Home Vacuum

DEENKEE DK600 robot vacuum review

REVIEW – For years my wife and I have looked with envy at the Roomba robot vacuums.  We have always looked at them as a luxury item though and have never pulled the trigger to get one.  So when competing products started coming out and the prices started coming down, we started looking again.  At a price point of $220, the DEENKEE is considered a budget robot vacuum that has many of the features of the more expensive products.  But are there enough features to make a clean-freak like my wife happy?  Let’s find out.

What is it?

The DEENKEE is a robot vacuum that cleans the house for you and returns to its charging base when done.

What’s in the box?

  • The DEENKEE robot vacuum
  • 4 side brushes
  • 2 Hepa filters
  • Docking/charging station
  • Power supply
  • Cleaning tool
  • remote control
  • owner’s manual

Hardware specs

  • Dimensions: 12.4 x 12.4 x 2.7 inches
  • Weight:  8.8 lbs
  • Runtime:  100 min
  • Charge time:  5-6 hrs
  • Dust collector capacity:  .6 L (20 fluid oz.)
  • Battery:  DC 14.4V Li-ion 2600mAh
  • Maximum suction power:  1500Pa
  • Sensor technology:  infrared

Design and features

Like other robot vacuum cleaners, it has a charging base where it sits to charge and then after it cleans it returns to the base.  It can clean about 100 min before returning to the base, so that is just about enough time for it to cover the entire bottom floor of our house which is about $1,500 square feet.  It sits 2.7 inches tall and it easily goes under all our furniture which is nice.  The dust under there never gets cleaned of course, so the first time it cleaned our floors the dust bin was packed!

There are 6 modes of cleaning that we have to choose from:

  • edge cleaning mode – clean just the edges of the rooms
  • spot cleaning mode – clean a small area of the floor about 3 feet by 3 feet. (this is helpful if you have a spill of debris and want the DEENKEE to clean it up for you)
  • maximum power mode – this mode greatly increases the suction for things like rooms with carpet, but it also means that you reduce the operating time.  We only use this mode when we use it in bedrooms with carpet.
  • timed mode – you can set a specific time, like in the middle of the night, to start cleaning the house.
  • single room mode – put the DEENKEE In the room and close the door, and it stops when the room is done
  • auto mode – this is the mode we use the most. We just press the auto button on the remote and it cleans as much of the house as it can before the battery dies.

There are buttons on the remote for all 6 of these modes.  There are also buttons on the remote to make the DEENKEE return to the base immediately, set the time on the vacuum, schedule the timed mode, and pause the vacuum and manually control the direction of the vacuum.

One of the best features of the DEENKEE, in my opinion, are the side brushes that allow it to get into corners and sweep debris under the vacuum.  I have looked at more expensive Roombas at twice the price that have only 1 side brush.  I have also picked up the DEENKEE in the middle of a cleaning mode (like for this review for example) and then set it back down in a different direction and it still finds its way back to the base.

When I asked my wife for her opinion of the DEENKEE she commented, “Well, it doesn’t completely replace my upright, but I would rather have it than not.  It does a great job of cleaning the floors.”  High praise from a person who prides herself on cleaning the house.  To give up some of the work to a robot is a pretty big deal for her!

It has edge-sensing technology so that when we use it upstairs it won’t fall down the stairs.  It hasn’t damaged any furniture either because it gently bumps into things and backs away.  The advertising says it is one of the quietest robot vacuums at 55dB and that you should be able to sleep with it running.  Well, I don’t exactly agree with that, as I will explain in the next section!

We haven’t had any issues with the DEENKEE not going over any of our rugs or floor transitions.  The only small issue is that we have a sisal natural fiber rug.  For those who know about those types of rugs, the fibers easily shed I guess you could say.  So if we let the DEENKEE run over it, the bin fills up in minutes.  So this is what we do in the dining room when we run the DEENKEE.

Pretty silly, I know.  But it also helps with getting the dust under the rug!

And what would a robot vacuum be without some interesting stories, right?  So let’s go!

