IMPORTANT: SCOOBA BATTERY AND CHARGING

geekgranny · Post by **geekgranny** » December 8th, 2006, 11:36 am

May have been asked but I need to get this straight. So I use the batteries (one trip each) then do I a) leave the batteries uncharged till next charging right before use or b) recharge batteries after use then remove from charger till next use? If I recharge after use and say, go only a couple of days before reuse do I need to do a full recharge or just use without recharging? If I go a full week before reuse do I do a full recharge before use?

I guess most important question is do I leave them uncharged while storing between uses or recharge then store? I'm dealing with 5 batteries with 21 or so runs shared between two Scoobas each "mopping" day but sometimes have to break it up into two days. Thanks much, geekgranny

sez · Post by **sez** » December 8th, 2006, 12:35 pm

I think what he meant was charge it, then store it, then use it.

At least, that's the way I took it.

June · Post by **June** » December 10th, 2006, 1:00 pm

...well... I guess it's good to know *now* after I've just had my Scooba battery sitting in the charger witht he power on for almost a month (haven't had a chance to Scooba because of weird schedules the past month). Trying to look at the bright side, it could have been sitting there even longer, if I hadn't logged onto here tonight...

I sure hope it doesn't mean my battery is fried, cooked and mashed...

CoolBlue87GT · Post by **CoolBlue87GT** » December 10th, 2006, 5:59 pm

June wrote:...well...I've just had my Scooba battery sitting in the charger witht he power on for almost a month ..... I sure hope it doesn't mean my battery is fried, cooked and mashed...

If it's fried, just call customer support, let them know your battery is not holding a charge.

They will send out a new battery.

mkinzie · Post by **mkinzie** » December 11th, 2006, 11:27 am

I just called iRobot support this morning and they told me the same thing. They're sending me a new battery, and said that they just recently found out that leaving the battery on the charger all the time depletes the battery.

They said to charge the battery for 3 hours after using the Scooba and then remove it. They said to then put the battery back on the charger 3 hours prior to using it next time. I'm not sure if this is really necessary (charging twice), but that's what they told me to do. I complained that this was inconvenient and that I hope they'll fix the (what I consider to be a) flaw in the charger.

Gordon · Post by **Gordon** » December 11th, 2006, 2:59 pm

mkinzie wrote:... iRobot support [is] sending me a new battery, ...
... I'm not sure if this is really necessary (charging twice), ...

I would say charging twice may be done IF you plan on Scooba working a large area, until its cleaning solution is depleted, AND some days, say a week, have gone by since its last use / charge.
I also agree with vic, I think it is, that simply doing a pre-charge prior to the next use is fine when the battery is known to be healthy.
If you are witnessing shorter runs than the battery gave when new, then the post-use charge will provide headroom for the self-discharge the cells will do prior to next use, thus helping to ensure the cell-voltages are not so low that charging will not commence.
What am i saying there? It is: old batteries may benefit from the post-use charge and need the pre-use charge; whereas, a new battery should requiure only a pre-use charge.
BTW, mkeinzie, if youwould care to donate your duff battery to "science", pls PM me about a shipment.
---Gordon

TheKdd · Post by **TheKdd** » December 13th, 2006, 12:39 pm

Hi there everyone.

I just recently found this forum... I was searching around to see if this problem has been experienced by others also. So glad I found you all!

I got my Scooba as a gift last Christmas (course it came in Jan) - I have the same problem. iRobot is sending me my new battery today. They told me the same thing... Let it charge either in the battery charger or in the unit, once it's charged, remove it and store away from the charger in a cool dry place. They also told me that I should not need to charge it for the next run if it's within 2 weeks. If it's after 2 weeks, then to charge until ready and run.

Thought I would also add my battery manufacture date is 12/6/05. Now... I am off to the Roomba forum where I seem to be having the same problem darnit! Except my Roomba is older, no longer in warranty. Hopefully I can figure this one out by reading too

Thanks!

vic7767 · Post by **vic7767** » December 16th, 2006, 12:43 am

This information should be updated to include the latest recommendation from IRobot. Charge once after last use, do not leave the battery on the charger. Charge again 3 hours before use.

THX-1138 · Post by **THX-1138** » December 16th, 2006, 9:59 am

IMHO, this is a major step backwards for iRobot. How could their engineers blind eyed this issue? Roomba has a much better battery recharging technology compared to Scooba and it's older technology at that.

I can not see iRobot expecting to have consumers charging the battery, taking it out and charging it again 3 hours before use. It's cumbersome at best. iRobot has to solve this issue by either providing a new updated charger and battery to all it's current Scooba owners. I wonder how widespread is this problem and if they rectified it with their newer batch of Scoobas. I will contact iRobot to get a clear answer to this big flop of a problem.

June · Post by **June** » December 27th, 2006, 8:48 am

I have to agree - what a hassle! And my Scooba's battery (approx 3 months old, having been stored on the charger as instructed in the manual) will now not hold a charge from one day to the next. I.e. I run Scooba, charge for 3 hours, remove from charger - next day I get less than a minute out of it before the Sccoba stops with a dead battery. So I have to re-charge it again for maybe 2 hours (until charging light goes off in charger) before running, even if it was fully charged the day before... I guess I must look into getting a new battery already - a major hassle since I'm in Europe, where they don't sell them yet. If I can even get one (postal regulations)...

