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Yale Assure Lever Smart Keypad Lock YRL236 review

REVIEW – A few months ago I had the opportunity to review the Yale Assure deadbolt lock and jumped at the opportunity to review another of their great products. Like its older brother, the Yale Assure Lever Smart Keypad Lock doesn’t disappoint.

What is it?

The Yale model YRL236 is an interior door lock with an integrated keypad and wireless capabilities, enabling a homeowner to lock or unlock a door using multiple, user-programmable codes, Bluetooth, Cellular or Wi-Fi.

Hardware Specs

  • Installs in standard doors in minutes
  • Door Thickness: 1 3/8” – 2 ¼”
  • Back Set: 1 3/8” – 2 ¼”
  • Face Bore: 2 1/8”, 1″ Diameter
  • Edge Bore: 1″ Depth, 1″ Diameter
  • Cross Bore: 1″ Diameter, Round Corner
  • Latch bolt Type: Adjustable Latch to Accommodate a 2 3/8″ or 2 3/4″ Back Set, reversible
  • Strike Front: Round Corner
  • Strike Dimensions: 1 1/9″ x 2 3/4″
  • Certifications: A156.36 ANSI/BHMA
  • Temperature range: -22F to 140F
  • Warranty: 1-year electronics, Unlimited Lifetime on Finish and Mechanical
  • Power: 4 AA batteries, 9V Battery can be used as a backup
  • Battery life: Approximately 12 months with regular use
  • User Codes: 25 User codes, 250 User codes with an optional Yale Smart module
  • Works with Amazon and Apple Home Kit
  • Available Finishes: Satin Nickel, Oil Rubbed Bronze, Polished Brass

What’s in the Box?

  • Yale Assure Lock
  • Two Academy Levers
  • Mounting Screws
  • Door Template
  • 4 AA Alkaline Batteries
  • Installation Manual
  • Yale Smart Module
  • August Wi-Fi Bridge module and Bluetooth lock module
  • August Warranty card

Design and features

Setup:

Arriving in characteristically cardboard containment, Yale’s lock hardware was well protected from the ever-present tossing system embraced by our shipping friends.

Like all locks, some assembly is required, but it’s not much different than a standard lock with respect to the hardware.

Since I was replacing a current lock, I did not need to drill, but Yale includes a template should your situation warrant.

Graphic directions for assembly are excellent. I had no difficulty with form, fit or function.

I elected to place the magnetic door sensor into my door frame for a cleaner look.

Once installed, the August app must be installed and an account created. If needed, the app is excellent in walking through the hardware and software installation process and has some well-executed FAQs and troubleshooting features. Nicely done!

The app steps the user through connection and calibration features and goes so far as to provide step-by-step instructions for Amazon Alexa and Apple Homekit connections. I ran into one very minor issue during configuration – for whatever reason, my Homekit code would not register, but restarting my smartphone solved the issue.

Curiously, those with an existing August bridge will still need to install another to enable all of the functions of a second lock. Yale’s online documentation states the bride modules and bride modules are ae a 1:1 ratio – curious, but far from problematic.

Performance

Once everything is connected, calibrated and copacetic, operation was flawless. Correct codes were always accepted from the keypad and it’s a blast to use Siri or Alexa to lock or check the status of my doors

This lock does not talk as my other Yale lock does, but has beeping as feedback.

An activity log provides a record of when and how the door was opened

What I like

  • Quality manufacturing and workmanship
  • Outstanding installation documentation and illustrations
  • Easy hardware and app installation
  • Plenty of locking options
  • Excellent variety of connectivity options

What I’d change

  • Lower the price

Final thoughts:

This Yale’s Assure Lever YRL236 is my second connected lock in my home and is a very welcomed addition. Quality and workmanship are excellent, installation and configuration were simple, and in the future, I hope to equip all of my home’s outer doors with Yale locks. These locks are so fancy I need to consider replacing my crappy doors!

Price: $279
Where to buy: Amazon
Source:  The sample for this review was provided by Yale.

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Yale Assure Lever Smart Keypad Lock YRL236 review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 27, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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Eliminate throw away guilt with these reusable silicone food storage bags

NEWS – I use plastic bags for just about everything. It’s not only bad for the environment, but it can get costly too. Especially if you use them like they grow on trees like I do. Enter the EcoLifeMate reusable silicone food storage bags.

Made from food-grade silicone these bags are not only reusable they also stand up, making them easier to fill. The bags are sealed using a plastic slider. This not only makes the bags airtight, but it also makes them leak-proof. Perfect for storing liquids like soups and sauces. Try doing that with a typical plastic bag.