Interesting stories

Our dog kinda freaked out the first time we used the DEENKEE.  I mean, he went bananas.  So after an hour or so he just jumped up on the furniture to get away from it while he barked at it, and after a week or so he pretends the vacuum isn’t even there.  I would also say that our dog doesn’t make messes in the house, so we haven’t had to deal with those horror stories you have read about dog poop and robot vacuums.  Thank God.  But we did give the robot a name, “Tinky”, so that our dog would know what is getting ready to happen when we tell him that “Tinky” is getting ready to go.  Yeah, that’s a little silly too, but hey, you do what you gotta do.

We decided to set up the DEENKEE to run overnight so that the house would be clean while we sleep because they said it was really quiet.  Perfect, right?  Not so much.  At 3am Tinky starts coming down the hallway (we have hardwoods through the entire main floor) and it sounded like a train was coming down the hall.  So the next night we decided to put up the doggy gate in the hallway to prevent it from coming down the hall into the bedroom and it spent a few minutes bumping into the gate over and over at 2am.  So we don’t do that anymore.

If you don’t get your cables up off the floor, this happens:

We accidentally left the door open to the washroom where the dog’s food dish and water bowl are located, twice.  So it knocked the water bowl over and water went everywhere.

And finally, we have had a couple of instances where Tinky just stopped and didn’t return to base.  For example, it went into our bedroom bathroom, into the room with the toilet which is a very small room.  It moved between the toilet and the wall and just stopped.  It didn’t back out and continue.  But I would say that probably 2 times out of 30 times that we have run the vacuum it stopped with something like that.  I can live with that.

What I like

  • Large number of features and cleaning modes
  • Great price
  • Does a great job of cleaning
  • It has a remote to control it

What needs to be improved

  • You can’t specify protected zones to prevent the vacuum from going to certain places.
  • There is no smartphone app to control it.

Final thoughts

For the money, this vacuum is awesome.  We only use it when we are home and we control which rooms it goes into and monitor it so we can catch it quick if it snags a cord.  As I researched other more expensive vacuums and the features they had, I found that paying the extra price for those features wasn’t worth it to me.  I don’t need a smartphone to start the vacuum while I am on vacation.  And we have developed a routine with the DEENKEE where we don’t need to set up virtual walls or protected zones.  The DEENKEE has all the features we want at a price that is affordable.  It doesn’t replace our upright vacuum completely, but I will say that our upright is starting to gather some dust.  How’s that for a vacuum joke?

Price: $220
Where to buy: DEENKEE or Amazon (Use coupon code: 578BI79 to save 15%. Code expires 10/06/2019)
Source: The sample of this product was provided by DEENKEE.

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DEENKEE DK600 robot vacuum review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 7, 2019 at 9:00 am.

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Ecovacs DEEBOT 500 robot vacuum review

REVIEW – Ever watch the videos of the cat riding around on a vacuum? Those cute little automated vacuums have been around for years, but I’ve stuck with my tried and true push vacuum. I had the opportunity to try the Ecovacs DEEBOT 500 robotic vacuum cleaner, and while my cats won’t sit on it for internet points, it did roam around sucking up all in its path.

What is it?

The Ecovacs DEEBOT 500 robotic vacuum cleaner is a cordless, hands-free vacuum. With the accompanying app, it can be remotely started or scheduled to clean the floors.

Hardware specs

  • Anti-Drop/Collision Sensors
  • Auto, Edge, and Spot Modes
  • Scheduled Cleanings
  • Automatic Charging
  • Up to 110 minutes run time and 520 mL dust bin
  • Works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant

What’s in the box?

  • DEEBOT 500 robot
  • Charging Dock + Power Adapter
  • Side Brushes
  • Remote Control w/ batteries
  • Cleaning Tool
  • Instruction Manual
  • Quick Start Guide

Design and features

With the included quick start guide, setup for the DEEBOT was a breeze. I sat it on the base and let it charge overnight while I got the app ready. While I couldn’t find the QR code to scan to easily identify my device, I was able to search it up on the app and pick it out via the picture/model. I then connected it to my Wifi on the app, which was easy, and I was ready to start scheduling cleanings.

