Robot Vacuum Discussion

[derp]

I'm going to be in the market for a robot vacuum soon.

I've been doing a lot of research and I'm currently thinking either a Xiaomi Robot Vacuum (one of the models with Lidar) or the 360 S5.

The 360 is around R5200 or so, while the Xiaomi is around R5999 on special at the moment. Anyone own a 360 S5?

 

[biometrics]

I have a Xiaomi and am happy with it. Thing is pretty damn smart. The model I have doesn't handle thick carpets but a newer model does.

 

[spiderz]

you don't need the mop, vacuum only is fine

 

[derp]

you don't need the mop, vacuum only is fine

Yeah, the 360 S5 doesn't have a mop function, but the Xiaomi's all seem to have mopping.

I wouldn't use mopping, the only feature I really want is the lidar navigation.

 

[Johnatan56]

I bought the Ozmo 950 for 380 EUR: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B08D9R15DC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 not sure if that's an option.

Has mopping, Lidar, app is okay so far. You can enable advanced so it drives around and sets up rooms, then you can mark rooms it may and may not go to, it detects rooms as well and you can send it to a specific room, or say it should clean a specific area. It has messed up once in about 15 cleanings in terms of finding its way back to the charging station the first time I enabled advanced mode, not sure why, after that it was fine.

I am using: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B08TVP444T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 as a cleaning agent after searching quite a bit to make sure I find a cheapish one that will not damage the robot while still being good. This has a slight fragrance, think the bottle will probably last me two months tbh, my apartment is about half the tank of water since most of it is wooden floor so robot only does a very thin layer, and I run every second day on a schedule.

I specifically got it instead of the cheaper ones since I wanted mopping.

Your budget is lowish, so do be careful that you end up not only with LDR but also room mapping, specifically talking about the older roborocks. note the E4 says it is not random, but it most likely will end up random, you're already paying half the price just in import, so do consider that when purchasing.

Having a robot vacuum cleaner doesn't really save that much time if small apartment, personally I got it because of the mopping function, I could probably have vacuumed as quickly and often as the robot without that much time difference. If you are looking at a large house, then you should probably think about the size of the bin in the vacuum cleaner, you're probably going to empty it often, so might not be worth either.

EDIT:
I do think within the next two years we'll see a lot more cheaper good vacuum cleaners come out since the tech for camera in front is maturing, that should make navigation a lot better as currently things like driving cabling it doesn't properly understand for non-camera.

 

[bigAl-sa]

Can you get the s5 in this country? When I looked a while back, the model available here was 3 generations behind those in the US.

 

[derp]

Can you get the s5 in this country? When I looked a while back, the model available here was 3 generations behind those in the US.

The 360 S5 is available, not the Roborock one.

 

[derp]

I bought the Ozmo 950 for 380 EUR: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B08D9R15DC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 not sure if that's an option.

Has mopping, Lidar, app is okay so far. You can enable advanced so it drives around and sets up rooms, then you can mark rooms it may and may not go to, it detects rooms as well and you can send it to a specific room, or say it should clean a specific area. It has messed up once in about 15 cleanings in terms of finding its way back to the charging station the first time I enabled advanced mode, not sure why, after that it was fine.

I am using: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B08TVP444T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 as a cleaning agent after searching quite a bit to make sure I find a cheapish one that will not damage the robot while still being good. This has a slight fragrance, think the bottle will probably last me two months tbh, my apartment is about half the tank of water since most of it is wooden floor so robot only does a very thin layer, and I run every second day on a schedule.

I specifically got it instead of the cheaper ones since I wanted mopping.

Your budget is lowish, so do be careful that you end up not only with LDR but also room mapping, specifically talking about the older roborocks. note the E4 says it is not random, but it most likely will end up random, you're already paying half the price just in import, so do consider that when purchasing.

Having a robot vacuum cleaner doesn't really save that much time if small apartment, personally I got it because of the mopping function, I could probably have vacuumed as quickly and often as the robot without that much time difference. If you are looking at a large house, then you should probably think about the size of the bin in the vacuum cleaner, you're probably going to empty it often, so might not be worth either.

EDIT:
I do think within the next two years we'll see a lot more cheaper good vacuum cleaners come out since the tech for camera in front is maturing, that should make navigation a lot better as currently things like driving cabling it doesn't properly understand for non-camera.

I have an apartment with no stairs that I vacuum around twice a week and mop once. I figured it would be nice to just chill while the robot does the vacuuming, then I can just mop, since that can get into corners that the robot may struggle with.

I also want a new toy, so there's that aspect.

 

[satanboy]

I have an apartment with no stairs that I vacuum around twice a week and mop once. I figured it would be nice to just chill while the robot does the vacuuming, then I can just mop, since that can get into corners that the robot may struggle with.

I also want a new toy, so there's that aspect.

The Xiaomi doesn't seem to have a problem with corners in our experience.

 

[derp]

The Xiaomi doesn't seem to have a problem with corners in our experience.

Do you have the 1C (VSLAM nav) or the Mop P (Lidar)?

 

[satanboy]

Do you have the 1C (VSLAM nav) or the Mop P (Lidar)?

Non-mop

I don't know the model number, it's the SO's servant.

 

[biometrics]

Do you have the 1C (VSLAM nav) or the Mop P (Lidar)?

@satanboy and I both have the Xiaomi Mi with lidar but not mop, looks like this. Think we both got it two years ago. Well he didn't get it his SO did.

