Customer Reviews

Electrolux Trilobite Robotic Vacuum

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Note: This product is not the first generation product as advertised. The EL520A has many of the features of the 2.0 european version - like the ability to recognize stairs, etc.

I have had this product for almost a year and have used it twice a week to clean. The device cleans with no problems. It seems to pickup everything that it runs across. In a closed room, it works 110% - it will hit every part of the room with no problem. If you have an open floor plan like I do - the device might miss some spots because it does not really know where the room starts and ends - so in this case, it is not perfect.

The unit is kind of heavy which makes me not bring it to other floors in my house. I would love to buy a 2nd unit, but I am and have been waiting for the price to drop.

I have the scooba robot and find that their products are not as well put together or designed as the Electrolux. The difference in price alone should tell that story. The software and sensors on teh Elctrolux are top notch - the unit never hits into anything. The scooba bangs into my furniture and then turns. The EL520A stops about 1/4 inch away - very nice.

The last thing I would like to see is a scheduler as having it start up every morning after I leave and find its way back to the charging station would be a better situation. All in all, interesting product that I think would be even better if it were just a little less expensive.

I have used Trilobite for a little over six months, which replaced my Roomba Discovery series. In just less than a year of owning the Roomba, it failed on four separate occasions, requiring a complete replacement that takes about a month to process. The time consuming and costly replacement process would soon come to an end, as the warranty ends after a year. I was interested in a vacuum that would be able to hold to its responsibilities, by cleaning my floors more than I would be cleaning the robot itself.

Roomba owners will harken the days of blowing out the bumper with compressed air, or holding the vacuum upside down and hitting the bumper 10-20 times. When only one wheel on the Roomba turns, get a straw and start blowing into the tiny hole in the wheel casing. Also, don't forget the need to clean the massive amounts of dust and dirt that accumulates in the vacuum chute to the dust bin. If Roomba's dust bin is dirty, you can't even wash it out since it contains "electronic components".

Even with the best preventative methods, my Roomba failed repeatedly. Two friends of mine also had their Roombas fail completely, twice, in the last year.

Unlike Roomba, which cleans in a random manner and determines room size by how many 'bumps' it encounters, Trilobite can actually 'see' it surroundings. It travels along the edges of each room to determine the room size. The size is stored in its memory and used to determine where obstacles are in the room.

Once Trilobite knows where the obstacles are, it will speed up in clear areas and slow down until it gets about 1-2 inches away, when it turns and proceeds in another direction. For smaller or especially large rooms, cleaning can be performed more efficiently by engaging the 'Quick' mode, which eschews the room edge detection.

When the Trilobite is vacuuming over cords, fringe, or floor transitions, you can audibly hear the as the vacuum automatically cuts suction for a second or two. This patented method prevents Trilobite from getting stuck in almost all circumstances. My Roomba would grab on to anything on the floor, suck it in and get completely stuck - Trilobite will spit it out and keep on going.

Since Trilobite is slightly taller than Roomba, it never gets stuck while trying to burrow under my chairs and couches. If Trilobite encounters any problems, you don't have to decipher sounds - it spells out the exact problem on the backlit LCD display. This has proven to be extremely helpful. When the dust bin is full, or the battery is low, it shows an obvious icon on the display.

Electrolux support have been extremely polite and prompt to answer any questions that I had. They told me that they cannot remember the last time they had to bring one in for service, but if you ever need to, they overnight you a box free of charge. Your Trilobite is serviced and returned to you, also via overnight, within 7 days. Roomba service takes at least a month and you foot the bill for the return shipping and insurance of the broken vacuum. In the mean time, you'll be dragging out the upright since they can't cross-ship.

I've come to realise what it means for a robotic vacuum to actually be self-cleaning. I've never had to clean my Trilobite, I just empty the dust bin and replacing the allergen filter when it tells me to. If the dust bin gets dirt stuck on the sides, it's simple to rinse or wash it in cold water, unlike Roomba. I have found that the allergen filters can be machine washed on delicate and machine dried without any ill consequences.

For those of you worried about price, there is a certain big-box, warehouse retailer that offers it for much, much lower than MSRP. Remember, shop around for the best deal on any major purchase.

I've used the Roomba which works great. But this one is not just smarter, it is better in a few ways.

1. The Trilobite has a larger bin to collect dust. The Roomba had to be dumped after each cleaning. The Trilobite works for many cleanings before needing to be dumped.

2. The Trilobite is made better. Comparing the two side by side, the Trilobite is heavier, solid and of better construction.

3. The roller on the Trilobite is like a regular vacuum. The Roomba's roller is a brush and it gets clogged quickly if doing a carpet.

4. The suction is far greater with the Trilobite. It does make more noise which is comparable to a regular cannister vacuum but it work much better.

5. I've used Roombas and I am lucky if they last a year. Most of the Roomba warranty's are one year; therefore, I now had a broken Roomba. A few even had a 90 day warranty. Electrolux has a 2 year warranty. Electrolux makes exceptional high end products and wouldn't put a 2 year warranty on the Trilobite if it weren't made well.

I have more. You won't go wrong with a Roomba but if you can get a Trilobite under $750, go for it. You won't be sorry.