Before we start cleaning, let’s talk about the DEEBOT itself. It seems to be a pretty standard-sized, non-obtrusive looking vacuum, with minimal buttons. On top, you’ll find the main button, which will start a cleaning session, bring the DEEBOT out of standby, and is also used to indicate the vacuum status.

There is an on/off switch and a reset button on the side, and that’s all the buttons the vacuum has. The rest of the controls are on the app or remote control.

On the Ecovacs Home app you can control the mode you want the vacuum to run in; Edge, Auto (random), and Spot. Edge will just go around the edges of your room, Auto is the standard mode, and Spot will run in a spiral in a certain area that you place it. You can also check the battery level, schedule cleaning times, and change the suction power. Lastly, if you ever lose your DEEBOT in the house, you can press the Find my DEEBOT button and it will cause the DEEBOT to beep. You can also set up notifications to alert you when something is going on with the vacuum.

There are two side brushes and one main brush for vacuuming. The side brushes push the dirt towards the center where the main brush is. I noticed the side brushes tended to get tangled with hair, though it didn’t seem to affect the performance. The main brush stayed pretty clean.

The back of the vacuum has a pretty decent sized dust bin with built-in filters. I can’t tell if the air quality is better, but the big filter gets dusty pretty fast. It is really easy to remove, empty, and replace the dust bin. One thing I wish with the dust bin is that it would send a notification when the bin is full.

Before

Now, how much does this thing pick up? The first go around, it did a fantastic job navigating all around my small dining room area, except it missed one two foot square of carpet space. Since then, however, even if I clear out the area of all chairs and obstacles, it still misses the area to the right of the base. It’s a bit annoying, since the left side and in front of the unit gets very, very clean. Above and below are before and after pictures of a cleaning. As you can see, it cleaned up the dirt and cat hair very well.

After

The DEEBOT would run for a good 90-110 minutes before heading back to the charger. A few times it got ‘stuck’ going back to the charger, which baffled me. At one point it spent five minutes going around the leg of my kitchen table with nothing around it trying to get back to the base. It made it back before it ran out of juice, however. It took about 4-6 hours for the DEEBOT to fully charge after returning to the dock.

Since this is the standard model, there is no set pattern for how the DEEBOT scoots around on the floor. It will bump into things and turn to find another way. It does have stair detection, and will even stop and turn around when it finds a lip on the flooring, such as going from carpet to linoleum in my kitchen.

What I like

  • Easy to set-up/use
  • Scheduled cleanings
  • Seems sturdy

What I’d change

  • Will completely miss areas of carpet
  • Doesn’t inform when dust bin is full

Final thoughts

Overall, I had a difficult time figuring out whether or not I liked the DEEBOT 500 robot. Where it cleaned, it cleaned well, but despite moving around and clearing furniture, it would barely go over certain areas. This vacuum has a good start, but for the price, I would expect it to do a little better.

Price: $279.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Ecovacs.

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Ecovacs DEEBOT 500 robot vacuum review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 7, 2019 at 9:00 am.

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DEENKEE Cordless Vacuum Cleaner Stick review

REVIEW – As an industry leader and design innovator, Dyson, maker of vacuums, fans, and all things air-related, has always inspired other companies to emulate (read: rip off) their style and features. This is of great benefit to consumers who’d love to own a Dyson product but can’t quite afford the often ridiculous price tags. The DEENKEE Cordless Vacuum Cleaner Stick is one such Dyson “inspired” device. The design, feel, and even the coloring of the DEENKEE vacuum all ape Dyson’s well-known brand but at a somewhat affordable $169.99. For the price, the DEENKEE performs well, but it might not work as the sole vacuum for larger households.

What is it?

The DEENKEE Cordless Vacuum Cleaner Stick is a rechargeable handheld vacuum cleaner. The unit is lightweight, modular and has removable, washable filters. Even though it’s a handheld, the DEENKEE is powerful enough to work much like a traditional standup vacuum, albeit for a shorter time because it’s battery powered.

The DEENKEE arrives in a white box with only a picture of the unit and its name featured on the front.

What’s in the box?

