I bought the 440 new just the other day. Should I buy this one and try to sell my (unopened) 440? Those that own both, what are your thoughts on the 2 models? Thanks IA.

SO happy to see the 530 on here FINALLY!! I picked up a 530 a while back on Woot and LOVE it. So I've been waiting to get another one and finally got it. Our first roomba patrols the main portion of the house. I wanted this roomba for the bedroom and master bath.

We have 3 dogs, 2 of which have longer hair, all 3 shed like crazy. Roomba does GREAT at keeping the hair under control (we used to have tumbleweeds by midweek).

Also, these roombas ARE programmable. If you look online, you'll see. But you can buy a special USB cable off the iRobot website, download a program off the web and there are instructions on how to program it. Mine goes every day at noon while we are at work.

The main thing with Roombas is you just have to maintain them. So that means regularly (like every couple days) cleaning him all out, I also bought some cans of air that I use to really blow him all out. If you keep him pretty clean, he'll work hard for you. Take care of your Roomba!

If you haven't gotten a roomba, THIS is the one to get.

shannong wrote:None of my Roombas work any more. The battery will no longer charge. :-(

I miss the theme for wooting off.

About $30 on ebay gets a new one.

Bring back the RoboMop! This Roomba is like caviar to my bologna buget.

enjuran wrote:and "bundle of crops" is? lol

Haven't been on the forums for awhile, but "BUndle of Crops" would be another acronym for the infamous "Bundle of Crops or "Bindle of Carrots" that appears on WOOT from time to time. They are very elusive! When they appear, they sell out almost instantly. They are also known for causing the WOOT servers to crash in the past.
It is a bag quite literally full of junk. You may find something useful, you may not. The fun is just trying to obtain one.

Oh mother of pearl, is this thing still here!?

My roomba loooves eating dirt, sometimes I get my house dirty just so I can feed him.

woot killer

Have hardwood floors on my entire first floor and I've been needing a roomba for a while. Finally n41

I have two units also..
Keep them cleaned out and they will give you great service.
Oh yeah, the batteries aren't forever..who knew!!!

Please make it stop!

iam4pe wrote:I bought the 440 new just the other day. Should I buy this one and try to sell my (unopened) 440? Those that own both, what are your thoughts on the 2 models? Thanks IA.

I recently got a used Red Roomba for cheap while my 530 was temporarily out of commission. I think the Red Roomba is similar to the 440... it's in the 4-series at least. The biggest difference I can see is that the 530 has optical "pre-collision" detection, so it will slow down before impact. The Red Roomba will charge full-tilt into obstacles. That said, the 530's detection only works on lighter-colored surfaces, and we have lots of black table & chair legs. So, you might prefer the 530 if you have lots of light-colored furniture with a delicate finish you're worried about chipping, although I haven't seen any Roomba-related damage yet.

Also, the 530 will dock itself whereas the Red needs to be plugged in manually... not sure about your 440.

iam4pe wrote:I bought the 440 new just the other day. Should I buy this one and try to sell my (unopened) 440? Those that own both, what are your thoughts on the 2 models? Thanks IA.

I'm a busy single 26yo male that bought the 440 on the previous woot. To me, the programming isn't a huge deal. I really don't keep my place clean enough to keep it on a daily cleaning schedule. I know I'd come home to find it hung up on the miles of wire on the floor, clothes, socks, etc.

If you're like me, and let your place go for 4-5 days and do a major cleaning session one a week, the 440 is great. Or even if you do keep it clean all the time, I'd still feel bad comming home to it being hung up on my mess...poor roomba

leilana80 wrote:Generally they are just one day events. But they are known for having two day Woot-offs (such as this one). I even remember a 3 day Woot-off... but those are rare- very rare indeed.

Ahhh yes the three day woot off was awesome. I'm loving my second mortgage now too! lol

Took one for the team...we have an old Roomba but have since put down more tile in the house and with a cat and dog, need all the help we can get to keep the place from looking like a dander den.

Now since this model is programmable, maybe I can teach the Roomba to Zumba?

flangrod wrote:will it work if you have oriental rugs with fringe?

Unfortunately, it will gleefully tangle itself in the tassles. Sometimes the sidesweeping brushes spool the tassles around, shearing off one or more of the little brushes. Niether is much fun when it comes time to seperate the roomba from the rug.

They tout the new 700 series to have a more advanced anti-tangle technology. I'm too cheap to find out.

Oh, almost forgot: Obligatory kittens on a Roomba.

Blast it. Finally a Roomba up when I can afford it . . . and it's the 530. :/

I'd be on this instantly if it was a 550. I'd really prefer to have a model with the Scheduler. I might forgo that for the 535, but the 530 is Just below the feature set I want.

From these posts, it sounds like Roomba dies when the battery dies....but you just buy a new battery, right? Am I missing something? They're like $20 on Amazon.

We've had ours over a year and we love it!

Yay - I've been wanting to get another 500 series for a backup when one or the other of the two I'm currently using wear out.

imabilliken wrote:From these posts, it sounds like Roomba dies when the battery dies....but you just buy a new battery, right? Am I missing something? They're like $20 on Amazon.