 

[Johnatan56]

I have an apartment with no stairs that I vacuum around twice a week and mop once. I figured it would be nice to just chill while the robot does the vacuuming, then I can just mop, since that can get into corners that the robot may struggle with.

I also want a new toy, so there's that aspect.

Don't really have an issue with corners on mine except for the wood piece between floor and wall (it's a curved one on laminate flooring), and then behind doors. The behind doors is sorted by me using the send to clean an area bit after full clean and then opening/closing doors while it drives there. You just need to make sure to set up the map including moving doors around the first time.

Robot does a good job mopping due to adjusting water use, so I haven't done it yet and floors are still nice.

Still doesn't take long to clean an apartment, so not sure if it's really worth doing, still unsure if I would do it again, but definitely not without mopping.

Might be better just to go with a cordless stick vacuum: https://www.amazon.com/NEC180-Rapid...s=cordless+stick+vacuum&qid=1619610926&sr=8-3 as those are pretty easy and quick to use.

 

[derp]

Don't really have an issue with corners on mine except for the wood piece between floor and wall (it's a curved one on laminate flooring), and then behind doors. The behind doors is sorted by me using the send to clean an area bit after full clean and then opening/closing doors while it drives there. You just need to make sure to set up the map including moving doors around the first time.

Robot does a good job mopping due to adjusting water use, so I haven't done it yet and floors are still nice.

Still doesn't take long to clean an apartment, so not sure if it's really worth doing, still unsure if I would do it again, but definitely not without mopping.

Might be better just to go with a cordless stick vacuum: https://www.amazon.com/NEC180-Rapid...s=cordless+stick+vacuum&qid=1619610926&sr=8-3 as those are pretty easy and quick to use.

Yeah, I think a cordless stick vacuum is a great idea too, but I find it hard to resist the allure of a robotic pet.

I currently use a canister vacuum, and the longest part of vacuuming is hauling it out the cupboard and plugging it in. A cordless vacuum would make it easier to quickly vacuum everything. My head says buy a cordless vacuum, but my heart wants a neat auto-mapping vacuum robot.

 

[biometrics]

Yeah, I think a cordless stick vacuum is a great idea too, but I find it hard to resist the allure of a robotic pet.

I currently use a canister vacuum, and the longest part of vacuuming is hauling it out the cupboard and plugging it in. A cordless vacuum would make it easier to quickly vacuum everything. My head says buy a cordless vacuum, but my heart wants a neat auto-mapping vacuum robot.

Guess it depends how large your place is. I'm not doing manual ever again. My house is two stories and each level is two different sections. Robot can't reach from one to the other. So I already have to carry my robot around, that's enough effort.

Next time I'd get one with a bigger dustbin though. I find I have to empty it before it is done in the two larger areas. But then I don't run it more than every few weeks so there is more dust to collect I suppose.

 

[Rudolph Hart]

My issue (when I bought a robot a few years back) was mostly that when I can’t be arsed to push a broom or vacuum around manually, then I can’t be arsed to babysit the robot either, so it would get blocked up and run flat and not get to the tricky parts of the house, and when I did want it to run, I had to spring clean before I could let it loose, otherwise it wouldn’t get halfway across the lounge before choking.

I doubt I’d bother to buy one again, I’d be far more likely to build in a central vacuum cleaner and just waft around each room with a hose from time to time. Or lower my standards. Probably the latter.

 

[biometrics]

My issue (when I bought a robot a few years back) was mostly that when I can’t be arsed to push a broom or vacuum around manually, then I can’t be arsed to babysit the robot either, so it would get blocked up and run flat and not get to the tricky parts of the house, and when I did want it to run, I had to spring clean before I could let it loose, otherwise it wouldn’t get halfway across the lounge before choking.

I doubt I’d bother to buy one again, I’d be far more likely to build in a central vacuum cleaner and just waft around each room with a hose from time to time. Or lower my standards. Probably the latter.

My Xiaomi battery lasts nearly two hours. If it gets flat it will dock, charge and resume where ot left off. The software is really smart. I do have to remove the cats water bowls and toys, lift up curtains (so it can get everywhere and also not get stuck). Carpet tassels and some cables can get stuck. Mine will send me a notification to my phone if it needs help. I also got magnetic strips to stop it going certain places (like out to the garden!).

The cheaper models are probably not worth it though.

The lidar models are really smart, it's interesting watching it work, either itself or on the real time phone map.

 

[Rudolph Hart]

Agreed, the technology has also moved on a lot since I tried it out, and I’m sure the current generation are a lot better, especially if you avoid the cheap clones.

My point was more a comment on the fact that when I’m at the point (mentally) where my house is getting dirty and I just don’t give a shit, a robot vacuum cleaner isn’t the answer. What I’d love is one that could clean the floor, clean itself, feed the cats and dogs, and bring me a up of coffee from time to time. Jokes aside, if it could muddle along on its own without me having to clean it out all the time, that would be good.

 

[satanboy]

Agreed, the technology has also moved on a lot since I tried it out, and I’m sure the current generation are a lot better, especially if you avoid the cheap clones.

My point was more a comment on the fact that when I’m at the point (mentally) where my house is getting dirty and I just don’t give a shit, a robot vacuum cleaner isn’t the answer. What I’d love is one that could clean the floor, clean itself, feed the cats and dogs, and bring me a up of coffee from time to time. Jokes aside, if it could muddle along on its own without me having to clean it out all the time, that would be good.

Have you considered marriage?

 

[Rudolph Hart]

Have you considered marriage?

A couple of times. Apparently it’s not the 1950s anymore. I always miss out on the good stuff...