Low cleaning time on XV-21

[denodan]

Also, I believe the VX-21 also comes with the standard beater, try changing this, as the brush would, I think have a big impact on running times, as there would be more drag and friction.

Has anyone with the VX-21 done this to see how much the brush effects run times?

[donnoj]

The old style works better on thicker carpet. Switching it out improved run times, but in my case not enough to finish a small bedroom. The pet brush sounded like it was making the belt slip and only lasted 10 minutes. I didn't see a significant run time difference between brushes on hard floors. But the pet brush was defiantly quieter.

[OntheWay]

Do any of you feel that bristle brush rotates slightly harder then beater? I mean, when you turn unit upside down and try to rotate by hand. I am using an XV11 and it was giving a good 60-70 minutes with beater. For about 2 months, I am using vorwerk kit (brush+filter), and in last few runs, battery runs out of juice within 20-25 minutes! I also feel the charging times shortened.

A close inspection revealed that the small gap on shaft among the pinion and body of brush motor is filled with hair. It took my one hour to take them out, with not-so-appropriate tools. I think it relaxed a bit more, now I am keeping the unit out of dock to fully discharge, and after a full charge, we will see how much this will help.

[denodan]

Think the brush would be a real hassle and a lot of maintance like the Roomba, and cause a lot more hair, fluff to get stuck in the bearings, and shafts, etc.

With the beater I don't get this problem, or very little, was going to get the brush upgrade, but think the disadvantages out weight the advantages.

I got the Neato to cut down on maintance over the Roomba.

So think having the brush, adds a lot of the problems the Rooma has with fluff and clogged brushes, etc, and is the reason I got the VX-11, and not the VX-21.

[JEfromCanada]

The pet brush's design keeps *most* of the hair and fluff in the central area of the brush, and mostly away from the outer portions of the brush. So, even with the brush, maintenance is far less than with the Roomba.

[OntheWay]

Forgot to check while cleaning, but it may be possible to change brush strips with plastic strips from another brush set. I believe the noise will be much less, which is a very important factor for people living in apartments, like me. Personally, I cant live with that flapping noise anymore.

[vic7767]

The rubber strips have a different size than the bristle strips and are not interchangeable.

[OntheWay]

I remembered the special shape of rubber strips on LGs. Instead of being a single piece, they made several perpendicular cuts on the strip, so several small rubber leaves instead of one big. This may also help to prevent noise, but it seems main benefit is coming from angled placement of strip on the roll.

Another thing, in the past, if I leave Neato out of dock for a day or so, it completely empties the battery, but now, for about 48 hours, its waiting somewhere in the home, and clicking start button still indicates some energy left in the unit, at least LCD screen alive and battery indicator displays a pixel-wide electricity left. This looks like a need for reconditioning, still waiting to full-empty full-charge.

[donnoj]

Update on my XV-14:
viewtopic.php?f=20&t=16669&p=112634#p112634

[glnc222]

When left of the charging base the "shut down" command in the menu must be used to turn off the computer draining power. Note how when pulled off the base Neato wiggles back -- the system is operating unless explicitly shut off through the menu.