ChillX AutoEgg Self-Cleaning Litter Box Review

ChillX AutoEgg Self-Cleaning Litter Box Review

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Background On The ChillX AutoEgg

Automatic litter boxes like the ChillX AutoEgg promise to take the hassle out of cleaning the litter box. Not only do they do the work of scooping the litter box for you, but some of them may even do a better job at it. Plus, you’ll save time and avoid the unpleasantness of dealing with dirty litter.

As great as automatic litter boxes are in concept, they don’t all live up to the hype.

The best self-cleaning litter box offers consistent and reliable performance while controlling common litter box issues like odor and tracking. The ChillX AutoEgg is different from other models I’ve tried, featuring a stylish design and a health monitoring system.

While the ChillX AutoEgg fulfills its promise of a quieter, deeper clean, there are a few areas in which this automatic litter box could be improved. Keep reading to learn more about this self-cleaning litter box and to see what my test cats thought of it.

ChillX AutoEgg Self-Cleaning Litter Box Video Review

Unboxing And Setup

The ChillX AutoEgg is shipped in a branded cardboard box, packed with Styrofoam to protect the main litter box housing as well as the internal parts. The packaging was fairly minimal – there was much less Styrofoam than came with the Litter Robot but more than the PetSafe Automatic ScoopFree litter box.

In unboxing the ChillX AutoEgg, I found the base stacked inside the lid with several pieces of foam protecting the rake.

I appreciated that ChillX included an insert about the rake potentially coming out of position during shipping because that’s exactly what happened. Unfortunately, the insert didn’t include instructions for how to reposition the rake, but it did provide a link and a QR code for a video showing how to adjust the rake and set up the litter box.

Because the rake was out of alignment, I had to make a few adjustments before proceeding with setup. I didn’t find the video particularly helpful because it didn’t specify exactly how to adjust the rake’s position. I struggled for several minutes and even cut myself on a sharp edge trying to get it back into position. Eventually, I resorted to banging on it to get it into place.

Aside from my struggle to realign the rake, the rest of the setup process was pretty easy.

To set up the ChillX AutoEgg, you simply move the rake to the far end of the litter box housing, install the tracking pad, and plug it in. After adding litter, the instructions say to place a drawer liner in the waste drawer then attach the top cover.

The ChillX AutoEgg comes with a roll of thirty waste drawer liners – essentially small garbage bags – but installing the liner is a little awkward. There was a lot of excess, so I ended up tying the bag in a knot before reinserting the waste drawer.

How Does The ChillX AutoEgg Work?

The ChillX AutoEgg is a self-cleaning litter box that automatically rakes the litter box 5 minutes after your cat uses it. This model features a 70-degree cleaning rake that delivers a safer, deeper clean, sweeping waste and clumps into a discreet waste compartment in the back of the box.

As you might guess from the name, this automatic litter box features a unique egg-like shape. The base consists of a litter tray, cleaning rake, tracking pad, and touchscreen panel as well as the waste drawer. The top cover mimics the egg-like shape and fits over top of the base with a cutout in the front to give your cat access to the litter tray.

Here’s how the ChillX AutoEgg works:

1. Your cat enters the litter box through the front opening
2. Your cat’s body weight triggers the sensor in the base
3. About 5 minutes after your cat leaves, the rake activates
4. The rake sweeps across the litter tray, scooping waste and clumps into the waste drawer
5. The rake returns to its original position

The automatic sensor in the base of the ChillX AutoEgg not only tells the litter box when to activate the rake, but it also senses and records your cat’s bodyweight on the touchscreen panel. The log shows the date, time, and duration of your cat’s use of the litter box along with his weight and the weight of the waste. Any waste deposits under 1 ounce will be highlighted in red.

How Much Does It Cost?

Automatic litter boxes don’t come cheap, but you have to hope the added features justify the cost. The ChillX AutoEgg is priced at $399.99 and comes with the litter box, a USB wall charger, a litter scoop, and a roll of 100% biodegradable waste drawer liners.

At nearly $400, the ChillX AutoEgg is one of the most expensive automatic litter boxes I’ve tried, though it’s not as pricy as the $500 Litter Robot 3 Connect.

If you’re looking to save money on this automatic litter box, you can purchase a reconditioned model for about $350. ChillX also sells replacement parts such as the cleaning rake, litter tray, waste bin, waste bin cover, and tracking pad for prices ranging from $14.99 to $29.99.

What Are The Specifications?

When I first unboxed the ChillX AutoEgg, I was a little concerned about the size. Measuring 30 inches long, it’s about the same length as a standard litter box but the actual litter tray inside is much smaller. The litter tray only measures about 11 ½ by 13 inches.