  • Portable cordless vacuum unit
  • Removable Li-ion battery
  • AC adapter
  • Aluminum extension tube
  • Wall mount
  • Connecting joint
  • Electric floor brush attachment
  • 2-in-1 dusting brush attachment
  • Replacement roller brush
  • User manual

Hardware specs

  • Rated power: 180-200W
  • Battery: Li-ion 2200mAh, 22.2V
  • Charging period: 5-6 hours
  • Handheld vacuum degree: 17KPA (max)

Design and features

The DEENKEE is well designed, which is understandable since it’s following Dyson’s award winning design playbook. The powerhouse of the unit is the handheld section which contains the rechargeable battery and motor. Latches attach the motor and battery section to the container which houses the DEENKEE’s filtration system.

Almost every part of the DEENKEE breaks apart via these plastic latches for cleaning and easy access.

I definitely appreciate the modular nature of the DEENKEE but I often found myself latching and unlatching parts of the unit in a frustrating attempt to disconnect the one section I was hoping to remove.

Once the container unit is removed, you can see that the main section of the DEENKEE is little more than a small electric motor attached to a battery.

The Li-ion battery disengages from the motor via a small latch on the underside of the unit.

The battery doesn’t really need to be removed except for cleaning the unit or replacing the battery itself.

The filters are easily removed from the container unit by yet more latches.

The outer foil filter separates out larger pieces of debris. As with all filters on the DEENKEE, this filter is washable.

The top of the filter section unlocks to provide access to the inner filters.

One internal filter sits on top of the container section just inside the cap.

Once that filter is removed you can flip it over to remove a third smaller foam filter.

Again, all of these filters are washable which I really appreciate since nobody misses the days of forever having to purchase new vacuum bags and filters.

The DEENKEE comes with several attachments that connect in a number or ways.

Each attachment connects via a plug and latch on its end.

The attachments can only connect one way, which makes it easy to do correctly.

I found that the most useful attachment is the floor brush attachment.

The bottom plug on the attachment connections conducts power, which means that the brush in the floor brush attachment spins just like in a traditional standup vacuum.

A roller with long bristles comes attached to the unit and an extra roller with shorter bristles is included as well.

The DEENKEE also comes with a 2-in-1 dusting brush attachment.

By pushing down on a small button at the end of the brush attachment the brush head can be moved into or out of position.

This is great because it cuts down on the number of attachments you have to manage for the vacuum without sacrificing functionality.

Both the 2-in-1 dusting brush attachment and the floor brush attachment connect either directly to the unit or to the extension tube via an included connecting joint.

The extension tube is convenient for using the DEENKEE like a traditional vacuum.

But, you can create various configurations based on the cleaning task.

This versatility is something I really appreciated as I tackled tasks such as vacuuming underneath my couch cushions and cleaning out my car.

The DEENKEE also comes with a mounting bracket that allows you to charge the unit while in storage.

The unit snaps easily into the bracket and there are two slots for storing the connecting joint and 2-in-1 dusting brush attachment as well.

Setup

Before first use, the DEENKEE has to be fully charged which takes around five to six hours.

There’s a small power port on the back of the handheld unit where the AC adapter plugs in.

There are four LED bars on the top of the unit that blink while the unit is charging.

These LEDS also display the current power level of the DEENKEE during use and because you’re on a tight power budget, it’s really important to monitor them.

Performance

Once the battery is charged and you’ve snapped on your desired attachments, the DEENKEE is ready to work.

The DEENKEE motor is rated at 17 kpa which is a unit of pressure equal to about 2.5 psi. It may not sound like much, but I was thoroughly impressed by the suction of this little handheld.

I also really liked the three LEDS mounted on the head of the floor brush attachment. I found them super useful in the dark corners of my small apartment.

The DEENKEE worked great on both the hard floors and few carpets I have in my 500 square foot apartment. The battery lasted about 25 minutes for me, mainly because I was switching back and forth between the DEENKEE’s two power modes. I found the usefulness of two power modes confusing though, since I kept switching to high mode after vacuuming a section in low mode.

While not exactly silent, the DEENKEE operates at lower frequencies, so the sound it emits during use isn’t quite as high pitched and annoying as regular vacuums.

After about 25 minutes, the DEENKEE picked up an impressive amount of dust and pet hair in my supposedly clean apartment.

