Which model should I get?

jaw444 · Joined: 13 May 2008 Posts: 5 Location: California

I'm looking at the least expensive, Target has the 4150 for $199 and Amazon.com has the 4220 for $199. Is there any information on difference in features or reputation for reliability/quality that i can find out about?

Or, are there good reasons to get a more expensive model in terms of features or quality and reliability?

I'm completely new to this. I have a three bedroom house with short wall to wall carpet and some area rugs, two with fringe, one round rag carpet, linoleum in kitchen and bathrooms, two medium long haired dogs, two short haired cats, and Litter Pearls style litter that gets scattered near the litter box.

Is there anything i should know, given this information? I would just want to use it for some day to day clean up, while using a regular Dyson vacuum once a month or less.

Thanks!

Jaygee33 · Joined: 13 May 2008 Posts: 7

I got the 4220 from Amazon.com last April 25 for $149 with free shipping. It even went down to $139 the following week. If you can wait, they are liable to put it on sale again.

jaw444 · Joined: 13 May 2008 Posts: 5 Location: California

thanks--that gives me some perspective. Great price.
I was also looking at more expensive ones after reading someone's review of a 560--they said the 560 has anti-tangling technology for rug fringes etc, and also that if it's getting full, it will shut off and tell you to empty it, which i think i would find helpful. I called iRobot to find out differences between different models but the person wasn't sure about some of them. The only current models are the 500 series, 510, 530, 550, 560 and 570. I don't need the scheduling so i was trying to find out more about the lower numbers, 530 and below. I asked about the 4220 and 4150, he didn't know anything about those, he said.

longhair · Joined: 19 Feb 2008 Posts: 60

Hi, I have both a 510 and a 550 (same as the 560). I bought the 550 first because I didn't know any better :o and later after reading a lot in this forum felt emboldened to buy the 510. I never use the scheduling capability of the 550 and so felt I didn't need it in any future robot, so I am quite happy with the 510 and honestly don't see a particle of difference in how they clean, how long they run, their run patterns, or anything else. Aside from the color and the fact the 510 isn't able to be scheduled (and uses a plug-in charge instead of a home dock), I see no difference in the "works." I admit it is fun to punch the button on the 550 and see it back itself out of its dock and start to clean; but most of the time I want to use it upstairs or somewhere else, so I have to pick it up and take it there and set it down and push "start" anyway.

kristac · Joined: 09 May 2008 Posts: 8 Location: Charlotte NC

I just got the 4220 from Amazon (arrived today :D ) It was 139 when I bought it. Just keep watching. You can use www.refundplease.com to watch the price for you- just put in todays date as purchase date and $140 or slightly over what you are willing to pay as the purchase price- then it will email you when it is a lower price. Also Amazon will give you a price adjustment for 30 days after purchase (which is the real point of refundplease :wink: )

Sorry I don't understand the differences either.

richnorto · Joined: 03 Sep 2007 Posts: 246

With animals in the area you are cleaning, a 4xxx series is preferable. The 5xx seem to have brush issues and roombarf with dog/pet hair. You do need to keep an eye on the gear shaft if you have pets with the 4xxx series though. The hair can wind up in the shaft and cause problems if not cleaned or blown every so often. Price is a big factor for me when buying though and I've been very happy with both 4xxx and 5xx. I think the only difference between 4xxx models is scheduling, base, intellebin, pet brushes...
Correct me if this is inaccurate as I believe they all use the same innards (Alabama speak). :wink:

wsngmartin · Posted: May 13, 2008, 9:39 pm Post subject:

i just checked. the 4220 is not sold by amazon anymore but by an "amazon merchant" (is that what they're called?) so there is a possibility amazon might have sold out their stock.
check this baby out:
http://www.roombaexchange.com/proddetail.php?prod=FE-45859845_4162
i love the color but i'm actually on a bot moratorium right now. the last 3 are called newbot, whitebot, and bluebot so till i name them i can't buy anymore.
the 4150 from target (and best buy and linens n things) does not have a dock, something i find invaluable.
i agree w/ lauralie. with 2 dogs and a cat i think the 5xx will have problems handling all that hair. the hair can "tuft up" at the brush ends, and cause the brushes to unseat and the bot to stall, you will probably get roombarf, and the hair will work itself into the inside of the gearbox. it also does not pick up the hair all that well.

jaw444 · Joined: 13 May 2008 Posts: 5 Location: California

kristac wrote: I just got the 4220 from Amazon (arrived today :D ) It was 139 when I bought it. Just keep watching. You can use www.refundplease.com to watch the price for you- just put in todays date as purchase date and $140 or slightly over what you are willing to pay as the purchase price- then it will email you when it is a lower price. Also Amazon will give you a price adjustment for 30 days after purchase (which is the real point of refundplease :wink: ).

