iRobot Scooba experience

[jasonllh]

thanks. not pointing fingers in case anyone wants to know. The guys at gkrobots are a decent lot. way better than the authorised dealer. the authorised dealers, ask them questions but gave me lame replies. and the moment i ask if they service machines brought from US....they very reluctant in their tone and kinda rude. anyway, thanks guys.......guess i just buy more black tapes in the future....lol!! anyone want to further mod the wheel??......ha ha

 

[p3c_sgd]

jason, do you find roomba useful? So far, 10 out of 10 I asked are happy with roomba. I am getting one for my mum, so probably will give her my sage and get one without caster wheel.

 

[thewiseone]

The front wheel of Roombas are all caster wheels, just that the newer models are equipped with swivel caster wheels. For more info on swivel caster wheels, floor damage, etc., u can refer to the thread here: http://www.roombareview.com/chat/viewtopic.php?t=4130&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc

 

[jasonllh]

jason, do you find roomba useful? So far, 10 out of 10 I asked are happy with roomba. I am getting one for my mum, so probably will give her my sage and get one without caster wheel.

happy indeed!! quite thorough cleaning. but do u guys really clean the roomba everyday?? cos it is advised that daily usage is good for the battery but at the same time cleaning per usage is recommended.

thinking of get a scheduler remote to do cleaning when i am not around but seems like self docking system not very intelligent and needs some help here and there.

 

[mosmos]

FREE shipping + 20% off at iRobot

Promo code: MSPORT

source: http://www.roombareview.com/chat/viewtopic.php?t=5709





Very cheap, I am planning to get scooba 5800~

 

[whypurplishblue]

Just got my Roomba from the US (born in 2006), its the black n white swivel wheel type, I noticed the brushes looks a bit different from the previous discovery I used. and under the brushes there is only one sensor instead of two sensors. Maybe will post some photos tonite

 

[thewiseone]

Its not really necessary to clean it daily unless the environment which u r using the Roomba is very dirty, fully of stuff lying around like rice grains, linen, sand, etc. The thing to take note of is the filter (which can be quickly clogged with dirt), wheel and brushes axle (make sure u dont get stuff like string/linen caught around it, leading to additional drive gear wear and heat). For me, I empty the bin and clean the filter every 3 days and only perform the full maintenance (removing brushes & brush bearings 4 cleaning, cleaning the external deck, etc.) every 2 months.

As for the battery, pls note that if u r using it daily, dont expect the battery to last beyond 10 months. You can only get about 200-300 charge/discharge cycles with it. The relatively high heat during fast charging is reducing the battery lifespan.

As for the scheduler remote, its pretty useful. There's another low cost alternative to the remote which is an auto infra red timer mentioned in roomba review some time back (if u can still find it).

happy indeed!! quite thorough cleaning. but do u guys really clean the roomba everyday?? cos it is advised that daily usage is good for the battery but at the same time cleaning per usage is recommended.

thinking of get a scheduler remote to do cleaning when i am not around but seems like self docking system not very intelligent and needs some help here and there.

 

[thewiseone]

There's a recent deal at Woot.com for a remanufactured Roomba Scheduler 4296, only for US$139.99 + US$5 (shipping within US). If u dont mind a remanufactured unit, this is a good deal IMO.

 

[whypurplishblue]

Only got 1 sensor.. I think in the old models there are two sensors..



Caster wheel, works great

I like the way when it gets stuck it will figure out how to get out.. my roomba wheel got stuck once.. then it will keep moving back n forth to get unstuck



Are the brushes different? i remember it is all black.. the one i got is yellow.. little bit different.. harder to scrape out the hair's after vacuuming

 

[thewiseone]

Roombas manufactured in earlier half of 2006 already had single dirt sensor and yellow brushes, as well as the yellow brush deck. The newest revision includes the swivel caster wheel.

 

[p3c_sgd]

I thought 2 dirt sensors should be better? irobot cut cost...

 

[thewiseone]

I thought 2 dirt sensors should be better? irobot cut cost...

yeah, i thought so too... having 2 dirt sensors should be more sensitive (apart from having 1 more sensor for backup). Guess cost is more of a factor than anything else

BTW, anyone seen the Roomba Silver sold by Courts (advertised on papers today)? Its S$538!!! Does it comes with a home base?

 

[Zapper]

Just modded my my romba psu.

Replaced the 47uF capacitor.




Soldered on capacitor


Bottom part with the varistor removed.

 

[Zapper]

Final test before connecting to the irobot.



Now I can do without the step down transformer.

 

[mosmos]

yeah, i thought so too... having 2 dirt sensors should be more sensitive (apart from having 1 more sensor for backup). Guess cost is more of a factor than anything else

BTW, anyone seen the Roomba Silver sold by Courts (advertised on papers today)? Its S$538!!! Does it comes with a home base?

btw how come is silver colour?

is it same as the green one?

 

[whypurplishblue]

Now I can do without the step down transformer.

Thats great to hear. I cant wait to try it out on mine. I misplaced the caps I bought, gotta find it first then will do the mod

 

[thewiseone]

The silver should be the same series as the Sage, just a different colour. There's also a blue and maroon for that series

btw how come is silver colour?

is it same as the green one?

 

[ktee]

Went to court tampines, did not see any. So, it is a sage with 1 yr warranty?

 

[whypurplishblue]

Hi Zapper,
I just modded mine and it is working fine.. but i couldn't close it properly.. looks like i'll need to resolder another cap with longer legs and bend it side ways.. Did your cap fit fine?

 

[Zapper]

Yes, it fits fine. I bought the capacitor with longer legs so I can push it down a little bit better and sit closer to the circuit board. Maybe u can check if ur green led is properly sitting in the hole when closed. It happened to me at first.