Irobot would do best if they sent out improved chargers and replaced batteries that have been damaged by the wrong instructions! And a no-questions-asked replacement, please, that would ship to any country... Especially since the problem is caused by following their own faulty instructions to the letter. And it's not as if it's illegal to buy an appliance in the USA and take it out of the country...

ehmail · Post by **ehmail** » December 27th, 2006, 9:50 am

June,

there is no postal regulation that prevents shipping Scooba's batteries across the atlantic...

Regarding Scooba: My Scooba came with the instruction-booklet which says that if Scoobas brushes are dirty, simply put them in the dishwasher - which, when done, causes them to bend like a banana.

My Scooba is now 6 months old and from the very first day I always took the battery out of the charging base after completion of the charging cycle. I only use it every second week as I swap it with a second battery. Both batteries still give me 2.5 cleaning cycles.

GSH · Post by **GSH** » January 1st, 2007, 1:48 am

I too had a Scooba battery die on me and had it replaced. The new battery maintenance "recommendations" from irobot are ridiculuous. The whole purpose of the robot is to make my life easier, but the whole four hour charging business really has the opposite effect.

Anyway, I thought that doing the following: plugging in scooba (or scooba charger) into a timer programmed to shut off in four hours. This way the battery will be charging for a sufficient period of time and will not overcharge. My main concern here though is that once the timer is off, scooba (while idling) will slowly suck the juices out of the charged battery, emptying it by the time I'm ready to use it. I don't know much about batteries, so I wanted to run this idea by the people who might be more informed on the subject. Your thoughts?

vic7767 · Post by **vic7767** » January 1st, 2007, 12:19 pm

About the best thing to do is disconnect your battery from Scooba to prevent additional drain then charge it just before use.

hateeecs · Post by **hateeecs** » January 15th, 2007, 7:27 pm

This is nuts. I too had call and get the battery replaced after 4-5 months of use. Certainly not "hundreds" of cycles like iRobot claims. When submitting my incident i worked out my estimated cost per wash and it was something like 10 dollars

Luckily they did send me a replacement battery but I will not expect to get another one when this happens again. This is bush league.

quinoshark · Post by **quinoshark** » January 22nd, 2007, 12:03 pm

i've been reading all the post, and i still haven't made up my mind. i followed the instructions and the battery of my scooba died.

recently, i got a new one through ebay and i don't want to repeat the disaster of the other battery.

finally, which is THE BEST WAY to keep your battery healthy and not to have a new paperweight...

thanks for all

THX-1138 · Post by **THX-1138** » January 22nd, 2007, 4:47 pm

The "NEW" policy from iRobot is to charge your battery and when fully charged to unplug or remove it, store it until next use, hopefully within a couple of days if not then charge it before the next cleaning cycle.

Very awkward but this is what is being officially said from iRobot customer service reps.

June · Post by **June** » January 23rd, 2007, 4:48 am

THX-1138 wrote:The "NEW" policy from iRobot is to charge your battery and when fully charged to unplug or remove it, store it until next use, hopefully within a couple of days if not then charge it before the next cleaning cycle.

Very awkward but this is what is being officially said from iRobot customer service reps.

Indeed, very awkward. Especially since my battery (from having been sitting on it's chager since i got it an September or so?) doesn't even hold a charge till the next day!!! I'm also worried that because it is so lousy at holding a charge, if I let it sit for any length of time, it will be totally empty and unable to accept a charge?!?
Sigh...

whpalmer4 · Post by **whpalmer4** » January 26th, 2007, 8:52 pm

June wrote:
THX-1138 wrote:The "NEW" policy from iRobot is to charge your battery and when fully charged to unplug or remove it, store it until next use, hopefully within a couple of days if not then charge it before the next cleaning cycle.

Very awkward but this is what is being officially said from iRobot customer service reps.
Indeed, very awkward. Especially since my battery (from having been sitting on it's chager since i got it an September or so?) doesn't even hold a charge till the next day!!! I'm also worried that because it is so lousy at holding a charge, if I let it sit for any length of time, it will be totally empty and unable to accept a charge?!?
Sigh...

So call up iRobot and request that they replace your battery under warranty, already! I haven't read anything yet on the forum that suggests they are making this process (of getting a replacement battery) even slightly difficult...

Bill

debugger · Post by **debugger** » January 27th, 2007, 4:52 am

I don't actually have a Scooba, but have been thinking about getting one. I had thought it was as automatic as the Roomba, ie. it would sit on it's docking station, fully charged and ready to clean, would then clean and return to it's docking station and charge itself up, keeping the battery in tip top condition ready for the next cleaning cycle.

Obviously I'm spoilt with the Roomba.

Does anyone know if they've improved things with the newer (cut down) version of the Scooba?

I really don't fancy all this charging, taking batteries out and in and then charging again prior to use - by the time I'd done all that I could have got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed the floor!

idchafee · Post by **idchafee** » January 27th, 2007, 10:28 am

I was googling for "scooba dead battery" and found this site. So the directions in the manual (the manual with is STILL available on www.irobot.com) is wrong? Lovely. I e-mailed irobot tech support, hopefully I'll get a new battery. Does anyone know if you had to register your scooba to be able to get a new battery?

Robot Reviews

IMPORTANT: SCOOBA BATTERY AND CHARGING

Using a timer for charging

argh!

my battery also died