a robot that can
use vacuum cleaners the way we do for those monthly
cleans

Or at least a robot one with a rotating brush or some other kind of
vibrator. Like you say, that brings the dirt to surface.

"aniram" wrote in message
om...
Thinking about getting one of this gadget. However, I notice that
there are three types for Roomba : Standard, Roomba Red (or is this
Pro Lite?), and Roomba Discovery (or the one with SE on it). The price
starts around US $150, $225 form Pro-lite and $260 for Discovery. What
are the differences in those three? Which one is the best one... the
most expensive one (the Discovery)? I like the red colour (Pro
lite)... but does it has less features than the Discovery?
Then, I saw the Electrolux Trilobite ... a very nice machine, but it
costs around US $1600! Why is there so much difference in cost
between Roomba and Trilobite? Is Trilobite for real, heavy duty
cleaning (rather than a robotic "toy" like Roomba)? Is it worth to
get $1600 vacum cleaner in the long run? Has it better quality,
service and performance?
Need some opinion on this. Thanks.
Do any of these cleaners need a special order vacuum bags, which is
only supplied by the manufacturer?
I also heard about rechargable batteries... How fast that we need to
keep buying new batteries?
I am a little wary that I can get sucked by these manufacturers, which
probably have strategy to sell more of the accessories (just like a
cheap printers, when you have to pay a fortune for the ink... or a
free cell phone, but you have to pay arm and legs to use it).
Thanks for info.

I also have a question regarding the Roomba...

How do these do in an area where this is both carpet and hardwood or
linoleum flooring? Can it go from one to the other and back?

It would seem that going over that "hump" into the carpeted area might be
difficult.

Thanks,
Brigitte

The Roomba Discovery is the way to go, even if it is a little more
expensive. It has a larger dust bin, its battery recharges faster,
and
it returns on it's own to is docking bay when the battery gets low.
I'm
sorry, but what more do you want from a vacuum?

I'll have a go at this one. I'd like a Roomba that integrates with a
whole-house vac system so that when it docks, it also empties its bin
in addition to recharging. Add to that a timer option where I could
have it make its rounds at a certain time daily.

- Mark.

aniram wrote:
Then, I saw the Electrolux Trilobite ... a very nice machine, but it
costs around US $1600!

Eek! For that price, I'd buy a Roomba to vacuum the house, *and* a
Robomower to mow the lawn! (Robomower is a very well made machine and
has been worth every penny for us).

Why is there so much difference in cost
between Roomba and Trilobite?


I suspect a lot of it is brand name alone. Electrolux is known to
command top dollar.

jen

Matt wrote:
I have to think these things are a passing fad...

Lots of people said that about phones, computers, and t.v.'s :-)

there is simply no
way a unit that small, running on batteries, can clean carpet
decently.


Maybe it would be ok for a kitchen floor or something.

I'm sure it would be fun to watch.... for a while... and then one day
you realize that you are still lugging out the Hoover every week
anyway.

It's a maintenance tool. It works great if you use it every week or
more often. We set ours up to run while we are at work in the morning.
If you use it often, there's less need for the heavy-duty vacuuming.

jen

BruceR wrote:
We tried a Roomba and returned it the next day. It didn't do a
particularly good job of cleaning and the carpet looked like crop
circles had been cut into it. If you miss the psychedelic 60's you
might
like that but it looked awful to us.


Yes, it takes some getting used to. If you have trained your mind to
like nice neat patterns on the carpet, and that means "clean" to you,
then crop circles will probably drive you batty. I had the same initial
reaction until I got used to it.

I also found that I couldn't stand to watch the Roomba work. I'd want
to redirect it because it *looked* so inefficient in its patterns. Took
awhile to learn to trust that it will eventually, in its own haphazard
way, get to every area (and many that I usually skip when using a
regular vacuum - like under the bed, under the sofa, under the dining
room chairs).

I did find that turning it on before I left the house works best for
me. That way, I don't have to stand there watching it. The whole
purpose is to save time anyway. Standing over it fretting might've
saved sweat work of pushing a vacuum, but it wasn't saving any time.

jen

"shinypenny" wrote

It's a maintenance tool. It works great if you use it every week or
more often. We set ours up to run while we are at work in the morning.
If you use it often, there's less need for the heavy-duty vacuuming.

How do you get it to run while you're gone? I've been saying all along that
it is missing a timer so it can be scheduled to do its job while one is
gone.

S

Starsha wrote:
"shinypenny" wrote


How do you get it to run while you're gone? I've been saying all
along that
it is missing a timer so it can be scheduled to do its job while one
is
gone.

Just get the room "roomba-ready," take it out of the charger, place it
in the room, press the on button, and then walk out the door! It stops
automatically when it's done.