And they’re extremely versatile, they can go in the oven, microwave, sous vide and freezer. You can even write on them with a dry erase marker. 

When they need cleaning, just toss them in the dishwasher.

The EcoLifeMate reusable silicone food storage bags come in a set of four 1 quart bags for $22.97 and are available from The Grommet.

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Eliminate throw away guilt with these reusable silicone food storage bags originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 26, 2019 at 9:00 am.

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Roborock S6 robot vacuum review

REVIEW – Robot vacuums have come a long way since I first got one of the originals over 10 years ago. With the advent of smart phones, the ability to control, monitor and even maneuver the vacuum has become easier and provided quite a bit more value to these devices. The RoboRock S6 is the newest addition from RoboRock into a crowded market as evidenced by the many types of these vacuums that we’ve reviewed on this site.

What is it?

The RoboRock S6 is a smart vacuum with docking station that interacts with a smart phone app to provide customized cleaning in your home.

What’s in the box?

  • Robot Vacuum
  • Power Cord & Docking Station
  • Extra Filters
  • Disposable Mopping Pads
  • Cloth Mopping Pads
  • Water tank attachment for mopping
  • Mopping mat attachment for Dock
  • Instruction Booklet
  • Removable dustbin with cleaning tool

Design and features

The RoboRock S6 provides both a vacuum mode and mopping function. With the accompanying app, you are able to map your home and designate different rooms and/or zones for cleaning. As you can see below, each color designates a different room and you can tell the vacuum to only clean specific rooms or the whole map. As it performs its work, it shows the track it went via the white lines you can see in the screenshot – so that you can see that all areas have been covered by that particular cleaning.

To mop, you don’t have to tell the vacuum any different directive, just simply attach the water tank to the underside of the mop with either a disposable or cloth cleaning pad attached and select “clean” from the menu. We keep a relatively clean house, so we were pretty surprised at how much the initial mopping was able to get clean.

Once the device has mapped the area and cleaned it fully, it will return itself to the dock. Then simply lift the back cover and remove the dustbin to dump out the collected dirt. You can also use the cleaning tool to cut out any hair that has been wrapped around the rotating brush on the underside.  I highly recommend doing this regularly, as I have found that hair accumulation around rotating parts tends to be the downfall of a lot of vacuums in my time.

One of our bigger concerns was the ability of the vacuum to maneuver down and back up over the tile-to-hardwood ledge between our kitchen and living room shown below. It is about 3/4 of an inch and the S6 navigates this on a daily basis with absolutely no trouble. Additionally, it has sensors that detect dropoffs and hasn’t had a problem whatsoever with our open stairway down to the basement.

Additionally, in our living room, we have hardwood floors with a rug under the coffee table. The vacuum gets up onto the rug effortlessly and switches mode to higher suction while on the carpeted rug – then switches back as it goes back onto the hardwood.

Additionally, you can place the vacuum in an area and press the spot clean button on the device and it will clean a small area and then return back to the dock to charge.

Setup

Very easy to set up and get going – less than 20 minutes of actual set up to get it started charging and communicating with the app. Initially, it will need to vacuum the entire house, building its map of the area. Once this is done, it will return to the dock and communicate with the app to verify the area – you’ll then be able to go in and designate zones and or add invisible barriers if there are areas that you don’t want the vacuum to travel into.

Performance

The vacuum works great and does exactly what we wanted it to do and more. The mopping function saves us a lot of time in effort in keeping the kitchen floors clean on a daily basis. For the map I provided screenshots of, it takes about 40 minutes to vacuum completely.

What I like

  • Mopping function is highly useful and not complicated for attaching.
  • Easy to use – map building feature allows for easy and quick selection of cleaning areas
  • Very quiet, we can keep the TV on just a slightly higher than normal volume while it does its work.
  • Navigates all the obstacles of our home – tile drop off, around kitchen table legs, under furniture.
  • Side spinning brush helps grab even more dirt into the suction head.
  • Sensor for major drop offs works great (stair recognition).
  • App shows the percentage of filter use for easy look up to see when maintenance needs to be performed.
  • Easy clean up of dust bin and mopping pads.

What I’d change

  • Occasionally we get a notification on our phones in Chinese rather than the English setting – bug fix in the app would remedy this.
  • Needs a large area around the dock to have room to return – which is hard to ensure in smaller homes and limits where you can dock the device.
  • Can get stuck on table legs some times, and will give a false error code before dislodging itself.
  • Would be nice to have separate maps for mopping and vacuuming, to be able to exclude carpeted rugs from being mopped.

