Detailed Review of the Dser RoboGeek 20T Robotic Vacuum Cleaner

Cleaning your house can be a time-consuming task. Whether you’re scrubbing your toilet, washing your windows, or vacuuming your floor, that’s all time that you’d much rather be spending doing something – anything – else. Of course, we use tools to make many of these jobs easier. For example, a dishwasher can save you hours of scrubbing every week, and a squeegee can make short work of your windows. And over the past two decades, robotic vacuums have started making upright vacuums obsolete.

Today, we’ll be reviewing the Dser RoboGeek 20T Robotic Vacuum Cleaner. This little wonder comes at a very reasonable price, and is also fairly powerful. But what else does it have to offer? Grab a cup of coffee and get comfortable, because we’re about to take an in-depth look. Let’s get started!

Overall Design

The Dser RoboGeek 20T has a slim, low-profile design. It’s less than 3 inches thick, which is low enough to fit under most sofas. It will also navigate easily under other low-lying furniture like beds, dressers, and other trouble spots that can be a barrier to an upright vacuum. It’s also 14 inches in diameter, which is on the large side. This means it can cover a large area of floor relatively quickly, although that’s a secondary concern since you don’t actually have to put any effort into operating the RoboGeek. It weighs 10.76 pounds, which is fairly heavy, but not so heavy as to be inconvenient. Most of that weight is the battery and the motor.

While it’s operating, the RoboGeek 20T produces only 58 decibels of noise. This is significantly quieter than your average upright vac. Unlike with an upright, the volume level is actually lower than everyday conversation. Not only is this convenient, but it’s also a great safety option. You can run this vacuum at any time of day, without having to worry about children or dogs’ sensitive ears. If you want, you can even run the RoboGeek 20T while you’re asleep. You can’t do that with an upright vac!

In addition, you also get a charging base. This base is about four inches tall, and sits tight against your wall. Plug it in, attach your vacuum, and it will begin charging.

Suction and Cleaning

So, we know the RoboGeek is well designed on the outside. But that won’t do you much good if the vacuum itself is underpowered. But thankfully, that’s not a problem with the 20T. This little vacuum pulls with a powerful 16 kilopascals (kPa) of vacuum pressure. A typical upright vacuum will pull at around 20 kPa, which means the RoboGeek is nearly as powerful. That’s impressive, considering the relatively small size.

This vacuum carries a powerful, 2,600mAh rechargeable battery that can operate for up to 100 minutes without recharging. Your actual results will vary depending on what settings you’re using, but no matter how you cut it, this is a significant battery capacity, especially for a small, portable unit.

One thing we liked about the RoboGeek 20T is that it automatically returns to the charging base when the battery drops below 20 percent. This saves you a lot of work, and will eliminate the need for monitoring the battery level. It also means that you won’t come home from work to find your vacuum stalled out in a corner, or dead in the middle of the room. Overall, the battery takes 4 to 6 hours to charge. So, you can effectively run the RoboGeek for a total of 6 hours a day. Even if you’re obsessive about cleaning, that’s way more vacuuming than you’re ever going to need.

The dust collection bin has a capacity of 600ml, or about 2 ½ cups. This is a fairly large capacity, particularly for a small vacuum, and it means you won’t have to change the dust bin very often. Typically, you’re going to get better performance if you change it frequently, but you don’t need to worry about forgetting. When the collection bin is excessively full, the vacuum will return to the base and a warning light will illuminate. As a result, you’ll always know when your dust bin needs to be changed. Meanwhile, the large capacity will allow the RoboGeek 20T to clean up large messes and large houses without constantly needing to monitor its fill level.

Another feature we really liked was Dser’s “BoostGen” technology. This feature automatically detects when the vacuum is sucking up a large quantity of dust or debris, and adjusts the motor power to compensate. If necessary, the RoboGeek 20T can ramp up to 1.5 times its usual power, which means it can clean up even the most stubborn of messes. Heavily soiled rugs, spills, and large objects are no match for this setting. Be aware, though, that the BoostGen feature will drain your battery far more quickly than usual. Make wise use of this feature, though, and you’ll find that it does a great job of getting you out of a jam.

