Battery issue?

[grapedrink]

Bit the bullet on an XV-11 finally after much thought and research.
Must say I had high hopes but I am immediately regretting my purchase.

Took the robot out, charged it for 10 mins, it had a solid green light. I ran it, it cleaned for about 5 minutes then ran out of battery to charge itself. It charged for 15 mins, now says battery is fully charged. Any idea what's going on here?? Why is the battery charging so fast and depleting so quick?

i am going to be really angry if this is another Neato issue.

[grapedrink]

.

[mfortuna]

One thing to try is ignore the charge done indicator and let the robot charge for 16-24 hours. That should help the cells equalize. Run a mission and repeat the 16-24 hour charge/mission a few more times.

[glnc222]

When charging as mfortuna suggests, the "New Battery" option in the menu should be set to correct any entry in memory of a reduced capacity which can trigger a premature termination of runs. This capacity figure is not automatically adjusted by charging the battery, and will be set when the unit performs a short run. Charging is based on voltage and currents to the battery but does not measure capacity.

[neato]

Bit the bullet on an XV-11 finally after much thought and research.
Must say I had high hopes but I am immediately regretting my purchase.

Took the robot out, charged it for 10 mins, it had a solid green light. I ran it, it cleaned for about 5 minutes then ran out of battery to charge itself. It charged for 15 mins, now says battery is fully charged. Any idea what's going on here?? Why is the battery charging so fast and depleting so quick?

i am going to be really angry if this is another Neato issue.

Sorry you are having trouble with your Neato

Please call Neato Customer Care 24/7 at (1-877-296-3286) and describe this issue.

[a4refillpad]

Judging by the large amount of views and lack of replies it appears my worst fears may be realized. I kept telling myself that Neato would have picked up its game by now. I was wrong, I have been screwed over by Neato.

Hopefully I can return this piece of junk asap. I knew I should have stuck with my Karcher which has treated me so well and with no issues whatsoever. Will never again invest money in a Neato.

Grapedrink, I think you should persevere. Trust me, as someone who also owns both devices that the neato is also a great robot.

[grapedrink]

Thanks everyone for your help. Just very frustrated after spending the money and not having the device perform out of the box. I am in Australia and bought it brand new from a reputable eBay seller who has sold many Neatos.

On the auction it said "International version 110V -> 240V". I chucked the plug into a universal adapter and the charging is fine (goes from slow flashing amber to solid green after when ready to clean).

I will try everyone's tips given above then report back. Lets hope its just a simple battery memory hiccup or something else minor.

Thanks again

P.S. In response to Neato, does being in Australia limit how much Neato can help me if I run into issues later down the track?

[grapedrink]

Good news. After a 20 hour charge run time has increased to about 20 mins. Hopefully it should continue increasing.

Also very impressed with its cleaning ability. Its fast too. I will provide updates of my experience as I run it more often.

[glnc222]

I don't buy this business of balancing cells and reconditioning a bad battery. It is not normal for a new unit. If setting New Battery did not immediately fix the problem (correcting data in memory), either the battery supplied was worn or defective or the Neato charger is defective. If these were used units the battery may have been worn, or if new the seller may have supplied the battery instead of Neato Robotics. I'd ask for another battery, or just get one of Vic's special long life batteries.

You can tell if Neato is detecting full charge properly by checking the supposedly fully charge battery voltage for around 8 volts per pack (16v installed); available with a meter or over usb terminal session.
Whether it is charging a depleted battery is hard to tell if it runs so short a time. A voltage near 1v lower after runs would indicate charging is occurring, to get back up to 8. Otherwise the battery is looking good with no load on it but behaving differently under load, all too complicated to bother with unless these things are a hobby in themselves.

[mfortuna]

The problem is Neato and Irobot don't use matched cells. A cell or two being too high during charge can skew the pack enough that the rest of the cells don't either charge fully or discharge fully. Back when I used NIMHs for RC car racing I actually matched my own cells from a couple boxes of unmatched subCs. I cycled (charge/discharge) them 3 times and noticed some cells got better each cycle, none seem to get worse and 2 or 3 never really worked well at all. I did manage to make a few great 6 cell packs.

I am hoping grapedrink's Neato will show that improvement but if it tails off at less than what Neato advertises (45 minutes?) then a new battery may be required.

[grapedrink]

Second run went for about 40 minutes.
going well. battery is all good now. expecting an hour next run.
must say I am very impressed at the neato so far.

I'm using it over a smaller area (upstairs) while the Karcher cleans downstairs.
upstairs has 3 bedrooms, lounge area and bathroom.
downstairs has large lounge area, theatre room, dining area, main hall, bedroom, bathroom and study.

As long as the Neato keeps working well I am going stay impressed.
the noise is the only downside i'm finding so far. otherwise it cleans very well, in some ways better than the karcher (faster and better coverage).

the Karcher is still the workhorse however as its doing the downstairs (much dirtier).

I might try the neato on the downstairs area to see how it goes.
downstairs is definitely more challenging in terms of obstacles / furniture.

[tmnCA]

If you are using the stock brush on a hard floor, try the pet brush with bristles... it is MUCH quieter!

[grapedrink]

Everything going OK so far.
Unfortunately I've yet to have the Neato complete a full run of upstairs because it gets caught on:

1) Bathroom mats
2) Random clothes
3) Wedges itself under my bed (I have to drape my blanket over the mattress so it hangs over the gap between the floor and the bottom of my bed)

The thoroughness of the vacuum is amazing however it gets stuck a lot more than the Karcher (and more easily).

[JEfromCanada]

grapedrink,

You do need to use some common sense in making the room "vacuum friendly". If you wouldn't use a regular vacuum on your bathmat, or run it over your clothes, you can't expect the robot to be so much better.

[a4refillpad]

He's probably used to the karcher which copes well with bathroom rugs, cables etc. But clothes lying around on floors? Not something I would recommend robot or no robot in the home.

[grapedrink]

He's probably used to the karcher which copes well with bathroom rugs, cables etc. But clothes lying around on floors? Not something I would recommend robot or no robot in the home.

Correct, the Karcher is better with rugs/cables.
Clothes, well sometimes the odd sock or shirt gets left on the floor.

[Wing Nut]

3) Wedges itself under my bed (I have to drape my blanket over the mattress so it hangs over the gap between the floor and the bottom of my bed)

My Neato is just high enough to not go under a large timber frame bed, however it does sometimes jam under the edge at one point. Leaving a large book on the floor there or a magnetic strip remedies that. However, when I do occasionally want it to clean under the bed, placing a book even under one corner of the bed gives Neato enough room to do the job and exit.

I could get some stubby furniture risers to elevate the bed slightly, but the cat sometimes leaves things it's been playing with under there, so it's better left for me to choose when it should venture under there.