This is my 2nd robot from Ecovacs that I have tried. I must say I’m very disappointed with this robot and with this company and here’s why.
This robot is very similar to my previously reviewed Winbot X from the same company. Except this one is wired, and robot’s bottom has two scrapes.
I’d like to inform you that what is written on their website about these models, isn’t true in my case. The robot doesn’t work as it is supposed to work.
I’d like to tell you that I’ve tested this robot many times in my house on different sized windows and mirrors.
I will always come and update this review as soon as I find anything new about it in my uses.
The Review
This robot is in a square shape with dimensions of 9.7 in x 9.7 in x 4.5 in. (24.5 cm x 24.5 cm x 11.43 cm) and weighs 3.96 pounds (1.8 kg). And with all square shaped robots it works best with rectangular surfaces.
This robot can only work if the surface that needs cleaning is no smaller than 17.7 in x 17.7 in (45 cm x 45 cm).
The length of a power cord is~19 ft. ( ~580 cm). There is a cord extender in between, so you can shorten the cable by 5 ft. (154 cm) if needed. If you need a longer cord, you will have to use your own extension cord.
Safety Features
This robot has internal battery, so if you lose AC power the robot will stay sucked to the surface for 30 minutes.
Besides, there is a suction cup, which works as a safety tether. Stick the pod to the window and in case of lost suction the suction cup will save your robot from falling.
The length of the safety tether is 5.4 ft. (165 cm).
If your window is wider or higher than 11 ft. (330 cm) you might need to re-attach the tether to a different spot, for it to reach all the corners.
Cleaning Modes
Winbot 880 has three cleaning modes:
- Auto,
- Deep, and
- Spot Cleaning.
The Auto cleaning mode is the simplest one. Push a button on a robot or the remote control and it will automatically clean the surface. It will do a single pass horizontally.
They do say that the robot choses the best path, but in all my tests (horizontal and vertical windows tested) it never chose vertical path to clean. So, I’d say there is no such thing or there is a problem with the robot.
Deep cleaning mode can only be turned on via the remote control. The robot will start cleaning surface by doing two passes. Sadly, both passes will be horizontal.
The spot cleaning mode is a manual mode, meaning you will need to operate the robot with the remote by yourself. Once you come to a spot and you want multiple passes on it, you press the button and the robot will wipe it a few times.
Not enough? Press the button again and it will wipe it again for a few more times.
The Performance
Winbot 880 robot not only doesn’t do what it is advertised on their website, but it also does a poor job at cleaning windows/mirrors and alike.
For one, I don’t see any intelligent cleaning path. Robot will always go from left to right – horizontally. Doesn’t matter how many passes it will do.
They do show pictures on the website how the robot cleans the window from top to bottom and from bottom to top, but I’ve never seen my robot do this.
They say it finishes where it started, but that is also not always the case. Sometimes it finishes in a different spot, which can make it hard to reach it. In that case you will need to use a remote control, to bring your robot down to the level that you can reach it.
You can only use it to wipe fairly clean windows. But if there are some harder spots, this robot won’t clean them.
Another thing I don’t like about it is two scrapes on the bottom of the robot. These things leave marks on the windows quite often and they are very visible too.
When trying to clean a mirror using this robot, I’ve noticed that the robot leaves traces. You can put the robot on a spotless mirror and once it is done cleaning it, the mirror won’t be that spotless anymore.
Other Stuff
You need to manually spray the cleaning solution on the pads before sticking the robot onto a window. Some other window cleaning robots have reservoir for the cleaning solution and they spray it when needed. It would be much more convenient this way and you wouldn’t need to think about spraying it yourself.
Final Thoughts
This robot will not make your windows spotless. Since I have tried quite a few other robots, I cannot recommend this robot to anyone.