I have a central vac in my home, but I have used a Roomba and Scooba for over a year in my aviary where I have 7 parrots. They have both performed quite satisfactorily. I have the Roomba preset to run at a certain time every day, and my aviary always has a clean floor.

I ran across a dramatic price reduction from a certain membership warehouse and decided to give the Trilobite a try. I, as previous reviewers, thought the name Electrolux lended some degree of credibility. I read reviews that contrasted its ultra-sound "bat" technology with the so-called "dumb robot" Roomba who just runs around randomly bumping into things.

Well, this ultra-sound technology simply refused to map any of my rooms completely, would work for 8-9 minutes and then announce it was done. It seemed to take special care to avoid all dirt and/or debris on the floor. Since it would not do a complete room with furniture, I tried it in my entryway, which has only a few large planters, a space that is about 10'x30'. It absolutely refused to do more than half the room at a time, just deciding to stop in the middle and then go back over the places it had been.

Another problem that wasn't mentioned anywhere that I researched is that it often does not work properly on "dark or shiny surfaces," not encouraging for those of us who have black or dark-colored granite floors. But I tried it on light-colored tile, as well as white carpet, and all trials were equally frustrating and sub-par.

Customer Service was easy to reach on each of two separate calls for assistance or tips, but their solutions were to disable certain features, such as the timer function or automatic, or to run the vacuum in the various modes which were much less desirable for my home.

The Roomba may be considered low-tech and a dumb robot, but it gets the job done. Buy a Roomba, a Scooba, and go out for a very nice dinner. This Trilobite isn't worth the money, even at the very low price I paid. I returned it.

I highly recommend the Electrolux Trilobite. This product is made unbelievably well. I have a Roomba, which died a few weeks ago, and could not believe how much better this vacuum is built. Also, unlike Roomba, this vacuum does not shut off half way through cleaning b/c the battery died. Trilobite goes back to its charging dock by itself and then goes back out to finish cleaning. Unlike a previous review, I have had no problem at all getting the Trilobite to vacuum my whole room (and any other rooms in the house).
I did not pay $1700 for my Trilobite, so if you can find one for cheaper (under $700), I would definitely get one- or two (they get lonely).

I purchased Trilobite last week. Due to mixed reviews I made sure I could return it if it was a lemon.

Trilobite was a very pleasant surprise. It was remarakable as the unit made a few R2D2 squeeks and left its charging station and actually cleaned the room. It first mapped out the perimeter and then started its criss cross algorithm. It went under my planter stands and vacuumed up leaves and debirs. The ultrasound system made sure it was not bumpping its way around. The dust bin was proof of the Trilobites effectivness. The filter trapped all the dust and debris. The canister was easily emptied. I used my vaccuum to clean off the filter and had no problem reusing it. I understand you can also clean the filters in the gentle cycle and reuse them.

All in all a very cool product. And you can get a good deal at one of the big box warehouse outlets (you can return it if you don't like it).

Just get this thing. Its great.

I purchased the Trilobite because I am a gadget kind of person and because of the possible time savings of setting it and forgeting it. I was not disappointed. This little machine cleans like a champ, but I learned to empty the dust bin after every couple of cleanings. The pickup is much better with an empty bin. It automatically adjusts from our carpet to our wood floors and it vacuums like an upright, although I can't compare it to our Kirby. We have carpets that are ~a year old and it gets down into carpet enough to vacuum up fibers along with the dirt and debris. It does seem to have a problem getting back to its base on some of our larger rooms (20x16), but does just great on our average sized ones.

I love this vacuum! It works great. I have a dyson and I was for sure this would not be as nice but it works great. It's so nice to start it up and go to bed and wake up with clean floors. I bought this right around the time my daughter started crawling, it was nice to start to up when she took a nap and I would just read a book or take a nap myself. Its not loud at all. The only thing I dont like is the filter are pretty expensive, but I get clean them off and use them again. Replacing one every month or when needed.

I bought a Discovery myself to help with my asthma and only used it in my tiled kitchen/family room. A very easy floor to clean. My friends were so impressed 4 of them bought roombas and or scubas.... Well I'm sorry to say that 3 of them as well as I have had irobot replace parts and refurb machines (might I add ... we had no problem with customer service) until the warranty was up...Now they want another 100.00 for another refurb... Not getting it from me! I just bought the trilobite for $437.00 and for one it really SUCKS... not simply brushing the dirt but vacuuming it up. It is a true vacuum not a sweeper like the roomba's. And if you can afford to get real lazy you can get the Karcher RC-3000 RoboCleaner that even has a self emptying feature.

I recieved the Trilobite as a gift. I love it so much I bought a second and am thinking about buying a 2.0 in the next few months. This tiny vacuum picks up all the dirt on the floor quietly, while I do something else. Senses the stairs, doesn't bang up the walls and furniture and doesn't suck up the lace that drapes on the floor (unlike someone else who used to vacuum).
As a side note if you have a sensitivity to dust you won't know how you ever got along with out it. I have a relative who has a dust allergy, she hasn't had an attack while visiting since I started using the Trilobyte.
The people at Electrolux came up with something marvelous this time around, this is worth every penny!