iRobot 12501 Looj 125 Remote Controlled Cordless Electric Gutter Cleaning Robot With Belt Clip
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of iRobot 12501 Looj 125 Remote Controlled Cordless Electric Gutter Cleaning Robot With Belt Clip
Customer Review: Does just what it's supposed to
Summary: 4 Stars
We got a Looj a month ago and have used it 3 times. That's 3 trips up and down a ladder instead of the 24 or so trips I would have made cleaning the gutters the old way. The thing works, period.
I read some reviews where people mentioned the Looj tipping over or not working very well. I just think you have to have reasonable expectations. It's not a 35-pound powerhouse. It's plastic and light. You'll want to keep your eye on it when you're running it and you'll need to run it back-and-forth a few times if the leaves are wet and/or plentiful. Just read and follow the directions and pay attention and it'll be fine.
Someone else wrote this and it is true ... the Looj won't save you much time but in using it I haven't had to move the ladder once. Well worth the price!
Customer Review: Doesn't save time but makes gutter cleaning safer... wear safety glasses!
Summary: 4 Stars
Before you decide whether you want to invest the money in a gutter cleaning "robot" do yourself a favor and measure your gutters to see if the Looj will fit. iRobot has a really convenient print out that shows the dimensions and will allow you to cut out the template to easily measure your gutter's width/depth and whether the Looj will make it under your gutter straps, nails or however they are hung. You can find it on iRobot's website in the Looj 125/135/155 product description. I had a link to the PDF but Amazon wouldn't let me include it in my review. Sorry.
Once you know the device will fit in your gutter and won't get stuck, then read the reviews and decide if it's worth the money.
For me, the Looj has done a great job on my gutters. It will, however, NOT save you ANY time and could potentially take longer than it would if you repositioned the ladder. The difference is that the Looj makes the process of gutter cleaning an order of magnitude safer than what most people are accustomed to. The Looj is also technically not a robot; it's more of a remote controlled car that works for you. You can't set it and forget it like you can iRobot's Roomba.
The way the device works is you first must charge the battery. This requires you to plug it into the outlet with just the bare battery; you cannot plug the Looj into the wall as you would with iRobot's other 'bots such as the Roomba. The reason being is that the Looj is waterproof up to 1 foot (12 inches, or roughly 31 cm). In order to accomplish this, iRobot couldn't design this as affordably as it is given the need to waterproof the electrical plug as well.
The battery requires a charge of at least 15 hours. I'm unsure as to the reasoning behind this, but it could be because of battery "memory." The Looj is a device that you won't be using every week of the year. You will be using it during certain seasons, with the Looj being retired after the last leaves fall from the trees and started back up in spring (potentially). If the battery had what is known as "memory," you would potentially need to buy a new battery every year. This battery will deplete itself gradually, so when bringing the Looj out of a winter's retirement you will need to recharge it and NOT buy a new battery.
One complaint from the first generation of Looj was you were expected to ONLY charge it 15 hours. No more, no less. I'm not sure how anyone could really keep track of this. The new Looj needs 15 hours to charge but now it's OK to leave it plugged in "for no more than a few days." Hopefully during a 3 day period you're home to unplug it. I have no idea what will happen if you leave it plugged in longer; probably a shorter battery life over all.
You will also need 2 AAA batteries (NOT included) for the remote control device. Install these into the handle/remote.
Once you've charged the battery, you place it into the Looj's battery compartment (follow the directions to ensure proper water proof-ness of the Looj). Attach the belt clip to your belt or pants, attach the Looj's auger to the Looj (the auger is that funny brush/rubber contraption and does all the work), attach the remote control to the Looj (it's a convenient handle) and hang the Looj from the belt clip. The clip for the Looj to hang from is on the opposite end of the auger. Do NOT attempt to hang the Looj from the remote control handle.
One complaint I have with regards to the clip is that it is very easy to pull not only the Looj off of the clip, but it's easy to take the clip with it, which makes it potentially dangerous as you fumble around on the ladder. I cannot recommend enough that if you go with the Looj, prior to climbing the ladder ensure you are acquainted with easily removing it from the clip so as to avoid any danger.
