iRobot 110 Dirt Dog Workshop Robot
by iRobot
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List Price: Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of iRobot 110 Dirt Dog Workshop Robot
Customer Review: It's not so good
Summary: 3 Stars
If you have a 2 car garage then it will take daily robot activations for at least 2 weeks before you make a dent on the dust situation. By then the robot will start to fail because it gets dust in it's sensors that are out of your reach. You need an air compressor (which the manual states you need) in order to get its sensors clean but if you have an air compressor then you simply air-sweep your garage in about 2 minutes. Because of this, if you just wanted it for your garage then just get an air compressor instead. It's cheaper, more useful, and faster. Also, if your garage isn't perfectly smooth or has traction roughing then skip this thing entirely for garage use! It can't get in the grooves.
I got this because I also have a large basement and an air compressor would not be a good idea for that. Again, it can't handle any sizable area because of its unintelligent random pathing. Also, since it has a relatively small brush compared to its width, you will never get clean within 4" of your walls. The side brush is a gimmick and does not do anything productive except grab the occasional low spiderweb and apply it to the sensors, generating a shutdown error.
The advertising claims say that it can pick up leaves and bolts, etc. I find this to be an outright lie! The brush guards on the bottom make it physically impossible to pass leaves into it's collection bin. It will, however, grab one leaf, get it stuck on it's brush guards, and make it run around not cleaning anything for the remainder of its battery charge. The claim about picking up nuts and bolts I couldn't directly confirm but it did find a couple 1" finishing nails and each time it got them jammed in its brushes, finishing its cycle immediately with an error.
What it does do remarkably well from my house is remove previously undetected pet hair from smooth concrete and get the most random items caught in its brushes (dried lizard head anyone?).
Customer Review: The expensive ones are crap...this one is very good
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had 3 Roomba Discovery machines for a total of around 800 bucks....they all died , one during the warranty, so Amazon shipped me a new one, which died shortly after warranty....the last one has died as well. All were used in a medium sized home office with a very short business type rug, on average of once per week. The "vacuum suction" is really a joke if you are trying to pull deep dirt from your rug. Half the time most couldnt find the parking charger, and also went over stairs and door sills from time to time...I used compressed air from my shop to clean it....At first no one would repair them, now there are people that will do it, but it seems the repair will be up to 100 bucks for a 30 day guarantee on the repair...Well, they can stuff the repair and the Roomba "all around machines" (Anybody want to buy the last one for repair,{?} the unit is doing the famous circle dance)
The Roomba dirt dog on the other hand has been outstanding. It has been working for about two years in my home shop of about 24 x 24 feet volume....I leave it running until the battery discharges, after which time, the concrete floor is as clean as anything else I have used....noisy little creature, but it lets me know it is working hard for me.....sawdust, metal shavings, and other shop residue is no problem and the dirt bin needs to be emptied only once at the end of the chore.....(98% of the time)
The important thing is "would I buy another?" Answer is "absolutely"....thinking of buying another before the old guy drops dead....maybe I will run two at a time and cut the cleaning in half.....Lastly, I tried the Dog on my office rug mentioned above....it did every bit as good as the super expensive ones.....since both really only take up the surface dirt, a strong vacuum cleaner should be used every now and then.....I might use the new one in the office while waiting for the death of the old unit.........
Customer Review: I adore this item
Summary: 5 Stars
We have an incredibly sheddy dog, and my husband and I both have back/disk injuries. It was at the point where, by the time our backs stopped hurting from sweeping, it was time to sweep again (seriously, this house needs sweeping daily, our dog can seriously shed). This little device is a lifesaver. It gets everything up, and it's easy as can be. A few people mentioned it being difficult to clean the brushes; I don't get that at all. I think it's pretty easy. It's even easier if you ignore the comb part of the cleaning tool that comes with it and get a wire dog brush (not recommending any brand, but this is the kind I mean: http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Self-Cleaning-Slicker-Medium-Large-Brush/dp/B0002DIRWS/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1257196684&sr=8-8). use the bladed part of the cleaning tool that comes with it to break up any "rings" of dog hair caught on the brushes and pull them off, then brush it with the dog brush. Seriously, it's like a 2-3 minute process tops. The instructions say to clean the brush every 3rd use, but I clean them every time I empty the dust pan.
