Bissell ICONpet robot vacuum

[piokrza]

[ps0001]

Interesting... I wonder how well those "tangle free" brushes work. They look similar to the brush on my cordless Dyson, and I have to clear pet fur off that about once a week. If iRobot ever releases something like the i7+ with brushes that can actually avoid or automatically clear tangles, it would be a game changer for me.

[piokrza]

If iRobot ever releases something like the i7+ with brushes that can actually avoid or automatically clear tangles, it would be a game changer for me.

Rubber "anti-tangle" rollers were supposed to do it, didn't they?
Bissell uses this large diameter roller in many their vacuums, incl. corded upright and cordless stick since few years. They even named them "Pet" series, telling they won't tangle most (short) pet hair because of large roller diameter.
I see the vacuum inlet behind this brush is very small. Although it don't clog. It must use very strong suction, similar to upright vacs.

[ps0001]

The rubber brushes/rollers/"extractors" are certainly easier to clean--the fur slides right off in most cases--but longer pet fur still wraps around them. I have to manually clean the brushes in my i7 every 3-4 days, which is one reason I didn't opt for the i7+; it wouldn't be fully automatic for me no matter what. Most of my house is hard flooring (tile and LVP), but there are a couple of short-pile area rugs. I noticed that the problem with the i7 rollers is worse if I don't vacuum the rugs beforehand, so now part of my daily routine is manually vacuuming the rugs with the cordless Dyson I mentioned earlier.

I think one of the Samsung models had some kind of anti-tangle feature that physically cut fur wrapped around its brushes. I was always curious how well it worked. Still, even if iRobot could keep fur off the rollers, the fibers still clog the the front caster wheel and side brush, and eventually they get packed into the bearings holding the rollers. All of these things could be overcome with careful engineering, but I don't think that'll happen anytime soon.

[piokrza]

Still, even if iRobot could keep fur off the rollers, the fibers still clog the the front caster wheel and side brush, and eventually they get packed into the bearings holding the rollers. All of these things could be overcome with careful engineering, but I don't think that'll happen anytime soon.

Roomba S9 have the caster wheel behind the rollers.

[ps0001]

Yeah, that's certainly a step in the right direction, but I'm sure I'd still have to manually clean an S9 every few days.

[ymyplace2]

Bissell looks solid, but when the rubber hits the road it still needs some adjustments. Namely modding those brush rollers, modding hardware and modding software.

[piokrza]

I prefer old-fashioned bristle roller. I had Roomba 870 in the past and it was horrible on area rugs.
You probably have not seen their uprights. Check people reviews them on youtube. They designed this robot with upright tech. It's large diameter brush is used in conventional upright bagless vacuums with success. I'm only concerned about their software. Is it any good? Roomba or Neato based? Or Dyson? Woof.

[glnc222]

Bissell makes some good floor care products but robotics is a new specialty for these established companies. There is no mention in specs how it navigates and it does not appear in pictures to have a camera. It may be a random navigation type, though inertial guidance and what not have added variations on that theme in some cases. A review at a company website was critical of the navigation
https://www.bissell.com/bissell-iconpet ... 2291A.html
Interesting it has a cyclone extraction system similar to Samsung and Dyson.

[piokrza]

It has a large diameter roller brush what is a premium advantage over other non-tangle solutions. iRobot uses two rubber rollers with short ribs which do not work as they were supposed. Samsung uses real blades to cut off the hair. Bissell uses the simplest solution - brush as large in diameter as it could not hold any hair wrapped around it.

I have Dyson V7 stick vac and it has the same. Old V6 had small diameter brush and it tangled hairs all the way it can. Since I have V7 I noticed a lot less hairs tangles around large diameter brush.

[Brett]

... iRobot uses two rubber rollers with short ribs which do not work as they were supposed ...

I think they work exactly as they are supposed to! This is because they are not a non-tangle solution, but more for maximising the airflow velocity for a given blower flow.

[glnc222]

Bissell makes the same extraction brush in a stick vacuum. It is getting to be a standard strategy to take stick vacuums and add a robotic drive mechanism.

There is not enough video of this bot navigating but what there is shows it moving in straight lines and not turning at random, but reversing direction to cover areas, and moving along walls.

As a $700 robot there are camera navigation robots with which it competes, so I would demand more thorough information about its features, batteries etc. How well does it move on thick carpets for instance.

The Samsung knife hair cutting system has been reported not to work on fluffy cat hair, though it apparently works on dog hair.

[piokrza]

I think they work exactly as they are supposed to! This is because they are not a non-tangle solution, but more for maximising the airflow velocity for a given blower flow.

This is my opinion. For me it does not work as I wanted it to do. I prefer old-style Roomba 500/600/700 with old brush deck equipped with standard bristle brushes. In my experience it is better on carpets. Human hairs get tangled around both types of brushes.

Bissell makes the same extraction brush in a stick vacuum. It is getting to be a standard strategy to take stick vacuums and add a robotic drive mechanism.

Just like Dyson. Their 360 robots seem to not only have the same brush-type (red hard nylon bristles & black carbon filaments), but also motor design, suction power (22 Air Watts, similar to V6/V7/V8), multicyclones and bin capacity (0.4L).

There is not enough video of this bot navigating but what there is shows it moving in straight lines and not turning at random, but reversing direction to cover areas, and moving along walls.

Some reviewers uploaded pictures showing straight, parallel lines on carpet after vacuuming.

[ps0001]

I have Dyson V7 stick vac and it has the same. Old V6 had small diameter brush and it tangled hairs all the way it can. Since I have V7 I noticed a lot less hairs tangles around large diameter brush.

Are the brushes really that different? I watched a few comparison videos on YouTube and it looks like the Dyson V6 and V7 have very similar brushes. I have a V6 that I actually use to "pre-vacuum" a couple of area rugs before my i7 gets to them. This gets the bulk of the dog fur off and makes it less likely to clog the i7's rollers. I suppose it's pretty good at avoiding clogs, I still clean the V6's brushes once a week or so--whenever there's a noticeable decrease in cleaning power.

I wish iRobot would develop something like the i7--round--but with a rear caster wheel, a mechanism to keep hair/fur from accumulating on the rollers, and perhaps a new type of side brush. If they made a robot that could clean without me interacting with it for, say, thirty days, despite the dog fur in my house, I'd be on board in a heart beat.

I think they work exactly as they are supposed to! This is because they are not a non-tangle solution, but more for maximising the airflow velocity for a given blower flow.

Well, they were specifically advertised as "tangle-free debris extractors" on iRobot's website (I just looked up the term from a 2016 version of their website on archive.org). They might not be "tangle-free", but I'd argue they're much easier to clean than brushes with bristles. With my i7, it takes under thirty seconds to clean both rollers; whereas with my old 530 (with AeroVac upgrade, or whatever it's called), it would take a few minutes to clean both brushes.

[piokrza]

Are the brushes really that different? I watched a few comparison videos on YouTube and it looks like the Dyson V6 and V7 have very similar brushes.

Yes, I see the difference in my environment, although I have quite short male hairs only, no pets. Plus, it is much more easier to push that large diameter roller than the small head. It's also more powerful, because 35 Watts instead of 20 Watts makes a difference.

I have a V6 that I actually use to "pre-vacuum" a couple of area rugs before my i7 gets to them. This gets the bulk of the dog fur off and makes it less likely to clog the i7's rollers.

In my opinion this excludes the sense of having a cleaning robot.

I wish iRobot would develop something like the i7--round--but with a rear caster wheel, a mechanism to keep hair/fur from accumulating on the rollers, and perhaps a new type of side brush. If they made a robot that could clean without me interacting with it for, say, thirty days, despite the dog fur in my house, I'd be on board in a heart beat.

Didn't they do it with S9+ ?

Well, they were specifically advertised as "tangle-free debris extractors" on iRobot's website (I just looked up the term from a 2016 version of their website on archive.org). They might not be "tangle-free", but I'd argue they're much easier to clean than brushes with bristles. With my i7, it takes under thirty seconds to clean both rollers; whereas with my old 530 (with AeroVac upgrade, or whatever it's called), it would take a few minutes to clean both brushes.

For people like me, with very short or bald male hair only, no pets, it doesn't make difference because almost none hairs get tangled.

[ps0001]

In my opinion this excludes the sense of having a cleaning robot.

