I did not realize how big my XV-21 would be until the package arrived from Amazon. Unpacking it, I realized that the robot is essentially the base of an upright vacuum cleaner combined with suction pump, sensors, computer, and battery. The beater bar is as large and powerful as any upright vacuum cleaner. I think this explains why previous generation XVs got such great reviews, and those reviews drove me to pre-order the XV-21.
Startup was fast; I just plugged in the dock to an wall A/C outlet, brought the robot near the dock, and discovered that the robot's batteries charge wirelessly. Very cool.
After fully charged, I pushed a button on the robot, and it proceeded to clean one floor of my house, requiring several re-charges (it automatically returns to base when it needs to recharge).
The robot is very user friendly. It tells you when it needs its dust bin cleaned, its brushes unclogged, when it is blocked, etc. It emits chirps to tell you when something is amiss.
It is much quieter than a conventional corded upright vacuum or a central vacuum that has a power beater bar. Turn the TV on the volume a little higher and you can watch TV while it works.
As heavy as the XV-21 is, it isn't as heavy as an upright vacuum nor as bulky as the hose and attachments for a central vacuum system. So it is easier to carry up and down stairs to clean other floors.
I bought the robot because I don't wear shoes in the house and was tired of stepping on crumbs or food scraps in the kitchen. The robot keeps the kitchen floor clean, and does just as well in other parts of the house.
Some things to keep in mind:
- Allow for plenty of clearance between the base and and any obstacles. The manual says 3 feet; I've had better luck with 5 feet. Otherwise the robot will have trouble returning.
- The beater bar is very effective, and on a new carpet or rug it will be picking up lots of carpet fibers. This requires frequent cleaning of the dust bin. The first time you use the robot on a carpet, I suggest pausing the robot once in a while to inspect the dustbin, and empty if needed.
- Related to the above point, I wish the passage way from the beater bar to the dust bin was wider; hair often gets clogged in the passage way. I have found that this problem diminishes as the robot cleans a floor each time. Frequent cleaning is goodness.
- Place your base as close to center of the floor the robot will be vacuuming so that it has a higher chance of finding base when it is done, or it needs to re-charge. Note that the robot does not get a "fix" on the base until it swings by the base on a cleaning run, so this is another reason to aim for center.
- Whenever the robot gets stuck or can't find its way back, if a human doesn't attend to the problem after a few hours (such as when setting the robot to vacuum a large area over night or while at work), the battery will drain. The robot will then forget the time of day and how much of the area it vacuumed. In addition, after bringing the robot to the dock, I've yet to master the trick for getting the robot to reliably sense the dock and start charging.
- Yes you need to pick up off the floor stuff like socks that might get jammed in the brush. Well dirty laundry belongs in a washer or bin, so think of this as discipline, at least until engineers invent a robot that picks up laundry. That the robot drives you to keep your house tidy is a good thing.
Despite the above, providing both minimal supervision over the robot and cleaning its dustbin between charges or cleanings together beat vacuuming manually. Overall, I think the robot does a better job than manually vacuuming since the robot is designed to clean every surface it can see and access. You can be doing something else, whether it is another chore that engineers haven't yet figured out a robot for (e.g. vacuuming stairs), or something fun. And it is simply fun to watch the robot do its thing, whether it is setting up for a series of parallel cleaning runs, finding and turning corners, avoiding obstacles, extricating itself from a tangle of chair legs, or returning to home base.