iRobot Scooba experience

[thewiseone]

It has always been at SGD 400.00 and i thought they relaxed to SGD 500.00

Sorry for the wrong info. I've always thought it is $500 before GST is charged. Did they lower it to $400 or it is always $400?

 

[sAxman_Returns]

any idea what's the diff between lighthouse and virtual wall? can I also use Scooba's virtual wall for Roomba and vice versa?

 

[mosmos]

any idea what's the diff between lighthouse and virtual wall? can I also use Scooba's virtual wall for Roomba and vice versa?

roomba 4xx and scooba virtual walls are the same except different colour.

Not sure abt the 5xx series.

 

[Cypher]

any idea what's the diff between lighthouse and virtual wall? can I also use Scooba's virtual wall for Roomba and vice versa?

The 560 lighthouse comes with the virtual wall as well, there is a slider on it where u can toggle the mode. Basically, lighthouse guides your roomba across the rooms (eg. from living room to bedroom). The only thing i find that is lacking is that there is no on/off switch on the lighthouse unit whereas for scooba virtual wall, u have the power on/off button.

 

[bakasa2002]

vpost has a $15 off shipping. anyone use that promo b4?

 

[sAxman_Returns]

The 560 lighthouse comes with the virtual wall as well, there is a slider on it where u can toggle the mode. Basically, lighthouse guides your roomba across the rooms (eg. from living room to bedroom). The only thing i find that is lacking is that there is no on/off switch on the lighthouse unit whereas for scooba virtual wall, u have the power on/off button.

guide it from room to room? how to do it? then 2 lighthouse enough for 4 areas? (1 living room + 3 bedrooms)

vpost has a $15 off shipping. anyone use that promo b4?

I'm still trying to chuck up $40 worth of shipping charge to enjoy this promo....already got 3 items consolidated liao nia...still can't hit $40 leh. I can't consolidate too many things too, later hit 7% GST rugi liaoz....

 

[dankoo]

Saxman,

refer to this link: http://forums.irobot.com/irobothome/board/message?board.id=80&thread.id=5075

It give a good explanation on how Lighthouse works.

 

[sAxman_Returns]

thanks! this picture tells a thousands word!

I thought it will just scout around as much as it could.....

like that 2 light house may not be enough for 4 rooms leh...

 

[molecule]

actually lighthouse is one of the best feature improvements for 500 series in my opinion. It optimises cleaning as it concentrates roomba in one area before moving onto next thereby making cleaning more efficient within charge time. Also lighthouse wales up on its own when you start roomba so there's no need to switch it on manually like v wall. Of coz it goes off on its own too. Finally it guides roomba back to its home base area for recharge. If u use it correctly it is indispensable.

 

[molecule]

one other thing. Placement of lighthouse is important for max effectiveness. It will clean abt 35-40 min one area before moving to next. So if you contain roomba in an area that is small, roomba eg 1 bedroom spends to much time on that. Conversely if too large it does not spend enough time cleaning properly. You will need to trial and error a bit to find out what's deemed as sufficiently clean for each area and divide the space accordingly.

 

[iMbEst]

uhm....i think it's pretty challenging to fine tune the whole cleaning process with roomba. Its 1 charge can clean up 4 rooms, what if the total cleaning area is much bigger? does it actually memorize where it goes all the way or it actually reset all memory the moment it's back to its charging base? I was wondering if 560 is able to clean up the whole HDB flat, maybe including kitchen, since I dun really have any obstacle among all the rooms/halls.

 

[molecule]

That depends on the size of the HDB which can range from 1000 sq ft to 1500 sq ft.
Also varies on the actual floor area that is traversed by roomba, eg. some cupboards, beds etc sometimes actually much reduce the area covered.

To give an indication, my roomba with only 1 virtual lighthouse cleans 3 bedrooms, 1 walkway and the living/dining area each run with battery juice to spare before heading back for charging. I leave the kitchen & toilets out, that's scooba's job. I use the lighthouse to split the cleaning into 2 sections, living/dining is one and the rest the other.
:
4 rooms (meaning 4 sections split by 3 lighthouses) is a bit of a stretch imo, prob 3.5. Reason being iIve run my roomba in 1 area only and it ran slightly more than 2 hours full battery depletion. If logically 1 area controlled by lighthouse takes around 35min, 3.5 rooms = 122 min. For 4 rooms I doubt it can do the last room fully, prob a few mins.

 

[molecule]

does it actually memorize where it goes all the way or it actually reset all memory the moment it's back to its charging base?

there's no memory. It's a set of motions determined by their robotic algorithm.

 

[sAxman_Returns]

That depends on the size of the HDB which can range from 1000 sq ft to 1500 sq ft.
Also varies on the actual floor area that is traversed by roomba, eg. some cupboards, beds etc sometimes actually much reduce the area covered.

