iRobot 12101 Looj Electric Gutter Cleaning Robot
by iRobot
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Our Price: $129.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $119.99 (click here) Category: Lawn & Patio See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of iRobot 12101 Looj Electric Gutter Cleaning Robot
Customer Review: Ever heard of a timer?
Summary: 5 Stars
Seriously, people - it's not hard to charge for exactly 15 hours. Just buy a timer, the kind you can use to turn your lights on and off when you're away. Set it and go about your life; when you're ready the Looj battery will be too. If iRobot had included a more sophisticated battery the price would be higher. Also, as an early adopter, you should expect these little glitches - someday you'll be telling your grandkids, "Back in my day, we had GUTTERS. We had to put batteries in gutter-cleaning robots BY HAND. And we had to CHARGE them on a TIMER."
I bought the Looj two years ago because I have one section of gutter that is an absolute pain to clean - and dangerous too. It's at the edge of a steep roof I cannot climb on, above an area where it's hard to get close to the gutter on a ladder. Bonus: it's under a whole row of ailanthus trees that drop leaves, twigs, seeds and branches. I am 55 and a single woman homeowner, and I do my home maintenance myself, so this looked perfect for me.
I just love it. It is not perfect, as other reviewers have already noted, but it is just so darn much fun. It wouldn't be nearly as much fun if it were automatic; you have to use it correctly, like any other tool. Skill comes with experience. I always use it on a nice Saturday so people walking by will ask me "What IS that thing?"
Last spring it stopped working. I had no trouble at all with customer support; they sent me a new unit right away, after I'd returned the old one. I was pretty happy since I bought my Looj refurbished from Woot!
I just got done cleaning a summer's worth of leaves, twigs and dirt out of the bad section of gutter. Instead of wearing myself out at the top of a shaky ladder, reaching over my head to lift debris out and onto my head and down my neck, moving the ladder a dozen times, I had fun blasting it out of the gutter by remote control while standing on a nearby section of flat roof.
Sometimes I wish there'd been a Looj back when my ex was convinced that cleaning the gutters once in five years entitled him to do nothing else whatsover in the way of chores. He'd have been up there with the Looj every month. But then, I wouldn't have had the fun of using it myself, and I might still be married to that lazy bum.
Customer Review: More than a cleaning device.
Summary: 3 Stars
Let it never be said that man is not an inventive creature, particularly when it comes to finding ways to do less work. Enter Looj, a strangely-named device from the people who brought us creepy robotic vacuum cleaners. It works, not perfectly, but well enough for a lazy man to appreciate the time saved.
Cleaning out gutters isn't a job anyone wants, even a robot. This becomes apparent from the moment you activate this device, after the lengthy charging ceremony you must endure just to get it going. Looj burbles through the muck in your gutters like a growling, epileptic sea otter, flinging decay and muck out in an impressive fountain which will leave you and your yard splattered and slightly embarassed.
However, one cannot fault the device - it is doing as intended, just not so gracefully. Those complaining that Looj failed to tackle their gutter mess have likely delayed cleaning for too long - with regular cleaning a gutter should not be blocked up with so much sludge to begin with. Much like you need to rinse dishes before using the dishwasher in most cases, you should not expect miracles from a device intended to aid in your task.
Looj has a delightful secondary use, as well. Given the remote-controlled nature of the device, it is second to none for sabotage. I have a neighbor I compete with in a friendly manner, and one night I snuck up and put Looj into his rear gutter, where I'd found some especially rank buildup.
I then retreated to my own yard, and tossed a softball over, letting it knock into some gardening tools he had left leaning against the house. When he came out to see what was happening, under cover of darkness I activated looj, watching with inappropriate glee as a reeking cascade of gutter-muck slorched down onto his surprised, balding head! We both agreed (after a minor fistfight and subsequent beer-guzzling period of manly peacemaking) that it was a great practical joke.
Disclaimer: this reviewer does not encourage the misuse of appliances such as Looj. All robots should be respected and feared, as they will one day become our mirthless leaders.
Disclaimer-disclaimer: But it was pretty funny!
Customer Review: A waste of time, money, and the word 'robot'
Summary: 1 Stars
I hate cleaning gutters. It isn't necessarily that hard, but it's at least a little dangerous, and it's certainly an unpleasant task. I was elated when I heard about the Looj. At the same time, I work in tech and I tend to take product claims with a grain of salt. This one requires something more the size the salt licks used for livestock.