Another complaint with the belt clip is that you are expected to place the Looj, after running it through your dirty, mucky gutters, on the clip. This WILL bring the dirty, wet Looj into contact with your pants leg and possibly your shirt as well. Be sure to wear clothes you don't mind having to wash when doing this job. iRobot has a holster for the previous model that should protect you from dirty clothes and won't detach the belt clip with it but I'm unsure whether this will snuggly hold the second generation Looj.
Place your ladder. It is recommended that for larger sections of ladder you try and place the ladder in the middle of the gutter run so you can have the Looj travel the full length of the gutter from a central location. One of iRobot's design goals with this 'bot is to set the ladder ONCE and not have to reposition every time.
One thing I would like to stress is that if you are using this device, BUY AND WEAR SAFETY GLASSES. The Looj will be throwing debris out of the gutter at potentially high speeds and if you have wind you have the potential for blow back. If you get dirt and debris in your eyes, climbing down the ladder becomes infinitely more dangerous.
Once your ladder is placed, ascend it and clean a 2 foot space in the gutter and place the Looj in the center of the gutter. Ensure it rests in the bottom groove as securely as possible. If you don't do this, the Looj could possibly climb out of the gutter and damage itself, nearby plants or even a nearby bystander.
Remove the remote control. Turn the remote control on. Turn the robot on (there's a yellow switch). When you look at the remote, you will see a forward and reverse button. You will also see 2 options for the auger control. One goes clockwise the other counter clockwise. Before moving the Looj forward, decide which direction you want it to toss debris. The recommended method is to have it toss the debris off the roof instead of onto it. You can reverse the auger while using the Looj, making it so once you've complete 1/2 your gutter you place the Looj in the other 1/2 and toss the debris in the opposite direction (still away from the house).
If the Looj gets stuck in muck, put the Looj in reverse. If you still can't free it from the muck, put the Looj in reverse and the auger flipping in the direction opposite of the way you had it running when it got stuck. I have saved the Looj from a few close calls and have never had to get on the roof or reposition the ladder to retrieve it. Have patience.
The remote has a 75 foot (roughly 23 meters) range. This can be "extended" on aluminum gutters by placing and holding the remote to the gutter. I have not needed this as 75 feet is plenty of range on my rancher.
Move the Looj forward with the auger spinning (tossing away from the house). Take areas with lots of debris SLOWLY. iRobot claims that this model is smart enough to slow itself down in areas but I've found that it doesn't always slow itself enough, sometimes beginning to ride up some of the debris and potentially OUT of the gutter. That wouldn't be good.
Stay on the ladder while doing this job; otherwise you won't see when Looj is approaching a potentially dangerous fall. You may only need to set the ladder once, but you do need to stay on it while it works to avoid accidents.
Once you've moved the Looj to the end of the gutter, use the remote to put it into reverse and bring it back to you. Place the Looj on the other side of the gutter you're cleaning, change the direction the auger is spinning to ensure it's throwing muck away from the house, and move it forward just as you did the first side.
Be aware that you WILL make everything in throwing range of the Looj dirty with muck. This will require cleaning the front porch, back deck or anything you may park in your driveway within "spitting" range. Move anything far enough away from the gutters to avoid messy clean up. Of course you'd have some of this if you just ran your hands through the gutters and tossed the debris yourself... it would be a little less haphazard though.
I have also found that using the Looj in wet gutters is better than in dry gutters. This is because in my gutters I've found the really dry areas have cakes of debris in the gutter which the Looj can take some time to clean. The caveat is that it's obviously easier to clean dry debris off of a back deck than it is wet, but be aware that you lessen the cleaning potential of the Looj using it in dry gutters (assuming you get debris cakes like I do baked onto your gutter; if all you have is leaves and pine needles, you should be fine dry Loojing).
Beware of pine cones. If you have pine cones in your gutter and they are situated in just the wrong way, the Looj won't clear them from the gutter and will also potentially ride up onto the pine cone, again giving you the potentially of the Looj escaping from the gutter and diving to its death.
