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tim2omaha
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Posts: 23
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| Posted: June 23, 2008, 7:28 am Post subject: Battery Replacement-4905 Series |
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I purchased a replacement battery pack from Amazon.com. Here's some info on my experience with the Tenergy NiMH battery pack:
The price is very good when compared to a $70 battery from iRobot. The pack is $32.95+shipping. Vendor claims longer run times than the original. I've seen a bit more, but not significantly. Instructions are provided in the product description but do not come with the battery. Don't lose your URL to the description! A screw driver is included to remove the Roomba battery cover, however the cover is also GLUED down. Be aggressive, bur careful in removing the cover. After it's removed, all goes well and replacement is easy. So far, I'm pleased with the battery performance.
I'll provide updates to this as I get some run time on the battery. It does seem like a good alternative to a new battery and at half the price, the little work to replace it (took me about 15 minutes) was worth it to me. |
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dermbrian
Joined: 14 Jun 2008
Posts: 14
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| Posted: June 23, 2008, 7:51 am Post subject: |
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Very timely. I've been considering buying that battery pack to repair my bad APS battery. I've already removed the cover using a homemade triangle screwdriver that I made by filing off one edge of a phillips screwdriver and then filing off the tip and parts of the three remaining edges until it fit snugly.
Brian |
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tim2omaha
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Posts: 23
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| Posted: June 23, 2008, 8:27 am Post subject: |
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| That's one way to get along with those weird screw tops. The screw driver I received with the battery pack worked well. Not a bad tool considering it was provided with the battery. I really had to pry my top off the cover as it was glued down. Didn't look real pretty after I got if off, but it went back on fine and the battery seems to be "as advertised". As mentioned, I didn't see much run time improvement, but it goes for an hour or so. I'm pleased so far. |
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dermbrian
Joined: 14 Jun 2008
Posts: 14
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| Posted: June 23, 2008, 8:31 am Post subject: |
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An hour or so is a lot better than the 7 minutes I'm getting out of my battery when I remove it at the end of the fast charge and the 3 seconds that I get if I let it charge 24 hours-72 hours. 7 minutes might clean the throw rug if I set up virtual walls correctly.
Saving about $20 bucks (minimum) over the new APS battery makes a lot of difference right now. Thanks for being the guinea pig.
Brian |
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dermbrian
Joined: 14 Jun 2008
Posts: 14
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| Posted: June 28, 2008, 12:59 pm Post subject: |
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I ended up ordering the Tenergy NiMH battery pack from Amazon so I thought I'd just come back here one last time and report. It is a good deal. Mine came with no instructions but with a very nice triangle screwdriver for the battery case disassembly/assembly. In a non-padded USPS Priority Mail envelope. But the price is right and the product and the supplier have impressed me.
The instructions for installation are in the description of the item on its Amazon.com page. The only paperwork that came with the battery was a request for a good review on Amazon.com.
I choose to unsolder the existing wires from the spring contacts in the APS battery case and solder the new wires in their place. I had to cut several inches off of the new wires to make them as short as the old wires, and it was a bit of a challenge to solder the new wires on in the same manner. I could do it better maybe by doing this:
A. Remove a millimeter or two of only a few strands of the wire to the point where the other strands of the new wire can go through the tiny hole in the spring contact. The hole is smaller than the total stranded wire gauge.
B. Solder the new wire in place on the wire side (not the side poking through the tiny hole.
C. Cut off the wires that you poked through the hole as flush as possible.
After charging overnight, I was all ready to put Roombi through the test. Unfortunately, Roombi was balky. Diagnostics revealed that the wheel extended sensor on the right side wheel was flaky. I disassembled and got all the dust and stuff out that I could and things looked good. Put it together and it still had a problem. Still flaky. Eventually after running SPOT mode, helping it go by pushing, blowing till my ears burst....it started working. The new battery definitely restored the full run time. I eventually stopped it when the power light turned light orange after the best part of an hour and gave it a thorough brush cleaning.
Brian |
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