You can pop the top off the container unit to remove debris that may have gotten wedge into the container. Or you can just pop the lower latch on the container to dump the contents out.

The DEENKEE was really easy to use and maneuver around my furniture and since the battery lasted just under a half an hour, its weight never really became an issue. The suction was strong and consistent and my rugs and floors looked noticeably cleaner after passing the DEENKEE over them.

What I like

  • Washable filters
  • Easy to maneuver
  • Powerful suction for the size

What I’d change

  • Battery life could be better
  • Two power modes seems unnecessary
  • Main unit made of plastic and seems like it would break easily if dropped

Final thoughts

The DEENKEE Cordless Vacuum Cleaner Stick is an affordable alternative to the very expensive Dyson vacuums that it so obviously is trying to emulate. The DEENKEE won’t work as a main vacuum for large or midsize homes or apartments, but as a backup it works great. For small apartments, this might be all the vacuum you need though, granted you can clean your entire apartment in the under 30 minutes of battery time the DEENKEE provides you. Still, $169.99 for a vacuum on par with Dyson’s similar models is a pretty good deal.

Price: $169.99
Where to buy: Amazon and DEENKEE.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by DEENKEE.

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DEENKEE Cordless Vacuum Cleaner Stick review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 31, 2019 at 9:00 am.

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Tineco PURE ONE S12 Smart Vacuum Cleaner review

REVIEW – I would hazard a guess that the eternal battle between a clean house and the time to clean isn’t something unique to my family. Add two dogs to the mix and it becomes an exponential problem. Add a roofing project on top of that and now it’s just insult to injury. As luck would have it the Tineco Pure One S12 Smart Vacuum Cleaner showed up for review. Can changing the vacuum we use be the answer we need? Let’s find out.

What is it?

The Pure One S12 is slender stick-type vacuum with a suite of smart features to help in your daily cleaning routine.

What’s in the box?

  1. Tineco Pure One S12 Vaccum
  2. 2500mAh Battery
  3. Spare 2500mAh Battery
  4. Multi-tasker power brush (direct-drive LED)
  5. Main extension tube
  6. Charging station (wall mount)
  7. Mini power brush
  8. 2-in1 dusting brush
  9. Flexible long crevice tool
  10. Crevice tool
  11. Soft dusting brush
  12. Automatic pre-filter cleaning tool
  13. Wall adapter
  14. Mounting hardware for charging station
  15. Manuals

Hardware specs

Batteries – 2500mAh
Rating Power/Max Suction – 500w/150w
Runtime – ≤ 100 minutes with non-motorized tool attachments

Design and features

The overall build and aesthetic immediately feels more current tech and IOT than it does vacuum. Lots of white and black throughout peppered with a good deal of chrome and plenty of LEDs and a touch panel.

Most of the touted features fall into their Smart nomenclature. Smart Suction which automatically adjusts depending on the activity or blockage. Smart battery management which lets you keep an eye on power levels. Smart noise optimization which keeps operational noise to a minimum. And finally, Smart filter self cleaning which lets you use the vacuum to clean its own filters.

The display itself is a central point of information and controls serving up info on battery level, error indicators, suction level, dust monitoring and wifi connection confirmation. At the rear of the vacuum there are two button releases. One is on the bottom and that’s the battery location with the release switch being on the battery itself (shown here in left of photo).

The second is the main Hepa filter which releases the same way (shown on right above). This should need to be cleaned or replaced much less frequently than the pre-filter which is in direct contact with the vacuum’s intake.

The dustbin is released via a lever in front of your middle fingers. Once released it pivots out from the top front. The dustbin opens from the front and has a center cartridge that houses the pre-filter. Disassembling to clean/wide down is pretty easy.

All of the attachments mount to the front of the vacuum with a keyed fitting and nice quick release button that makes swapping accessories very easy. A few of the accessories have built in extension or deployable bristles.

Setup

To get started you want to find a good location to mount the wall hanger. One piece of key information that’s missing prior to purchase is that the wall mount is required for charging. There’s no good way to work around it other than laying it all flat on the floor which isn’t the best for space optimization. Hopefully you have a wall outlet nearby as it’s required. I was able to find a spot in a guest room closed and had to run an extension cord, but the good news is it’s up, charged and running.

