Post by Brad Nelson on Apr 26, 2023 16:32:45 GMT -8
Yesterday I received the Roborock Q7 in the mail from the company for reviewing. Thus you know my reviews will be fair and balanced...at least enough so that manufacturers keep sending me free stuff. And if you believe that, I've got some prime swampland in Florida to sell you.
That's the ongoing shtick on YouTube. Money – and marketing lies (and liars) – make the world go round. But by chance a photography-based YouTube channel that I sometimes watch had a guy reviewing one of their vacuums (a higher end one). This guy tends to be one of the few non-bullshitters on YouTube. But, still, when companies send you free stuff, it's unlikely that most will kick the tires like they would if they had spent their own money.
Well, I did spend my own money on the Roborock Q7. For some odd reason, I caught it on a special sale for $349.00 at Amazon. Today it lists the same one for $529.00. There is also a Q7+ and Q7 Max. Bottom line is, you can spend about $300.00 more for the Max which means – wait for it – that the robot vacuum comes with a station into which it will automatically upload its waste.
This is why I cry for America, not because of the existence of Nancy Pelosi, although that's bad enough. It's that someone would be stupid enough to shell out $300.00 for the auto-empty dock...which obviously deposits its waste in a black hole and never itself needs to be emptied.
Jesus. I can empty the vacuum myself. And the way they made it, that is extremely easy to do. Couldn't be easier. I've had some vacuums where it's a real pain in the ass. This one isn't. So just take $300.00 and light it on fire and buy the "hands-free cleaning for up to 7 weeks". How pathetic of a Snowflake do you have to be where emptying out a vacuum after using it a few times is such an onerous task that you must spend hundreds to avoid it...at least until the "hands free auto-empty dock" fills up.
Okay, so you might say, "Brad. You just spent $350.00 on a robotic vacuum and here you are talking about Snowflakes." Well, I must admit that I'm interested in the tech. Plus, it really is a pain in the ass to have to haul out the honkin' upright vacuum and clean all the various hallways and rooms around here. I've been putting RoboSuck through its paces the last day and it seems to do a good job. Yes, the software sucks, but the software that comes with this kind of stuff always sucks.
But you don't technically need to download an app to use it. The app simply gives you some control over "no-go" zones for the vacuum and stuff like that. After it unplugged my G4 Titanium PowerBook, I can kind of see the need for it. But the way it saves maps and rooms is a gigantic clusterfuck and I haven't successfully been able to sort out this feature.
Without an app, you just put the little sucker down, hit the power button, and it will clean everything it can reach, the only limit being the confine of walls (an extra $2000.00 will get you one that can dematerialize and materialize on the other side of a wall) and/or the battery. In theory, this little robot, if it escaped through the back door, would dutifully try to clean the world until it ran out of charge. God help us if it was self-charging. It reminds me of the Nomad robot from Star Trek that was going to "sterilize" the entire universe of biological creatures, its original task being to sterilize biological samples.
But we're not there yet. There is very little to fear from this robot at present.
Other than wrapping itself around some cables (which I unstuck before it got stuck), it hasn't gotten stuck or wedged into any place it couldn't get out of. And it will, like a 2-year-old toddler, try to get into everything. And it somewhat easily makes it over any (about) ¾" ridges that it encounters. It seems unstoppable.
If I can get the mapping feature to work in the software, I will draw some no-go zones so that I don't (as I presently do) have to put up a few artificial barriers in my office. I just have too many cables hanging loose under the desks in my office. In the other parts of this building on this floor, there is no need to be so fussy. But, like I said, the software is infuriating and probably sucks (in a literal sense) more than the vacuum.
The vacuum itself seems surprisingly powerful. No, it won't match the sucking power of your 40 amp upright. But because theoretically this little sucker can and will be used for several lighter passes (because it's so easy to deploy it), it might actually suck just enough so that it doesn't matter. I could run this daily if I wanted with little effort. But because the upright is such an enormous pain in the ass to use, I can sometimes go weeks between vacuuming...thusI need that extra power when I do use it.
I wouldn't have bought this for $529.00 But, completely by chance, when I ran across the $350.00 price, and double-checked the reviews (generally glowing), I took a chance on it. So far so good.
It also has a mop attachment. This is likely mostly "for show." Yes, it will drag a little absorbent pad underneath it onto which it drops water from a small reservoir. And it would certainly mop up floors that are already clean...perhaps even keeping them that way if you mopped regularly. But you can't expect much from it. For mopping, you're better off just getting out a mop and employing elbow grease (as well as some floor cleaner...they don't recommend anything but water in the reservoir). Still, I did use it on the large linoleum hallway that we have and it did get it a little cleaner. Better than nothing. And it will likely be a cold day in hell before I actually get out a bucket and a proper mop and spray a little Mop-and-Glow and really do it.
