posted
My darling, adorable, beloved baby brother is getting married in just over a week. I want to buy him a roomba for a wedding present. I promised to get him a vacuum. While a roomba may not be the most practical choice, it will be memorable, and really, that's what wedding presents are about.
He lives and the wedding is in Salt Lake City while I live in Virginia. I don't want to buy it here and lug it across country, so I want to either buy it there or buy it online and have it shipped to my dad's house in Utah.
Anyone have reccomendations for what kind of roomba? Where's the best (cheapest) place to buy it (must be new)?
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
The best/cheapest way to buy it is to wait for it to come up on Woot. But it's kinda too late for that. This site has links to good prices on all the different models of Roombas.
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
If you want something really memorable, try a Dyson.
Not to sound like a paid hack for Dyson, but the thing is just amazing. We bought a DC7 back when the first came out based on the fact that they really look like art, and the rich people we know who have maids all seemed to think that the Dyson was the best they had ever seen.
We paid $499 bucks for it back in 2002, not real sure what year it was 2001/2002. It has done wonders. Between all the renovation work in our house and a toddler leading a pack of Beagles, the thing has simply been astounding. I have had Eurekas, Hoovers, and Kenmores multiple times before. Having spent $200 a pop on each and watched them pretty much wear out within a year or so. Plus all the bags that supposedly make them work. But the Dyson has been impressive in its service. Between wall to wall carpets, antique Oriental rugs, walls and hardwood floors-its been unbeatable.
My family never listens to my recommendations, and they have all bought replacement machines since I first stumbled on the Dyson. None have really worked, and most have been replaced with similar machines. No one seems to think spending $499 is worth it. But if it works, hasn't needed any further costs aside from electricity, and outperforms other vacs- why wouldn't you buy one.
Assuming that electricity remains a standard feature of houses, unless the motor pigtail brushes on the electric motor wear out, I don't think I will ever need to buy another vacuum again.
Skip the Rumba- go for the Dyson.
Posts: 110 | Registered: Jan 2001
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Katie, the $160 Scheduler is refurbished. I'd recommend getting the Sage at virtually the same price (and with free shipping to boot). I have the Sage, and so does Icarus, and we have both been very happy with it.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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I agree the upfront cost is pretty steep. But longevity and performance simply makes any other choice a bad one. The average vac last for 2 years, and steadily looses its performance capacity during that time. Most people wind up replacing their vacs every 3 to 4 years and spend around 200 bucks for an average mid-line upright. So in 6-8 years you have already spent $400- for what amounts to disposable machines.
I belong in the buy once buy wisely viewpoint on consumerism. One Dyson means 2-3 disposable machines not going into a landfill. Its kinda like buying CF lightbulbs. They still cost an arm and a leg upfront, but they perform better, cost less to operate, and outlast a standard bulb by years. Its certainly cheaper upfront to buy standard bulbs, but you pay more to use them and replace them far more frequently than a CF bulb. Long term, the CF bulb is the only good choice if you want to save money over time.
Posts: 110 | Registered: Jan 2001
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Yeah I have seen one in action, as well as a wind-tunnel phantom. They don't hold a candle. Now some industrial full commercial systems I have seen do as well as the Dyson. But who wants to put central collection systems into all the walls in their house? Plus it stays with the house if you move.
Posts: 110 | Registered: Jan 2001
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Red, it's not in my budget. I cannot and am not spending that much money on a wedding present.
I get that you love your vacuum, but it is inappropriate to direct the comments to me - it simply is not applicable in my situation and you're making me feel bad for not having $500 to spend on my brother's wedding present and there everything I can afford is a "bad choice". Stop it.
---
I don't think you meant that. I think you're excited about what you own and you are ignoring the people and the conversation in order to get on your soapbox. It's socially self-centered. Not a good idea.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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Try reading what I wrote. I think I pretty much made transparent the merits of the machine compared to the competition. But if you don't believe me go search out alternative information sources about the Dyson. In its class it has no equal.
The whole better mousetrap thing applies here. If you think long term in what you purchase and can afford the entry price, there is no other alternative which turns out to be as cost effective while also being a superior performance output.
Then again the world leans more towards WalMart cheapness where cost is the only factor.
Did I mention I'm also pretty happy with my 410,000 Mile VW? Or My BMW X3?
