Karcher RC3000 Domestic Robot Vacuum Cleaner

The RC 3000 Robo Cleaner is a high-spec autonomous cleaning system that sweeps and vacuums standard domestic floors even when you are not at home. Simply plug in the charging station, switch on the unit and select the cleaning period. After finishing it's work, it returns automatically to the base station to empty its dust container and recharge its batteries.

Its outstanding features include the four fall sensors that reliably detect stairs, infrared beam navigation and dirt sensing system that detects the amount of dust and dirt in the areas and activates one of the four cleaning programs. It is suitable for the use on all household floor coverings, such as carpets, linoleum, parquet, tiles, etc.

Standard Features

• Sweeper brush and suction for deep cleaning
• Incredibly short charge times
• Easy to carry base station
• Karcher roll off system for fringed carpets.
• Automatically adjusts between 4 different programs for multiple surfaces
• Dirt quantity sensors to detect dirtier areas and spend more time cleaning them
• Treaded wheels for maximum grip to climb over wires and carpet
• 4 fall sensors to automatically sense and avoid stairs and other dangers

When the Karcher 3000 reaches a wall its integral contact sensors fire off an alrm causing a change of direction. This navigation method means the RoboCleaner can cover 15 square metres of floor every hour without getting stuck in a corner. Simply press a button on the base station to tell the vacuum how long to clean for and it will continue about its simple task returning to the base station to recharge when needed.

What's in the Box:

1 Karcher RC3000 Domestic Robot Vacuum Cleaner, 1 Base Station, 1-year Manufacturer's Warranty.

Advanced Features

• Automatically returns to its self-charging Home Base to dock and recharge between cleanings.
• Anti-Stuck protectors to prevent getting stuck under furniture
• Only 54 dB/A when on 'quiet' mode.
• The Karcher 3000 turns off automatically when picked up.

Our Rating:

The Karcher 3000 vacuum is considerably smaller than other robots on the market making it less noticeable than others, especially when switched to quiet mode. Unlike other models on the market this package does not include any virtual walls. If you don't want it to clean in a certain room you have to close the door! Also the 3000 does not have scheduling capabilities so you have to remember to press the button before you leave for work.

The highlight of this robotic vacuum cleaner is that it really knows how to clean! It may be small but its suction power and cleaning capabilities are second to none. That said, it carries a hefty price tag, almost twice that of a good quality iRobot Roomba. If price is no issue this vacuum is definately the one for you. For those more price conscious, you may be better served looking elsewhere.

Karcher RC3000 Spec Check

Karcher RC3000 Demo Video

RC3000 Domestic Robot Vacuum Cleaner Reviews (4)

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Lazyhousekeeper.com wrote on 01/28/2010 @ 11:07:47 am

The price is high but this one is awesome! Robocleaner will return to the charging station and empty itself when it gets full. Robot vacuums are all small and compact so they can fit under furniture and clean where an ordinary vacuum couldn't even dream of going. The main drawback to this is they have small dirt containers. I have a house full of pet hair and can fill up a dirt container very quickly. Having a robot vacuum that can empty itself, means you can leave it alone to do the entire job. The Karcher RoboCleaner was designed in Germany so I guess you could call this the BMW of robot vacuums.

Chris Hawkes wrote on 01/28/2010 @ 11:00:26 am

Does EXACTLY what it says on the box. VERY easy to set up and get going. Very quiet in operation (apart from a 10-15 second blast when the robot docks and the big vac in the base sucks the dust from the little robot). The robot does climb up onto thick rugs up to around 2cm and does not get stuck under furniture. It can get hung up on odd things like the base bar of a folding camping chair or when the wheel falls down the 2 inch gap between a rug and the skirting board. The robot can nudge a door closed if, like me, you oil your hinges, trapping it in that room, so best to wedge the door open if you want to clean more than one room at a time. Be aware that the suction on the robot is not as strong as on conventional mains vacuum cleaners so it does not deep clean carpets, but is wonderful for laminate, lino or tiled floors and keeps the surface clean on carpets and rugs. Overall, an excellent product!

Everyday robots wrote on 01/28/2010 @ 10:53:22 am

While both low and high end robotic vacuum cleaners have much in common when it comes to overall design philosophy, Karcher dares to be different with their RC 3000 RoboCleaner. What makes it different? The robot's base station automatically empties the dirt from the robot so you don't have to. Many folks have expressed a great desire for this feature, and the Karcher is currently the only robotic vacuum to offer it. Since you don't have to empty the robot's dirt bin every two hours, the vacuum can clean literally all day long without human intervention. To top it off, you won't have to invert and bang a dust bin over your trash can, sending dirt back into the air and your lungs. This and the RC 3000's ability to reliably return to its base station for cleaning and charging then set out again cleaning make it a very autonomous and worry-free robotic vacuum.

The one area where the Karcher falls short is in cleaning power. It has relatively weak pick up power and is out-sucked by Roomba and other robo-vacs with the exception of the Zoombot which is even weaker. Since the RC 3000 doesn't have a strong motor it is uncannily quiet. Karcher states that you can run the vacuum overnight which at first seems absurd, but once you hear how quiet this unit is, you'll realize you might indeed allow it to clean while you're sleeping. To that end, the base station has a button that allows you to put it in quiet clean mode. Why? Because the base station's vacuum motor which cleans the robot is quite loud and would likely wake sleepers. In quiet mode it is indeed quiet, though it can take several hours rather than a few minutes to empty the robot when in quiet mode.

Robotic vacuums do get stuck occasionally, either wedging under furniture or sucking in rug fringe. But the Karcher never got stuck! The cleverly designed ears on top stop it from wedging itself under tight places and it really didn't have enough suction to pull rug fringe or area rugs into the inlet which would cause it to get stuck. Add another point for autonomy and unattended operation: this unit should rarely get stuck when you're out of the house.

This is certainly the most care-free robotic vacuum we've tested. It doesn't get stuck, reliably returns to its base station for charging and cleaning and resumes cleaning, and you need not empty the robot's dirt receptacle. If it had more cleaning power, it would be on the top of our list, but alas it just doesn't suck enough, and vacuums must suck. It's best used on hard surfaces since the vac motor isn't strong enough to pull much dirt out of carpeting.

TeddyRux wrote on 01/25/2010 @ 11:04:25 am

Bought this robo vac cos it looked the business. Best gadget I own!!

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