Some of my favorite tools aren’t in the shed…sometimes that technology makes it into other parts of the home. A great example of this would be the new Moneual Rydis MR6550 Robot Vacuum Cleaner. This low-to-ground robotic vacuum uses brushless motor technology and a lithium-ion power pack to keep its internal vacuum and motors running for years on end (more on that later). It’s not a dust extractor, but its still a tool! The bottom line is that we’ve seen an explosion in brushless technology and advanced lithium-ion batteries with respect to power tools, but watching both hit the home market is also pretty exciting—and homeowners (even those of us who work in and around the residential and commercial construction industry for a living) can expect great things.
And I’ll admit it—having a robotic vacuum around the house is just plain cool. It really is. And not without reason. So here are some of my top reasons for loving the new Moneual Robot Vacuum Cleaner…
Moneual Rydis Vacuum Brushless Technology
When these robotic vacuum cleaners came out, they all featured battery packs. But the new Moneual Rydis MR6550 takes it to a more modern level by introducing a brushless motor—similar to the kinds you’re seeing on the latest brushless cordless drills and drivers and even some brushless 12V cordless tools. There’s a sense in which this new robotic vacuum has evolved even past the more well-known brands, which use more traditional brushed motors. These motors have a much shorter lifespan, but they also don’t run as long due to lower efficiencies. With a motor being the primary component of your vacuum system, run-time is of the utmost importance. Brushless technology along with the 2.8 Ah LiFePO4 (lithium-iron phosphate) battery let the Rydis MR6550 clean my primary living space (made up of mostly hardwood floors) for about an hour and a half before it has to return to base for automatic recharging.
Return-to-Base Tech that Works
I’ve always wondered why the manufacturers of these robots claims an ability to return to base for automatic charging. In a rectangular room it works OK, but take that vacuum into a more complex area and you’re doomed to watch it wander around, confused, until it eventually runs out of battery power and dies in the middle of the room. This simply isn’t the case with the Moneual Rydis—which consistently found its way back to base even though the double-rooms it was cleaning left for a very complex layout. On top of that, I even saw it time everything so well, it had the ability to back up and take a second run at the charging unit when the first approach failed. All-in-all, the Moneual’s ability to return to base for automatic charging means that it truly does have the ability to do daily or weekly cleaning, hands-off.
Shadow Cleaning Mode
I don’t clean under the beds. I just don’t. I also don’t clean underneath my sofa or other raised furniture. The Moneual Rydis MR6550 has a “Shadow Cleaning Mode” that lets is seek out shaded areas (areas underneath furniture like your bed) and ensure that it gets cleaned. Since the vacuum is less than 3-1/4″ in height, it can really get into some tight spaces. When you run the vacuum in normal mode, it will still find these areas, but it will plow right on through to get to the next space, not paying particular attention to an area that may be more than a little filthy due to lack of attention. Think of this mode as a concentrated mode for hitting those hard-to-reach, and often neglected, areas of your room(s).
Lots of Cleaning Mode Choices
The Moneual Rydis Robot Vacuum is anything but a dumb robot. It has several modes to allow it a fighting chance to clean your room or home with efficiency—but it also has several modes (in addition to the one I mentioned above) that let it address particular room or cleaning needs you may have. Aside from “Automatic” there is an “Intensive” mode that focuses the Moneual vacuum on a particular area (with a spiral pattern), a “Corner” mode that will trace out the edges of your room, and of course the “Shadow” mode above. Given these, you will be able to really allow the robotic vacuum to manage your average cleaning duties without much supervision, but you can interrupt the norm to get it to hit something that may need specific attention. There’s even a “Manual” mode, which really turns the Moneual into a toy and lets you control it via remote control. I don’t have a lot of patience for this, but it is pretty cool if you want to show off or, I suppose, if you’re incredibly lazy!
Soft Bump and No-fall Features
I’ve seen the Moneual Rydis engage in several very cool scenarios that I thought would be problematic. As it turns out, this vacuum is very smart. For starters, it won’t fall down stairs…and that can be pretty important, given that this vacuum costs around $250! On top of that, the same technology keeps it from falling off smaller ledges or going into other spaces (like step-down areas, etc) where it won’t be able to recover or escape. It also won’t slam into things at full speed because the robotic vacuum is constantly scanning in front of itself for obstacles. It’s fun to watch because you’ll see it approach an object (such as a chair leg or a wall) and slow down on approach, eventually bumping it gently and choosing a new path.
Specs & Features
- Battery type: Lithium-iron phosphate
- Charger: Charging dock
- Charge time: 120 minutes
- Run-time: 100 minutes (typical); 60 minutes (turbo mode)
- Dirt capacity: 600 mL
- Filter: Foam
- Features: Self docking, cliff detection, edge cleaning, shadow cleaning
- Dimensions: 13.7 in W x 3.23″ H x 13.7″ D
- Weight (with battery): 5.9 lbs
- Includes: Charger, remote control, room indicator, microfiber mop attachment, adapter and power cord, side brushes with tools, cleaning brush, user manual, quick start guide
Testing and Usability
The real test for any tool, be it a drill, saw or even a brushless robotic vacuum cleaner, is to run it long enough to establish its strengths and weaknesses. With the Moneual Robotic Vacuum, the downsides aren’t so much its design flaws or any build-quality issues. You just have to understand the limitations of an automatic vacuum and configure your environment accordingly. But let’s start with run-time. The Moneual ran for well over an hour and a half in our test room in normal mode. There is also a “Turbo” mode that doesn’t give the vacuum any more speed, but it does increase suction (more power at the expense of run-time). In that time it functioned in various modes, but automatic was our go-to, and it seemed to do a decent job of keeping our primary living space clean. The reservation feature was particularly helpful and let me set the Rydis to clean every day at the same time (alternatively, you can simply schedule it to clean ahead at a particular time). This is done with the remote and features prompts to let you know you’ve got everything configured properly.
I also really utilized the shadow mode whereby the MR6550 would locate areas under the sofa (or in my case, the bed) and stay there until it was cleaned. As I’m not particularly mindful of these areas, it was nice to be able to set the Moneual robot free to do its worth and skip the part where I’m hacking up a lung for three hours from a dust-induced allergy attack…
