Customer Reviews:
 Battery for Roomba November 10, 2008
This was easy to find and a great price. Just what I needed to replace the old battery.
 Very pleased November 2, 2008
I may have forgotten how much juice I got out of the original battery when I first got my refurbished Roomba, but I don't think it was as much as I get out of this new battery.
My original Roomba battery lost all ability to charge after just seven months, which is party my fault. I have cats and used the scheduler nearly every day to clean up after them. I emptied the dust (hair) bin regularly, but didn't keep up with cleaning the brushes and wheels like I should have. I also didn't learn about the battery reset function (remove battery, hold power button for a while, charge fully, drain fully) until it was too late.
With this new battery, I'm going to make sure to cycle the battery every few months and blow out the entire Roomba with my air compressor monthly.
Great price from Amazon, better than my original, I give it four stars only because I can't predict the longevity. So far it's been two months and running strong!
Works as expected October 31, 2008
After leaving my Roomba unplugged and unused for more than 3 months, my battery died and no attempts to revive it worked. I was left with only one choice--buy a new battery! I considered cheaper alternatives (there are some do-it-yourself kits on the web where you replace only the inside of the battery) but in the end I decided to just buy a whole new battery. Well, my Roomba is back to its old self, it roams around the house and vacuums as good as new. I've had the battery for about a month and it's working just fine.
Word of advice to every Roomba owner--never leave your Roomba unplugged for too long or your battery will die! It seems that the more you use the battery (and your Roomba) the longer it lasts!
 Returned! it wouldn't charge October 30, 2008
The re-chargeable iRobot battery would not re-charge- after leaving on the charger more than 24hours! I have returned it. I would like to know if this was a reconditioned battery or a new one! Very frustrated as I had waited a long time without my iRobot working since the original battery it came with stopped re-charging after a year of use - and I really hated to pay $50 for a new battery. I read that you should not leave the battery in the charger plugged in. I'm not sure if that is the reason the original battery quit working. Now, I'm really frustrated that I still can't use the iRobot. I guess I'll order another one and try again when I get my credit from Amazon.
Not all ROOMBA problems are (dead) battery related October 27, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have owned a ROOMBA Discovery for about 3 years and am just now finding it necessary to replace the battery. Sure, I had major problems like many others with short battery life beginning when the unit was about 14 months old.
I did a bit of research and found a discussion group that listed a good "try this before you panic" solution. Reset the ROOMBA and refresh the battery. And it worked! How?
Run the ROOMBA until the unit stops. Let it sit for about 15 minutes and try running it again. Do this until it no longer will start up. Then, remove the battery. Flip it over and hold down the POWER button for 20-25 seconds. Release. Flip back over and insert the battery. (I also took this opportunity to thoroughly clean all of the contacts with a Q-Tip and a little rubbing alcohol - letting it dry completely before putting the battery back in). Finally, I plugged the power supply directly into the ROOMBA (not the docking station) and let it charge for 3 days.
NOTE: It may be necessary to do this 2 or 3 times (for a total of 9 days with no ROOMBA), but that time is cheaper than a replacement battery.
Magic. The battery went back to its 50+ minute running time for another 9-10 months or so. At that time I did the refresh thing again and got back to more that 40 minutes running time.
Finally, after a total of 3 refresh/reset cycles, the battery is just tuckered out and won't go longer than 8 minutes no matter what I do. And that's fine... I've had hundreds of good carpet-cleaning runs with the unit. Now, for about half the iRobot cost, I am ordering a new battery from Amazon and expect years of additional use from my ROOMBA.
So, for those who haven't tried this and find that even a new battery doesn't seem to make their ROOMBA run right, give the above a try. It not only does a refresh on the battery, it also resets the ROOMBA so it can take advantage of the power. Can't guarantee it for everyone, but it sure worked for me.
|
