iRobot Scooba experience

[tekster]

Uno: got trade in? Heh

 

[uno_bliss]

Uno: got trade in? Heh

How come u ask such Qs so soon? I believe ur iRobot not that old right? Or u thinking upgrade? U can PM me.

 

[Maxxum]

550, 561 or 560 have the same technical specification in term of vacuum suction power, wheels and other general specification.

The different boils down to the accessories provided..

In term of absolute value, 550 (or 551 as it is known thr current model) is the best if you buy it from US. Costco selling US$289.90 (non member rate) including US>US shipping fee while Amazon sells 560/561 at US$300-349.
- 550 comes with extra brush, 4x C size batteries for the VW and the Aerovac bin
- Aerovac bin is perfect solution for people with long hairs (ladies) or dog hairs, it will reduce the need to clean the brushes dramatically as most of the hairs are pulled into the bin. It offer the best "overall" solution to a normal SG household needs, but not without it's cons (on finer dust)...


560/561 is using the standard bin, which IMO is better for finer dust collection (as compared to Aerovac) if combined with the HEPA filter. It seems to be able to contain more fine dust as compared to the Aerovac bin. The cons of standard bin is the small capacity and inability to pull in long hairs more efficiently as compared to the Aerovac bin, long hairs tend to be trapped in the brushes after 3-4 cleaning cycle.

Hi guys,

Can you guys brief me between Roomba 550 and 560?

I see that 550 comes with Autovac and more accessories...saw Juboo selling that.
But it seems that 560 is newer.

And how about 561? I saw Uno selling 1 561 remanufactured and might be thinking of that. Now comparing between the 561, 560 +Autovac or the 550.

Kindly advise. Thanks

 

[uno_bliss]

550, 561 or 560 have the same technical specification in term of vacuum suction power, wheels and other general specification.

The different boils down to the accessories provided..

In term of absolute value, 550 (or 551 as it is known thr current model) is the best if you buy it from US. Costco selling US$289.90 (non member rate) including US>US shipping fee while Amazon sells 560/561 at US$300-349.
- 550 comes with extra brush, 4x C size batteries for the VW and the Aerovac bin
- Aerovac bin is perfect solution for people with long hairs (ladies) or dog hairs, it will reduce the need to clean the brushes dramatically as most of the hairs are pulled into the bin. It offer the best "overall" solution to a normal SG household needs, but not without it's cons (on finer dust)...


560/561 is using the standard bin, which IMO is better for finer dust collection (as compared to Aerovac) if combined with the HEPA filter. It seems to be able to contain more fine dust as compared to the Aerovac bin. The cons of standard bin is the small capacity and inability to pull in long hairs more efficiently as compared to the Aerovac bin, long hairs tend to be trapped in the brushes after 3-4 cleaning cycle.

I've never tried HEPA for standard bin, cos review says the additional thickness reduces suction.

I think less fine dust for Aerovac is cos there's no rubber squeegy lips that's literally touching floor.

The benefit of less brush cleaning, however, is a great blessing.

 

[Jubooo]

The regular bin picks up more dust is because of the direct contact of the squeegee on the floor. The brushes sweeps onto the top bin and dust is directly vacuum from the floor.

Although the vacuum motor is the same, the squeegee of the regular bin also creates a venturi effect which tends to increase the suction power as air rushes from a small path into a bigger compartment. This is why it is always able to capture so much dust everyday.

 

[Maxxum]

I've never tried HEPA for standard bin, cos review says the additional thickness reduces suction.

I think less fine dust for Aerovac is cos there's no rubber squeegy lips that's literally touching floor.

The benefit of less brush cleaning, however, is a great blessing.

There's no "major" impact in term of the reduction in suction as the amount of dust does not reduce after many cycle of real-world run on my unit..
Maybe a few percent but it's not visible through naked eyes.

I do agree it helps to reduce the need of cleaning the brush, but for certain environment such as high floor units or area nearer to industrial estates the importance of able to pick up finer dust does have an overall impact.

Just rotate between both throughout the week should ensure your home is clean of fine dust or long hairs I guess? hehe!

 

[Maxxum]

The regular bin picks up more dust is because of the direct contact of the squeegee on the floor. The brushes sweeps onto the top bin and dust is directly vacuum from the floor.

Although the vacuum motor is the same, the squeegee of the regular bin also creates a venturi effect which tends to increase the suction power as air rushes from a small path into a bigger compartment. This is why it is always able to capture so much dust everyday.

Nice explanation..

 

[pearlypearl]

Roomba or Scooba!

Hi guys, I would very much love to get the Scooba so that I can save my time and effort of mopping the floor. However, I have read many reviews from various sources that the Scooba is a disappointment with many glitches and not functioning to expectations. Whereas the Roomba is a thumbs-up with many positive reviews from experienced users, but it doesn't wash the floor which is my main agenda.

Can anyone provide some reviews for the Scooba?

And also, what are the difference between the various models of the Roomba?

Many thanks in advance!

 

[hikari99]

Dear Maxxum, Juboo n Uno,

Thanks for the great explaination.

 

[lohwj]

Wow, just tried reading as much as I could from this thread. There's just so much information to go through!
Have been thinking of getting a roomba for 1-2 years now, and have decided to take the plunge. Just read that the 700 series is going to be released very soon though!
Can Juboo or uno_bliss know how much better these might be?
(maybe like apple products, new products are released at the same price points of the older models?)