Yes, batteries are a drop in.

JackDaDVDRipper wrote:i think this could have something to do with the whole acquired by amazon thing. now they have ALOT more junk to sell(from amazon warehouse sales) and any reason to have 3 Bundle of Crops on a wootoff is a good thing

Beware of Amazon Warehouse Sales, bought a Cuisinart griddle from them, half price, was packaged with the wrong model, broken into pieces, and shipped to me. ANd no, it wasnt broken in transit, the box was perfect and the pieces werent assembled. NO quality control here, folks!!!!! ANd I saved a whole $15 on a list $100 purchase. Hope that sh*t doesnt find its way here!

imabilliken wrote:From these posts, it sounds like Roomba dies when the battery dies....but you just buy a new battery, right? Am I missing something? They're like $20 on Amazon.

I was under the impression that it wasn't the battery itself - rather that the roomba won't charge the battery. So buying a new battery would't solve the problem, if I'm understanding the problem correctly.

Bought a Roomba way-back-when, loved it, it died in 3 months. Bought this model, loved it more, died in 6 weeks. Ne'er again. In the immortal words of W, "Fool me twice, uh, won't get fooled again." (Pete Townshend guitar riff)

warning....you must get the square deal warranty with a refurb 90 day roomba. i have two roombas right now, love them. tempted with this one, since mine are getting older. but one of my german shepherds died last week. so maybe i don't need two anymore. good luck

NOW, it feels like a real Woot-Off.

Grabbed one last time (also a refurb, same model) and love it. Just grabbed a second one. Oh, and we have 5 dogs.

lauragilpin wrote:SO happy to see the 530 on here FINALLY!! I picked up a 530 a while back on Woot and LOVE it. So I've been waiting to get another one and finally got it. Our first roomba patrols the main portion of the house. I wanted this roomba for the bedroom and master bath.

We have 3 dogs, 2 of which have longer hair, all 3 shed like crazy. Roomba does GREAT at keeping the hair under control (we used to have tumbleweeds by midweek).

Also, these roombas ARE programmable. If you look online, you'll see. But you can buy a special USB cable off the iRobot website, download a program off the web and there are instructions on how to program it. Mine goes every day at noon while we are at work.

The main thing with Roombas is you just have to maintain them. So that means regularly (like every couple days) cleaning him all out, I also bought some cans of air that I use to really blow him all out. If you keep him pretty clean, he'll work hard for you. Take care of your Roomba!

If you haven't gotten a roomba, THIS is the one to get.

totally agree. but get the warranty on a refurb

shannong wrote:I was under the impression that it wasn't the battery itself - rather that the roomba won't charge the battery. So buying a new battery would't solve the problem, if I'm understanding the problem correctly.

I don't think it's a problem with the roomba itself so much as just a charging problem that makes it seem like the battery is dead.

Did you try the Battery Reset Procedure?

Roomba 500 Series Battery Reset Procedure

socks.mark wrote:How does this compare with the 560?

About 30 less!!!

I bought this model a couple of years ago from woot and also bought the square trade warranty for three years. Glad I did because it died after two. The insurance was @ $20 and they gave me a full refund for the price I paid. I'm pretty sure it was new though and not refurb'ed.

I bought a new 440 model about 2 weeks ago on woot right before we left on vacation. It was here when we returned and I've used it three times within the last 3 days and it's done a wonderful job. We have a Golden retriever who has really been shedding. Works really well on the Berber carpeting, but not so well on the area rugs with fringe. The model for sale now did much better with the fringe.

Get the warranty!!

and boom goes the dynamite

enjuran wrote:Im somewhat new, are woot-offs normally two days? or is it just WOOT goes until they feel like it kind of thing?

yes and yes

Tiamat114 wrote:Oh, almost forgot: Obligatory kittens on a Roomba.

This is the ONLY reason to get one! forget about cleaning, its a kitteh ride! woot!

Ok just bought one of these things just to help move the wootathon up to the next item. Does the Roomba know how to swim? Can it also vacuum my pool? j/k

JR

turbie1 wrote:Wow, thought iRobot had gone belly up. Apparently not

You should check their stock price appreciation over the past three years. They just got added to an S&P index yesterday. They're doing some cool stuff on the military side, and will be around for a long time to come.

My wife actually said she wanted one of these as a Christmas present. Merry Christmas, kid ...

Tiamat114 wrote:I don't think it's a problem with the roomba itself so much as just a charging problem that makes it seem like the battery is dead.

Did you try the Battery Reset Procedure?

Roomba 500 Series Battery Reset Procedure

I have; to no avail. I've got 3 roombas, and all flash red when "charging", but don't actually charge. I'm told the solution is to buy an external rapid battery charger, but iRobot has discontinued them. Which means I've got 3 roombas that won't charge a battery nor run at all. It's a bummer.

Well, woot made my decision for me. I decided to get in the shower and if there were any left, I'd buy one.

No Roomba for me I suppose (this go around anyway.)