Re: Roomba DirtDog

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

> We've got a Roomba Discovery, and love it. Have been considering a dirt
dog
> for the shop space, maybe one for my small warehouse at work.
>
> How do you think it'll do with screws and workshop detritus?

I found a BNC to RCA adapter in the bin that had rolled under the workbench
along with some 3/8 inch bolts and an 8P common nail!  The brushes take up
the kind of stuff that nothing short of a multi-HP shopvac will retrieve.
The bin's too small to suck up mounds of saw dust but it does a pretty good
job of clearing wire scraps, nails, staples, screws and nuts.  Unlike the
brush attachments for the B&D battery powered upright, it doesn't get all
bogged down on pieces of phone wire or twist'ems.  They do get wrapped
around the brush drum and it seems after five or six scraps of phone wire it
really bogged down, but that's actually pretty good compared to other
powered roller brushes I've used that gag on just one scrap of wire.

It does need cleaning almost every time but that's OK since it saves a lot
of time otherwise and the small bin encourages me to dump the contents in a
small tray to make sure no diamond earrings or other valuables get swept
away.

I didn't get the electronic fence or the home base recharger but if it
survives more than a month, I think I will.  It works on carpet, too, but
not anything very deep.  I was astounded at how much dog hair it beat out of
the living room carpet.  The dogs don't know what to make of it, because if
they get too close, the little rotating corner whip brush bops them on the
nose.  It's hysterical because after bouncing back and forth with them for a
while, it will appear to take straight off after one of them.  It's worth it
just for the entertainment value.

It's pretty noisy but that's not a big issue.  The weakest part is how it
handles the corners.  Ten years from now it will come mounted with a robotic
vision system that will go after every last bit of dirt but for now, it will
do, especially at a price under $100.

What we need now is the automatic bathroom cleaner bot that can scrub shower
walls and clean toilets.

--
Bobby G.