 

[uno_bliss]

Hi guys, I would very much love to get the Scooba so that I can save my time and effort of mopping the floor. However, I have read many reviews from various sources that the Scooba is a disappointment with many glitches and not functioning to expectations. Whereas the Roomba is a thumbs-up with many positive reviews from experienced users, but it doesn't wash the floor which is my main agenda.

Can anyone provide some reviews for the Scooba?

And also, what are the difference between the various models of the Roomba?

Many thanks in advance!

As Scooba users would testify, the super cleanliness is unmatched.
Glitch yes, Scooba is more likely to have breakdown, cos moisture and electronic stuff don't go well together. Battery lifespan is also a concern cos Scooba consumes power almost 3 times as fast vs Roomba.
Only good quality battery can sustain such stress, and so far iRobot original Scooba batteries can survive. While non-original Scooba batteries tend to die with 3-6 mths.

Good maintenance of Scooba is also important, especially if user doesn't have Roomba to clean up excess dirt first.

Roomba glitch is mostly hair & dust related. Self repair is easier too.

 

[Jubooo]

And also, what are the difference between the various models of the Roomba?

Many thanks in advance!

Uno already give an intro to scooba so I would not mention much on it. As with any products, there are bound to be some bad reviews.

It is really not so difficult to handle a scooba with proper guide to maintainance. The problem with the AD in singapore is that they just sell you the product and dump you the manual to read. There are no one to guide you to the common problems encountered and how to tackle them. If you follow my maintainance guide, you will have an enjoyable time with these robots. They are here to help but they also needs proper care and maintainance.

Feel free to browse my site Robovac iRobot Store for the different models of roomba.

Basically they very much similar except for some accessories package, number of rooms they clean and onboard scheduling.

 

[Jubooo]

Wow, just tried reading as much as I could from this thread. There's just so much information to go through!
Have been thinking of getting a roomba for 1-2 years now, and have decided to take the plunge. Just read that the 700 series is going to be released very soon though!
Can Juboo or uno_bliss know how much better these might be?
(maybe like apple products, new products are released at the same price points of the older models?)

Personally I am very much looking forward to their release but I think it would be later part of the year. The improvement is basically focused on the cleaning head module and a new bin design so that means they are only tackling on the pet fur and hairs issue. There is a boast that the battery life is improved 50% which seems to be a good news, how true is it, we've yet to find out. However, the price could be a turnoff for around US$500 for the highest end model.

 

[Jubooo]

Nice explanation..

Thanks Alternating the use of bins is also a good idea. I have 3 JRTs that sheds crazily everyday but I am very happy with the results of the regular bin.

Remember!!! The key is proper maintainance, I had not change a single component on my robots for close to 2 years.

 

[leong3k]

The 4xx is the newer of the 4s series. It's construction is still the same and noise level is higher than the 500s. iRobot had ceased production on 400s series.

Any expert can answer my question ?I'm found out eBay selling irobot roomba model:440 only SGD220 include shipping with USPS. It's only clean 2 room and u can buy high capacity battery from eBay too ~ SGD56 . Total ~ SGD 280 I can get my roomba to clean 4/5 room similar with model :560 which cost > SGD500. As I know model:560 got additional auto docking and time schedule but this function is not a must if comparing the price. Worth to buy ??

 

[uno_bliss]

Any expert can answer my question ?I'm found out eBay selling irobot roomba model:440 only SGD220 include shipping with USPS. It's only clean 2 room and u can buy high capacity battery from eBay too ~ SGD56 . Total ~ SGD 280 I can get my roomba to clean 4/5 room similar with model :560 which cost > SGD500. As I know model:560 got additional auto docking and time schedule but this function is not a must if comparing the price. Worth to buy ??

The price diff is indeed significant, and upgrading battery will enable 4-5 rooms.
Getting home base will resolve the manual plug-in handicap.

However, the design of 440 is still essentially based on earlier 400 series Roomba.
It's a "rojak model" with 400 & 500 series parts. Similarity to 400 series, insane accumulation of dust & hair
in crevices. 500 series is more air tight so less dusty internally.

Another features that 500 series has is soft touch bumper.
Anyway, u can check out my eBay store: http://shop.ebay.com.sg/uno_bliss/m.html

 

[Jubooo]

Any expert can answer my question ?I'm found out eBay selling irobot roomba model:440 only SGD220 include shipping with USPS. It's only clean 2 room and u can buy high capacity battery from eBay too ~ SGD56 . Total ~ SGD 280 I can get my roomba to clean 4/5 room similar with model :560 which cost > SGD500. As I know model:560 got additional auto docking and time schedule but this function is not a must if comparing the price. Worth to buy ??

Why not try to hunt for a 510? The 400 series is really deafening to the ears when it ages. If you want to upgrade the batt, just go for the 400/405 for less than US$100.

 

[uno_bliss]

Why not try to hunt for a 510?

Err... 510 is a dead end model, no charging contacts under bumper, ie. buy Home Base also can't work.

 

[Jubooo]

I mean since he wanted a basic model then 510 is the cheapest alternative. 530 might have some bargains at time but hard to find.

 

[uno_bliss]

I mean since he wanted a basic model then 510 is the cheapest alternative. 530 might have some bargains at time but hard to find.

Yup,
leong3k did say docking and scheduling not a must. Just in case later he becomes iRobot fanboy and wanna have docking, then realise cannot.
So i highlight 510 feature limitation first. Caveat emptor...