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Refurb Roomba 530 $165 shipped — Parallax Forums

Refurb Roomba 530 $165 shipped

Comments

  • TtailspinTtailspin Posts: 1,326
    edited 2011-06-12 07:20
    Does anyone here have a Roomba?
    I picked one up at the GoodWill store for three dollars, Just so I could take it apart and see all the "secrets" for myself.
    However, it is missing the battery, and I wondered if it was worth buying the battery and charger? The thing looks fine in every way, except for the batt.

    Would it be worth it to buy a battery and charger? Are the Roombas fun to play with? They look hard to hack because of all the custom parts in them.

    -Tommy
  • HumanoidoHumanoido Posts: 5,770
    edited 2011-06-12 23:07
    There's lots of cheap copies here for almost nothing and there's almost nothing inside one of these things. The investment in a quality Parallax Boe-Bot kit is a much better idea. You get compatible parts and documentation for useable apps.
  • prof_brainoprof_braino Posts: 4,313
    edited 2011-06-13 06:49
    Ttailspin wrote: »
    Does anyone here have a Roomba?
    I picked one up at the GoodWill store for three dollars, Just so I could take it apart and see all the "secrets" for myself.
    However, it is missing the battery, and I wondered if it was worth buying the battery and charger? The thing looks fine in every way, except for the batt.

    Would it be worth it to buy a battery and charger? Are the Roombas fun to play with? They look hard to hack because of all the custom parts in them.

    -Tommy

    Don't buy a battery unless you play with it long enough to run down a set of regular batteries. Just use a pile of AA and if they run out, use D's, and if they run out too, THEN buy a rechargeable battery
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2011-06-13 08:31
    Roombas (vacuums) & Scoobas (mop) do a decent job, but they are pricey. For all their sophistication, they are critically handicapped by their batteries. A string of welded NiMH batteries in a purposely difficult to open pack. One cell goes bad, and you're supposed to buy a new battery for $90! http://www.target.com/iRobot-Roomba-500-APS-Battery/dp/B000VPR8TU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&searchView=grid5&keywords=roomba%20battery&fromGsearch=true&sr=1-1&qid=1307979024&rh=&searchRank=target104545&id=iRobot%20Roomba%20500%20APS%20Battery&node=1038576%7C1287991011&searchSize=30&searchPage=1&searchNodeID=1038576%7C1287991011&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&frombrowse=0
  • TtailspinTtailspin Posts: 1,326
    edited 2011-06-13 20:26
    I would get a GPS unit, or a couple of those fancy gyroscopes to play with before I would drop $90 dolla on a battery for the thing.
    What is the volts per cell in that pack I wonder?
    I can not remember seeing a voltage for the battery pack when I was searching.

    It was worth $3 bucks of playtime, Although, it would be hard to use any of the parts and mount them on a proper plywood base... ;)
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2011-06-13 22:57
    They are a pain to work on and service. They have funky drive belts, kinda like O-rings. Seems like a lot of unnecessary friction compared to an all-gear drive. Quieter than gears, but Roombas are already pretty noisy with everything else going on. Given a choice, I'd say use louder but more efficient gears and let the extra energy increase cleaning suction and/or run time.
  • RS_JimRS_Jim Posts: 1,766
    edited 2011-06-16 06:00
    Roomba battery $50 at radioshack.com
    Jim
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2011-06-17 22:41
    OMG, a NEW Roomba 440 with TWO virtual walls for $135 shipped at http://www.woot.com today only! Can this actually be?
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