I understand that opinion, but I only vacuum <10% of the total floor area by hand. The Roomba still does all the rest on its own. I wouldn't have the patience or will to manually clean the other >90% every single day, but the Roomba does.

Didn't they do it with S9+ ?

No, the only thing the S9 has is a rear caster. Otherwise, it's not round, hair/fur will still accumulate on the rollers, and it still uses a side brush.

For people like me, with very short or bald male hair only, no pets, it doesn't make difference because almost none hairs get tangled.

Sure, my in-laws have a 600 series Roomba in a home with no pets and they never have the clean the brushes. On the other hand, their floors don't get as dirty in the first place. The Roomba is a nice gadget for them, but my i7 is almost essential. I have a dog who is a heavy shedder, so if the Roomba didn't do its job on a daily basis, fur would start accumulating instantly.

[Brett]

... Well, they were specifically advertised as "tangle-free debris extractors" on iRobot's website

I'd pay no attention to the names that they come up with - that sh!t comes from the marketing dept, not the engineers.

Take when the early R3 machines came out, and the CHM's had terrible life. They designed improvements to try solve the issues. But they didn't withdraw all the produced "old" pre-modification units and replace them with the new. No, they called the new one the "Pet" model, knowing full well that many pet owners love their little critters and would readily accept that they should be paying more because of it. This spawned a whole "genre" of "Pet" models that is still found in the nasty cheapies today.

Marketing people know that "Pet model" earns a premium price, engineering calling it the "This is what we should have designed in the first place" doesn't...

(-8

[glnc222]

Some details found in manual:
1. Cameras -- "digitalvision" sensors on the sides in front, with separate IR sensors on the middle turret.
So it may have some sophistication in navigation, would have to see. [edit] see next post poor navigation.
2. Small washable filter, more than one in box, besides the cyclone extraction. Similar to Samsung, Dyson.
3. Run time 90-60-30 minutes hard floor (low suction, medium, high) -- similar to Samsung. Drag on carpets can reduce some, needs testing.
4. Replacement batteries etc. not listed at website -- typical when new as no one will order for a couple years yet.
Capacity not listed. About a 3-4 in. cube size, similar to Samsung. Guessing at least 3ah lithium, maybe more.
5. Warning not for use on deep pile carpets -- standard with small wheel robots sunk into rugs.
Unusual notice: "You may need to use a lower power level if your robot keeps reporting an error on high pile carpet" I guess if suction is pulling it down? Sign of high suction?
6. Automatic power adjustment for different floor types, carpet vs hard floor etc. Similar to other high end robots.
7. Brush has bristles but no blades like combo brushes on other vacuums.

[edit] Suction power listed at 7000pa, compare to 8300Pa on Samsung R9350 largest Powerbot. The 9000 series Powerbots appear to be discontinued, with stock remaining at Amazon but not at Best Buy or Samsung U.S. website. Only the newer smaller 7000 series, lower profile, only 3510Pa suction -- much cheaper. Not sure it makes much difference on hard floors swept with brushes.

[edit] Bissell has an older Roomba imitation EV675 round with side brushes, half the price of new iConPet. Not yet in stores. Looks like joining the crowd moving to the square front style and higher power, more sensors, like other makers.

[glnc222]

Navigation poor according to review on Bissell's own website https://www.bissell.com/bissell-iconpet ... ews-anchor
Remarkable the company would post a negative review of its own product, maybe a good sign.

I received a trial unit of the Bissell ICONpet Robotic vacuum ... the algorithm that it uses meant that cleaning the floors happens entirely at random. By this I mean that it seems to go straight, hits a wall, backs up, turns, and repeats. After an hour of running, the ICONpet only covered maybe 20% of the floors ... after a handful of attempts, there are plenty of areas that were never touched by the device. ... I'm thinking that the algorithm could be fixed, and an update pushed out, but for now while the ICONpet has a very good vacuum, the execution is where it fails. Navigation is poor, corners and along baseboards won't ever get touched, and it can run a long time without ever the floor done. Wish it worked better!

Not shipping yet, as of June 27, 2020 "available soon".

[hwillson]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it. I really had come to know about the Bissell ICONpet robot vacuum. It seems to be a new entry in the Bissell family of vacuums. I use Bissell Zing Rewind the canister vacuum for pet hair.