The differences between the models is what is included in the box:
125 - Looj, auger, remote control, 1 rechargeable battery, belt clip
135 - all of the above with 2 augers (instead of 1) and a nice rugged case (looks like a tool box)
155 - all of the 135 features AND 2 batteries instead of 1
The robot itself, in all three models, is EXACTLY the same as the other models. The only difference is the above included items.
In the end, if I had to decide to get the Looj or not, I would definitely buy again. I just hope the 3rd gen includes some way for the Looj to sense when it's preparing itself for a suicide leap from the gutter and a faster charging battery.
Pros:
Robot does all the work
Set the ladder ONCE (well, once per area of gutter)
Easy to use
Does a much better job than most humans at cleaning a gutter
Gutter cleaning is a much safer job
Cons:
Long battery charge
Can't leave battery plugged in over long periods of time
Looj can have problems with pine cones and twigs in gutters
Can jump itself out of the gutter if you don't keep your eye on it
Belt clip can leave you dirty
Doesn't really save time
Everything beneath or near the gutter will be dirty; extra clean up time needed
Customer Review: Flings muck all over, doesn't necessarily fit all gutters
Summary: 2 Stars
After noticing that my new house had completely clogged gutters, I rushed to the computer to buy the Looj. I'm a huge iRobot fan, and the price point was low enough I didn't have to ask my wife's permission!
I couldn't rush out and use "my new toy" because the battery takes 15 hours to charge.
I just used it for the first time, and was pretty impressed. First-off, it is definitely NOT a toy. It's pretty darned effective, when it works.
However, there were a few complicating factors.
1) Some of my gutters are too thin for the Looj, so I have to do them by hand.
2) The house has these nifty ice melting wires right on the edge of the shingles... and the Looj kept getting caught in them. I was usually able to free it by turning the auger backwards (slinging muck on the side of the roof) and reversing direction, but I had to free it up by hand a few times.
3) For really mucked up areas, even the mighty Looj was outgunned.
4) What it got, it did really well. But that auger... just slung the muck away from the roof. Onto me (even though I was standing 15 feet away), onto the car (which had to be washed anyway), and onto the patio (which my wife is ready to kill me for!)
So all in all, iRobot has a really good start here, but not everyone can use it... and even for those that can, I'd suggest waiting until they come up with a model with a built in garbage bag before you get one!
Customer Review: Great for hard to reach gutters
Summary: 4 Stars
I was very skeptical when I first read about this product, but on the basis of an article in Handyman Magazine I ordered it. My gutters were very full of decomposing leaves and the irobot did what it said. Granted that I had to take several passes to get everything out of the gutters, but in the future I plan on regularly cleaning my gutters and it should be a snap.My only complaint is that the process is messier than the description leads you believe it will be. Wear protective goggles and old clothes,Customer Review: Great idea but doesn't decrease work
Summary: 2 Stars
This is a great idea for a robot. I recently put gutters on my two story home which is shaded by a giant tree. After 3 months of Springtime leaf shedding, I saw that I needed to clean the gutters so I thought Looj would be better than using my hands and moving the ladder every 5 feet.
When unboxing the Looj it looked pretty well made. After charging the battery for 16 hours, I climbed my 30ft ladder and had to scoop out a spot for the Looj in my gutters. It worked well for a couple feet but hit a dense spot of leaves and started climbing out of the gutter. After reversing the auger direction and continuously trying to break up the pile of leaves, I had no luck and had to move the ladder over to clear it by hand. At this time, the battery cover for the remote fell off and got lost in my yard for a while, which was very annoying. After finally finding the cover and batteries which fell out, I couldn't get the cover to stay put so had to continuously apply pressure (I guess I could have gone inside and taped it shut). For the less dense areas of leaves I was successful in getting the Looj to clean the gutters. However, when it hit more dense areas, the Looj would stop traveling and its auger would stop as if the motor overheated. I say that because it would work fine after waiting about 20 seconds.
With the battery cover refusing to stay latched and the Looj's inability to cut through dense leaves without me having to reposition my ladder, I don't think the Looj will be worth the money. I also have reliability concerns with the rubber tracks rubbing against sharp parts within my gutters. I would rather have spent the money on a lightweight mulching blower/vacuum (Toro Super Recycler) with extension tubes, which is what I will do. That way I won't have to clean up leaves either.