So many choices...

roombowwow · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 3 Location: Summerville, SC

There are so many available choices, and I have no idea which Roomba I should go with. I have hardwood floors throughout my house, and I have an area rug (no tassles) in my living room. I have 2 dogs in my house that shed enough to make a new sweater each week.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to what would be the best and most economical choice for my situation?
Thanks in advance...
-Chris

FrankyDog · Joined: 29 Jan 2008 Posts: 29

I had the same decision to make not too long ago. I ended up going with the 560 I purchased from Sears. Sears will price match plus an additional discount. I got mine for $299 after showing them an entered promotion code on iRobot website. Plus Sears has a great return/exchange policy that I ended up using 3 times to get me to the one I have today. I also purchased Sears two year replacement plan for something like $40. The replacement plan lets me replace my 560 for up to two years with no questions asked. So I plan on using irobot one year warrenty, then having the thing replaced in the second year(hopefully at the end of the second year).

I can tell you one thing for sure, if you get a 5XX series you will have problems with the cleaning head gears... unless you do the ball bearing mod. iRobot will keep fixing it for you though until your one year warrenty runs out. Unfortunately iRobot's customer service isn't the best and it seams like their replacement parts, more often then not, are on back order. So if your roomba breaks down it will be more than a month until you get it back working.

Or you could order a 4xxx model online for cheap, though I don't have experience with those so I can't vouch for them.

Sorry to be debbie downer, but you should know what your in for either way. I'm really happy with the performance of my 560 when it's working good. But now after six months my cleaning head module needs replacing. And from the sound of it, the hair in your house is twice as bad as the hair in my house.

If you treat your roomba like a hobby and don't mind giving it extra tlc to keep it going, and then fixing it when it breaks, your going to love it as much as I do.

fancyfreewv · Posted: June 9, 2008, 3:10 pm Post subject: Re: So many choices...

roombowwow wrote: There are so many available choices, and I have no idea which Roomba I should go with. I have hardwood floors throughout my house, and I have an area rug (no tassles) in my living room. I have 2 dogs in my house that shed enough to make a new sweater each week.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to what would be the best and most economical choice for my situation?
Thanks in advance...
-Chris

With what you are explaining, I can identify as I have 3 shelties. I have laminate and wall to wall longer shag carpet.

A few things to consider. The Roomba sometimes has issue climbing up on area rugs if they are very thick or have pads under them. Therefore I would get a new model that is returnable if there are issues. There are lots of discounts available. HSN has the 535 with 30 day return and you can purchase a long term warranty for $35 more, there is the Sears offer you see here. Costco has 550 (same as 560) that you would be able to return with liberal policy but you have to be a member there. Also, Hammacher Schlemmer has almost a lifetime return policy.

In any case, these will do the pet hair job however you need to familiarize yourself (realisticaly) with the following on our WIKI section to make sure you are willing (and able) to deal with the cleaning. Pet hair will get into the gears and it's not hard to keep them running very well if you are willing to do a little maintenance to keep them clean. If not, then get a Dyson. :lol:

www.roombareview.com/wiki/cleaning

Take a look too at the video at the bottom of that page. That's what can happen if you don't take good care of it. The guy is a bit unrealistic in the time frame however it takes longer to get dirty and get messed up than he says.

Jeff Carver · Joined: 19 Jan 2008 Posts: 114 Location: Massachusetts

I have several Discoveries and a 535. It seems to me that the 535 is a little better on hardwood floors, and the Discoes are better on carpeting. However, where there's lots of animal hair, the 5xx series have a design weakness in the brushes, which causes a lot of hair to move toward (and into) the bearings at the ends of the brushes. With either kind, you have to figure on 5-10 minutes of cleaning the Roomba after every major run. Some people use compressed gas to blow the dirt out; I prefer to use the crevice attachment on my regular vacuum to suck as much out as possible.

They're definitely great machines IF you have the time and inclination to give them a fair amount of TLC.

roombowwow · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 3 Location: Summerville, SC

Well, thanks for all the input.
I'm pretty fond of tinkering on new toys, so maybe one of 5XX series may be the answer for me.
However, I am a little concerned about the poor customer service from iRobot.

FrankyDog,
Did the mod that you're referring to make a big difference in the performance? Do you recall the cost for the parts, and can it be done by a do-it-yourselfer?

Finally,
Does anyone else have any experience with the mod that FrankyDog mentioned previously?

Thanks again to everyone for your help.
-Chris

fancyfreewv · Posted: June 9, 2008, 5:50 pm Post subject:

I think he talked about ball bearings and a lot of us are using Vic's ball bearing mod which totally solves the problem. Trouble is if you do that on a brush deck that's under warranty, you won't have a warranty any longer.

Older model:

http://www.roombareview.com/chat/viewtopic.php?t=9453

Newer model:

http://www.roombareview.com/chat/viewtopic.php?t=8819&highlight=ball+bearing+mod

FrankyDog · Joined: 29 Jan 2008 Posts: 29

I have not done the ball bearing mod because I don't think I could do it without screwing something up. I'm not so good with my hands besides typing:)

The mod I have done and anyone can do is to cut off a short bit of rubber and bristles from the beater and brush bars. It took me about five minutes to do it and hair doesn't get wrapped around the bar ends like it used to everytime I'd run my 560. If I had done the mod earlier, I'm sure I'd be much better off right now. Below is a link to the mod I did.
http://www.roombareview.com/chat/viewtopic.php?t=9369

As of right now I've got a new cleaning head module coming from iRobot in a few weeks as soon as it's in from back order. In the mean time I've cleaned out my gear case and my 560 is more than getting the job done even with some morphed gear things happening. I'm just hoping it makes it until I get the new module.

The only other major problem with Roombas is the cliff sensors. If you have any dark flooring, even if it's just spots in your carpet, your roomba will probably think it's a cliff and turn around... meaning it won't properly clean your carpet. To get past this problem you need to blind the cliff sensors by taping paper over the cliff sensors. Of course this mod is dangerous if you have any dropoffs or stairs your Roomba could encounter since Roomba will not know of the dropoff. Below is a link to the mod.
http://www.roombareview.com/chat/viewtopic.php?p=46238

Jeff Carver · Joined: 19 Jan 2008 Posts: 114 Location: Massachusetts

roombowwow wrote: Well, thanks for all the input.
I am a little concerned about the poor customer service from iRobot.

I would not say iRobot has poor customer service. I'd say, rather, that it's variable. Sometimes it's so good that I'm blown away by how well they treat me. Other times it's dismal. I think it depends a lot on the day you call (or email) and who you reach.

roombowwow · Joined: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 3 Location: Summerville, SC

FrankyDog's post about trimming the brushes made me wonder if you could remove or disable the beater and brushes all together. Would the machine run without the beater and brushes in? And, if it will, is the suction sufficient to perform basic everyday cleaning of the floor. My floors stay fairly clean with the exception of pet hair. If it could just suck up the hair on a daily basis, this would be all that I need.

RoombaHolic · Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 98 Location: Mountain Center, CA

roombowwow wrote: If it could just suck up the hair on a daily basis, this would be all that I need.
If you have pet hair, you definitely need the brush/beater bar. :wink: