I bought this same model several months back. Being a single guy, I am in love. Can it be programmed to cook too? I had some minor problems during the warranty period, that were all taken care of promptly by thier excellent customer service. They will send the part out without having to mail yours back. I works well, if run often, and cleaned after each use (takes 3 minutes). If it is out of warranty and it tries to dock but won't, I have found that it is usually a wire that has come loose. If only one of the indicator lights is on, it is probably the problem. Feel around on the bottom of the felt cover for the screw hole locations and pull back the felt and remove the screws (several), then look inside and you will see one of the wire connector have come loose. Just reconnect it and you are good to go again. I let it run when I leave for work in the morning, and everthing is clean when I come home. If I make a mess in one area, I just block it off with the lighthouse and let it clean that area. I have Travertine floors downstairs, and Berber upstairs, and it works great on both. Buy one, or two, you will love this thing!

caruso22 wrote:How loud is this vacuum? Can I run it at night if I am sleeping in another room?

It's quiet enough to sleep through (I do it every night), but if you wake up, it's definitely loud enough to hear and wonder what in the world is going on before you remember that you set your faithful slave to work.

I sleep on the second floor and Grond (my Roomba) runs on the first floor. I can hear him clearly while in the hard-floored kitchen, okay when he's on carpet near the stairs, but not at all while he's on carpet farther from the stairs. If you were on the same floor, I would caution against running it right outside your room, as it would probably bang against the door occasionally.

bechne wrote:this sounds more like user error. you don't leave cords and other whatnot like magazines and the lot laying around on the floor when use a vacuum do you? the same should be expected with the roomba. the battery can drain before it finds it's way back home, but that's trivial. it takes 20 seconds to put it back on the charger.

the part about a water filled rainbow is sarcasm, right? those, and any other water trap vacuum, are wretched...absolutely disgusting.

DON'T dog my Rainbow out. It's a lotta trouble, but boy, does it do the job!

I find peace of mind that the roomba is working and it takes no time to clean the filter, the same time you would take to empty a canister and clean brushes are a good thing. Well worth the money and the peace of mind

lowr3nt wrote:Does anyone know if this lil' guy will trigger an alarm system motion detector if I set it to clean as I leave the house?

It depends on your motion sensors. Most motion sensor allow for pets to move around in the house and I would suspect that this is no different.

slevine87 wrote:Yeah, I've had nearly every roomba that I've owned die soon after the warantee expired.

Then, I realized that this was a pattern, and took advantage of it.

1) Buy new Roomba.
2) Buy SquareTrade extended warrantee. ($20 or so.)
3) Wait for roomba to break one month after the manufacturer's warantee ends.
4) Call Roomba, have them tell you that you need a new roomba, but you'll have to buy it yourself because their warantee expired.
5) File SquareTrade claim.
6) Repeat.

$20 a year for a robot vacuum. Not bad!

Agreed ++

brianxlong wrote:no. it turns by running into things. and it's about as loud as a blender on puree.

I had the original roomba and the 500 series is much more quiet.

pertifly wrote:I agree. I have had nothing but problems with the 5xx series of Roombas (they basically work until the warranty runs out), and also the Scoobas. They are a novelty at best and are not reliable.

I bought a 4xx Roomba years ago from Woot and had great luck with it - solid, everything was fine - but it also died just out of warranty. The newer ones are much worse for quality, it's clear from the get-go. If you want a toy that might last a year, go for it.

I totally disagree with your statement. I have one of the very original Roomba's and it just finally died this year after 5 years and untold numbers of miles running over my living room rugs. Yes I replaced the battery, all rechargeable batteries need refreshing once a year or so, kept it clean and it did a good job. You are making rash over generalizations based on an insignificant statistical sample.

Dear Woot,

At the start of May, my friends and family as they always do started to ask me what I wanted for my birthday. Every year I tell them the same thing, that I really don't want anything, and I'd be just perfectly happy going out to dinner with everyone and having a nice meal. This year though, Woot, I thought about it and decided to get myself a little something.

At first I thought I might have wanted a Nintendo Wii, but after much thought and consideration, I decided I didn't really need one. there would really only be one or two games I would play, and the exercise bundle at about 400-500 dollars was far too expensive of an investment to get involved with that would likely be replaced by the newest hottest thing soon enough. Besides, I was perfectly contented without one.

After a few more days of deep thought and contemplation, I decided it would be nice to be able to replace the small 1G iPod I had gotten free a few years ago, but had recently disappeared into the vast vacuum of nothingness where lost objects reside around Christmas. Lo and behold, woot comes through and delivers with a Sansa Fuze 4GB Media Player with an expandable memory slot that not only does music but video too! It was love at first sight and I pulled the trigger after reading all the great reviews on it.

But...

What I wanted, what I REALLY wanted, was a little Roomba to call my own. I'd seen them on previous Woot-offs, but before I could get a good look at it and see if it was truely what I wanted, they would be sucked up by the masses faster than they themselves can suck up dirt. I then saw one on Sellout.Woot not too long ago for the right price. I needed to sign up for this, and that, and use points or something from another sight and a bunch of other nonsense. The hassle involved in getting that one was far too much to go through.

This morning Woot, today, the very day of my Birthday, I broke my normal routine of checking on you before breakfast and then going about my business. No, this morning was special. I woke up and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast with my Grandparents consisting of light and fluffy homemade from scratch Belgian waffles of extraordinary deliciousness smothered and covered in blueberry syrup, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries and topped with whipped cream. Glowing with an aura of contentment, Woot, I came to you.



I think you can guess how this story ends, you've completely made my birthday this year, now I only need to find the patience to wait for my present to get here. I shall call him, Roombie~ <3

I bought the same model from woot a few months ago. Apart from being a vacuum, these are great cheap mediums for anyone who wants to get started with robotics. I got this model specifically to understand programming robots with six degrees (almost) of freedom.

I was able to reprogram the Roomba so that I can interact with my PC. Now I can draw a path around rooms, telling it which room to go before it starts to clean (instead of the default random bump movement)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ENky7FEiHk

I am glad woot sells these models over and over again.

amberlowe wrote:How often do you need to empty the tray or clean the filter?

If you do it everyday it works great. Otherwise your little friend may put down more than it picks up.

I bought a new one from woot a little over a year ago. It worked ok until 2 weeks ago. It's just spinning now. Apparently the bumper sensor isn't working properly. I probably have to buy replace the sensors. I don't think I will invest anymore. I used it probably twice a month at most. I am disappointed with the outcome!

jimmyd103 wrote:Will somebody please convince me why I should buy a Roomba? I keep seeing 'em here on Woot periodically, but I have yet to be convinced. Can anyone tell me if it will effectively pick-up labrador retriever hair. Also, can it take an occasional beating from the afformentioned lab? I know she is going to try and fetch this thing...

I have used this Roomba for 6 months, and a previous version for 3 years, and can highly recommend it. I have 2 very sheddy long hair cats and the Roomba is great at picking up hair out of the carpet - it even gets the hair that I can't see. You do have to clean it regularly - probably after every sweep if you are using it pick up pet hair. This version is pretty beefy - all of the electronics and wires are inside of a casing, so it probably will do ok with a dog as long as they don't try to chew on it.

tawfiqmp wrote:Does this actually work effectively?

It will not replace your regular vacuum. It's good for running every day or so to keep up dust and little stuff. If you used to vacuum every two weeks, you will probably cut that down to once a month.

jimmyd103 wrote:Also, can it take an occasional beating from the afformentioned lab? I know she is going to try and fetch this thing...

I foster puppies and their mom for a local shelter. It seems like I have had every possible dog breed in my home. The Roomba lives on!

I am on my 6th iRobot Roomba. 4 of them are still in service (1 dirt dog - awesome in the garage, 1 530+ series, 1 sage, and 1 earlier version). Aside from the batteries and brushes, the Roombas are quite durable. However, the Scuba was a complete disappointment.

My Recommendation: Snap up the Roomba, skip the Scuba

Thank God it's sold out! Never to be on WOOT again! I hope.

amberlowe wrote:How often do you need to empty the tray or clean the filter?

It's recommended after every use. I can get away with two uses before it stops because the tray is full.

Dang... I was just about to buy one and oop... sold out.

amberlowe wrote:How often do you need to empty the tray or clean the filter?

Instructions say (several times) to empty the bin and dust off the filter after every use. (Daily?) We are lazy and usually go 2-3 uses, but you will see performance decrease if you don't keep it cleaned out. It's easy to do, though. 60 second task.

amykate wrote:Anyone know if virtual walls from an earlier Roomba series (like 400) will work with this one?

Yes. I use 400 series virtual walls with this same model roomba, and they work great. You just have to manually turn them off, instead of them activating automatically like the 500 series walls do.

I have two of them for myself and bought them for Christmas gifts last year. I love the Roombas. I don't think it should replace your conventional vacuum cleaner by any means...but it does pick up a LOT! I run it 2-3 times a week to keep my floors tidy.

It isn't loud itself until it bangs into a wall-that is the only irritating part about it. I have one that is "clumsy" and the other is more gentle with my furniture/walls. I am unsure how to adjust for it.

daniellemiree77 wrote:Just bought the roomba but looking at the Aerovac bin, does it come with a filter or do I have to purchase that as well?

Please explain the "aerovac" solution. I just adopted a long hair cat and I want to make sure my roomba lasts.

markivp wrote:Does the refurb unit come with a new battery?

Yes, these refurbished units come with brand new batteries.

My mom got me this Roomba off of Home Shopping Network as a Christmas present. She spent $250 on it! I love showing her whenever they come up here on woot for substantially less!

I run my roomba as more of a maintenance 2-3 times a week and use my traditional vaccum about once a week. The best part is that you can start it and leave and when the battery starts getting low it will find it's way back to the charging station. There have been a few times that it has gotten stuck under our buffet and I've either had to pull it out or I come home to find it dead under there.

I would definitely recommend that you allow it to fully charge (as the instructions say)before you let your curiosity get the best of you and run it as soon as you get it. If you don't the battery won't hold a full charge. I had to contact the company (which has awesome customer service by the way) and they instructed me on how to reset it. After resetting it and allowing it to fully charge over night the battery life was great! Hope this helps!

Love mine!

I have three girls and I do have the clean out all the hair it picks up. (from the little rollers inside) but other than that it works like a charm!

Roomba = Killing Machine

Can we go ahead and create a woot.vacuum.com site?? I love ya woot, but the frequency of these deals is killin' me!!

I refuse to buy something invented by one of my classmates. However, I want the world to know that another classmate has commanded shuttle missions. Does that make me a hypocrite, or just an over-educated beeatch?

lynnriley68 wrote:Bought one last time around (month and a half ago??). Was very happy with it. Two days ago when I try to run it it keeps stopping saying "please clean Roomba's brushes." They are clean!! Save your $$. It did a good job while it worked.

I had the exact same problem with my refurb Roomba shortly after I bought it. I spent some time on the phone with iRobot customer service, and after trying several different processes, they sent me a new brush head. It fixed the problem and the Roomba runs great now.

mkentosh wrote:Will my cat mess with this when it runs?

Depends on the cat. One of mine did and got it's tail caught in it.

sightpicture wrote:Love mine!

I have three girls and I do have the clean out all the hair it picks up. (from the little rollers inside) but other than that it works like a charm!

They make a little cleaning tool that really helps with that. I have long hair along with my daughter and a yellow lab that sheds. That little brush cleaning tool (can be found for sale at Amazon.com) really really helps out.

jeffmack01 wrote:Can we go ahead and create a woot.vacuum.com site?? I love ya woot, but the frequency of these deals is killin' me!!

BELIEVE ME, roombas have not been on woot for months. The last roomba deal was back during the April fool's woot off. It doesn't happen that often. I've been watching every single day and waiting for another roomba. If you want to complain about frequency of deals, try computer monitors and tv screens or the knives. Don't complain about roomba or they may never sell another and I'm constantly referring people to woot just for the roombas.

This thing works great the only problem with it are small pets. My pet gerbil escaped and he was stuck in the brushes for hours until I got home. When I tried to pull him out some small parts remained in the brush mechanism. Needless to say I had to replace the gerbil but the vacuum stood up to the abuse.

Love ours. Two co-workers have gotten them. Fantastic item. Is it as good as running an upright Dyson? No. I run the Roomba a couple of days a week and the upgright vac once every two weeks. Would I be able to justify this at $500 for a "secondary" vac? I don't know. But, at $139 I can.

landonjanderson wrote:Be careful about bathroom doors though. My vaccuum locked herself in the bathroom. She shut the door and could not get out.

My cat does the same thing. Which confirms my suspicion that my cat is no smarter than a Roomba.

pertifly wrote:I agree. I have had nothing but problems with the 5xx series of Roombas (they basically work until the warranty runs out), and also the Scoobas. They are a novelty at best and are not reliable.

I bought a 4xx Roomba years ago from Woot and had great luck with it - solid, everything was fine - but it also died just out of warranty. The newer ones are much worse for quality, it's clear from the get-go. If you want a toy that might last a year, go for it.

Mine also had that problem. Problem solving led me to completely remove the ends of the brushes and I found lots of hair wound around the center shaft. You have to remove the plastic bits to get at it and then use a tweezers.
Works great now. I think there is a sensor that measures drag on the brush reels.
try it and see if it works for you also.

We love our Bobby Roomba. We get upset when we come home and he got stuck somewhere. It is very disheartening for the whole family.

dellasanchez wrote:Please explain the "aerovac" solution. I just adopted a long hair cat and I want to make sure my roomba lasts.

http://store.irobot.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4017590&cp=2804606.3358508&ab=CMS_SelectRoomba_500_102308&parentPage=family

http://www.robotreviews.com/chat/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=12407&view=unread

ckeilah wrote:There was a problem with the original side brushes. After a few weeks they would start shedding arms until they had no side-brush at all. They must have been made with inferior Chinese plastic, as opposed to the new ones that are probably made with just sub-standard Chinese plastic.

Do you mean to say that the plastic was made by lower-class Chinese; that the plastic was made in China; or that the brushes are made out of bamboo?

mandarins wrote:This thing works great the only problem with it are small pets. My pet gerbil escaped and he was stuck in the brushes for hours until I got home. When I tried to pull him out some small parts remained in the brush mechanism. Needless to say I had to replace the gerbil but the vacuum stood up to the abuse.

Catata Fish of the Roomba's hold,
Catata Fish's riddle will soon be told...