Not only is the litter tray fairly small, but the height of the ChillX AutoEgg could be an issue for larger cats. The unit stands about 17 inches high but the entrance to the litter box is only about 7 ½ inches tall.

My cats are all pretty small (under 10 pounds) but I can see how a larger cat might find it uncomfortable to use this automatic litter box. ChillX even states that the AutoEgg is best for cats under 15 pounds. They try to make up for it, however, by stating that it is a great option for kittens.

What Kind Of Litter Works Best?

Automatic litter boxes are great, but not only do they tend to be pretty pricey but many of them require the use of special litter which adds to the cost. For example, the PetSafe ScoopFree litter box requires the use of crystal cat litter AND you have to use special cardboard litter trays.

One major benefit of the ChillX AutoEgg is that you can use just about any clumping clay cat litter you have on hand. ChillX recommends hard-clumping clay litter with small particles and they specifically recommend Tidy Cats Instant Action or 24/7 Performance litter.

To test the ChillX AutoEgg I used Frisco Unscented Scoopable Clay Litter. I’ve found this brand forms tight, hard clumps and as a Chewy-exclusive brand it’s highly affordable.

Testing The ChillX AutoEgg

Having tested several other automatic litter boxes in the past, I was immediately intrigued by the ChillX AutoEgg. Its egg-like shape is unlike any other litter box I’ve ever seen, and I was curious about the health monitoring system.

That being said, I am a big fan of the Litter Robot and I was skeptical about the AutoEgg because it is much smaller in size and offers fewer features.

Setting up the AutoEgg only took a few minutes, but I did have some trouble when it came to realigning the rake.

As I mentioned earlier, the rake was out of place when I opened the box and I couldn’t figure out how to remove it without hurting myself. The Quick Start Guide provided step-by-step instructions but they were lacking in details as far as how to actually remove the rake.

The guide suggests the following:

“With one hand, press on the side of the top flap. With the other hand, gently pull the rake rails out of the two snaps.”

These instructions seemed simple enough, but they didn’t work for me – at all. First of all, there are three snaps connecting the rake to the motor, not two, and they didn’t budge when I “gently” pulled on the rake. I tried everything I could think of to get the rake to budge but all I got for my efforts was a deep cut in my finger.

Finally, I ended up banging the rake into place which seemed to work, though I also found a few pieces of broken plastic when assembling the litter box – I never figured out exactly where they came from.

Once the rake was in place, the rest of setup was easy. I filled the litter tray between the minimum and maximum fill lines, put the tracking pad in place, and lined the waste drawer with one of the included liners. From there, all I had to do was plug it in.

Something else worth noting is that the charging cable plugs into the underside of the ChillX AutoEgg base.

The base is lifted on four small feet, so the cord wasn’t compressed, but if you don’t realize that and fill the litter tray before plugging it in, it could be quite a hassle to backtrack.

When it came to actually testing the ChillX AutoEgg, I’m disappointed to say that my cats didn’t really seem to like it. They were intrigued by the action of the rake, but after a week of having the unit set up, I only witnessed two of my cats using it for a total of 3 or 4 times.

The rake activated about 5 minutes after my cat left the litter box, as promised, and it was very quiet – probably due to the fact that the rake moves incredibly slow. It took quite a while for the rake to complete its course, too, because my cats kept stepping on the tracking pad to look at it which activates the auto-stop feature.

How Well Does It Handle Common Issues?

The ChillX AutoEgg is a $400 litter box, so it’s important to evaluate how well it handles common issues before you make such a significant investment.

I analyzed the AutoEgg in several different areas including the following:

1. Reducing litter box odor
2. Cleaning performance
3. Reducing tracking and litter scatter
4. cleaning and maintenance

1. Reducing Litter Box Odor

I have three cats, so litter box odor is always a concern. The ChillX AutoEgg offers several features that help reduce litter box odor, namely the covered design and the waste compartment.

The AutoEgg is an enclosed litter box, so that helps keep some of the odor contained. Plus, because it’s an automatic self-cleaning litter box, waste doesn’t stay in the litter tray for very long before it’s swept into the waste compartment at the back of the unit.

The waste compartment is a fairly decent size and ChillX suggests you’ll only need to empty it every 3 to 5 days in a single-cat household. Because my cats didn’t really take to the AutoEgg, however, it lasted a lot longer for me – about two weeks. During that time, I didn’t notice any discernable odor coming from the AutoEgg or the waste compartment.