That's the ongoing shtick on YouTube. Money – and marketing lies (and liars) – make the world go round. But by chance a photography-based YouTube channel that I sometimes watch had a guy reviewing one of their vacuums (a higher end one). This guy tends to be one of the few non-bullshitters on YouTube. But, still, when companies send you free stuff, it's unlikely that most will kick the tires like they would if they had spent their own money.
Well, I did spend my own money on the Roborock Q7. For some odd reason, I caught it on a special sale for $349.00 at Amazon. Today it lists the same one for $529.00. There is also a Q7+ and Q7 Max. Bottom line is, you can spend about $300.00 more for the Max which means – wait for it – that the robot vacuum comes with a station into which it will automatically upload its waste.
This is why I cry for America, not because of the existence of Nancy Pelosi, although that's bad enough. It's that someone would be stupid enough to shell out $300.00 for the auto-empty dock...which obviously deposits its waste in a black hole and never itself needs to be emptied.
Jesus. I can empty the vacuum myself. And the way they made it, that is extremely easy to do. Couldn't be easier. I've had some vacuums where it's a real pain in the ass. This one isn't. So just take $300.00 and light it on fire and buy the "hands-free cleaning for up to 7 weeks". How pathetic of a Snowflake do you have to be where emptying out a vacuum after using it a few times is such an onerous task that you must spend hundreds to avoid it...at least until the "hands free auto-empty dock" fills up.
Okay, so you might say, "Brad. You just spent $350.00 on a robotic vacuum and here you are talking about Snowflakes." Well, I must admit that I'm interested in the tech. Plus, it really is a pain in the ass to have to haul out the honkin' upright vacuum and clean all the various hallways and rooms around here. I've been putting RoboSuck through its paces the last day and it seems to do a good job. Yes, the software sucks, but the software that comes with this kind of stuff always sucks.
But you don't technically need to download an app to use it. The app simply gives you some control over "no-go" zones for the vacuum and stuff like that. After it unplugged my G4 Titanium PowerBook, I can kind of see the need for it. But the way it saves maps and rooms is a gigantic clusterfuck and I haven't successfully been able to sort out this feature.
Without an app, you just put the little sucker down, hit the power button, and it will clean everything it can reach, the only limit being the confine of walls (an extra $2000.00 will get you one that can dematerialize and materialize on the other side of a wall) and/or the battery. In theory, this little robot, if it escaped through the back door, would dutifully try to clean the world until it ran out of charge. God help us if it was self-charging. It reminds me of the Nomad robot from Star Trek that was going to "sterilize" the entire universe of biological creatures, its original task being to sterilize biological samples.
But we're not there yet. There is very little to fear from this robot at present.
Other than wrapping itself around some cables (which I unstuck before it got stuck), it hasn't gotten stuck or wedged into any place it couldn't get out of. And it will, like a 2-year-old toddler, try to get into everything. And it somewhat easily makes it over any (about) ¾" ridges that it encounters. It seems unstoppable.
If I can get the mapping feature to work in the software, I will draw some no-go zones so that I don't (as I presently do) have to put up a few artificial barriers in my office. I just have too many cables hanging loose under the desks in my office. In the other parts of this building on this floor, there is no need to be so fussy. But, like I said, the software is infuriating and probably sucks (in a literal sense) more than the vacuum.
The vacuum itself seems surprisingly powerful. No, it won't match the sucking power of your 40 amp upright. But because theoretically this little sucker can and will be used for several lighter passes (because it's so easy to deploy it), it might actually suck just enough so that it doesn't matter. I could run this daily if I wanted with little effort. But because the upright is such an enormous pain in the ass to use, I can sometimes go weeks between vacuuming...thusI need that extra power when I do use it.
I wouldn't have bought this for $529.00 But, completely by chance, when I ran across the $350.00 price, and double-checked the reviews (generally glowing), I took a chance on it. So far so good.
It also has a mop attachment. This is likely mostly "for show." Yes, it will drag a little absorbent pad underneath it onto which it drops water from a small reservoir. And it would certainly mop up floors that are already clean...perhaps even keeping them that way if you mopped regularly. But you can't expect much from it. For mopping, you're better off just getting out a mop and employing elbow grease (as well as some floor cleaner...they don't recommend anything but water in the reservoir). Still, I did use it on the large linoleum hallway that we have and it did get it a little cleaner. Better than nothing. And it will likely be a cold day in hell before I actually get out a bucket and a proper mop and spray a little Mop-and-Glow and really do it.
Theoretically, this little beastie will return itself to the charging dock when finished. This has been hit-and-miss so far. It's willing, but not as bright perhaps as it should be. I haven't named it yet, by the way. I'm taking suggestions. "Round Disc Thingie with Software that Sucks" is descriptive but doesn't quite roll off the tongue.
