Wootalyzer's Pricing Post! - The price of today's woot item is saved here for future reference
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Neato XV-21 Pet & Allergy Robotic Vac
$298.99 + $5 Standard Shipping
Condition: New

*DISCLAIMER* Wootalyzer! is in no way affiliated with Woot!, and this post may not always be here!

4.1 out of 5.0 stars with tons of reviews over at amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Neato-XV-21-Allergy-Automatic-Cleaner/dp/B007JOJ9QQ

I just bought one of these from Woot the last time they offered it. My doctor recommended that I get a humidifier and Woot offered this one the very next day.

It's easy to operate and it works great! No more dry mouth in the middle of the night and no more interruption of sleep to get a drink of water. Great for my health and easy on my funds, as this is a super buy! I love it and so does my wife.

We own two of these and my wife loves them. Better than our former Roombas. Really like how they clean under beds.

$10 more at $299.99 last December with 45 comments
http://www.woot.com/forums/viewpost.aspx?postid=5282253

and same price last october with 110 comments
https://www.woot.com/forums/viewpost.aspx?postid=5194704
with my comment then:

whatsamattaU wrote:previous woot, same $299.99:
http://www.woot.com/forums/viewpost.aspx?postid=5156804

product website:
http://www.neatorobotics.com/product/robotic-vacuums/xv-21/

support page:
http://www.neatorobotics.com/support/answer-center/

General manual: http://www.neatorobotics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/NEATO-VACUUM-USER-GUIDE.pdf

General quick start guide:
http://www.neatorobotics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/NeatoVacuumQSC_US_0328111.pdf

bye

and 157 comments last september also at $299.99
http://www.woot.com/forums/viewpost.aspx?postid=5156804

Neato XV-21 Video Link:

http://tinypic.com/r/11av3b8/6

Been trolling the eBay account that sells these new (in CA or something). They are priced the same.

Our original Neato works great, but with a GSD and a Finnish Spitz, we are in for this deal.

If I had a Finnish Spitz in my house, he'd never get invited over for dinner again. They sound worse than the French!

For those of you that have had a Roomba, how is this better? We get errors time to time for the Roomba, but does this have any of the same problems? Is the bin larger that stores what is collects?

Of course this shows up on woot about a week after I bought one from amazon. I had been holding out hoping woot would have them again, but finally gave up. Ah well, it's a great product, highly recommend.

Woot used to be all about the Roomba. Who is this tramp?

I saw the Neato XV-14 at Costco for the price of $279 shipping included . Plus they got these extra :
3 - replacement filters
6 - replacement brush blades
1 - replacement squeegee blade
And of course,if you get it at Costco,anything wrong with it ,you can easily bring it back and recover your money.
The thing is , what's the different between XV-21 Vs XV14 ?
I'd like to get one ,any input would be appreciated.

Rupert B. Puppenstein wrote:For those of you that have had a Roomba, how is this better? We get errors time to time for the Roomba, but does this have any of the same problems? Is the bin larger that stores what is collects?

They both have their own sets of problems. I have the xv-11 and got it replaced 3 times in a year due to rps errors and other issues. If I had to choose only one though, it would be the neato. Their customer service is outstanding, I love how the neato cleans and it does a great job for the most part.

Its biggest issue is that it does not have a brush sticking out of the side like the roomba does, so it doesn't get along baseboards very well but when it comes to suction power, it blows away the roomba. The pet brush is great to. With the roomba, I was having to clean the brush after every single cleaning. The neato I have to clean the brush about once to twice a week. Huge difference!

I run mine daily and like it very much. I wish it had a bigger bin, though. I have two dogs that shed year round and the dust bin is crammed full at the end of it's run. Oh, and it's bit noisy, too. Other than those two things, I love it. Found it cheaper on EBay with free shipping - sorry, Woot.

I wanted to love this sooooo bad. I bought it off woot about 6 months ago. It constantly gets stuck in corner areas where furniture is. It also get stuck under many pieces of furniture that it can just barely get under, it tries to back out and gets stuck, you pull it out and it keeps going for it with the same result. I have to run around like a mad woman with those metal strips to try to block problem areas. It also does not finish one room at a time so you put those strips down in one room and before it's halfway done the room, it travels into another and gets stuck. It's frustrating. I also have a problem with the brush bar, it keeps losing those orange rubber ends and I can't figure out how it's even possible. I like the general idea of it and when I feel like babysitting it, it can be decent, but hasn't been worth the jumping through hoops for me and I find myself whipping out the dyson and getting the job done quickly. The only perk I can find is for getting under sofas and beds but the constant drama of getting stuck, or needing to check the brush bar which gets stuck much more often then our dyson, or needing to empty the bin, it really seems like its stopping more than its running. Worth noting, I do not have a cluttered house. My floors are kept clear save for furniture.

