Fmart FM-R330 – another Chinese robot vacuum for cleaning your hard floors

To the untrained eye, most Chinese cleaning robots look the same. Yes there are some exceptions, but most users think the standard robot vacuum one can get at the moment from various online shopping malls such as Gearbest looks and performs like the Fmart FM R330. This unit is definitely not the most powerful nor the lightest robotic cleaner. It doesn’t feature a brushroll, so its performance is limited on carpeted areas. However, it allows you to enjoy the benefit of having a different kind of cleaning appliance in your home, in the sense that it can help you save time and energy, greatly improving your daily cleaning procedure. You’ll learn today:

• if the FM-R330 is worth its price tag
• what are its real specs
• how it compares with other similar products, such as the iLife V5S Pro
• from where you can get it at a good price

Appearance

Here’s my video review and a photo gallery with this product:

Specifications

Cleaning and Suction Power

The producer brags with a machine that has a 1000 Pa suction power. If you want to learn more about this number, you should check out my article on this matter. After testing the product, I’ve found that it has a limited performance on carpets. It works really well on bare floors though. You will experience the full suction power if you press the Max button located on the remote control. In this mode, the unit performs admirably. The 2 side brushes agitate the debris and direct it towards the air intake. The biggest problems appear when the robot operates on carpets and has to suck in large pieces of dirt such as cheerios.

Battery life

This product has a Ni-Mh battery with a capacity of 2000 mAh, working at 14.4 V. It takes 4-6 hours to charge and can be used continuously for almost 120 minutes. I usually prefer Li-Ion batteries, but I find this setup to be pretty decent. The battery should last at least 2 years of moderate usage.

Bin capacity

The vacuum cleaner can hold dust at a capacity of approx 12 oz (350 ml). This is a common volume. I prefer the larger ones found in premium robovacs such as the Neato Botvac Connected line, yet these values are enough to prevent you from getting annoyed about frequently emptying the bin. The bin access is reasonable. One just needs to push the lid on top and slightly pull it upwards. The recipient is able to collect fine dust as well as pet hair, thanks to its double filter system, which I’ll cover in the next section. The water tank reservoir can accommodate around 4 oz. of liquid.

Filtration

The HEPA and the nylon net filters are designed to clean expelled air, allowing the Fmart to filter big particles, dust, hair, as well as small particles. All end up in the dust bin. The HEPA filter is rather small, not washable and gets worn easily. For this reason, I recommend you to get some extras (perhaps a complete kit) together with your product purchase. Don’t worry, the extras are really cheap (around $1 each).

Weight and dimensions

The product is 12.6″ in diameter and 3.35 ” in height (32 x 32 x 8.50 cm).  This means it’s short enough to get under your furniture. It weighs almost 8 lbs (3.5 kg), which means it’s easy to move it around.

Accessories

The package contains the following:

• a manual
• a remote control with batteries
• a charging dock
• a cleaning brush
• an adapter
• 2 extra side brushes, an extra mop cloth and an extra HEPA filter
• a mop tray already mounted on the product

Warranty

All Chinese robot vacuums usually have a warranty of 1 year (6 months for batteries), but it really depends on the wholesaler from which you buy the product. If you get it from online shops such as Gearbest, you will enjoy a 1 year warranty, a great return policy and 45 days money back guarantee.

Navigation

You can schedule the product to clean at a specific time. This means that you can set the machine to clean when e.g. you’re at work. Just remember to empty the bin when you get back home. With the mopping function, this machine can wet mop your tiles. The intelligent anti–collision sensors prevent collisions and protect both the bot and your furniture. Its large wheels can climb/transition between low and high floors, making the cleaning process flexible. The FM-R330 can climb slopes up to 15 degrees and go over obstacles of 0.4″ (10 mm) in height. 4 special infrared sensors can detect cliffs and change the direction of the machine, preventing it from falling e.g. down the stairs.  The automatic recharging system kicks in when the robot has a low battery and works well if the robot is within 12 ft. from the beacon. However, if the power is about to run out and the changing port is further away, it may not the able to recharge by itself.

There are a few cleaning modes, among which the Auto cleaning and the Spot cleaning are most useful.

Usability

The easiest way to teleoperate the product is to use the remote control. One can set the cleaning mode and maneuver the machine using this interface, but the buttons are a bit awkwardly placed and thus it may take a few minutes to get used to it. The Fmart FM-R330 is quite portable due to its light weight. The operating manual is written in English, Spanish and Russian. It produces a standard noise of 64 dB when cleaning in Max mode, but it’s quieter if you use it in with the standard cleaning power. Its washable dustbin is easy to empty. Its slim design ensures it can go under the furniture and its long side brushes collect dust from both sides.

Regarding the cons, as most Chinese robot vacuums, it is not designed to clean shag carpets or any kind of high pile for that matter. In particular, even short pile carpets are not ideal for this product.

Price

I would say its price tag of approx. $200 goes above average. I find the price/quality ratio to be a little disappointing. However, occasionally you can get this unit with a nice discount so make sure you check out my weekly updated discounts page. A similar product version called YZ-Q2 can be found on Amazon.

Fmart FM-R330 vs iLife V5S Pro vs ainol A-S11 vs Jisiwei I3

The Fmart FM-R330 can be compared with other similar hard floor robotic vacuum cleaners such as the V5S Pro from iLife, the A-S11 from ainol and the I3 from Jisiwei:

	Fmart FM-R330	iLife V5S Pro	ainol A-S11	Jisiwei I3
Battery capacity	Ni-Mh 2000 mAh	Li-Ion 2600 mAh	Li-Ion 2200 mAh	Li-Ion 2200 mAh
Battery autonomy	90-120 min	120-150 min	90 min	90-120 min
Suction power (producer rated)	1000 Pa	850 Pa	1200 Pa	800 Pa
Dust capacity / Water capacity	12 oz / 4 oz	10 oz / 10 oz	30 oz / 8 oz	20 oz / 4 oz
Type of mopping	Passive	Controlled	Controlled	Passive
Filtration	HEPA	HEPA	HEPA	HEPA
Virtual wall included	No	No	Yes	No
Sound level	62 / 66 db	55 / 60 db	66 / 70 db	55 / 60 db

Conclusion

Cleaning can be quite tiring and boring, especially when you don’t have good cleaning tools. If your home has mostly hard floors, this Fmart can definitely make cleaning easier and less time-consuming. It’s ideal for types of bare floors ranging from marble and tile to wood, linoleum or stone. Accommodating both dry and wet cleaning is a plus. With a decent noise, HEPA filtration and efficient suction power, the R330 is a good bet. Here’s my VGM for this one:

VGMrv table for Fmart FM-R330

What to you think about this robot? Would you buy it? And if you did, how’s it going?