Comparison cleaning Machines

General type of machine. This parameter describes the principle of operation and/or the general purpose of the unit.

Classic cleaning machines (not robots) nowadays can be of the following types: sweepers(including household sweepers), vacuum sweepers, scrubber dryers(they also have a household scrubbers), as well as window cleaning devices (“ window vacuum cleaners ” ). In addition, special cleaning robots are produced — window robots, robot mops and pool robots. Here is a more detailed description of each of these options:

— Sweeper. Broom machines: moving brushes sweep debris from the floor, sidewalk or other surfaces, collecting it in a special container. Such units are extremely simple. Most of them generally have a mechanical drive (see below). And from the simplicity of the design follow such advantages as light weight, low cost, reliability and ease of maintenance/repair. On the other hand, in terms of cleaning efficiency, such a device is inferior to the same vacuum sweepers. Most models from this category are designed for large open spaces, including outdoors; for small volumes of cleaning and with an abundance of hard-to-reach places, it is...better to use the household version of sweepers (see below)

— Household sweeper. A variation of the sweepers described above, designed for use in residential apartments, small offices and other similar conditions, where a conventional sweeper would be too cumbersome. Household models in design resemble somewhat improved mops. Most of them look like a working nozzle mounted on a long handle. The dimensions of the nozzle are usually small, in width and height, it is comparable to the brush of a vacuum cleaner, which allows you to remove debris effectively even in hard-to-reach places. The performance and capacity of such devices are rather low. However, taking into account the specifics of the application, this disadvantage cannot be called critical.

— Vacuum sweepers. Machines that combine sweeping and suction during operation, in other words, work both like a broom and like a vacuum cleaner: garbage and dust are collected by brushes, then, due to the airflow, the garbage is drawn into the container. It increases the efficiency of cleaning compared to sweepers. However, the machines themselves are heavier and more expensive, and the mechanical drive is not applicable in them — an engine is required to operate the suction system.

— Scrubbers. Machines for wet cleaning non-carpet floors (linoleum, laminate, marble, etc.). The classic scrubbing machine works as follows: water with detergent is supplied to the floor through the sprayer in the front of the unit, the wetted surface is brushed, after which the dirty water is collected by a special device at the rear of the unit, and drawn into a separate tank. It leaves a clean, fast-drying floor immediately behind the machine. In addition, this category also includes the so-called single discs — devices designed to process the floor, mainly with the help of rotating brushes. Such units may provide the possibility of supplying water or detergent to the brush, but there is no suction system; so single disc machines are originally intended for relatively simple cleaning, as well as rubbing and polishing non-carpet surfaces. At the same time, it is worth noting that some of these devices are very versatile, they can be provided with various additional nozzles and accessories — including carpet cleaning discs and even a vacuum cleaner module that turns the single discs into vacuum sweepers (see above).

— Household scrubber. A variation of the scrubbing machines described above, which has a compact size and is designed for use in apartments, small offices and other places where weight and manoeuvrability in hard-to-reach places are more important than high performance. Most of these devices look like upright vacuum cleaners. Although, there are other design options.

— Window vacuum cleaners. Devices for manual cleaning of windows, reminiscent of compact vacuum cleaners. Such washing is carried out as follows: a liquid detergent is applied to the glass from a spray gun, and then the liquid, together with impurities, is collected from the glass using this window vacuum cleaner. The spray gun is often built-in, but in some models, it is a separate container with a sprayer supplied in the kit.

— Window robots. Automatic window cleaning device: the robot attaches to the glass and moves across it, wiping the glass in the process. Such a device greatly facilitates the cleaning process, and for residents of high-rise buildings, it can be a real salvation. With the help of a robot, you can easily wipe windows from the outside on any floor without the risk of falling out of the window and without calling industrial climbers. However, such devices can leave dirt around the edges and in the corners of the frame. Nevertheless, eliminating these shortcomings is easier than washing the entire glass.

