What kind of Scooba to seek on eBay?

[NoJimForHome]

A bit of searching tells me to avoid the 230. Any models I should particularly seek, and a good price-point for them?

Thanks in advance!

[vic7767]

Also avoid the 450 as well. Look for either a 5800 or any of the 3XX models. $60 to $100 with shipping but you might consider buying two Scoobas and use one for backup parts.

[Botty]

i picked up a 230 and i really like it. nowhere near as aggressive as a 3xx or 450, but more aggressive than the braavas. Very low aggravation compared to the faffing with my 390. A nice inbetween cleaner imo, but a 3xx or 450 for more thorough cleaning.

[Brett]

The 230 SHOULD be best Scooba of all! It's compact design is great for getting into tight spaces (think around the back of the toilet) and one of the ways they could get the small size is the very clever idea of using only one tank, with a bladder inside. Solution as it empties from the tank is pumped back into the bladder in the same space in the robot. Cunning!

Sadly that same bladder means that your Scooba will land in the bin after about 2 years (tops - apparently?) as the bladder fails and cannot be replaced/repaired...

It's a great pity!

[NoJimForHome]

Well, my bathrooms are separated from the kitchen/living room by carpet, so the ability to clean behind the toilet isn't a deal-breaker. I'm more concerned with the kitchen / laundry room area.

Botty, what faffing are you talking about with the 390?

[Botty]

Botty, what faffing are you talking about with the 390?

you have to take it apart and clean it after every usage, which is fine, but there are quite a few parts and it's not particularly ergonomically designed so you end up with loads of pieces lying around and drying.

I picked up a 450 as well and, although a lot of people here say the 3xx series give a better clean, I usually end up using the 450 because it's just easier & quicker to use and clean.

The 230 is least fiddly of all which I find makes it really easy to pick up and do a quick clean with.

[NoJimForHome]

The 230 SHOULD be best Scooba of all! It's compact design is great for getting into tight spaces (think around the back of the toilet) and one of the ways they could get the small size is the very clever idea of using only one tank, with a bladder inside. Solution as it empties from the tank is pumped back into the bladder in the same space in the robot. Cunning!

Sadly that same bladder means that your Scooba will land in the bin after about 2 years (tops - apparently?) as the bladder fails and cannot be replaced/repaired...

It's a great pity!

Brett, is the bladder readily accessable? Could you patch it with FlexSeal or FlexTape? There is a 230 with a bad bladder on eBay for $25 right now.

[Brett]

... Brett, is the bladder readily accessable? Could you patch it with FlexSeal or FlexTape? There is a 230 with a bad bladder on eBay for $25 right now.

AFAIK, no - it's a glued in thing . I didn't try it myself, but there were a few(?) guy(s) on here that had a go at it and came to the conclusion that it is a lost cause. Coupled to that, it was quietly discontinued...

Still seems a shame - much good, should have been developed/sorted.

q-B

[NoJimForHome]

OK thanks

[piokrza]

I've tested all types, incl. 230, 390 and 450 Scooba. In my opinion they all are great in their efficiency, although 230 & 450 are not as robust, repairable, have more space limitations and has different cleaning process than 390. I miss 230 because it was very good robot until the bladder failure. I wish they could invent something 'repairable' like Roomba to replace 230.

[NoJimForHome]

I have a bid going on a 5800/335. We'll see how that works.

Also thinking about buying a bad-bladder 230 just to mess around with it. Now browsing the internets to see how difficult it would be to remove the bad bladder... is there a market for replacement bladders if someone were to offer them?

[NoJimForHome]

I have a bid going on a 5800/335. We'll see how that works.

Also thinking about buying a bad-bladder 230 just to mess around with it. Now browsing the internets to see how difficult it would be to remove the bad bladder... is there a market for replacement bladders if someone were to offer them?

[piokrza]

There's no way to remove bladder or repair it. Scooba 230 has no screws to open it like 390 or 450 It's disposable type, a big disappointment made by iRobot, thus taken off market after just 2 years from announcement.

[NoJimForHome]

Hm. So cutting might be required, eh? I find this fascinating. Do I WANT another project? haha

[piokrza]

I've tried with mine. That dirty water tank hole is too small to get into even one small finger and repair cutted bladder. Cutting mean destroying. Control panel on top is cable connected with the bottom, so even when you try open it will be destroyed.

[NoJimForHome]

OK, still one day left on the 335 auction; I picked up a 230 for $29 (free shipping) that the seller *insists* has a good bladder, but no battery. Bought a battery on Amazon. So we'll see how that goes. Worst-case scenario I have a 230 I can slowly dismantle for educational purposes and document heavily in case anyone else wants to try a repair.

The $29 230 is also sans-charger, but it appears I should be able to use any old 12v charger with the right plug, unless it's some dumb reverse-polarity plug. They want more for a charger than a battery on Amazon. Thoughts there?

[leonicholson]

Worst-case scenario I have a 230 I can slowly dismantle for educational purposes and document heavily in case anyone else wants to try a repair.

Keep us posted. If it can be repaired, it could be an attractive route for others!
We currently use a couple Braavas (with reservoir pads and cleaning solution) that work well for us and the navigation mapping is effective.
How do Scoobas compare to Braavas in actual cleaning results?
I do like the smaller size of the 230 Scoobas for bathrooms, but have concerns about durability and repair.

[NoJimForHome]

Well, the 335 got sniped from me since the auction closed out while I was at work. (eBay blocked there.)
But I now have a 5801 on the way. Plus a 4.5Ah battery from Amazon.

The Googles suggest I can get about 250sqft out of the 5800, but I think that came with a smaller battery. Will be interesting to figure out the useful work capacity with the Amazon battery. I have about 1000sqft of contiguous laminate for the laundry/living/dining room/kitchen. Guessing I'll have to break that up into a few different runs.

The 230 I'll just drop into a bathroom and close the door for a while.

Question: when Roomba traps himself in the bathroom, after a few minutes he turns himself off because he recognizes he's just done a small space repeatedly. Will either of these Scoobas do that?

[Botty]

Question: when Roomba traps himself in the bathroom, after a few minutes he turns himself off because he recognizes he's just done a small space repeatedly. Will either of these Scoobas do that?

no, they just keep going until the end of their (20 or 40 minute) cycle

[NoJimForHome]

Well the 230 arrived and it looks to be brand-spanking new, minus the charger and battery. Either that or this guy did an epic job of cleaning and polishing it. Also: wow! tiny! lol
Will have to wait for the Amazon battery to show up so I can see how it does.