Karcher- Wow I have to tell you this little baby cleans. I have to say out of all the robot vacuums we have tested this one performs the best all round. Let me clarify this statement in that it has a smaller cleaning brush and smaller blower motor then the other models we carry, so it does clean but not as deep as the Electrolux or Friendly Robotics units for these units are much larger and have way bigger motors and brushes.

One of the outstanding points of the Karcher is that it always seems to find its docking station, in the 20 homes we have used it in the Karcher only failed in one home where it keep getting lost near a piano, other then that one home it worked flawlessly. You will be amazed how much dirt this unit picks up, you will see this first hand when you check the filter bag and see how filled it is along with all the dust and dirt it collected.

Unlike the Roomba or Electrolux that have accessories to prevent their vacuums from going into different rooms, the Karcher does not offer these options. So if you don't want the Karcher to enter a room, close the door. One reason the Karcher goes everywhere is due to the fact that it always seems to find its way back to the docking station.

This unit is perfect for your main residence but is a real plus for your second home, elderly parents, basement, or an area you want cleaned on a daily basis and not have to worry about if the unit will find the docking station.

Recap:
The cleaning was outstanding, Navigation - terrific, Docking operation - Great , Room Blocking - None, Noise level Low: Score 8 Bots

I currently have a roomba. The major problem I have with it is carpert fringes and it gets caught under cetain pieces of furniture.

How does the karcher handle carpet fringes? Can you program the unit to start/stop at any time? Can it be hacked to add SMART, PIC, etc.

Thanks in advance.

Good Question, I have been asked that before from home owners who have tested the Karcher. It seems Fringes are a problem with the Roomba. On the Karcher we have used it on expensive oriental rugs with fringes and no problems this is at the same customers homes who have had trouble with the Roomba. I think the different is the Karcher sits a little bit higher, not only does it not get stuck on fringes it is also able to roll over/vacuum over speaker or lamp wires that are laying on the floor. This is not to say it is not cleaning, on the contrary after you let the Karcher run around your room for a few hours you and everyone else will see a nicely cleaned carpet. You will also be amazed how the collector bags fills up with dirt/coins/earrings/bugs/all kids of goodies.

As far as the timer goes, the Karcher has 3, 6, 9, or infinite hours to choose from. What this means is that the unit will clean for 3 hours rest for 3 hours then go and clean for 3 hours repeating itself or the 6/9 setting. On Infinite it will consistently vacuum charge and vacuum forever. We have used this setting many times for large homes and it works very very well.

All of the robot vacuums we sell/tested do not have a true timer that allows you to set it to clean at 9:00am and be docked by 5:00pm on any given day.

What we suggest is customers leave it set to infinite and when they leave in the morning they let it run all day until they come back home, then they can shut the unit down until the next day.

For second homes or basements depending on size we suggest 6 hour mode, this will allow the Karcher to clean for 6 hours rest for 6 and clean for 6 etc. Again, you will definitely see a clean carpet upon your return.

We have not hacked the Karcher yet, within the near future we will be looking into the processor and sensors to see what hacks can be applied. Right now we are amazed how well the unit cleans and the reliability of it finding its docking station.

How powerful is the vacuum on the RC3000 compared to the iRobot Roomba vacuums. Is it about the same or much stronger?

The Roomba seems to have a more powerful motor and does do a very good job cleaning. On the other hand the Karcher RC3000 does an excellent job cleaning. Due to the fact that the RC3000 can constantly dock/recharge and go back out and clean the unit is amazing. It has been in a 6000 foot house for the last 10 weeks and we have around 6 bags full of dirt and dust that the RC3000 picked up. The home owners are very pleased and we are amazed how well it cleans and keeps cleaning.

I remember the older roomba had this cute little spiral that resulted from the method that it cleaned. I got the newer docking one and it doesn't do this. Does the Karcher leave any nifty patterns behind? I thought it added a nice, "taken care of" touch to the carpet!

Pet hair often collects on the Roomba brushes, making them less effective. I like the auto empty of the karcher, but is there any automatic method for cleaning the brushes? If not, how complicated it the disassembling/reassembling of the brush assembly for cleaning?

~Kuro

Hi,
I have the Karcher and its great! I also have the old and new roomba. For the money roombas are great but there nothing like the karcher. Th karcher is quiet and can be set to go out when ever. I have mine running all day long and my friends are all amazed with it. It does leave the carpet looking really clean just like it was vacuum. The look your looking for. I also love the vaccuum bag that i can just replace withing 5 sec. As the roomba you need to clean those of by hand. Hope that helps.
Nick

that is useful informaton. However it doesn't answer my direct questions:

1.) Does it leave any patterns on the carpet? like spirals?
2.) Does it automatically clean it's brushes?
If not:
3.) How difficult is it to disassemble the brush assembly for clearing hair from the brushes?

Swift responces would be greatly appreciated.

Hi,
Hopefully this will help more.
1. It does not leave any patterns in the carpet it just looks like some one went crazy with the vaccuum like a maid or something. The reason there is no pattern is because it cleans all over not in any specific way like the Trilobite. The Roomba spirals arn't clean looking as the karcher leaves the room.
2. The brushes will still need to be cleaned by hand to get long hair out. Most of the pet hair is removed by itself when it docks and the vaccuum in the dock sucks everything out of the karcher.
3. It is not difficult at all to remove the brushes. Any one can do it within seconds all you have to do is pull on it in a certain way which you can figure out from trail and error in a few seconds.
I bought my from http://www.therobotstore.com and they have been a big help if i every had a question or problem. Hope that info helps. any other questions just ask
Nick

I recently installed new hardwood flooring throughout my home. I am very interested in purchasing the Karcher RC3000 Robovac. My only concerns are(1) will the rotating brush scratch the hardwood floors and (2)are the wheels rubber, which will prevent scratching? Thank you.

Hi,
I've had the Karcher in my home for almost a year now and its great! The coolest thing i have! It does not scratch the floors at all! Its works great and picks up alot. The wheels are rubber and they do not scuff the floors if that is what your asking. Here are some pictures. NOT 56k Friendly!
Thanks Nick Any more questions fire away.
Picture1
Picture2
Picture3

quote:

Originally posted by TheRobotWizard:

As far as the timer goes, the Karcher has 3, 6, 9, or infinite hours to choose from. What this means is that the unit will clean for 3 hours rest for 3 hours then go and clean for 3 hours repeating itself or the 6/9 setting. On Infinite it will consistently vacuum charge and vacuum forever. We have used this setting many times for large homes and it works very very well.

.

I thought after the set timing, 3,6 or 9, the robot will go back and park itself, i.e. it will not coninue to vacuum until the robot switch is turn on again.
Correct?
If it cleans, rest and cleans at say every 3 hours, then one might be woken up if one forgets to turn off the base station.

You are right, that if you don't switch the base to standby it may come out and wake you up. But this thing is so quite that i keep it going 24/7. Never got woken up once. Ran like a champ and kept my floors clean.

I bought an RC3000 in the beginning of April. I was pleased with the performance for the three weeks it worked.
Karcher has a "rapid exchange" program to support quality issues. When I first contacted Karcher I was pleased with the customer service response. I've come to find out that the customer service is pathetic at best. It has been three weks since I contacted Karcher and I have yet to recieve a replacement. When I contacted Karcher to follow up the told me they haven't even shipped it yet. The customer service rep couldn't explain why a new unit wasn't shipped or when one would be shipped. She told me to give it five days and call them back.
I would probably be understanding if this was some $20.00 dollar vacuum but when I pay $1500.00 for a vacuum I think I should recieve some type of service.
In the end I like the vacuum but the service from the company is a joke.