I've had this for almost 2 months, and it gets run almost daily. After about 2 weeks it started running wonky. I followed the website instructions based on the number of beeps it made (the number of beeps is supposed to tell you what's wrong)and it didn't work, so I sent a message to customer support on the irobot site. I got a response back within 15 minutes, with a list of "things to try." In my case, it turned out I needed to clean the little end caps on the brush as well, which I'd missed. Once that was done, it worked perfectly again. This item is just such a major convenience, I highly recommend it to everyone with hard surface floors and area rugs without fringe (it cleans our area rug as well). Now if only they could make another robot that would pick my kids toys off the floor and put them away...
Customer Review: Good Doggie!
Summary: 4 Stars
4/6/11 Update:
1) iRobot has discontinued the Dirt Dog.
2) My Dirt Dog failed in a familiar way -- began to behave as if it was constantly detecting a cliff. One of my Roombas suffered a similar failure. As was the case with the Roomba, iRobot replaced the Dirt Dog under the one year warranty. Unlike the Roomba replacement, iRobot did not require me to send the old one back to them. I disassembled the old Dirt Dog, hoping to salvage replacement parts. In doing so, I discovered what might have prompted iRobot to discontinue the Dirt Dog. Unlike the current generation of Roombas, the Dirt Dog design is not even remotely modular. Any attempt to repair or replace anything other than the brushes is a bloody nightmare. I wound up salvaging only the brushes. Attempting to replace any other parts would not be worth my time & effort.
3) I'm told the new Dirt Dog will last longer than the old one. Either way, I am hooked on the convenience of a robot cleaning my garage while I buy groceries. If this Dirt Dog fails, I will attempt to bypass the cliff detectors. If that fails, I will either buy another Dirt Dog (they are, for now, still available from various retailers) or -- perhaps more likely -- purchase a lower end Roomba for use in the garage (and the back deck).
4) Owing to the failure, I have reduced my rating to 4 stars. When it works, I still love the Dirt Dog.
End of update, original review follows:
This was my third iRobot purchase -- I also own a pair of Roombas for vacuuming inside. I am extremely pleased with all three robots.
Not only is this a great tool for keeping my garage floor clean, I also use it on my upstairs back deck. I can report that the cliff detection system works flawlessly. Without that system, the Dirt Dog would slip under the railing and fly off my deck -- it never does.
Customer Review: Not sure yet
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought the Dirt Dog rather than the Roomba because the Roomba is too expensive for me and I have hardwood floors with one hooked area rug. I really REALLY hate housework and really REALLY need help! I detest my vacuum, an upright Hoover Windtunnel, and only drag it out when I'm desperate--read, company coming! The many rave reviews of the Dirt Dog, especially Harmony House, Inc.'s (I think we may be separated sisters), gave me hope. This was my birthday gift to myself, purchased from Hammacher Schlemmer because of their lifetime guarantee.
Pros:
Utterly adorable and fun.
Does a very good job on the spots it hits on bare floors.
Endlessly entertaining if you have cats.
I'm messy and it forces me to pick up--this may be the selling point for me because *I* can sweep and vacuum around my clutter!
Cons:
Does some places over and over while missing others completely.
Not great at carpet sweeping.
Dock and remote, which allow pre-programming and quick recharge and must be used together, cost $85 extra. DD works fine without them, though; they're only a convenience factor.
3" tall so doesn't go under most furniture--and there IS dirt under there! Yes I realize it was designed to go under cars, not furniture.
WHY does it not have a sweeper brush on BOTH sides?! It would be SO much more efficient.
An electric eye type system seems like it would be a big improvement. You can tell that the "random" pattern is really programmed to react in a certain way; thus in its travels, it hits each obstacle at the same spot and always moves away in the same direction, causing the problem in Con #1.
After one use of the DD, I am on the fence about keeping it. Maybe I agree with Elizabeth that it's just not worth it...we shall see! I'll amend my review after a few weeks.