ᐅ Vacuum Cleaning Robots Vorwerk Kobold VR200 / VR100

Created on: 13 Jun 2015 10:25
J
Jochen104
Hello everyone,

After seeing several discussions about robotic vacuum cleaners in various threads here, we are increasingly convinced that we want to get one of these devices.

The Vorwerk Kobold VR200 and also the VR100 robotic vacuums, which have been mentioned here multiple times, seem quite expensive to me (749 and 599 euros, respectively).

So I went to the website of my trusted online retailer and searched for "robotic vacuum." Then I selected the robotic vacuum cleaner category: 161 results. Prices ranged from around 75 euros to nearly 900 euros.

One model that caught my eye was the Philips FC8820/01 because it reportedly allows you to point the remote control at dirt if something falls on the floor, and it will vacuum it up.

Does anyone have experience with these devices? Can anyone recommend other models?
Do they always only clean the room where you place them, or do they clean the entire floor (assuming the doors are open)?

My requirements:
  • Initially, only one device for the ground floor, possibly another for the upper floor later.
  • Living area about 92 m² (990 sq ft) on the ground floor, with the largest room about 55 m² (592 sq ft).
  • Charging station (I don’t want to plug the device in manually every time).
  • Good cleaning performance.
  • Not excessively noisy (even though we are mostly not at home).
  • Good price/performance ratio.

Thank you very much for your feedback.
satisfied14 Jan 2016 23:24
We bought a Neato Botvac 75. For hard floors, I would also recommend the allergy brush; after that, the device is acceptable in terms of noise for us.

These are the reasons why we chose this device:
  • The device scans the room with a laser during its initial run and then cleans in “lanes” rather than randomly
  • The device automatically detects doors and cleans the rooms one after another
  • The device detects our stairs
  • The device can be programmed
  • Vorwerk only uses the device with a different brush, but the Neato device is significantly cheaper than the Kobold.
S
Saruss
14 Jan 2016 23:46
That is not correct. Vorwerk has made several additional changes, for example to the battery technology.
satisfied14 Jan 2016 23:54
Hmm, okay, I didn’t know that. But I have to admit that the Amazon bargain from back then, just under 400€ (about $430), probably makes up for the possibly lower-quality battery.
S
Saruss
15 Jan 2016 00:01
You can definitely replace the NiMH battery (which is smaller compared to the Li-ion battery of the previous Vorwerk model). However, there are also 5-6 other differences. But I think you can still be satisfied with the bot.
EveundGerd15 Jan 2016 08:21
I am actually seriously considering the Neato. The Vorwerk works great on carpet upstairs. However, I wasn’t as impressed with it on tiles and especially on vinyl flooring. I also don’t want a robot that drives around randomly without any plan.
S
Saruss
15 Jan 2016 11:29
EveundGerd schrieb:
I am actually considering the Neato. The Vorwerk works great on carpet upstairs. I wasn’t as impressed on tiles and especially vinyl.
However, I don’t want a robot vacuum that drives randomly without a plan.

I have one of those randomly moving vacuums upstairs because it handles the room layout and kids’ stuff better. It cleans just as well as the smart one downstairs.