Anybody use a Roomba in the workshop?

[Doug Miller]

Any of you guys use a Roomba (or other robot vacuum cleaner) to keep your shop floor clean? Just wondering if it works...

[clare]

Only if the shop floor is clean - - -

[Doug Miller]

[e-mail] wrote in news: [e-mail]:

OK, I guess maybe I should elaborate. I plan on using a broom to deal with the largest stuff, the jointer shavings and the sawdust that escapes the dust collector, the handplane shavings, and so on. I'm wondering how well Roomba would do with the fine dust that escapes my air filter too, and settles out of the air hours later, or with the stuff that I miss with the broom.

[Leon]

We have been running a roomba in our home 5 days a week for the last 9 years. It will work in your shop after you sweep. It's capacity is about that of two packs of cigarettes.

[Leon]

It will get that dust you are talking about. The upper end models have Hepa filters although not Hepa certified. Ours sucks up enough dog hair and dust to build a new dog every couple of weeks.

You can test drive one for 30 days if you but direct from IRobot.

[-MIKE-]

It would work great for that, if you didn't move stuff around a lot. Unfortunately, they are easily confused.

[Unquestionably Confused]

[snip]

How so, Mike? I don't own one but I always thought they cleaned in a randomized pattern - just take off and go until they sense/touch and object and then alter course until the next obstruction.

In any case given their limitations on larger debris, I would think the OP would be better off just making a fast pass with a floor vacuum tool attached to a shop vac or dust collection system. By the time he's picked up all the little bits, he's near done anyway. At a couple hundred for a Roomba, he can buy some nice hardwoods or another tool. ;-)

[Leon]

Correct. unless they travel in a straight line for 15', then they change direction, obstacle or no obstacle.

The latest top end models are no longer random, they map the room and cover every spot like some of the competitors so.

The mapping of the room may just be something that iRobot is offering to compete. The beauty to the random vacuuming is that if something gets dropped after the fact or if it pushes debris out of the way it may get it on one of the random passes later on. With maping IIRC the any spot on the floor only gets covered once per cycle. If it mushed something out of reach it will try again on the next scheduled day.

We have not used a conventional vacuum cleaner on our tile floors in over 9 years. The Roomba,ours is random coverage, does a great job if you let it run often, especially with a pet or kids.

Actually you need to think several hundred to get a decent Roomba. The upper end ones are neat $1K. Ours IIRC was about $5~6 hundred.

[krw]

No, they learn the area.

I agree with you but I think his issue is the fine stuff that settles hours after he's done in the shop. My issue is the concrete "dusting" but I don't think a Roomba is the solution.

[-MIKE-]

Maybe they have improved their "brains" since we had one. But our would often get stuck in one area and just keep re-cleaning that section over and over until it decided it was done.

[-MIKE-]

Then again, I'm not sure this was a Roomba. It may have been another brand.

[Leon]

That strictly depends on the particular Roomba model that you get. Only the high end models have the mapping feature all others currently are random.

[Leon]

Typically and especially if you use a light house to direct the roomba, the robot remains in an area approximately 22 minutes before moving on.

[John McGaw]

The best answer is "The company thought of that and made a product for cleaning shops and it was a total bust so it was dropped."

Shops are not meant to be _totally_ clean. If your shop is immaculate then you aren't using it right.

[-MIKE-]

I get what you're saying, John, and agree with the premise. However, any time I do finishing, I sure wish my shop was "immaculate" because it would save me a whole lot of time knocking the fuzz off between coats.

There are air cleaners for the airborne stuff and I see a place for something that would capture all that stuff on the floor before it gets airborne.

[John McGaw]

Something along these lines works beautifully in removing fine dust from floors. I always find that, if you don't have a dedicated finishing area, cleaning up as best you can, waiting a couple of hours, and then proceeding carefully so as not to raise any remaining dust works best. This also means turning off any 'dust filters', fans, heaters, or air conditioners since each of these will sabotage your efforts to get dust out of the air. That can make things pretty uncomfortable for a while depending on season and your shop.

[-MIKE-]

Wow, that's a new one on me! I never knew such a thing existed. I've used similar things for oil and spilled paint, but I never imagined something like that for dust.

[clare]

From my experience (short term) with one in the house, I'd say you will be dissapointed. It will plug the filter in no-time, as well as fill the tiny dirt cup. Terribly ovepriced toys.

[clare]

The one I used didn't. It would vacuum the same corner 10 times before it got the rest of a 6X10 washroom, and got stuch under the same dining table at least 10 times before it found the rug. If it ran for

24 hours there is a 50/50 chance it would have covered the entire livingroom/diningroom area.

+1 - or a lot more!

Nor do I.

[clare]

The one we had was a Roombs by i-robot