Final thoughts

The RoboRock S6 has become a key appliance in our house, being run on pretty much a daily basis to help clean up the cooking mess that made it to the floor, the stray hairs and the pet dander/hair that accumulates in all the hard to reach places. We love using the mop feature in the kitchen, as it’s apparent that dirt doesn’t always show itself on these floors. With two humans and four 4-legged friends, we need to work to keep the floors clean so it’s very convenient to be able to hit one button on our smartphones rather than go through the hassle of getting the stand-up vacuum out on a daily basis. I would strongly recommend this vacuum for those who need a robotic being to clean up after them from time to time!

Price: $599.99
Where to buy: eBay
Source: The sample of this product was provided by RoboRock.

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Roborock S6 robot vacuum review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 26, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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Townew self-cleaning trashcan review

CROWDFUNDING REVIEW – We now have robots that can vacuum and mop our floors and cat litter boxes that are self-cleaning. So it’s high time that we have a trashcan that can clean itself as well as open and close with a wave of your hand. The Townew trashcan has those features and is now seeking funding on Indiegogo. They sent me a pre-production unit to check out. Let’s take a look.

What is it?

Townew is a small white plastic trashcan that opens and closes with a wave of your hand and seals the bag with a press of the button so that you never have to get icky gunk on your hands or smell nauseating garbage smells.







Why do I like it?

I like this trashcan because it’s controlled by waving your hand over the sensor on top. When you do, the lid opens so you can deposit the trash and then the lid automatically closes again in a few seconds.

When the bag is full, you can press and hold the button on the front and it will lift and seal the bag shut for you. When you lift out the bag and shut the lid, it automatically installs a new bag in place that is ready to use.

I also like that trashcan has a rechargeable battery which allows you to use it for up to a month between recharges. You can also just leave it plugged in too.

As mentioned, they sent me a pre-production unit to try out and it worked just fine. The only thing I noticed is that the lid shut about 3-4 seconds after it opened. That doesn’t give you a whole lot of time to scrape garbage off a plate and since the trashcan doesn’t have a motion sensor to tell if you’re still dropping items, you could make a mess if the lid inadvertently shut on you.

Considerations before pledging

First of all, the Townew trashcan is small. In my opinion, it’s better suited as a bathroom trashcan instead of a kitchen trashcan.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you can’t go to your local Walmart and buy new bags for it when you run out. The Townew trashcan has a special plastic ring that holds 25 bags. This whole ring has to be replaced with a new one when you run out. Pricing for refills hasn’t been announced and there is some worry that if the company folds, you’re left with an automatic trashcan that won’t work after you run out of bags. FYI, if you buy a Townew through this campaign, it comes with 3 refill rings.

Where can I find more info?

The Townew campaign ends on 7/18/19 they have already met their funding goal of $14,893. You can pre-order a Townew starting at $59. After the Townew campaign ends, rewards are estimated to start shipping in September 2019. Visit their Indiegogo page for all the details.

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Townew self-cleaning trashcan review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 18, 2019 at 5:40 pm.

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Anova Precision Sous Vide Cooker Pro review

REVIEW – I have wanted to try sous vide cooking for years. We have several friends and coworkers who swear by it. I understood the science and thermodynamics of how it works but I was always a little skeptical. While I have been tempted, I have been procrastinating more than anything…never pulling the trigger on actually buying one. So, when Julie offered the professional grade Anova Precision Cooker Pro to review, I was like Ooo, Ooo, Ooo pick me (think Arnold Horshack).

For those who do not know, Sous vide  (pronounced sue-veed and means “under vacuum” in French) is a cooking technique that involves vacuum-sealing food in a bag then submersing it in a water bath allowing for precise temperature control giving you consistent, high quality, near perfect results.

What is it?

The Anova Precision Cooker Pro is a professional grade sous vide cooker engineered to operate full-time in the busiest of kitchens. Designed for long hours of non-stop cooking main courses to perfection.

What’s in the box?

The box is big and well done, nicely presented. The only thing in the box is the sous vide cooker and instruction manual.