Tineco has included some mounting hardware and drywall anchors, but use something appropriate for your situation. Make sure to hang the caddy so that the two charging contacts at the front are at least x” from the floor or it’s possible that the floor attachment could keep the vacuum from docking correctly.

Once your system is mounted, go ahead and hang the vacuum by inserting the top at an angle and then resting it into the cavity so the electrical contacts meet. A sticker on the mount shows you how to do it. You’ll know it’s properly docked because the LED panel on the vacuum will spring to life and show the charging status. You can then insert the 2nd battery into the charging dock on the right side of the wall mount. The LED on the battery will show it’s connected.

Once everything is charged, you’re ready to connect the app (yep, there’s an app). Download from Google Play or the App Store, launch and register for an account to get started.

In the App, click on add a device, then on the vacuum, pull the trigger for 2 seconds to activate it, then remove the dustbin and press the wifi reset button.

It’s possible that you’ll then be able to use your phone to scan barcode on the underside of the vacuum, but on my iPhone I had to jump out to the settings app and connect to the Tineco_xxxx network and then back to the app to enter my network information. If you’re having trouble, check Tineco’s website for troubleshooting (and make sure you’re not on pre-release OS software as it could be the culprit).

Performance

So it’s a vacuum. What makes this one different besides being cordless?

As you go to use it, the first thing you notice is the ergonomics.

The weight is up at the handle which makes it easier to carry from room to room. It also has implications to actual vacuuming, but more on that in a bit. The main extension tube is the right height for standard vacuum lengths and works well for our 5’7″ to 6’3″ family. It uses the same connector at the bottom end which means you can connect the big accessories directly to the vacuum if you want to use it directly on a sofa or a mattress. Very cool.

As you grab the drill-driver type handle and trigger, it’s really easy to squeeze, pull and start it up. You’ll actually find that it’s possibly too easy, but ends up being nice that there isn’t a ton of resistance on your finger.

That’s when you notice the second big thing, or lack thereof; the volume. Most vacuums are loud and in my experience they also have high pitched whines. Maybe it’s been my brand choices in the past, but I’ve had models from Hoover, Electrolux and our current Dyson and they’re all loud enough that I almost want earplugs. Even the iLife robot-vac we have is annoyingly loud and takes forever. By comparison, the S12 is very tolerable and completely without the high-pitch whine that would usually drive me crazy. For me this is a massive benefit that results in me using the vacuum more.

Our main floor is mostly dark hardwood with two area rugs, one sisal and one softer but equally low pile. Our stairs are the same hardwood with independent sisal treads and the bedrooms are all medium pile carpets. Our two dogs definitely create the lions share of our vacuuming needs as they both shed. One is a beagle and the other a white Pyrenees/Lab mix whose hair doesn’t exactly hide on the dark woods.

The S12 kicks on in Auto mode by default and actively adjusts suction depending on what the main power brush detects. As I move from hardwood to carpet that change is audible and it’s nice not to have to flick a switch or step on a button to make the change. Speaking of switches, right next to the trigger is a right-handed thumb switch with keeps the vacuum on without continually pressing the trigger.

The multi-tasker power brush is the primary attachment we’ve been using. The wheels have an inline-skate quality to them, rolling well without the usual plastic sound that makes me wonder if a vacuum’s wheels are damaging the floors. It also disassembles easily to be able to get to any wrapped hair or threads that may start to affect performance which the big display should notify you of.

So let’s discuss this display. It’s a big 4″ round display that lights up any time you press the button or dock it to charge. It’s oriented for you as you’re vacuuming and doesn’t invert when docked to charge which I find funny, but hey that’s something they can hopefully fix with a firmware update. As for info, it displays a battery icon, battery percentage and wifi logo just above the center line.

Just below the centerline is the suction power level indicator shown in a segmented line from left to right (showing a very low power level of 4 in this photo). Just below that is the Auto indicator confirming you’re in that mode. Circling the entire face is the dust monitoring loop which turns from blue to red according to the dust levels.

Should they occur, the centerline to the left of the Tineco logo will present brush roller tangled, air channel blocked, and dust sensor defective icons to let you know there’s something that needs your attention.

