The iRobot finished charging and I ran it around the basement to clean. When I picked it up to empty the dust bin, the dust bin slippped out of my hand and the iRobot fell from a height of probably 6 to 8 inches and one of the wheels broke off.
It's still usable, as the wheel can be placed on and will still steer, but this is a bit of a nuisance. I also noticed that the plastic housing holding the wheel on -- well, it would be hard to make plastic any thinner. If no more parts break off, I'll have to see if I can get a replacement wheel housing.
Showing posts with label irobot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label irobot. Show all posts
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Thursday, October 26, 2006
iRobot, day 10: DEAD!
Monday (day 7) I plugged the cleaning robot back into the charger after use.
Today (day 10), I tried to restart it and it's completely dead. No lights, no motion.
We'll see now how good their customer service is. I e-mailed them via their support web site a few minutes ago, since their customer "service" department closes at 7 eastern time, and there's no information I could find about this particular problem.
Today (day 10), I tried to restart it and it's completely dead. No lights, no motion.
We'll see now how good their customer service is. I e-mailed them via their support web site a few minutes ago, since their customer "service" department closes at 7 eastern time, and there's no information I could find about this particular problem.
Monday, October 16, 2006
iRobot, day 2
The battery being completely drained by the efforts of day 1, a deep charge was required, but it charged up overnight. I ran it again tonight. So far, so good. It tells you to empty it out after every 3 cleanings, but I've emptied it out 5 times so far, indicating both that it's working and that the basement was dirty.
The cat doesn't like it, but that's no surprise. She watches from afar and hissed a bit.
The only problems so far:
(1) it won't dock, probably because I can't find a place for the infrared to give it a direct shot, except for places I will step on.
(2) last night, the charge plates got a layer of dust on them and it wouldn't charge until I cleaned them off.
So, day 2 is a success. So far, I'm a happy customer. We'll see what the future holds. There's an enthuastic investor blogging at http://robotstocknews.blogspot.com/ He's citing a "best price" of $305 on the model I bought at CostCo for $259.
The cat doesn't like it, but that's no surprise. She watches from afar and hissed a bit.
The only problems so far:
(1) it won't dock, probably because I can't find a place for the infrared to give it a direct shot, except for places I will step on.
(2) last night, the charge plates got a layer of dust on them and it wouldn't charge until I cleaned them off.
So, day 2 is a success. So far, I'm a happy customer. We'll see what the future holds. There's an enthuastic investor blogging at http://robotstocknews.blogspot.com/ He's citing a "best price" of $305 on the model I bought at CostCo for $259.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
iRobot, day 1
My wife and I have had a 21 year argument over cleaning the basement. The details are pretty boring, but suffice to say I'm right.
In hopes of helping with this persistent burr of an argument, I bought an iRobot, one of those cleaning robots advertised on TV and currently in huge displays at CostCo -- which means they are either selling well, selling poorly, or there is a new model coming out.
So far, so good. The setup was easy. The space is considerably larger than the "room" the unit is made to clean, and our unfinished basement, not even swept or vacuumed in months, is a lot dirtier than the unit probably assumes, as well.
It charged up quickly (2-3 hours). It worked well. At one point, it emerged from underneath something covered with cobwebs, which I took to be a sign of dedication. It did jam a couple of times, which means I won't be running it in unattended mode for a while. It couldn't find its way back to the base (charger) on its own, and had to be carried back with its batteries dead like a four year old after a trip to the park.
It's not a heavy duty vacuum by any means, but then I don't need the basement THAT clean, so maybe this will work out. More later.
In hopes of helping with this persistent burr of an argument, I bought an iRobot, one of those cleaning robots advertised on TV and currently in huge displays at CostCo -- which means they are either selling well, selling poorly, or there is a new model coming out.
So far, so good. The setup was easy. The space is considerably larger than the "room" the unit is made to clean, and our unfinished basement, not even swept or vacuumed in months, is a lot dirtier than the unit probably assumes, as well.
It charged up quickly (2-3 hours). It worked well. At one point, it emerged from underneath something covered with cobwebs, which I took to be a sign of dedication. It did jam a couple of times, which means I won't be running it in unattended mode for a while. It couldn't find its way back to the base (charger) on its own, and had to be carried back with its batteries dead like a four year old after a trip to the park.
It's not a heavy duty vacuum by any means, but then I don't need the basement THAT clean, so maybe this will work out. More later.
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