  • Anova Precision (Sous Vide) Cooker Pro
  • Manual

Hardware specs

Performance
  • Power: 1200 Watts
  • Flow Rate: 12 Liters/min
  • Max Cook Size: 100 Liters with lid
  • Voltage: 120 Volts
Durability
  • Aluminum – Teflon coated & stainless steel
  • IPX7 water and splash resistant
Precision
  • Temperature Accuracy: +/- 0.05 ̊ C
  • Temperature Range: 0 ̊ – 92 ̊ C
Usability
  • Manual time and temperature controls
  • Capacitive touch screen
  • High fidelity speaker tones
  • Adjustable & Detachable clamp
  • Removable skirt
Size
  • 88mm D x 60mm W x 350mm H / 3.5in x 2.4in x 13.8in
  • 1.29 kg / 2.85 lbs
Container Size
  • Min Water Level: 62 mm / 2.4 in
  • Max Water Level: 170mm / 6.7 in
Connectivity
  • WiFi 802.11 b/g/n 2.4 GHz
  • iOS and Android app coming soon

Design and features

The Anova Precision Cooker Pro is a restaurant/professional grade sous vide cooker engineered for serious work and the long-haul. When you pull the Anova Pro from its packaging it definitely gives off an air of high quality. It’s extremely well made, precision-machined, made from metal and stainless steel parts. While I wouldn’t suggest testing this but according to Anova, it is submersible in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes…crazy.

Setup

Setup is quick and easy. Take the Precision Cooker Pro out of the box, plug it in, and you’re more or less good to go. It’s going to take you longer to finding the right sided/shaped pot and fill it with water. As a beginner in the sous vide world, selecting a recipe is the toughest part of the battle. For whatever type of meat you’re wanting to cook, there are many different variants of basically the same recipe. But the recipes’ cooking times and temperature settings are all pretty close. So, I just picked those with a 4-5 stars rating and went for it.

Currently the Anova app does not talk to the Precision Cooker Pro but should sometime this summer. You can still use the app to find and save recipes.

Performance

The Anova Precision Cooker Pro is engineered with performance in mind: 1200 watts of heating power, 12 liters/min flow rate, and max cooking volume of 100 liters (26 gallons) with lid. In addition to serious horsepower, the Anova Pro uses components made for the long haul: a powerful dual bearing brushless DC motor and double-core insulated heater. According to Anova, the Precision Cooker Pro can operate continuously for a minimum of 10,000 hours without having to shut down.

Inside the stainless steel protective housing is quite the array of heating, monitoring, and circulating hardware. These components combine to not only heat the water quickly and effectively but keep it at a very precise temperature set-point. The integrated temperature probe is accurate to +/- 0.05 ̊ C in water volume up to 26 gallons (100 liters).

The Anova Pro has a temperature range of 0 ̊ – 92 ̊ C  / 32 – 198 ̊ F . The heating coil quickly and efficiently heats the water bath to the desired temperature then keeps it locked onto that set point throughout cooking.

The powerful circulation pump brings in water from above, flows through the heating coil, then the heated water is forced out the base of the Anova Pro.

The Anova Precision Cooker Pro has a capacitive touch screen to set your temperature, time, and monitor progress. Funny thing is… the screen is what initially impressed me the most. As I stated above, the entire unit is very well made but the screen is what made me think “wow, this is pretty sweet.” Using the touchscreen to set the time & temperature is easy and intuitive.

The Anova Pro has an adjustable and detachable clamp that enables the sous vide cooker to be raised or lowered based on the shape/size of the cooking vessel. It can also be twisted in the mount for a better view/management of the Pro’s touchscreen. The clamp is just as well made as the rest of the Anova Precision Cooker Pro from hard plastic with knurled, PVD coated metal tightening knobs.

What I like

  • Extremely well made from aluminum, teflon, & stainless steel
  • Very precise temperature control
  • Strong powerful brushless motor
  • Extremely long operational period
  • Can heat large volumes of water
  • Excellent touchscreen
  • 2-year warranty

What needs to be improved

  • Smartphone app not compatible from the beginning
  • Expensive

Final thoughts

As I stated at the beginning, this isn’t a review of sous vide cooking in general but for anyone who hasn’t tried it, I highly recommend it. I have cooked steak, chicken, burgers, and pork with the Anova Precision Cooker Pro and every meal turned out perfectly. It removes any of the guess work and stress of juggling variables of temperature, flame, time, doneness, etc. Anova’s Precision Cooker Pro is a professional grade sous vide cooker engineered for serious duty and is a bit of overkill for my kitchen. But what an excellent cooking tool that has been added to my arsenal of creating delectable meals for family and friends. If you can afford or need it, I suggest going for the Cadillac of sous vide cookers…you won’t be disappointed.

Price: $399
Where to buy: anovaculinary.com.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Anova.

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Anova Precision Sous Vide Cooker Pro review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 17, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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