— Robot mop. Devices for automatic wet cleaning of non-carpeted floors. The general principle of operation, usually, is as follows: water or a cleaning solution is sprayed onto the floor, which is then collected together with dirt on a special napkin. The robot independently moves along the floor, changes the direction of movement when it encounters obstacles, and builds a route in such a way as to process the entire floor in the working area. Many models are also able to return to the docking station to charge the battery. And to improve convenience and efficiency, various additional functions can be provided: scheduling, mapping, IR barriers to restrict movement, etc.
Note that the performance of robot mops is low. They are designed for residential apartments/houses, small offices and other similar conditions and are not intended for serious cleaning. In addition, corners and other hard-to-reach places are usually unavailable for such equipment. They still have to be cleaned manually. On the other hand, robots are great for relatively clean rooms, and the user requires a minimum of effort — usually only periodically pouring detergent and cleaning the napkin after the process is completed.

— Pool robots. Units for automatic pool cleaning. Usually, they are designed for use underwater and do not require emptying the pool for cleaning. Often, the design provides not only the possibility of cleaning surfaces but water filtration too. Robots have automatic cleaning programmes. However, it is possible to force the unit to be sent to one or another part of the pool or even completely manual control. Many advanced devices from this category can move not only along the bottom but also the walls, rising to the very surface and, thanks to this, providing effective cleaning of the waterline.
We emphasize that although robots of this type are usually designed for maximum safety. However, it is impossible to use the pool during cleaning. It is also worth noting that such devices are usually powered from the mains — through a power supply and a special waterproof cord. Among other things, this design allows in an emergency to pull the unit out of the water directly by the wire (although under normal conditions this should not be done).

— Network. Connection to a regular household outlet. The advantage of this option is its almost unlimited operating time. On the other hand, the power cord limits mobility and does not allow you to move away from sockets, and in their absence the device becomes useless. In addition, in some cases, the power cord can interfere with operation - for example, it will be clearly unnecessary for a heavy machine with a steering wheel and an operator's seat.

— Battery. Battery-powered devices are extremely mobile: they do not depend on sockets and do not have a wire that limits movement. In addition, the absence of a wire has a positive effect on the overall convenience of work - it “doesn’t fit into your hand.” On the other hand, the continuous operation time of such a device is limited by the battery charge, and the machines themselves are heavier, bulkier and more expensive than similar mains-powered models. However, in some cases, the described advantages have a decisive advantage over the disadvantages: in particular, scrubber-drying robots (see “Type”), as well as heavy professional machines with steering control (see below), are powered by a battery.

— Network/battery. Devices that can operate both from the mains and from a built-in battery. The features of these types of nutrition are described in detail above; and their combination is used quite rarely. In particular, this method of power...supply is provided in some window robots: the device uses a battery as standard, but if it is possible to run a wire, you can connect it to the network, saving battery power.

Rated power of the engine installed in the car.

Most often, this paragraph gives the total engine power. However, in units with a suction function - for example, scrubber dryers (see "Type") - only the power transmitted to the brushes can be indicated here. In such cases, the total power can be determined by summing the motor power and the suction power (see below). These details should be clarified separately. We also note that in self-propelled models (see above), part of the engine power is spent on moving the unit, which is why the useful power of such machines is lower than that of similar non-self-propelled equipment. In light of this, only models with the same movement format can be directly compared by this indicator - only self-propelled or only non-self-propelled.

Overall, higher motor power results in higher efficiency and productivity. However, there is no strict dependence here, and devices with similar engine characteristics can differ markedly in practical characteristics - productivity, working width, etc. So when choosing, it makes sense to pay attention first of all to these characteristics - especially since for some units (in particular, many robots) the engine power may not be supplied at all. As for specific power values, in the most modest equipment - in particular, household scrubber dryers - it does not exceed 600 W ; 600 – 1200 W can be called average, 1200 – 1800 W is above average, and in powerful heavy units there are even more respectable values.

Suction width provided by the unit. It is indicated mainly for floor scrubbers and window vacuums (see "Type"). In the first case, it refers to the width of the suction beam; in the second — the width of the working nozzle.

The width of the suction beam in scrubber dryers is usually slightly larger than the overall working width — it allows one to collect the water used in cleaning effectively. The size of the suction beam in some models of this type reaches 75 cm. In turn, in window vacuum cleaners the suction width corresponds to the actual working width. Most often, this figure is about 28 – 29 cm. it is believed that such values give an optimal ratio between performance and dimensions/weight of the unit. However, there are also more miniature models — in some devices, the width of the nozzle does not exceed 17 cm.

The width of the additional nozzle provided with the device.