According to the instructions, the battery must be charged for 15 hours before using. According to a warning sticker, the battery must not be charged for more than 15 hours. Nice. Plan carefully, kids.
The device itself seems well-constructed, and everything that you have to hook up or assemble is designed in a relatively idiot-proof way. Despite the bizarre battery charging ritual I was willing to give it a chance.
I'll admit that my gutters aren't easy to clean, and they were certainly full of leaves. But the Looj was pointless. It would ride up on the debris, then flip over due to the action of its 'auger.' I would have to turn it back over and start again. It felt like I was assisting a wounded turtle. And it barely made dent on the debris in the gutter.
The Looj made a huge mess. I had to stop using it on one side of my house because it was flinging debris so far that it was hitting my neighbor's house. Not the neighborly thing to do. I had to hose down the parts of the house and gutters where I did use it because of the slime that it sprayed everywhere. I had to hose down my neighbor's house. I think I'm going to need to burn the clothes I was wearing.
Finally, after 'cleaning' about 35 linear feet of gutter and making a gigantic mess, the battery in the Looj died. I was somewhat comforted knowing that my ordeal was over for at least (or exactly) 15 hours.
I really wanted for this product to work. I hope that someday someone makes a product that does work for cleaning my gutters. In the meantime, it's back to the scoop and bucket, and the wistful dream of what might have been. Drat.
Customer Review: 13 lucky reasons NOT to buy a Looj...
Summary: 1 Stars
I don't know where to start so I'll just list the issues.
1. It's lighter than water so it loses traction if there is any standing water.
2. As others have said the antenna snags the gutter supports. Had to retrieve.
3. I had the antenna got stuck between the track and the sprocket. Had to retrieve.
4. The antenna got stuck in the gap between the fascia and the shingle. Had to retrieve.
5. The rubber augers would pound dirt into the inside lower part of the gutter so that the track would ride up on the dirt and then either turn over, get stuck against the gutter supports, or lose traction. Reversing the auger did no good in resolving the problem but I did manage to turn the Looj upright several times.
6. The brush part of the auger would get bent back and get stuck in the track or around the driveshaft for the auger and made it quit. (see 7)
7. The Looj doesn't like to travel if the auger is not rotating. Had to retrieve.
8. Debris like stringy green leaves got wrapped around the driveshaft for the auger and made it quit. (see 7)
9. Debris would pack in the space between the sprockets and the track and made the track fall off. Had to retrieve.
10. After a storm there was a lot of wet green leaves in the gutter and the Looj couldn't throw them out.
11. The looj did poorly with maple tree seeds. Mainly it would beat them into a pulp in the bottom inside corner of the gutter and then ride up on them with all the resulting problems.
12. The Looj does not handle sticks or catalpa tree seed pods. Does not do well with pine needles either.
13. All the issues that previous reviewers have raised, like the battery, remote control, range, etc.
I hope they revamp the Looj. I really wanted it to work since I have high gutters and lots of trees. But this generation just isn't worthy of the iRobot name - or your money.
Customer Review: gets the job done, but could use some refinement
Summary: 4 Stars
Got my Looj over the weekend and tackled my gutters.
As others have noted, iRobot certainly should have spent a little more time on the design. There is no excuse for using a "dumb" charger and needing to use a screwdriver to charge the battery.
One additional complaint, the "broom" part of the rotators didn't make it through one day of use.. it's all bent, but the rubber brush is what does the work so the unit still works.
Now for the good... simply put, it works!
There are parts of my gutters that are inaccessible from the ground (due to ground obstructions blocking the ladder) and have never been cleaned. The Looj chomped right through them.
It's slow.. I think many poor reviews are being driven too fast. I "inched" it along in the problem areas, and it still needed to back up and get a running start at some tough areas.
It flipped on its side a few times and easily righted itself by backing up and reversing the brush (as per the instructions). These gutters were *completely* full. (but mostly dry)
It did get stuck twice... once due to a rain sensor mounting screw protruding from the bottom of the gutter (which I'll snip), and a second time trying to traverse 2 inches of wet dirt. (mulched leaves.. like I said, these gutters were in bad shape!). The latter shouldn't be a problem in the future, as the Looj will clear the leaves before the decompose!
The remote range wasn't very good, but an instruction insert suggested touching the remote to the gutter and when I did that, range was never a problem. I just couldn't control the Looj from the ground.
Cleanup was a snap.. the mud just washed off.
I recommend this to anyone with long or inaccessible gutter runs.
Robert