Posts: 110 | Registered: Jan 2001
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Red, that was me. And really, we get it. You've said you love it a hundred times, and now you're insulting people. Move on.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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Wasn't trying to make you feel bad. Had no idea what your budget was when I made the first post. Was simply offering you an alternative you might not have been aware of. I also qualified the cost as being an issue, maybe the only issue as far as a Dyson is concerned. I understand the whole wedding gift thing, and the special nature of the gifts offered.
Check the timing of the commentary on this thread. I acknowledge you choice and have no problem with it. But my comments to the others were not directed at you.
And frankly I would have emailed you my suggestion, but you blocked by email a couple of years back.
I'll just wait out the software problem in silence from here on out. The interaction on Hatrack has just too many personal rules that make it hard for even a long term lurker to avoid stepping unintentionally on other people's toes.
Posts: 110 | Registered: Jan 2001
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Your "any other choice is a bad one" comment was almost 15 minutes after she explained the budgetary constraints. The whole martyred thing just isn't working for me.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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quote:I follow all three of my pets into the kitchen. Hobey is treed on top of the microwave, which is on top of the fridge, and is hiding, hilariously, behind…an avocado. Whatever. Joe is tucked under the couch.
The Roomba is eating their food.
No, really. The Roomba is Roombashing into their bowl; the bowl is tipping from side to side; kibble is spilling out; the Roomba is sucking up the kibble.
posted
If your brother is a computer geek, there are several software projects for the Roomba over at SourceForge, including this one to keep him busy.
Posts: 2655 | Registered: Feb 2004
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I was sucked in (no pun intended) by all Dyson's advertising. When the machine finally fell apart after many, many repairs, I was off to the vacuum cleaner store.
After doing my research, I went back to my previous brand Wertheim and I am so glad I did. Forget the whole "no loss of suction" business with Dyson. My Wertheim picks up twice as much!
The vacuum cleaner store I went to (Godfrey's here in Australia) famously gives a discount when you trade in your old cleaner. They were totally uninterested in taking a Dyson, which I think speaks volumes. Lea in Footscray, Australia
posted
The scheduler isn't really all that helpful. Because you have to pick the thing up and clean it out after every cycle anyway. Might as well put it on the charger then and later set it going.
You can't really leave it to work while you're away because it does have to be rescued fairly often from predicaments. I've modified my rooms to be Roomba friendly, but there's one spot under the sofa that it jams itself in sometimes, and another spot by the register where it gets stuck. (It's afraid of the register cause it thinks it's gonna fall in, so he sees it and backs up into a tight spot that he can't seem to get himself out of.) It hangs up roughly once every couple of cycles, so it wouldn't work for it to run while I'm gone, really.
In the end, the extra price of the scheduler isn't worth it. Just get the plain Roomba Red, for $150. You can buy it on Amazon for fast shipment, or directly from the IRobot company, for around the same price. That's my recommendation.
I love it, by the way, and recommend it highly! Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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Buy.com has the Sage for just over $160, and it has a couple features that the Red doesn't. I agree that the scheduler isn't very useful.
OTOH, I do often let it clean while I'm out. Worst case, it gets stuck and I rescue it and let it finish when I get home. But most of the time it's ok. (Possibly because I use a virtual wall (one comes with the Sage) to block off the main place it likes to get stuck.)
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
My cat killed my Sage. I set it to clean and left for work. When I came home it was sitting at an angle on a pile of its innards. After examining the carnage and its location in the room, I'm fairly sure that what happened was that it got stuck trying to climb up out of the slight depression formed by the bricks in front of my fireplace. My cat was on the mantle, stalking it, and when she perceived that it was helpless, she pounced, hitting one side of it hard enough to jounce out some of its insides.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Mine has never gotten hung up, so I guess it just depends on if you have robot-friendly rooms or not.
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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I was including that. . . like, if I said I had a kid-friendly room, I wouldn't be just talking about the walls and floor, neh?
Posts: 7954 | Registered: Mar 2004
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I wasn't sure if you were distinguishing between features of the room (like Noem's fireplace and ak's register) and added features like my sofa, which is just high enough for the Roomba to get stuck.
Also, I had a mental image of furniture coming alive and petting the Roomba. Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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