Pros and Cons about using a 4000 fixed wheel in the garage

numan · Joined: 05 Mar 2008 Posts: 62

I have been thinking about using one of my older Roomba in the garage, however not sure if it is a good idea or not. My garage stays pretty clean and I clean it regularly either sweep it with a broom or use a shop vacuum. It is a three car garage however I only park one car regularly in the garage that is kind of a collector item and rarely even driven, and I do have a couple of riding mowers in there but when I finish mowing, I wash and clean them before putting them back in the garage. The garage floor is smooth not at all rough, matter of fact if you come in with wet feet you have to be careful not so slip and bust your butt. I know the obvious things like make sure there is no liquids on the floor, and things like that but I know I might be missing something that I am not thinking of. Really the only things it would be picking up are dust and things that just naturally blow in the garage. The garage however is not heated or cooled.

I have a red Roomba that works just fine it is just in the need of a front wheel replacement as it’s worn down but for a garage it might work fine for several more years. But wore enough I only let that one run on carpet.
I have looked into purchasing a dirt dog, but after reading about it other than the vacuum part it looks the same except for the different brushes. But feel free to correct me if I am wrong about the dirt dog.

Looking for pros and cons about the use of my old roomba in the garage and feel free to bash me if there a reasons to do so. If you guys really feel that a dirt dog would be better please feel free to comment on that too.

I thought I would use a docking station for the roomba, and even if I purchased a dirt dog I would want it to dock also.

vic7767 · Joined: 14 Jan 2006 Posts: 3410 Location: Louisiana

I've use both a Roomba Red and a DD on my deck, (no garage) and they both perform quite well at cleaing the area. It is a screened in deck so there are no large leaves or debris to deal with, just sand and dust from the many ATVs that run up and down the main dirt road in front of the house.

blacktop · Joined: 23 May 2008 Posts: 6

I have an army of eight (I know - I know) and once a week I unleash six of them in my garage (other two need batteries and one of those needs a brush deck). Two hours later all is clean and safe. Leaves, pine needles, dead bugs, dirt, dust are no match for the blitzkrieg! Then I compress air them clean and recharge for another assignment. Have at it!

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

numan wrote: . . . I have a red Roomba that works just fine it is just in the need of a front wheel replacement as it’s worn down but for a garage it might work fine for several more years. But wore enough I only let that one run on carpet.
Someone on this forum posted some time ago about wrapping 1/2" electrical tape around the stationery front wheel to prevent wear. My re-manufactured Scheduler's wheel was so bad after about 4 months of use on our tile floors, I ordered a replacement and did the tape mod. It works great at protecting the wheel and I only have to replace the tape about once a month or so as it also takes a beating, but the wheel remains in new condition.

If you wheel isn't to bad, maybe just using the tape will fix the problem and prevent future wear. :wink:

numan · Joined: 05 Mar 2008 Posts: 62

After turning the Red Roomba loose in the garage, it got so dusty and I just did not have the heart to leave it in there I cleaned it up and brought it back into the house.

However, it did such a nice job, I just bite the bullet and order a dirt dog for the garage. I also purchased a docking station, but one thing I did notice it says it not a APS battery, so is the battery different, than a regular roomba battery?

And I really should have ask this before I purchase the unit but will it scheldule? I am guessing it will if it has the same board as the Roomba. I would like it to run around Midnight that way the garage doors would be down and it would not be running around the neighborhood.