Another thing the BoostGen feature does is adjust motor power when switching between tile or hardwood and a carpeted floor. This can actually save you battery life, since the motor will dial back when it’s running on a smooth, easy-to-clean surface.

Extra Features

There are many quality vacuums on the market, and many of them have great features. For example, the Narwal Self-Cleaning Robot Mop and Vacuum, which is just what it sounds like. It actually mops your floor in addition to vacuuming, freeing up dirt and grime. That said, the RoboGeek 20T also has a lot to offer, and there are several features worth pointing out. Here are a few of the ones that piqued our interest.

First off, the 20T features a built-in infrared anti-collision sensor. This can literally add years to the life of your vacuum, as opposed to many robotic vacuums that are constantly bumping into walls and furniture legs before they change direction. Not only that, but the same infrared sensor keeps the vacuum from falling of stairs or ledges. This is a major convenience, since many robotic vacuums shouldn’t be used upstairs as they’ll quickly destroy themselves if they cross off the edge and tumble to their demise. In effect, with this vacuum, you gain the ability to clean your entire house, although the vacuum can’t actually go up and down stairs. So you’ll need to buy two units, or alternatively move your vacuum upstairs to clean those areas.

The RoboGeek 20T can also clean a wide variety of surfaces. Tile, hardwood, carpet, it does not matter. This vacuum will clean them all effectively. It also doesn’t miss a spot. The IR sensor and built-in navigation software will ensure that it covers your entire floor. That said, like most robotic vacuums, it travels in a random pattern, so the center of your floor is going to get more attention than the edges. To help alleviate that issue, RoboGeek includes a remote control in the kit, so you can customize your cleaning job. Obviously, this somewhat defeats the purpose of an automatic, robotic vacuum, which is primarily to save you time and effort. But it should only really be necessary for touching up the edges of the room from time to time. It can also be used for spot cleaning of spills and heavy messes, which can save you the need to own an upright vacuum at all. For normal operation, you simply have to press a single button to turn the vacuum on.

We’ve talked a lot about how the RoboGeek 20T can clean anywhere, anytime, but sometimes you don’t want to clean your entire house. Sometimes, you just want a vacuum for a limited area. In that case, you can use the pair of magnetic boundary strips that ship with a new vacuum. These can be placed across doorways, and the RoboGeek will behave as if there’s a wall there and turn around. Keep in mind, though, that powerful magnets, or even toys with magnetic parts, can also cause the vacuum to turn around. But for the most part, the feature works very well, and it can save you a lot of time and effort keeping your vacuum where you want it to go.

One thing the RoboGeek 20T doesn’t have is an app. This is a common feature on higher end robotic vacuums, but it’s not something we’d really expect on a vacuum in this price range.

Finally, what the RoboGeek does offer is a 12-month manufacturer’s warranty. This may not sound like much, but keep in mind that the vast majority of electronics either fail in the first six months or last for several years. In other words, a 12-month warranty is going to cover you for almost any reasonable scenario.

Final Verdict

So, is the RoboGeek 20T worth buying? We’d say it’s definitely a worthwhile investment.

To begin with, you get sturdy construction. The round profile is durable, and easy on your furniture. And the slim profile allows the vacuum to travel under any furniture that sits three inches or higher from the ground. You’ll also get powerful suction, nearly as much as you’d expect from a typical upright vacuum. And if battery life is a concern, it doesn’t need to be. This RoboGeek vacuum offers a long-lasting 100 minutes of battery life. Better yet, it returns to the charging base automatically, so the only maintenance you’ll need to do is changing the dust bin periodically.

The RoboGeek 20T also has several extra features that add a lot of value. The magnetic strips are a nice touch, since they allow you to corral the unit into a specific area. And the infrared sensor is effective as well, protecting your vacuum – and your baseboards – from constant bumping and banging. We also loved the BoostGen setting, since it saves your batteries while you’re on a smooth surface, then turns up the power when you need it most. Based on all of the above, we’d say the 20T is well worth the investment.