Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)

dev.to

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 183 posts

Re: I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)

#71

Post by mdszy »

Eric_WVGG wrote: post #65
klingonopera wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> " Will I have to register an account? Will I have to take time unsubscribing from the email lists they sign me up for?" Registering an account would shoo me away too, but with PayPal and a study that showed this'll scare 75% of potential customers away, that mostly seems to be a thing of the past. Subscription lists in the EU have been greatly reduced by GDPR. Some still offend this, granted, but they are occuring…

"Come on" what? It happens all the time. You just countered my list with a list of "this usually doesn't happen" responses. But sometimes they do, and it adds up. And don't get me started on eBay, where about 15% of stuff I've bought has gotten lost somewhere in the void.

"I might be mildly inconvenienced so it's 100% necessary for me to support a company that abuses its workers, sorry guys :/"

Re: I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)

#72

Post by klingonopera »

squaresmile wrote: post #58
klingonopera wrote: post #49

> " Dammit, Amazon, it's so hard to quit you. " What? I'm not even in the US, but DDG'ing the "Eufy RoboVac 30" brings me straight to the manufacturer's website, where it's even $40 cheaper. Why give "Lord Bezos" a piece of the cake, when he doesn't even need to have one? Maybe it wasn't so at the time of writing, but I have a weird feeling it's en vogue to claim to be against Amazon, but to then find some half-assed…

I'm in the US and I'm seeing $240 on both the manufacturer's website and Amazon (Sold by EufyHome and Fulfilled by Amazon). Amazon even has a $15 coupon.

I can even join Prime and then save $24, bringing it to a total of $39 in discount. And all I'd need to do is join the Amazon ecosystem and I'd probably even be one of the customers that Amazon would make a net loss on, to my gain!

Honestly, that just trips my too-good-to-be-true alarm bells. The times I'd need Amazon I can usually find a similarly priced competitor, where buying is more of a breeze and bliss than Amazon, having to work through the special conditions of coupons, terms, etc.

There was only one case in my experience, in 2013 or -14, where Amazon was the "only choice", when I "want-needed" a cheap China-made USB microscope, and Amazon had it, but not a single merchant on eBay. The device was quite fresh on the market, and about half a year later was also available on eBay. I waited.

Re: I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)

#73

Post by matthewmcg »

kaskavalci wrote: post #55

I do not trust Eufy brand anymore. We had a Eufy RoboVac and within its warranty period, battery went bust. When attached to its station, it gave some sound errors which is apparently tied to its battery. I contacted support several times, reminded their obligation for warranty period but they did nothing. They asked me to find a "certified technician" to get a report such that this malfunction was present when I mad…

In my opinion, the iRobot support and parts availability are worth the premium. Our 2013 model 650 is still running great. All we’ve had to do is periodically replace worn out brushes and spinners and at some point we replaced the main battery. This is all easily done with a screwdriver.

Re: I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)

#74

Post by 6510 »

rini17 wrote: post #30
6510 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

do it outside or spray water into it

Doing it outside already. There is also paper hepa filter on it that can't get wet. Even so, not sure if mucking with dirty water is worth it.

There is also the silly solution: Empty it while holding the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner nearby.

Re: I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)

#75

Post by bluntfang »

klingonopera wrote: post #49

> " Dammit, Amazon, it's so hard to quit you. " What? I'm not even in the US, but DDG'ing the "Eufy RoboVac 30" brings me straight to the manufacturer's website, where it's even $40 cheaper. Why give "Lord Bezos" a piece of the cake, when he doesn't even need to have one? Maybe it wasn't so at the time of writing, but I have a weird feeling it's en vogue to claim to be against Amazon, but to then find some half-assed…

>Are these Amazon-financed articles?

I mean...duh? Have you been living under a rock? Amazon affiliate has been a great passive income strategy for over a decade.

Re: I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)

#76

Post by JoeAltmaier »

By now there are many videos of robot vacuums covering areas. Its very informative. Not necessary to wait and see what a brand will do; just find a video and watch it in fast-time.

I have a Shark IQ which some videos rate as the best in the middle class. We have 1200sqft to cover and it can do about half that on a charge, methodically.

But it often gets stuck behind the AV center, or behind the piano, or wedged under my wife's chair or a certain cabinet baseboard in the bathroom. At least once a week. And with nobody home, the voice alert calling for help is pointless (scheduled to run when nobody is home).

So it just runs its batteries down waiting. If it could do one more thing better, I would say go into low-power when stuck?

Anyway we like it, gave it a name ("Puck") and each day check if Puck 'made it home'. If not its a pleasant job walking around to find where Puck got stuck. Not a bad purchase at all, considering the always-clean floors(!) and the entertainment value to boot.

Re: I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)

#77

Post by 0xffff2 »

squaresmile wrote: post #58
klingonopera wrote: post #49

> " Dammit, Amazon, it's so hard to quit you. " What? I'm not even in the US, but DDG'ing the "Eufy RoboVac 30" brings me straight to the manufacturer's website, where it's even $40 cheaper. Why give "Lord Bezos" a piece of the cake, when he doesn't even need to have one? Maybe it wasn't so at the time of writing, but I have a weird feeling it's en vogue to claim to be against Amazon, but to then find some half-assed…

I'm in the US and I'm seeing $240 on both the manufacturer's website and Amazon (Sold by EufyHome and Fulfilled by Amazon). Amazon even has a $15 coupon.

To muddy the waters even more, I'm also in the US and I'm seeing $215 (plus the $15 coupon) on Amazon.

Re: I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)

#79

Post by JoeAltmaier »

rini17 wrote: post #25

Nobody seems to mention: How do you empty the dust compartment without stirring up the dust? My vacuum (Robzone) collects it in plastic box that is to be opened and cleaned out into trashbin with attached brush, the dust inevitably gets airborne.

Shark IQ has a bin in the dock. It self-empties with a blower each time it docks. Empty that over the bin in the garage once a month (just pick it up like a suitcase with the handle, carry it out, press the button on the side and the bottom trapdoor opens and whoosh! all the dust outside in the bin).
Post reply on HN