$281.00 here, http://www.gosale.com/5794995/neato-xv-21-pet-allergy?gclid=CIjgyPCWmrUCFVSSPAod1kwAGQ

[MOD EDIT: price is no longer valid]

I have 2 Neatos. One has been great, the other has been replaced 4 times in 1 year for various problems. Customer service is great, but the last time I had to replace the unit it was right before the warranty was to expire. The unit they sent me was also defective. Now they will only give me a 90 day warranty on the replacement. Therefore, If you decide to purchase the unit, I suggest a Square Trade warranty.
To spend $300 on a machine and only use if for 1 year is expensive.

More powerful than our Roomba, never bangs into anything and really knows where it is going and has been. I picked this up the last time it was on Woot and love it! I find it much easier to clean than Roomba. When you first turn it on, it sounds like a jet starting up. That is the cue for the cat to come in and get to work supervising it to ensure all areas are covered.

It definitely navigates tricky areas way, way better than Roomba.

Got one of these from my parents as a Christmas gift, it is actually cleaning right now. They have been using one for over a year with no problems and also purchased one to clean the sanctuary at our church. There are a few places where my Neato likes to get stuck, but I have learned to block those off. I do not like vacuuming, so having the Neato means my house is a lot cleaner than it used to be.

A family member bought one from Woot and the only problem it has had is it dies before getting back to its charging port sometimes. Not sure if the thick carpet slows him down or what.

Rupert B. Puppenstein wrote:For those of you that have had a Roomba, how is this better? We get errors time to time for the Roomba, but does this have any of the same problems? Is the bin larger that stores what is collects?

I did A TON of research prior to grabbing two Neato XV-14s. The choice came down to two issues:

(1) the Neato is an automated vacuum while the Roomba is a sweeper with suction - huge difference. You'll get the same cleaning results with a traditional upright over different floor types.

(2) Smart, very smart. - this is the biggie: The Neato uses lasers (please mentally use Dr. Evil's voice) to map out the cleaning pattern while the Roomba has a "chicken with head cut off" strategy. This feature alone cuts the typical clean time by at least a fourth based on Roomba converts.

The Neato does have issues:

(3) Cannot clean 1.5-2" from the edge. Unlike the Roomba with it's flagella, Neatos cannot take on edges well.

(4) Hates baseboards, walls and furniture legs. These guys will have nicks, scratches and dents showing where the Neatos decides to "tap" when coming from a certain angle.

(5) maintenance - this is where most owners get lazy and most complaints should be nullified. The lasers need to be air-sprayed weekly. This should take care of obstruction issues. The blades need to be cleaned of hair, string whatever. Yes the Roomba doesn't have this issue but it's a good trade off for having a more powerful robot.

How does this work on wood floors? We have rugs on wood floors and I wonder if it will get stuck moving from the wood floor to the rug.

nicjohn wrote:How does this work on wood floors? We have rugs on wood floors and I wonder if it will get stuck moving from the wood floor to the rug.

These are excellent on hard flat surfaces. If you have floor runners you may occasionally get the Neato grabbing a corner and getting stuck. They're intelligent enough to distinguish different floor types.

marbeyhidalgo wrote:I did A TON of research prior to grabbing two Neato XV-14s. The choice came down to two issues:

(1) the Neato is an automated vacuum while the Roomba is a sweeper with suction - huge difference. You'll get the same cleaning results with a traditional upright over different floor types.

(2) Smart, very smart. - this is the biggie: The Neato uses lasers (please mentally use Dr. Evil's voice) to map out the cleaning pattern while the Roomba has a "chicken with head cut off" strategy. This feature alone cuts the typical clean time by at least a fourth based on Roomba converts.

The Neato does have issues:

(3) Cannot clean 1.5-2" from the edge. Unlike the Roomba with it's flagella, Neatos cannot take on edges well.