Additional attachments are mainly supplied with window models (see "Type"). Such a nozzle is usually made narrower than the main one — it makes it easier to work on small glasses and in hard-to-reach places. However, there is also the opposite option: a small capture width in the device itself, increased by using an additional nozzle.

The volume of the waste solution tank installed in the harvester.

Such tanks are equipped exclusively with floor scrubbers (including household ones) and window models (see "Type"): we recall that both of them are designed for suction of the solution from the treated surface. In general, the larger the tank, the less often it will have to be emptied, but the larger the dimensions and weight of the unit. Therefore, manufacturers usually choose this indicator taking into account the type and characteristics of the application of the machine. So, in devices for windows, which are held in the hands during operation, the capacity of the tanks for the spent solution is small — usually about 150 – 200 mL; this is quite enough, taking into account the format of application, and at the same time, such additional weight does not create inconvenience during work. In turn, scrubbing machines use containers of several liters or even tens of liters; usually, a specific volume directly depends on the overall “weight category” and the performance of the machine.

The type of battery used in the car with the appropriate power supply (see above). The type is indicated by the technology used to manufacture the battery.

- Ni-Cd. One of the oldest modern technologies. Such elements are capable of operating at high discharge currents, which is especially important for heavy and powerful equipment with high energy consumption. In addition, they charge fairly quickly, can withstand cold work and temperature changes without any problems, and are relatively inexpensive. One of the main disadvantages of nickel-cadmium batteries is the so-called. memory effect - a decrease in capacity if charging was carried out until completely discharged. However, this disadvantage can be compensated for by using high-quality chargers and following operating rules. But the clear disadvantage of this variety is environmental unsafety in production and disposal; It is precisely this that limits the use of Ni-Cd batteries in modern technology.

- Ni-Mh. A technology created in an attempt to improve the performance of the nickel-cadmium batteries described above. The attempt was quite successful: while maintaining the main advantages of their predecessors, nickel-metal hydride elements are at the same time less susceptible to the memory effect and more environmentally friendly. Their disadvantages include slightly increased cost and specific rules for long-term storage.

— Li-Ion. Lithium-ion batteries are notable primarily for their hig...h charge density - in other words, they have high capacity with small dimensions and weight. This is especially important for compact devices such as robots or manual window cleaners (see “Type”). In addition, such batteries are practically not subject to the “memory effect”. Among the disadvantages of this technology, in addition to cost, it is worth mentioning sensitivity to high and low temperatures, as well as the likelihood of “accidents” in abnormal conditions: failure of the built-in controller with overcharge or overdischarge, overheating or short circuit can lead to swelling, electrolyte leakage and even fire.

- Li-Po. A type of lithium-ion battery (see above), in which a polymer (gel) electrolyte is used instead of a liquid electrolyte. This design provides additional advantages over the original Li-Ion technology: lithium-polymer batteries have an even greater charge density, and the likelihood of “accidents” with explosions and fires in them is noticeably reduced. The main disadvantages of such power supplies are their rather high cost and the requirement to maintain optimal temperature conditions.

— Gel. In this case, we are usually talking about gel lead-acid batteries, similar to those used in cars. Such batteries are significant in weight, so they are used exclusively in heavy harvesting equipment, where several kilograms of battery weight are unnoticeable against the background of the weight of the machine itself. Among the practical advantages of such batteries, it is worth noting good capacity, durability, the ability to easily withstand deep discharge, as well as resistance to low temperatures and temperature changes.

The voltage of the battery used in the machine with the corresponding type of power supply. This parameter is not key when choosing; it may only be needed when looking for a third-party charger or a replacement/spare battery, as well as for specific calculations related to capacity (see below).

The capacity of the battery installed in the cleaning machine with the appropriate power supply.

In theory, a higher capacity allows you to work longer on a single charge, but in practice everything is not so simple. Firstly, the autonomy is also affected by the energy consumption of the machine, and it is determined mainly by the engine power (see above). Secondly, the actual amount of energy stored in the battery depends not only on the capacity in ampere hours, but also on the operating voltage in volts. Therefore, only batteries with the same voltage can be compared with each other in terms of capacity in Ah (or convert ampere-hours to watt-hours using a special formula and compare the results). And it is best to evaluate the autonomy of the unit by the directly stated operating time (see below).