Roomba Battery - is it true ?

[dannyhmui]

Hi guys,

I want to buy a roomba, but I also find many replacement batteries selling on ebay, and other websites, it makes me feel confusing, does it mean the original battery is not enough? Or we really need to replace it? Look at the following links see how many are selling it ! It is true?

http://shop.ebay.com/items/_W0QQ_nkwZroombaQ20batteryQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZR40QQ_mdoZ

http://www.amazon.com/iRobot-Roomba-APS-4905-Battery/dp/B00022HZ04

can you give me some suggestion?

[stevematlbch]

Alll rechargeable batteries wear out after some time and will no longer hold much of a charge. Exactly how long this is varies, several factors come into play. I've used my Roomba about daily for about 9 months and it's still fine. When time comes for a replacement you should deal with one of the people on this forum that sell batteries, or, irobot. Most (maybe all) reports on the ebay batteries are not favorable.

[mfortuna]

Some of the ebay claims are interesting. One seller has a 2400mah pack that will run for 75 minutes(reasonable), another has a 2000mah pack that will run for 120 minutes(doubtful). Some don't list capacity but say you will get 70% more runtime than other cheap packs. It's 70% better!!!

Let's say the seller wants to make a 20% profit. The list price is $35 and the case costs $4. This leaves $24 for batteries. That's $2 per cell. Cells in that price range are not going to be screened for performance (a process called matching). Some cells may be strong but others could be weak and drag down the overall performance of the pack.

The roomba OEM battery do not appear to be high quality cells but I assume Irobot probably uses screened cells that are of mid range quality. All 3 of my APS packs made it to at least 2 years with medium use (6-8 times a month).

[dannyhmui]

Alll rechargeable batteries wear out after some time and will no longer hold much of a charge. Exactly how long this is varies, several factors come into play. I've used my Roomba about daily for about 9 months and it's still fine. When time comes for a replacement you should deal with one of the people on this forum that sell batteries, or, irobot. Most (maybe all) reports on the ebay batteries are not favorable.

wow....but you said most maybe all reports on the ebay batteries are not favorable? Why? bad quality or what?

[dannyhmui]

Some of the ebay claims are interesting. One seller has a 2400mah pack that will run for 75 minutes(reasonable), another has a 2000mah pack that will run for 120 minutes(doubtful). Some don't list capacity but say you will get 70% more runtime than other cheap packs. It's 70% better!!!

Let's say the seller wants to make a 20% profit. The list price is $35 and the case costs $4. This leaves $24 for batteries. That's $2 per cell. Cells in that price range are not going to be screened for performance (a process called matching). Some cells may be strong but others could be weak and drag down the overall performance of the pack.

The roomba OEM battery do not appear to be high quality cells but I assume Irobot probably uses screened cells that are of mid range quality. All 3 of my APS packs made it to at least 2 years with medium use (6-8 times a month).

wow...dude, you are like professional ! I don't even know about that, I just thought so many people selling maybe the reason is original cannot support long, just like notebook battery, some replacement can use longer...but thx a lot for your information...

just another question, 400 series compares with 500 series, 500 series is better right?

[dannyhmui]

Hi, do you guys also use replacement battery? Where do you guys get it from?

[mfortuna]

I have bought two yellow APS replacement batteries, one from Irobot and one from Amazon. I bough my two Li-ION packs from vic7677.

As far as your other question is concerned, I don't have a 500 series bot to compare my 400s to. A lot of people have mentioned cleaning ability is similar. Both suffer from brush deck issues, but the new 500s at least use two bearings in the brush deck.

[vic7767]

Sometimes you will be able to purchase the 12 Sub-C NiMH cells from Amazon.com. They offer them on sale at different times of the year. You wil need soldering skills in order to use them.

[dannyhmui]

Sometimes you will be able to purchase the 12 Sub-C NiMH cells from Amazon.com. They offer them on sale at different times of the year. You wil need soldering skills in order to use them.

thx man

[jedswift]

Sometimes you will be able to purchase the 12 Sub-C NiMH cells from Amazon.com. They offer them on sale at different times of the year. You wil need soldering skills in order to use them.

Just an update, I bought a set last January for about $40, and considered that a pretty good deal. I just checked back and they are now selling the 12 cell 4500mAh set for $24!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CP ... B001CP2DJ8

[vic7767]

The 4500 mAH cells with tabs from Amazon for $24 plus $7 shipping is a good deal. If you have the 5XX model all you need to save from the old battery is the small black plastic part since it contains the thermistor and contacts. Then solder the tabs from the cells correctly, install the plastic part, use a little clear aquarium sealant to keep it in place and you're ready to go.

[mfortuna]

I just want to point out the claim that they are matched cells is dubious at best. For the price it could be a good battery pack. If matched, each cell would have a label stating average voltage over 25 or 30 Amp discharge, internal resistance, and discharge time.

[Scheduler]

I have bought two yellow APS replacement batteries, one from Irobot and one from Amazon. I bough my two Li-ION packs from vic7677.

As far as your other question is concerned, I don't have a 500 series bot to compare my 400s to. A lot of people have mentioned cleaning ability is similar. Both suffer from brush deck issues, but the new 500s at least use two bearings in the brush deck.

Whats your opinion on the difference between the APS and the Li-Ion - I have no idea what these are and am trying to wrap my mind around all these available options (NiCd, NiMh, Li-ion, APS, all kindsa different numbers) to determine which is best for me, which is rather hard coz I have to make a decision by this weekend so that it gets here before I move (again !!!) ... Also what is the deck brush issue (I want to make sure I cover all of this before I transfer coz god knows the availability of these things in my new town) ...also do y'all all recommend having multiple batteries on hand ?

[esk3]

Two things.
NiMh and APS are the same thing.

and

Having multiple batteries is nice, but it is a pain to rotate them in a 5xx series and the extended runtime can cause all sorts of problems with overheating and motor failure and things.

I have two batteries and I only rotate them because I have to in order to keep them both alive. Otherwise, one of them will go bad and will be totally unusable.

[mfortuna]

I'm not sure why rotating the batteries would cause overheating. If you run two different batteries back to back yea, but if you run two different batteries every other day you should be OK. Not as easy in the 500 series agreed.

[esk3]

Right. I meant if you run them back to back. Then there's all of those problems with the CHM motor overheating that people keep asking about.

If you alternate days, then it is a pain, but it won't/shouldn't hurt the robot.


I'll try to be more clear next time.

[sxb]

I am need of a new battery for my 550 which lasted only just over a year. APS or NiCd?

I am interested in value, longevity,etc. I use my robot daily but apparently I did not discharge it enough totally to extend the life of the battery???? I am looking at the ProTech Robotic pages and they have both. Recommendations?
I do not have soldering skills!


Susan
Snohomish

[mfortuna]

Getting a year out of a battery that was used daily is not bad IMHO. You can go with either a NICAD or APS (NIMH). You will get less runtime with a NICAD.