Wow! This is great, thanks.

jaw444 · Joined: 13 May 2008 Posts: 5 Location: California

wsngmartin wrote: check this baby out:
http://www.roombaexchange.com/proddetail.php?prod=FE-45859845_4162
....
i agree w/ lauralie. with 2 dogs and a cat i think the 5xx will have problems handling all that hair. the hair can "tuft up" at the brush ends, and cause the brushes to unseat and the bot to stall, you will probably get roombarf, and the hair will work itself into the inside of the gearbox. it also does not pick up the hair all that well.

Thanks for this info about this important difference in the models. At the link you posted, when i click on roomba models there is also a 4275 and a 4290 which each say they're for pets, easy cleaning brush, Intellibin to tell you when to empty the bin. Actually 4275 doesn't claim to have Intellibin.

Before reading these posts, I went out and bought a 530 at Bed Bath and Beyond, i had a 20% coupon. I appreciate the feedback on pet hair, that is very important to me. When i called iRobot sales today, i was led to believe that the 500 series was the most advanced technology. I was told that there is some kind of notification when the bin is getting full, but i don't see anything about it in the documentation.

Instructions came with the documentation telling how to install a bumper extender, but i don't see a bumper extender in the box.

I tried it out, the battery had some charge in it. It's fascinating. I watched it for about 15 minutes. Then i went to do something, and when i returned to the room, i noticed i couldn't hear it anymore. Then i found it wedged partly under a chair. I pressed the clean button and it beeped some tones and a red light flashed. I looked in the documentation to see what that meant but it doesn't seem to mention what the lights mean, except for the section on charging. Under trouble shooting it says that a voice will tell me about problems, it doesn't mention lights. I didn't get any voice, just the red light flashing. So, i thought maybe it's because the battery ran out and i put it in the charging dock, and now it's charging with a flashing amber light. I would be happier if there was something to explain what the lights mean. It occasionally got a blue light while it was cleaning.

It ran for 15 or 20 minutes before it stopped. There was a great deal of hair on the brush, most of it was the color of my hair rather than the pets. I don't think the bin was very full; i emptied it. I removed the hair, using scissors. I shook the filter off in the trash and brushed it off. Is there any other technique involved in cleaning the filter? I noticed the 4290 has both a brush cleaning tool AND a "cleaning tool." Mine just has the brush cleaning tool.

After cleaning the roomba and putting it into its charger, i vaccuumed the same area (two rooms) with a Dyson Slim. As usual, it got a lot of dust in a short time, but it didn't get nearly as much hair as usual. So it seems the roomba did pick up a lot of hair.

If this model doesn't meet my needs, i can return it for a refund. I wasn't able to find anywhere local to buy the 4162 or 4190, or anywhere online for that matter, other than the posted link. I did see lots of 4175s on eBay. I would not want for hair to tuft up and cause the robot to stall, and would not want hair to get into the gear box!

How about this model?
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-iRobot-Roomba-4220-Discovery-Robotic-Vacuum-530-550_W0QQitemZ250245653573QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item250245653573&_trksid=p4295

wsngmartin · Posted: May 14, 2008, 7:27 am Post subject:

hi jaw444

i read somewhere that the batteries arrive with a 40% charge, but you should do the full 16 hr (the gurus recommend 72 if you can stand it) to let everything fill up and balance.
you can find an explanation for the flashing "exclamation points" on iRobot's support site. let me know if this helps:

http://homesupport.irobot.com/cgi-bin/irobot_homesupport.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=633&p_created=1201116400&p_sid=HnIT3J3j&p_accessibility=&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MiZwX3Byb2RzPSZwX2NhdHM9JnBfcHY9JnBfY3Y9JnBfc2VhcmNoX3R5cGU9YW5zd2Vycy5zZWFyY2hfZm5sJnBfcGFnZT0xJnBfc2VhcmNoX3RleHQ9ZXhjbGFtYXRpb24*&p_li=&p_topview=1