Just behind the circular display is a round Auto button and a finger width scalloped recess. This is actually a touch sensor for manual mode.

Slide your finger or thumb in the groove towards the display for more power and away for less. The Auto button is used to return to auto from manual mode. In general Auto mode worked great. The only time we switched out of it was when cleaning the stairs around the stair treads with a crevice tool. Auto mode set it to low and we needed max to get to the dog hair in the corners.

The wall mount works well, and having a second battery hanging out fully charged is super handy for any extended cleaning sessions. The main thing I’ll fault it for is that it only has room for 3 of the 6 attachments included with the kit. Tineco does sell an accessory bag, but there’s not a hanging spot on this mount for it either.

Emptying the dustbin is always a messy affair and while the S12 does have a pretty convenient button to release the bottom and dump it out, you’ll definitely want to be over your trashcan at a minimum and ideally inside it. Here’s how that dustbin opens up.

Tineco did something very cool when it comes to filters. First they provided a additional pre-filter, and second they’ve included an attachment that lets the S12 clean the dirty pre-filter. Here’s a dirty filter installed in the cleaning tool.

Here’s that same filter about 60 seconds later.

The rest of the vacuum disassembles easily when you need to clean or unblock anything.

Let’s return to battle of clean house versus cleaning house. The S12 just bested all the vacuums I’ve had including our Dyson Animal. It’s easy to maneuver, has a very reasonable volume level and has quick change attachments that work. It works great on hardwood and equally well on carpets. It has sped up my clean time and is helping us win the battle.

It is top-heavy and that’s something my wife mentions every time she uses it. The main complaint there is you can’t stand it up and walk away and even leaning it is likely to have it crashing to the floor as the bottom swivel joint is nice and twisty. Let’s wrap this up.

What I like

  • Quiet and without a high pitch whine
  • Easy to steer and navigate under and around obstacles
  • Filter cleaning attachment is great
  • Auto mode works well and the manual adjust is there when needed

What I’d change

  • It’s a bit top-heavy
  • Dustbin is small and needs to emptied frequently
  • Wall station does not have places for all the included attachments
  • A stand-alone battery charger for users without hanging space

Final thoughts

The Tineco PURE ONE S12 vacuum is great. Any quibbles above would not keep me from purchasing this as our main vacuum. The key takeaways is that you should be prepared to empty the bin frequently both because it’s small and because you may find yourself vacuuming more often. Probably not a bad thing.

Price: $599
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Tineco.

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Tineco PURE ONE S12 Smart Vacuum Cleaner review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 29, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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AMAREY A900 Robot Vac review

REVIEW – After spending a month with the AMAREY A900 Robot Vac, I find myself wondering what I did without one. This brilliant little guy does a wonderful job of keeping the floors clean… and it’s smart enough to keep from getting itself into real trouble. To the review!

What is it?

It’s a smart vacuum that happily cleans away, with smart mapping technology to optimize the work for future chores.

What’s in the box?

You get the unit, a docking station, 4 brush heads (2 replacements), two sets of filters (1 replacement), a cleaning tool, and rechargeable batteries. There’s also a remote that you can use if you prefer that over the app.

Hardware specs

  • Cleaning unit: 12.7″ by 12.7″ by 2.9″, 5.7 pounds.
  • Lithium ion rechargeable batteries (included).
  • 100 minutes of operation between charges.
  • 145 degree navigation sensor and VSLAM technology for site mapping.
  • Auto-adjustable suction for different surfaces.
  • Compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant.

Design and features

The AMAREY A900 Robot Vac is a bluetooth enabled smart vacuum that takes care of your cleaning duties. It’s got a nice slick profile with a single power/function button on the top face.

Looking underneath (pardon the mess, it’s been working!) you’ll see a bit more of the mechanics powering the beastie. The vacuum roller sits to the rear of the unit with a pair of edging brushes on the front face to gather the dirty bits. A 360 degree pivot wheel sits in the nose, with a pair of spring-loaded wheels on the sides that adjust to floor height. A bumper on the front face detects hard objects, redirecting the unit’s course of travel.

