Do Not Buy the ProElite
Written: Jun 27 '04 (Updated Aug 13 '04)
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Pros: Cleans very well
Cons: Battery life degraded to the point of not being useful
The Bottom Line: ProElite cleans very nicely. However battery life is terrible. After replacing first battery, replacement battery even worse. Returned the unit for a refund. Durability comment refers to battery life.
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| desertratr's Full Review: iRobot Pro Elite Bagless Robotic Vacuum |
I was looking for something to clean up dog hair on a ceramic tile floor. Even after vacuuming and mopping I still find a lot of dog hair in various places. We live near Tucson, AZ so dust is an issue also. Unfortunately my wife likes the fleabag so the obvious solution (donate the beast to the Humane Society) is out of the question. I checked with Consumer Reports web site (nothing useful), this site's reviews, the Roomba website chat room, and also with a couple of folks I know who own a Roomba (one specifically to cleanup after his 5 dogs). After seeing a demo at Brookstone I bought an Elite model. I intend to use it only on the downstairs tile area (teenager vacuums the upstairs which is all carpet. I do the carpet stairs.).
Our downstairs is basically two large rooms totaling about 1600 sqft, and covered entirely with ceramic tile. Under the dining room table there is a short-pile area rug. The coffee table in the other room also has a short-pile area rug underneath it. The narrow bathroom (typical half-bath) has a short-shag mat in front of the sink. Then there is the usual array of furniture (china cabinet, two sofas, piano and bench, loveseat, chairs, tables, desks, bar stools, floor speakers, entertainment center, etc).
The initial setup was straightforward. I knew the charge duration is about 12 hours. No complaint there.
I've run the Roomba twice, both times setting up the virtual walls to confine it to the one room before moving on to the other room. I did that because I wanted to make sure it completed one room. The two big rooms are connected by two somewhat narrow arches and I wanted to make sure the Roomba didn't wander into the other room before finishing the one room. As part of my test I thoroughly vacuumed the entire downstairs before the first Roomba exercise (yes, I have a very good quality vacuum cleaner). When starting the Roomba I select the medium setting for the first room and then the maximum setting when doing the second room.
The Roomba seemed to navigate itself just fine. It did get tangled and stall on a long piece of fabric cord under the dining room table (the cheap area rug - there to keep feet warm in winter - had unravelled in a few places and several long loops of the carpet fiber had come lose. Each loop was perhaps 6 inches long and about the thickness of heavy twine. The Roomba found one and it stalled after ingesting it.). I took some scissors and trimmed the offending cords. Then I restarted the Roomba. It completed the first room just fine and did not stop until it was done. It seemed to navigate all the furniture and went under what it could. I kept an eye on it and it seemed to cover the entire room. I then turned the Roomba loose in the second room. It did just fine and even navigated the narrow bathroom with the shag mat just fine. After a lot of spinning and backing up it eventually finished the bathroom and emerged into the other room. I forgot to close the door to the laundry room (a very narrow and long room). The Roomba found it, navigated a half inch step down and up, and eventally emerged. It finally ran out of juice and shut down. I think the entire run time was perhaps an hour and a half. While it was running I noticed a couple of small bits of paper in the general area where Roomba happened to be working. The Roomba wandered off but a few minutes later I noticed the paper was gone, so it apparently came back.
After the first run I emptied the dirt bin. Keep in mind I had just vacuumed prior to running the Roomba. The Roomba was stuffed with dog hair and other household dirt. The little spinning brush and the main brushes had a lot of hair wrapped around the axles so I took the Roomba apart and cleaned everything. It took the Roomba about 12 hours to recharge.
I ran the Roomba again this morning (second time), after a teenager slumber party in the family room. The Roomba performed about the same as on the initial run. Interestingly, after the second run I found a lot less dog hair inside the dirt bin, and a lot less wrapped around the axles. Clearly the Roomba was doing its job.
So far we are quite happy with the Roomba. The price ($220) seemed OK to me. The remote is not all that useful, as I don't mind bending over to push the buttons.
Update to initial review. After about 10 uses the battery life had degraded from about 90 minutes total life per charge to about 65 minutes total life per charge. This was on tile flooring. I exchanged the battery. The second battery never lasted more than 35 minutes. After several uses with the second battery I returned the ProElite for a refund. The bottom line is that the ProElite cleans nicely. However until iRobot fixes the battery life I would avoid the machine.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 220
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Epinions.com ID:
desertratr
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Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 0 members
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