To give an indication, my roomba with only 1 virtual lighthouse cleans 3 bedrooms, 1 walkway and the living/dining area each run with battery juice to spare before heading back for charging. I leave the kitchen & toilets out, that's scooba's job. I use the lighthouse to split the cleaning into 2 sections, living/dining is one and the rest the other.
:
4 rooms (meaning 4 sections split by 3 lighthouses) is a bit of a stretch imo, prob 3.5. Reason being iIve run my roomba in 1 area only and it ran slightly more than 2 hours full battery depletion. If logically 1 area controlled by lighthouse takes around 35min, 3.5 rooms = 122 min. For 4 rooms I doubt it can do the last room fully, prob a few mins.

oh, that means the moment it goes back to recharge itself, it will start all over again? in a way, if it can't reach a specific area within the single charge period, it will never reach there, am I right to say that?

 

[molecule]

yes starts all over again and it will not take the same path. So it's not exactly that it won't clean an area if that was missed out previously. However if u do split into 4 sections using 3 lighthouses the 4th section probably will always not be cleaned enough assuming no changes in setup. Rather than split into 4 do a 2 or 3 section that'll be fine for apartments. I prefer to use the term sections rather than rooms to avoid ppl thinking 1 normal bedroom = 1 room. 1 section can = 2-3 bedrooms or more depending on layout.

 

[sAxman_Returns]

wah, like that really need to trial and error liaoz....thanks for the tips!

 

[mingkiat]

I'm thinking of getting a roomba (as my rooms are laminated flooring, read that scooba cannot use) but worry about spare parts and warranty issues.

What would be the recommended model to get for a 5 room flat with 3 laminated flooring and terazzo flooring in living room?

the local irobot.com.sg pricing seems expensive .. may be can buy 2 from US if worry about warranty and parts? but I read on vpostUSA site that they won't ship anything with Lithium batteries.. how did you guys get it through?

Thanks

 

[molecule]

wah, like that really need to trial and error liaoz....thanks for the tips!

enjoy actually roomba roams and cleans pretty well on its own, lighthouse just makes it more efficient.

 

[bahang]

Just to share my experience on getting my 1st roomba:

28/02/08 - iRobot Roomba 4296 Remote Schedule appeared on woot.com
28/02/08 - very excited! Quickly register as wooter and wooted for 1 unit.
28/02/08 - then only realised woot does not accept oversea credit card.
28/02/08 - panic, disappointed.... stay calm...
28/02/08 - ah huh! Found out woot accept paypal.
28/02/08 - signup paypal account at paypal.com.
28/02/08 - successfully wooted for 1 roomba. (my very 1st roomba)
28/02/08 - provide woot with vpost USA address. (my very 1st online purchase from USA)
28/02/08 - paypal emailed me the payment details. (US$99.99 + shipping $5 = US$104.99, equivalent SGD$150.44)
28/02/08 - i forwarded the payment details from paypal to vpostUSA as my invoice submission.
29/02/08 - vpostUSA emailed me acknowledge receipt of my invoice.
29/02/08 - found out that i can track the status of your woot delivery as early as 2nd day after i wooted.
29/02/08 - Go to fedex.com >> Select your country. >> Move mouse over the track tab and click on track by reference in the drop down menu. >> Leave account number blank >> Enter your Woot order number in the reference box. >> Enter the ship date +/- 15 days. >> Enter your destination country. >> Enter your destination zip.>> Click on track.

01/03/08 - realised the invoice amount appears in my vpostUSA a/c as US$150.44.
01/03/08 - request vpostUSA to amend the record, it should be US$104.99.
03/03/08 - and vpostUSA change the amount to US$140.99, OMG!
03/03/08 - inform vpostUSA again, the correct amount should be US$104.99!
03-10/03 - tracking my woot order at fedex.com
11/03/08 - finally reached vpost USA.
12/03/08 - emailed vpostUSA to match my invoice.
13/03/08 - vpost USA responded, size:62X42X12 cm (5.2kg), actual weight=5.2kg, so total shipping cost = SGD60.87!!
13/03/08 - made payment to vpost using the $15 promo code:083DAH2 so final shipping cost paid= SGD$45.96
13/03/08 - compare to comgateway.com, shipping cost for 5.2kg should be US$32 (SGD should be around $45 only)
13/03/08 - thereafter... the tracking record in vpost a/c shows "Processed in U.S.A/Japan", tracking record in speedpost shows "Information Not Available"
17/03/08 - waiting for my roomba to arrive.... waiting... waiting....

 

[mosmos]

510 selling at $149.99 after $10 google checkout discount.

What's in the Box: Vacuum, AC Adapter, Virtual Wall, Filter, and Quick Start Guide

Link: http://www.buy.com/prod/irobot-roomba-510-vacuum-cleaning-robot/q/loc/111/207562526.html