disartain's Full Review: iRobot Roomba 510 Bagless Robotic Vacuum
I own a Robot 4160 see my review on that at the bottom of the page. I fell in love with that one. I decided I wanted a newer one and gave the old one to my daughter who is still using it.
I went to the Robot website and compared prices and features and decided on the iRobot Roomba 510 I ordered it and it arrived about 4 weeks later.
iRobot Roomba 510 backs off most items the other vacuum got stuck on. It goes from carpet to hardwood with no problems.
I've never timed how long the charge lasts but it will do my large combined living and dining room and the den on one charge.
It detects dirt and a blue light will come on and it spends more time on that area before it goes on its way.
It has a spot mode where it circles from a tight inside circle and each time it expands itself out till the spot is clean it covers approximately a two to three foot circle.
There is a demo mode that talks you through the routine, explaining how it works.
The handle is a half round circle on the top.
The dustbin is easy to remove and empty the trash the Roomba has picked up, the filter is attached to the dustbin and is easy to remove and clean while at the trashcan.
The brush that peeks out from the side of the Roomba grabs the dirt that is hidden in corners and edges and brushes it into the path to be picked up.
The iRobot Roomba 510 has a one year warranty.
My Experience
First of all I found the virtual wall to be absolutely useless, I don't know if I just didn't get the gist of how to use it or what? The light was on like it was working but the robot did not pay any attention to it just went past the wall like it wasn't there. For those men out there wondering, I will tell you like I told my husband; it had good batteries in it.
The virtual wall is supposed to shoot an invisible beam across the section of floor in which you place it. The robot is supposed to turn around or back up when it reaches the wall.
This is the way I see it, I am sure there are better ways of describing it.
I didn't go to the trouble of sending it back; I just used pillows or chairs to block where I didn't want it to go.
I was really impressed with the way the robot runs, it looks like it just goes where it wants but in reality when it is finished the floors are clean. It turns around when it hits an edge or a blockade and sweeps all the trash from under the edge and then heads back and turns again. It crisscrosses with the pattern that has been programmed into the vacuum.
One feature in particular I like, it backs itself off an obstacle that is in its way, for example my floor fan has a round bottom and the old Roomba would get stuck on top of it as it did with the vents, I had to leave what I was doing and go to its rescue. The iRobot Roomba 510 backs it self off and has the technology to back off the vents too. This keeps me from running all the time it is running.
The noise is not very loud, nothing like my Oreck vacuum. I can sit and hear the TV as it goes along its merry way.
The book says the charge time is three hours but I plugged mine up the first time at night and didn't use it till morning so I don't know if this is true or not.
This Roomba does not have a self charging home base instead it has an extension cord that has a charger and it goes into the vacuum and then the plug on the wall. I know from experience that the older the vacuum gets the battery will slowly stop holding a charge, I bought an extra battery later to keep on hand when this happens. So far the vacuum is still holding its charge.
It has a spot mode, clean mode and the demo mode. The vacuum sings its little chimes when it is turned on and the green light appears. To turn it on you push the clean spot and it starts. There is a blue light that comes on when it detects a lot of dirt in one area. To stop it you just press on the word clean in the middle until the light goes off. When charging, the light comes on and turns into a pulsating yellow and continues this until it is charged then it turns to green.
I leave my Roomba plugged in all the time and it is always ready to use.
The three link side brush has three little brushes, one on each link that spins around and grabs the dirt out from a corner or the edge of a wall. There are two brushes underneath the Roomba along with two wheels and a round roller wheel that allows it to spin around.
The brushes are under a red frame and can be removed easily to clean them.
I clean mine about every three uses as the hair really loops around the brushes and hinder them from cleaning as well as it should. The trash bin holds a lot of trash, but I empty mine after every use.
Take my advice and order extra filters and an extra brush kit. I change mine about once every two months and it seems to help the brushes last longer. I would also suggest that you buy extra fan brushes as after a while they can bend and get so dirty they are useless to sweep the dirt out of the corners.
I never used the warranty and I have had this one over a year. I would highly recommend the iRobot Roomba 510 It does a great job and looks good.
Now the only problem I have is my two year old turning it on to hear the chimes and then running because she is afraid it will get her. I get a laugh every time, probably why she does it as much as she does.
Standard Features Efficiently vacuums dirt, debris, pet hair, dust, allergens and more from carpets and hard floors Counter rotating Bristle Brush and...More at iRobot
The Roomba 510 features our newest innovations in vacuum performance, room navigation, edge and corner cleaning, advanced anti-tangle technology and t...More at Pro Therapy Supplies
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.