To know what the beeps are telling you by the # of beeps:
http://homesupport.irobot.com/cgi-bin/irobot_homesupport.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=641&p_created=1201274862&p_sid=HnIT3J3j&p_accessibility=&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MiZwX3Byb2RzPSZwX2NhdHM9JnBfcHY9JnBfY3Y9JnBfc2VhcmNoX3R5cGU9YW5zd2Vycy5zZWFyY2hfZm5sJnBfcGFnZT0xJnBfc2VhcmNoX3RleHQ9ZXhjbGFtYXRpb24*&p_li=&p_topview=1

the 4xxx series, from how it was explained to me, are basically the same bot, the pet brushes are what distinguish the pet models (4275, 4290) from the rest. they can be bought as an upgrade. they seem to pick up hair easier and are easier to clean. the round cleaning tool is OK, but nothing the other pick can't do, and nothing a seam ripper can't do.

the 4290 has scheduling accessories, the 4275 does not. the intellibin is not a particularly useful feature IMHO. the model i directed you to has pet brushes but only 1 VW, else it's similar to the 4275.
when you buy something off of eBay, you may have difficulty obtaining warranty service from iRobot. there is a specific disclaimer on that on iRobot's site. if you can get a receipt it might help, e.g. when i bought a bot off of eBay from a pvt party that was reselling a bot bought from Woot.com (it was a new bot, unopened in box) she agreed to let me have the receipt from woot, which is an authorized dealer. iRobot seldom asks for the actual receipt/proof of purchase but if you tell them you got it off of eBay they will likely refuse to honor warranty. there are a few threads on this forum on that.

there is no "bin warning" feature on the 5xx that i'm aware of.

if you want to test drive a 415, you might want to try best buy, or linens n things (though you might want to bear in mind that lnt is b/k and is planning to shut down a bunch of stores). i've also found a 4230 at my local big lots.

jaw444 · Joined: 13 May 2008 Posts: 5 Location: California

Wendy, thanks for all the info. Today i found the explanation i'd been wanting in the user guide that came with it but i had not been able to find it that first night--the red light simply meant it needed a recharge.

I must say, my first couple of days with this thing, especially today, has been kind of euphoric, like, wow, what a feeling to have the robot vacuuming like crazy, vacuuming its heart out, while i'm doing whatever, and doing a fine job too.

It's stopped in the middle of its job three times now and when i pushed the clean button, a voice told me to clean the brushes. There has been a lot of hair, but it's the color of my hair and my mom's hair and my daughter's hair rather than the color of the animals' hair, so i'm not sure whether i will need the pet version. My plan is to use both roomba and dyson initially to remove built up hair from not vacuuming often enough--each time it asks me to clean the brushes there is less hair than the time before--and then, I will see if it works properly. If it doesn't, i'll return it and try another model. But i do feel hooked--if one doesn't work, i will get another--and another, and another...i read many reviews reporting malfunctions and trouble with replacement parts, but i can see why people stick with them.

it was cool and interesting when it docked itself. I was unsure about whether it could find the dock on its own the first time and i got in its way to guide it back toward the dock. When this happened a second time (when the dock light was flashing), it wasn't successful, it wouldn't quite to to the dock, it kept turning away. And finally the battery died. Next time i'll completely leave it alone and see if it finds the dock. Should i expect it to do that consistently?

The website customer support says, about the 16 hour charge, that it will only do this if it needs to and can't be forced to do it. I don't think mine charged for that long after the first charge.

When i checked Best Buy and Linens and Things, they only had the 530. I'll check Big Lots, thanks.

um, what is roombarf? all the dust and dirt goes all over the room from too much hair?

wsngmartin · Posted: May 15, 2008, 6:33 am Post subject:

jaw

sounds like it might be working just fine for you. there are many people who really love their 5xx's. i like how quiet it is, and how it handles tassels.

roombarf is when roomba barfs out "stuff". in my case it was strands of (short lab-type) dog hair which i think accumulated on the brush ends, or along the red plastic strip above the teeth of the bin, that either fell off or got jostled off when roomba hit a bump, like the transition between laminate and carpet. others have had bits of fluffy stuff get stuck between the vacuum lips and then dislocate. if you're not extremely compulsive about it, it's not hard to pick it up w/ a hand vac. anyway you slice it, roomba is still a major labor and time saver.

re: the dock, just make sure that you are not standing in the way of the dock's infrared beams which guide roomba in. i find my bot docks consistently, but you might have to play around with the location a bit. some people find the dock can slide.

just keep an eye on the battery. i've had my 535 since sept and the battery is fine. if you have problems with it then it's under warranty.