The simplest: cheap robots – toys or still vacuum cleaners?

A robot vacuum cleaner is no longer a dream or a fantasy, most home appliance stores offer a wide range of models. Prices vary – from 3000 Dollars to 60-70 thousand, and to some the price of 15000 Dollars seems excessively high, and someone positions the models for 20 000-30 000 Dollars as robots in the medium price category. We decided to figure out what the consumer will get, having a certain budget to buy a robot? What can robot vacuum cleaners low, medium, high and very high price categories? Let’s start this analysis with the low price category – robots costing up to 8,000-10,000 Dollars.

Cheap robots – toys or vacuum cleaners?

Low-price category models, among which there are many products not well-known and respected manufacturers although there are exceptions ! , and so-called technics no name, it is accepted to consider something like toys: they clean badly, move chaotically, work little, charge long. But 5000-6000, and even more, 8000-10000 Dollars is a pretty decent amount for a toy, is it not better to buy a radio-controlled car? So, most cheap robots:

1. Often do not have a charging base, working on removable rechargeable batteries eg, AA type , therefore quickly drained working from 30 minutes to an hour, rarely up to one and a half – Xrobot XR-210B , and recharged long – 5-6 hours. On the plus side, too: these batteries can be easily replaced, and the lack of a base saves space. There are models with NiCd batteries, on average they work for an hour and take 5-6 hours to charge. If it has a base, it often needs to be recharged manually: it has no connection to the base HalzBot Jet Compact, Tesler Trobot-090 . Automatic charging in cheap robots is not common ELTI Sparky, Xrobot XR-210B .

2. Some models are very compact diameter is not 34-36, but 28 cm and small “growth” – 7-7,5 cm in height that allows them to get under low couches, cabinets and other furniture HalzBot Jet Compact . But in this price range there are models with a standard height of 9-10 cm.

3. Have a very small dust canister 250-400 ml . Large dust canister – rarely, but still happens, for example, the model Xrobot M-788 is equipped with a liter container.

4. Generally not designed for carpets, only for smooth floors.

5. Often do not have a round brush, only side “helicopter” , such as HalzBot Jet Compact, if at all. There are models with round brushes – like QWIKK XRobot 400, but there is a flaw: it can not be easily removed for cleaning , you must unscrew the screw.

6. Primitive design plastic bases, too soft bristles, etc. . side brushes make them vulnerable: if the user does not think up how to improve the design people put rubber pads between the gear of the brush and its axis , then the gear and the brushes themselves quickly break down.

7. They don’t get over the thresholds well – for example, they can get stuck in the cracks of the floor, try in vain to drive into the carpet and, not “understanding” that they don’t need to get there, flounder until they are completely exhausted, that is, until the battery runs out. Even the usual hinges would help the wheels to cope with the problem, but this design is provided for units. Judging by the reviews, if the wheels are large, then the thresholds of height 1 cm are overcome.

8. they do not inform the user about the arisen problems, sometimes you have to rescue a robot at random: take it apart and look what he poor thing is choking on or where he got stuck. At the most they can make a sound signal, while in the more advanced and expensive models the problems are indicated on the display. If you don’t help out a tangled or choking robot in time, it will simply run out of battery. If you buy a budget helper the golden rule “remove all unnecessary things” from the floor, of course should be especially carefully, because in addition to the described in this paragraph, there is another problem: small suction opening is designed for dust, sand, pet hair and other small debris. For example, a candy wrapper can easily block it.

9. Most often not programmed by time: you can not set the duration of cleaning or program it by days of the week. It is fair to say that not every expensive robot has the latter function.

10. They move according to a single algorithm for example, in a spiral, like ELTI Sparky or randomly. But, as practice shows, in a small confined space the usual room of 15-18 meters with the door closed it gives good results, since the vacuum cleaner passes over the same place many times. But if you let such a robot “float freely” on the apartment, the quality of cleaning will be low. Sometimes have several cleaning programs for example, fast or local cleaning, like Tesler Trobot-090, cleaning for rooms of different sizes, like QWIKK XRobot 400, or by different trajectories – spiral, zigzag, along the walls, as in Xrobot XR-210B .

11. In the package is almost certainly no limiters “virtual walls”, magnetic tape , devices for more thorough wet cleaning microfiber cloths , often no spare parts spare brushes, filters, batteries at all. There are exceptions, such as Xrobot XR-210B and Bomann robot with a microfiber cleaning cloth, or Xrobot M-788 and Xrobot XR-510D with a “virtual wall,” but these latest models are sold for 6000 Dollars, and for 9000-11000, so you can assign them to the cheapest with reservations.

12. Most often do not have remote control with the remote control, although it occurs Xrobot XR-210B, etc. .

CONCLUSIONS: inexpensive robots do a good job keeping clean in small isolated areas without much obstacle on the floor at most – thresholds to 1 cm in height .