Assembly is simple. You snap the edge brushes into place and insert the batteries, and you’re ready to charge.

The docking station plugs into a standard outlet. We have our vacuum patrolling the second floor of the house, so we plugged it into a wall socket in the hall.

Those metal tabs on the docking station align with tabs on the base unit for charging. The light turns blue in normal function, and purple when power is running low.

The receptacle for the dirt and grunge pops out of the back of the unit by pushing down on a thumb lock.

You’ll find a pre-filter and sponge filter here that can be removed and cleaned.

Pop loose the drawer to empty the nasties between cleanings.

Nothing feels cheap in any components of the construction. At a total weight of about 6 pounds, it’s a solid unit that’s also pretty nimble as we’ll see in the tests. The vacuum also has a pleasant female speaking voice that notifies you when it starts, runs, or gets stuck. We’ve taken to calling her “Amy,” which seems appropriate.

Once you’ve charged the unit you can get started on that cleaning. It does include a remote control, but where’s the fun in that when you can control it from an app? Scan the QR code in the manual to download the app, pair it up, and you’re ready to get to work. Simple and efficient.

Performance

So here’s where the fun begins. Open up the app and you’ll find all of your options in an easy-to-use interface. You can control the movements via the remote if you want to play with it, but we went right to the app. Just hit that “Auto” button to get started.

The vacuum then begins its journey. The first time out it wanders around a bit, mapping out the space. As the unit maps out the space, it remembers the map and learns how to do it in a more efficient pattern for future runs. If it encounters trouble like a table leg, it simply backs up ad readjusts until it has mapped a track around the item.

The low profile makes it easy to get under bedframes and the like. Here it is running under my son’s bed, making short work of all the dog hair and who knows what else collects under a teenager’s bed. Ick.

It’s also pretty smart about not getting itself into trouble. It does come with a strip of rubberized material that you can put down for “no-go” areas, and we thought we would need to use that to keep it from taking a nosedive down the stairs. But it has sensors for that! When the unit notices a sudden drop it stops, backs up and corrects its path.

Here it found the edge of the step, made a left, and continued on its way. It remembers this for the next time, too.

It’s really good at managing other transitions. Here the little fella has wandered into our bathroom. Note that it navigated the transition from carpet to linoleum, and the transition from linoleum to our shaggy carpet rug. It will also adjust the suction power based on the surface, which is nice. You can manually set the suction power in the app, but we haven’t seen a need for that yet.

As the unit does work it updates a map you can review on the app. You can see here how it has run through the entire second floor of our house. And if it starts to run out of juice, it will drag itself back to the docking station for a recharge… and then come back to finish the job.

As it wanders along, it will speak to you if it runs into trouble. It also sends an alert to the app, as seen below. What I really like is that it doesn’t push the limits. When in doubt, it just shuts down and waits for human assistance. Note the second alert below… we picked it up mid-flight, and it let us know.

If you want to fully automate the cleaning, you can create a repeating cleaning schedule. You can also adjust the suction level if you like for more or less powerful operation. The device will get about 100 minutes of cleaning time before requiring a recharge.

A month of regular service and the AMAREY A900 Robot Vac is performing like a champ. It survived my dog’s shedding season with nary a whimper. The dirt chamber does require regular emptying given the smaller size, but more frequent cleaning compensates for that.

What I like

  • Simple, brainless and painless operation
  • Sophisticated sensor system keeps it out of trouble
  • Easy to empty the dirt tray and clean the filters

What I’d change

  • Catch chamber for dirt and stuff requires regular emptying, but does seem generous for the size of the unit

Final thoughts

Smart vacuums are not an inexpensive investment, and the AMAREY A900 Robot Vac will set you back around $400. But at that price you’re getting a pretty sophisticated piece of technology that handles roadblocks, multiple cleaning surfaces, and other hazards with ease. I am a huge fan of the plug-and-play nature of this unit. No manual mapping of the areas or other “training” required; it does all the work for you and gets smarter as it learns. If only my teenager was as easy to manage…

Price: $389.99
Where to buy: Buy it now on Amazon.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Amarey.

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AMAREY A900 Robot Vac review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 17, 2019 at 9:00 am.

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