iRobot Looj Electric Gutter Cleaning Robot #12101
by iRobot
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of iRobot Looj Electric Gutter Cleaning Robot #12101
Customer Review: Having Fun With The Looj
Summary: 4 Stars
I wrote about the Looj, the gutter cleaning robot from the makers of of the Roomba, about a year ago. How can you not get excited about a gutter cleaning robot?
I was waiting for it to show up at the local Lowe's so could look at it hands-on before I bought it, but fall was upon me once again and i had gutters to clean.
I found it for $99 at Amazon with free shipping. Amazon has a great and simple return policy so I went for it. It showed up in a pretty bug box and I unpacked it with great anticipation. The unit is pretty simple - a battery pack (NiCad, interestingly), a rubber auger attachment, a remote that snaps onto the main body, and a charger. It also comes with a belt holster if you want to really geek out. The charging cycle before use is quite long so I charged it overnight and figured my son and I could give it a go the next morning.
I have an older house, circa 1966, although the separate garage was re-built in 1990 after a fire. My first stop was the garage, which is built into a hill, so it's very easy to set the Looj into the gutter toward the back and make any adjustments. I kept in mind one of the comments on Amazon - "make sure you keep your mouth closed when you start it" - yuck! The Looj settled nicely into the gutter, which had a good layer of rotting pine needles in it. It has two treads on the bottom and using the remote you can go forward and back, and adjust the direction of the auger.
Two things that drive the effectiveness of the Looj:
1) Gutter bracket height - the Looj is very low profile (2.25") but if your brackets are bent or obstructed then you'll have a problem here.
2) Gutter width - iRobot now has a template on their site for you to measure yourself, but the Looj will only work if the flat bottom part of your gutter is at least 3.25" wide.
I didn't have a problem on the garage - the Looj worked fine. It made a tremendous racket and mess but that was fun for both of us. It gave my car a good splatter. You have to go back and forth to really get the stuff out but it does work.
I wasn't so lucky on the main house with point #2. These still had older gutters and they didn't have the width I needed. The Looj didn't sit flat on the bottom and therefore didn't have the traction it needed. If it's not sitting flat it will also turn over in the gutter. If I couldn't use it on my house I couldn't keep it.
A new 22' fiberglass ladder will run you over $200. Plus, it's dangerous. If your gutters are wide enough I would definitely get a Looj and give it a go. If it doesn't work for you then the Amazon.com return policy is easy - just repack, slap on a return label and you're done. Plus, it's a fun thing to do with your kid!
iRobot Looj Electric Gutter Cleaning Robot #12101
Customer Review: All products from iRobot are not as good as otherd
Summary: 1 Stars
I have had a Roomba for 2 years and love it. Keeps up with the dog hair on the carpet. I love my iRobot pool cleaner, much less work and far more effective than the previous one. I cannot say the same for the gutter cleaner. It is poorly designed and poorly executed.
1. You have to take the battery out and charge it exactly 14 hours.
2. I cleaned a space and put it in a 1/3 to 1/2 full gutter.Despite running it forward and backward and reversing the auger, it only cleaned out half of the debree which was not even tightly packed.
3. I constantly lost traction in both directions and the antenna hung up on the gutter supports.
4. It was totally ineffective, more trouble than it was worth. I wound up doing the job by hand.
By my reckoning, a total failure and an ill considered addition to The fine iRobot line.
Jim Neptune Beach Florida
Customer Review: iRobot Looj makes cleaning gutters much safer.
Summary: 4 Stars
The iRobot Looj Electric Gutter cleaner is an excellent way of making gutter cleaning safer. It is a very sturdy tool that made my job of cleaning difficult spots much safer. It also ate through a lot of gunk that had built up over months.
It also is a great price for a great tool.
Cautions for users are:
1) The Looj can get stuck if the gutters have cords in them (e.g. cable wires) or bent alumninum, etc. If it does get stuck, it's easy to get out, but you'll have to get on the roof or use a ladder. I tried to add a string to it that could retrieve it if stuck, but that got tangled a couple of times.
2) Has the tendency to flip if debris is thick. But that's Ok - as it's symmetrical. It's easy to keep it going by using the opposite drive direction for the tracks.
3) Handle doesn't lock in easily - which makes it possible to drop when taking it down the ladder - use the belt hook!
Customer Review: It Really, Really Works!!
Summary: 5 Stars
It really, really works! I put it in my gutters and the thing really works. It would be nice if it would turn corners, but for the most part, I was very impressed with the job it did and so was my neighbor!
If you tie a string to the back of it, then you can retrieve it if it gets stuck or flips over.
Customer Review: Worked well
Summary: 4 Stars
The ground around my house slopes to varying degrees, making ladder setup a chore, and (along with the two-story construction) making gutter cleaning somewhat more dangerous than I'd like. Always thoughtful, and interested in protecting our home and my life, my wife got me the Looj for Father's Day.
I finally got around to using it this past weekend - the delay in part due to several failures to plan ahead properly for the 15-hour charge.
I hadn't cleaned the gutters in quite a while - almost a year. They weren't packed full of gunk, but they were pretty full - in some places filled to the brim. I chose the lowest section of gutter for the pilot test, climbed up the ladder, put the Looj into a spot I cleared by hand, and (remaining at the top of the ladder so I could see what was happening to the thing) put it to work.
I'll admit I was a bit surprised by the force with which it flung debris into my face, but I quickly learned to keep my mouth and eyes closed when starting it up. And then away it went, cleaning the gutters.
I watched it carefully - when it seemed to be riding up on something, or beginning to slow, I'd back it off and take another run. Within three minutes, the gutter was clean.
But honestly, that gutter was easy - located away from the trees, it was probably the cleanest stretch of all. The real test came next - 30 feet of *very* clogged gutter.
But again, the Looj had no real problem. It got stuck once when I became overly aggressive and jammed the auger between a clump of debris and the gutter hanger (causing me to have to rescue it) and the antenna got stuck on unseen obstacles a couple of times (but working the Looj back and forth freed it). It also flipped over once or twice, but that didn't seem to adversely affect its performance - forward became reverse, but it did keep the antenna out of harm's way. Fifteen minutes later, there was a ton of debris in the yard, and virtually none in the gutter.
After that, the rest of the gutters were easy.
I'd recommend the Looj to anyone who has a hard time keeping their gutters clean - whether because of uneven ground, fear of heights, lots of trees, lack of time, or relatively limited mobility (as often comes with age). With the Looj (and a tether), you only really need to set up, and get up, the ladder once per straight stretch of gutter. That makes me very happy.
I do recommend the tether, because there were a few times I thought I was going to have to rescue the Looj (though it freed itself all but once). I also recommed staying at the top of the ladder if you can stand it, because it really helps to be able to see what the Looj is up against and what position it's in.
A few minor difficulties aside, I have to say that I'm very pleased with the Looj. I'm actually looking forward to cleaning the gutters again in the Fall.