2. Cleaning Performance

I love the ChillX AutoEgg in concept, but it didn’t really hold up in testing. The automatic sensor activated the rake predictably after 5 minutes and it did what it was supposed to do, but it didn’t deliver the thorough clean I was hoping for.

While the AutoEgg did a decent job with larger clumps, smaller pieces were left behind. Over the course of a week, a significant number of these little clumps started to accumulate, and pieces of litter also worked their way into the track along which the rake moves.

Over the course of testing, I found myself still doing a little bit of hand-scooping to get rid of those left-behind clumps so they wouldn’t deter my cats from using the litter box.

3. Reducing Tracking And Litter Scatter

Though the AutoEgg leaves much to be desired in terms of cleaning performance, I found it did a pretty good job reducing tracking and litter scatter. Because the unit is full enclosed, it prevents scatter fairly easily.

The tracking pad on the front of the unit helped collect litter as my cats exited the litter box as well, though I did end up having a different problem where the tracking pad is concerned.

One of my cats, Munchkin, has a tendency to spray when she pees. Not only did I find urine sprayed on the inside of the litter box cover, but sometimes it made its way into the depressions in the tracking pad. Fortunately, it’s easy to remove the tracking pad and rinse it off.

4. Cleaning And Maintenance

As is true for most automatic litter boxes, maintenance is fairly simple. The AutoEgg does the work of scooping the litter box for you (mostly), so all you really have to do is keep an eye on the waste compartment and empty it when it becomes full. This litter box doesn’t have an app that tells you when the compartment is full like the Litter Robot, however, so you’ll have to check it from time to time.

Checking the waste compartment is a little awkward because it’s located on the back of the unit. Depending where you place the ChillX AutoEgg, it could be a hassle to access the compartment. I set it up in a corner, so all I had to do was pull it away from the wall and turn it around.

Cleaning the AutoEgg itself was pretty simple as well. I was able to remove the lid and the tracking pad and rinse them out. The tricky part was removing the rake so I could clean out the litter that had gotten stuck in the tracks. Again, I struggled to get the rake apart, but I eventually figured it out.

One thing worth noting in terms of cleaning the ChillX AutoEgg is that it doesn’t have a feature that empties the litter tray for cleaning. You’ll have to remove the rake and the motor so you can lift the litter tray out of the base.

The ChillX AutoEgg’s Health Monitoring Feature

In addition to being a self-cleaning litter box, the ChillX AutoEgg also has a health monitoring system. Like the Litter Robot, this unit keeps track of when your cat uses the litter box, but it goes a step further in recording your cat’s weight and the weight of his waste.

Each time your cat uses the litter box, the touchscreen panel will display the date, time, and duration of the use along with your cat’s weight and the weight of the waste. The AutoEgg doesn’t have an app where you can keep track of these data, but you can view the last 25 entries on the screen.

Health monitoring is a useful feature, but the ChillX AutoEgg could have executed it a little better.

For one thing, the screen is very small and the touchscreen function wasn’t consistent. I often had to press the desired function several times for it to register and I can see how someone who doesn’t have fingers as small as mine might find it difficult to use.

Second, the panel is located inside the litter box base along the side – this means you can’t view it without taking the lid off the AutoEgg. This is where a smartphone app would come in handy, or the panel could be moved to a different location.

Overall, Is the ChillX AutoEgg Worth It?

The ChillX AutoEgg is an attractive litter box and certainly one of the most unique self-cleaning litter boxes I’ve tested in terms of appearance. Unfortunately, its stylish appearance is probably the best thing about the ChillX AutoEgg.

While the AutoEgg performed well in controlling litter scatter and reducing litter box odor and tracking, its function in these areas was similar to any other enclosed litter box. The self-cleaning feature that sweeps waste into a discreet waste compartment is great, but it was a bit of a hassle to have to move the litter box in order to empty the waste drawer.

In terms of function, the AutoEgg did what it was advertised to do, but its performance left something to be desired. It handled large clumps well but often left behind smaller pieces of waste and dirty litter. Some of this litter even ended up in the tracks on the sides so I had to clean the unit more often than expected to maintain optimal performance.

For a $400 litter box, I would expect stronger performance and more beneficial features.

The ChillX AutoEgg does have a health monitoring feature but it offers limited usefulness since it’s located inside the housing and you can’t view the log via smartphone app. I also found it a little awkward trying to fit the pieces together – the top of the litter box was tricky to fit into the base and the waste drawer seemed a little bit flimsy.

Overall, I like the concept of the ChillX AutoEgg being an automatic, self-cleaning litter box and the health monitoring system is a great idea. Unfortunately, the AutoEgg fell flat in many areas of testing and I just don’t think it’s worth the $400 price tag.

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