Automatic Litterbox Central

Hi Alan,

I just bought the Scoopfree in the hopes of sorting out my odor situation. I have 3 cats, 2 of which are males with large bladders. Because of the large bladders, the boys have the crystals pulling double duty, so they don't last as long. By the end of the week, the crystals are yellow, perfumey, and in some spots, clumped together in a gel like lump. I love your litter box so far, but the cost for the refills in my situation is staggering. I have to get a new one each week!! That is 60.00ish dollars a month for kitty litter. I love the no fuss no muss option, but is there any chance that you guys might consider and washable option?

Thanks,

Kitty3

SF_Lucky wrote:This is possible because we have a disposable tray that is filled with Fresh Step Crystals. The crystal litter does not clump. This means there are no clumps to stick to the rake, no clumps to clog the mechanisms, and no clumps to take up space in the waste bin. The crystals lock away odors, absorb liquids and dry out the solids. In fact, the solids shrink to about one-half their original size. So because there are no clumps and the solids shrink, the waste bin lasts a long longer than the competition before filling up.

So if you fill up a LitterMaid or any other rake-type automated litterbox with Fresh Step Crystals... what's the difference?

Excellent question!

shfwilf wrote:Excellent question!

Especially since Lucky's response was more of a description of the ScoopFree than an actual answer to our original question... lol

LOL I have a feeling he's going to ignore replying to that question or say something like the ScoopFree litterbox is better.

Someone has actually already used Fresh Steps crystals with a Littermaid and posted about it here:

viewtopic.php?t=998&highlight=crystals

It's a good post, but there isn't really any follow up on it.

I've only used one Littermaid (my neighbor's) ... but based on that experience I would say hands-down that a Littermaid with crystals is an inferior solution. That Littermaid machine is junk. The ScoopFree design is much more elegant. It's a shame the disposables cost so much.

I've never owned a Littermaid and have read more than enough horror stories to not want one but I was wondering if ScoopFree worked differently than a working Littermaid or whether it was just a more reliable version of it. Surely many people would love a more reliable version of a Littermaid even without the crystals.

ScoopFree is a far less complicated design. I would expect it to be more reliable, but I do not have any evidence to support that--it's just a hunch.

I would say it depends on the cycle delay of the LIttermaid. The solids need time to dehydrate otherwise they have no sand to cover them and they would get stuck in the Littermaid blades. Also - the Scoop Free pushes the waste into a trap while the Littermaid lifts them and dumps them into a container.

Each has their merit. I dont think its detrimental to Scoop Free or Fresh Step to alienate the LIttermaid as they would still make money by selling the crystals.

Hi, I'm trying to find an automatic box to replace my recently-deceased LitterMaid. I've been looking at the Litter Robot, but am intrigued by the ScoopFree. It's just the catridge cost that worries me, with our two 9-month-old cats. $30/month on litter cartridges is tough to swallow. I'd guess we went through about $10/month of clumping litter, with the LitterMaid.

Walter's Owner, I saw you were building your own insert for your ScoopFree, out of acrylic sheets. How is that working out? What crystals are you using? How much does it end up costing per month? We have not tried any crystals so far, so I'm not sure how much we'd use per month, if we bought, say, a Tidy Cats 8-lb jug of crystals (almost price as a 4-lb of Fresh Step crystals, on Amazon).

The ScoopFree sounds great, if I can modify it to use my own crystals, and find an cost-effective place to buy them. Thank you very much for your help!

My husband made a bottom tray out of stainless steel, since over $50 per month on cartridges is out of the question. But I have to say, the scratching noise was unbearable. Our next step is to make a plastic sheet for the bottom - thank God we were able to get in on that Amazon deal a while back. I'll update once we figure it all out- we've got only 2 refills left so I imagine in a couple weeks we'll have to finish it.

Also haven't figured out the flap cover bit yet, but really, the rake still pushes all the poo to one end, so it is manageable. I'd like to get a flap made though...

Since I got a dozen cartridges from Amazon, I havent been motivated to have the acrylic tray made. I will probably experiement with a spray on sealant on one of trays to see if will work as a re useable.