Sometimes it does get stuck while I'm out, but we've figured out the
potential trouble spots and can elimate them before operating.
Although there was this one run-in with a fuzzy red sock. Not a pretty
sight. :-(

It does help to have the room picked up and decluttered. Which is one
thing I do like about the Roomba - forces you to keep things picked up
and roomba-ready.

jen

And here we get to the bot I really want: something to pick up the dog
toys before the roomba starts! Humm, the $11 RC missile launcher from
Walmart as a base, the Movit robotic arm trainer, CMU cam, sonar, more
time in a day,...

Paul

shinypenny wrote:
..
..
..

It does help to have the room picked up and decluttered. Which is one
thing I do like about the Roomba - forces you to keep things picked up
and roomba-ready.

Catman wrote:
And here we get to the bot I really want: something to pick up the
dog
toys before the roomba starts! Humm, the $11 RC missile launcher
from
Walmart as a base, the Movit robotic arm trainer, CMU cam, sonar,
more
time in a day,...


I want a self-cleaning bathroom, kinda like those public toilets
they've got in the cities now, where you pay a quarter, and after you
use it, it locks down and goes through a complete cleaning cycle. Or at
very least, a self-cleaning shower/tub.

And I would like a robotic floor steamer. I like my Bissel floor
steamer (my newest gadget) - it is way better than a mop and bucket -
but having a robotic version would be totally cool!

jen

Catman ) wrote:
: And here we get to the bot I really want: something to pick up the dog
: toys before the roomba starts!

Why make it a separate robot? We need a roomba with a mechanical arm!
If it detects an object that's too big to vacuum up, but small enough
to pick up, it picks it up with the mechanical arm, vacuums under it,
and puts it back down afterwards.

--- Chip

what happens if the Roomba runs over a lamp cord?

Bonnie Jean wrote:
what happens if the Roomba runs over a lamp cord?

You get a clean lamp cord.

Bonnie Jean wrote:
what happens if the Roomba runs over a lamp cord?

You get a clean lamp cord.

I was a bit skeptical, but it handles my office just fine.
Lan cables, power cords, etc. Overall, I'm very impressed.

Took it to mom's for a demo sunday, and it ALMOST got stuck in a tight
pocket, and mom was kind of laughing at it, and about that time, it worked
out how to get loose. You should have seen the expression when I opened the
dustbin! She keeps a pretty nice house, but Roomba gets all those little
places that you'd just skip with the big vac.

"Dave VanHorn" wrote in message
news
Bonnie Jean wrote:
what happens if the Roomba runs over a lamp cord?

You get a clean lamp cord.

I was a bit skeptical, but it handles my office just fine.
Lan cables, power cords, etc. Overall, I'm very impressed.

Took it to mom's for a demo sunday, and it ALMOST got stuck in a tight
pocket, and mom was kind of laughing at it, and about that time, it worked
out how to get loose. You should have seen the expression when I opened
the
dustbin! She keeps a pretty nice house, but Roomba gets all those little
places that you'd just skip with the big vac.

I keep hoping to find a cheap one at a garage sale to give to my sister, to
exercise her cats while they are away at work 9-10 hours a day. Don't really
give a rip if it cleans well. (Although if it did keep the top layer of cat
fur skimmed off the carpet, it would probably be a plus for my allergies
when I visit there...)


aem sends...

"ameijers" wrote in message
...

"Dave VanHorn" wrote in message
news
Bonnie Jean wrote:
what happens if the Roomba runs over a lamp cord?

You get a clean lamp cord.

I was a bit skeptical, but it handles my office just fine.
Lan cables, power cords, etc. Overall, I'm very impressed.

Well, after reading this thread and researching on the web for a couple
weeks prior to this thread, I went ahead and bought a Roomba today.

I like it a lot, except for one problem that I haven't seen mentioned.
There's a big oriental rug in our living room that has a fair amount of
black in it, as well as a black border (no fringe). It treats the black
parts like the edge of the stairs. It won't vacuum them, nor will it go up
on the rug because of the border. I'm considering taking it back, but I
might try calling the company first. Of all the things...

--Jodi

There was an April Fools Spoof in Nuts & Volts a few years ago. The
fake article talked about a making a steam cleaning robot by modifying a
steam turbine model kit to power the bot's wheels and shoot its
discharge into the carpet.

The article was written well enough that I thought the writer had just
gotten a little carried away with a big project until I read the about
the author section.

Paul

shinypenny wrote:

Catman wrote:

And here we get to the bot I really want: something to pick up the

dog

toys before the roomba starts! Humm, the $11 RC missile launcher

from

Walmart as a base, the Movit robotic arm trainer, CMU cam, sonar,

more

time in a day,...



I want a self-cleaning bathroom, kinda like those public toilets
they've got in the cities now, where you pay a quarter, and after you
use it, it locks down and goes through a complete cleaning cycle. Or at
very least, a self-cleaning shower/tub.

And I would like a robotic floor steamer. I like my Bissel floor
steamer (my newest gadget) - it is way better than a mop and bucket -
but having a robotic version would be totally cool!

jen