(4) Hates baseboards, walls and furniture legs. These guys will have nicks, scratches and dents showing where the Neatos decides to "tap" when coming from a certain angle.

(5) maintenance - this is where most owners get lazy and most complaints should be nullified. The lasers need to be air-sprayed weekly. This should take care of obstruction issues. The blades need to be cleaned of hair, string whatever. Yes the Roomba doesn't have this issue but it's a good trade off for having a more powerful robot.

It pushes the cats food and water bowls around the kitchen floor.
It will clean a dead end hallway area 5-6 times before it figures it out. I had to move the dining room chairs to a closed off room. It seems to do edges first, but it does not do them well.(2 inch gap)

marbeyhidalgo wrote:

(5) maintenance - *** The blades need to be cleaned of hair, string whatever. Yes the Roomba doesn't have this issue but it's a good trade off for having a more powerful robot.

Patently not true. I've had 3 Roombas (all bricks now thanks to my Neato), and they are far worse than the Neato when it comes to blades clogged with hair. Hair wrapping around the blades and all the gears was a constant problem with the Roombas, requiring removal of the blades and cleaning all the hair from my two dogs after each use. Don't get one tenth the clogging with the Neato, and it is much easier to remove from the blades. This problem was in fact what motivated me to try out the Neato. So glad that I did, as it has turned out to be superior in other ways.

colinchout wrote:What's the different between XV-21 Vs XV14 ?

The differerence, AFAICT, is that the '21 offerer here is intended for use with
pets, but the '14 isn't. There is a $50 upgrade kit for the '14 to make it a
'21 (neato web, amazon, etc), so the '14 will probably be enough if you don't
have pets.

No point in me buying one until they develop a model that will pick my stuff up off the floor.

NEATO Customer Service is GREAT. I bought this model from woot back in August. My carpet is thick (new loose shag style) and the machine runs slow on the carpet, but is great on hard surfaces and berber carpet, and regular carpet. Anyway, I had in issue with the unit because the battery was dying before the vacuum could make it back to its base to charge. I called Neato, and they sent me a new battery pack (thess batteries are heavy). Once the new batteries were installed, the unit worked great for about 3 months, and then the same thing started to happen again, it had trouble making back to the base for charging. Yesterday, (Saturday) I called Neato, and they were great, they said the the problem was not typical, and they offered to sen me a brand new machine. Great customer service. My only caution is that if you have very plush carpet (like shag), then the unit will run very slow on that type of surface.

nicjohn wrote:How does this work on wood floors? We have rugs on wood floors and I wonder if it will get stuck moving from the wood floor to the rug.

I bought the XV-11 when it was on Woot! a few weeks ago. I also have wood floors with area rugs, and the Neato has not ever got caught or needed help.

It even vacuums the bathroom with the much more thicker rugs without much of a problem. In the bathroom, it does cause the corner of one rug to flip over, but the Neato still drives itself over it and manages to fix the rug as it vacuums. I was really amazed at how it handled the bathroom. I assumed it wouldn't operate correctly in there, but the freshly vacuumed bathroom rugs tell a different story!

My apartment is 700-some square feet and my Neato recharges twice (the last recharge is for the last tiny bit of cleaning). As others have said, this won't entirely replace your real vacuum, but you'll be using it *far* less and only for touch ups.

This is a good product, a great price and the Neato is superior to the Roomba (as others mentioned, Neato is a vacuum.. Roomba is a sweeper).

The specs note a height of 4" which is about 1/2" taller than my Roombas. Since I have have several pieces of furniture that the Roomba will just fit under it appears that the Neato will not. Any experience with this? Does someone have one handy that they can measure to verify that 4"?

I'm waiting for somebody to take the obvious next step. These devices need a base station that empties the dirt bin as well as charging. These early years still require way to much diddling around to be worth it.

ThunderThighs wrote:I think you want to be over here?

Err, thank you for clearing that up.

My mind really jumped to a few slightly adult-rated conclusions there.

kwkilcoyne wrote:No point in me buying one until they develop a model that will pick my stuff up off the floor.

You know, my ownership of the roomba is our extra incentive to keep the floors clear.

It's Kinda like the expensive gym membership as incentive to work out.
With our Roomba there was no way I was going to spend all that money and NOT use it until it's dead and buried.

Somehow in a hap-hazard way, it helps us to help it and pick up so it can function, and the whole house looks better into the bargain.