What the Vacuum Robot upgrade actually does
A cleaner that picks up rat waste can still leave you managing a container full of it. In Probably Stolen, the Vacuum Robot's incinerator upgrade adds automatic waste destruction, making a growing animal operation easier to maintain. The trade-off is higher energy consumption rather than a larger collection bonus.
These Probably Stolen vacuum robot upgrades are documented for the pre-release demo. The community's Machinery and You equipment guide calls the machine a Cleaner robot and describes its collection and incineration modes. The official Steam demo page also confirms that the Vacuum Robot became upgradeable.
How to add and enable the incinerator
According to the community equipment guide, the upgrade requires one electronic part. Use that part to upgrade the cleaner, then open the robot's right-click options and toggle incinerator mode on.
The installation and the operating mode are separate decisions: upgrading the robot gives it the option, while the toggle determines whether it burns the waste it collects. You can turn the mode off again through those options.
For the basic cleanup job, the robot works on animal feces in the inventory containing it, moving the waste into its own storage. It normally works at night; the guide also describes double-clicking it for manual activation. The developer's playtest patch notes explaining the robot's night and manual functions provide additional context for those two ways of operating it.
Budget for the extra power
Community reports list normal cleaning at 4 energy per operation and describe incinerator mode as doubling the energy requirement, listing 8 energy per day for that mode. Those units follow the source's wording; they should not be treated as a promise that every possible manual-use schedule has the same daily bill.
The important practical difference is straightforward: incineration destroys the collected feces after activation, but you need enough energy to run the more expensive mode. If a robot stops helping, check both its selected mode and its available power before assuming the upgrade failed.
The same community guide states that the robot has no module slots. Performance or efficiency modules intended for other machines are therefore not the route described for this upgrade.
Decide whether to burn or keep the waste
Incineration is useful when your priority is removing animal waste with less manual emptying. Keep it disabled when you intend to retain the collected material or when the extra energy expense is unwelcome.
That is a management choice, not a universal requirement for every rat setup. Start with the cleanup function you need, keep the machine in the inventory you want cleaned, and enable destruction when disposal is worth more to your operation than preserving the contents.
FAQ
What material upgrades the Vacuum Robot?
The demo-era community machinery guide specifies one electronic part for the incinerator upgrade.
How do I turn incinerator mode on?
After upgrading, use the cleaner's right-click options to toggle the mode. It can also be switched off there.
Does the robot only operate overnight?
It has overnight operation and a manual function. Community instructions describe double-clicking the robot to activate it manually.
Can I install ordinary machine modules?
The cited community guide lists no module slots for the cleaner. Its documented improvement is the electronic-part incinerator upgrade.