Easy R3 Bin Upgrade

a1robotrepair · Post by **a1robotrepair** » June 2nd, 2016, 4:21 pm

I have been doing this to the old style R3 bins for 3 years. IMHO, it works better than an AeroVac bin. This will work with the R2 too. I like the fact that the old style bin has the nubs to pull dust bunnies, leaves and hair from the brush. Guts? How about nubs.
Scooba Vac M requires separate circuit excited by Q79. -2060 -1376mA

: After Cleaning and lubricatig, drill 12 10mm holes outside the filter seal area.

a1robotrepair · Post by **a1robotrepair** » June 2nd, 2016, 4:41 pm

Everyday results using black sealed bearing CHM with ECHM brush/bar.

Added some new pics

vic7767 · Post by **vic7767** » June 2nd, 2016, 5:34 pm

Nice mod. I think I'll try that using 700 CHMs and the earlier Dust bin.

a1robotrepair · Post by **a1robotrepair** » June 2nd, 2016, 6:27 pm

That's high praise coming from you! I think that would be cool, back engineering to make something work better. Did you mean the ECHM in a R3 or R3 bin in a 700? The mod works great with with the ECHM on the R3.

vic7767 · Post by **vic7767** » June 2nd, 2016, 7:36 pm

lol, yes, the ECHM R3 bin. I've just retooled my shop to support only the R3 700 CHM as well as the 800-900 CHM with the sealed ball bearing mod. A lot more labor on the 800 brush gear assembly but well worth it. That was a great design from third-deg.

a1robotrepair · Post by **a1robotrepair** » June 2nd, 2016, 7:57 pm

I couldn't agree more about the CHM design. Instead of modifying the gears and gearbox to fit the bearings you let me in on, I have been using a 10 x 12 x 4 spacer between the gears and bearings. Just a couple of milliamperes added to current, no dust, no dirt, no problems. I found 4 Delrin spacers and haven't found any more. The next step to modify more would be to order a stamp to cut them myself.

BR549 · Post by **BR549** » July 6th, 2016, 7:25 pm

This is a great modification. It keeps the brushes much cleaner. My 530 is back in business in the basement rec room and my 805 can do the rest of the house.

djos · Post by **djos** » February 7th, 2017, 4:58 pm

Just did the mod on my bin for my 560, got carried away and drilled about 4 extra holes than shown above. Hopefully it'll still work well.

djos · Post by **djos** » February 7th, 2017, 6:08 pm

Seems to work just fine, cleaned up the mess I made drilling the holes with no problem..

too early to tell how much of an improvement it is as the garage floor is pretty clean due to the Roomba running every morning at 2am.

bootstrap · Post by **bootstrap** » February 9th, 2017, 1:19 am

I agree this is a great mod.
One further improvement could be the addition of a HEPA filter from the 800 series.

SE_machine · Post by **SE_machine** » March 5th, 2017, 1:41 pm

Outstanding mod! The ol' 570 needed cleaned and some maintenance done. I figured I'd try this since I had it apart (and I need a new bin anyway in case it didn't work). Among a full bin tear down, clean, and vacuum motor bearing lube, I also drilled 14 small holes in a similar fashion to the pictures above. I put it all back together and did a quick run in the living room. Even though we currently have a puppy in the house, the Roomba used to take a few weeks to fill up the bin and filter compartment. The attached picture shows what the Roomba picked up after only a 10 minute run.

The run was cut short by the brushes locking up. After a near solid 7 years of use, the brush deck bearings finally dried out. After tearing the gearbox down, cleaning, and lubing the bearings, I had the Roomba continue in the living room. It ran another 10 minutes and I parked it because the battery was low. I popped the bin out, and found the bin just as full as the first run. It's like having a new robot.

djos · Post by **djos** » September 13th, 2017, 4:55 am

So in my garage, which is a very tough environment for any robot (almost killed an XV11 in 3 weeks), I've just switched my 561 to using an aero vac bin. Tbh in that dusty and brutal concrete environment, the aero vac bin is doing a better job than my modified R3 bin.

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