Skip to main content

My Roomba 500: upgrade and repairs

I run my Roomba 500 just about every day, so you can say that I'm a heavy user.  I like the Roomba series because it works well, it's reliable, and it is easily repairable if it breaks down.  My Roomba 500 has been in operation for 8+ years and is still running strong.

My Early Robot Years:

I have owned four Roomba vacuums over the years.  My first robot was a 2nd generation "Sage 4110" that I bought in 2007 for $160.  It was great, but I ran it hard.  One day I foolishly ran it through mud and water and it broke down. I tried to repair it, but I was an idiot and botched the repair. I'm not sure what happened to it, but I moved in 2008 and I don't have it any more. My second Roomba was a 2nd generation "Red" model, likely a 4100, that I bought around 2010 for about $100.  I ended up leaving it to my roommate when I moved to another state.

Roomba 500 series Repairs and Upgrades

I bought my Roomba 500 in 2012, and it has been running strong since then.  It has been very effective, but I have made some necessary repairs over the years

  • Power jack.  My power jack went bad.  Most people likely use the docking station and not the power jack.  Me too. But my Roomba was sure it was always plugged in, even when it wasn't, and it made it seem crazy.  The problem was that the little switch inside the jack had failed, leading the Roomba to conclude that a cord was always plugged in.  I ended up buying a replacement jack and associated wiring for about $10.  A little surgery and I was back in action.
  • Cleaning head. My Roomba's original cleaning deck went bad with melted gears, likely because I had Roomba deal with a lot of fine dust that worked its way into the gearbox.  In short, the original-style gearbox was not so great at keeping dust out of it.  Happily, I bought a new "updated" 2012-era AeroVac head which is better in EVERY way.  Even if your classic cleaning deck doesn't go bad, I very highly recommend replacing the 500's original cleaning head with the AeroVac head.  It's an easy drop-in replacement.
  • Battery.  I've replaced the battery twice.  They seem to last about four years.
  • "Dirt-dog" style waste bin.   This is an optional accessory that I bought.  The bin is a large capacity but filter-less waste bin.  It has high capacity, but no vacuum motor.  They don't make this any more, and it's likely because it isn't that great.
  • Brushes and Filters.  These are "maintenance parts", and so I've replaced them several times. 

In all, I think my Roomba is still great, even after all these years.  I did have a couple problems, but the upgrade to the AeroVac system made my Roomba far better.  I imagine the power jack problem is an uncommon fluke, since I met a long-term iRobot Roomba engineer (a friend-of-a-friend), and he had never heard of the issue. And he seemed to know everything.

Roomba Replacement?

The latest addition to my Roomba collection is a Roomba 960.  My house that is under refurbishment will use the Roomba 500, and will be doing dirtier work.

Dirt is what the Roomba does, but it definitely takes its toll.  I suspect that eventually I will have to replace the wheel assemblies, and do a deep clean of the optical sensors.  But for now, Roomba continues on its cleaning duties.


Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, part 1: Disassembly Guide

I've had my SodaStream Jet for years, and once in a while something has gone wrong. Disassembly is the first step to repair.  Start with this article to see how to disassemble the SodaStream, and then once you have that down, scroll through my other articles to see how I repaired specfic SodaStream problems. SodaStream Jet Disassembly Guide Tools Required Flat head screwdriver Phillips head screwdriver 1. Remove the Carbonator.  Duh. 2. Remove the black panel lever The front big black tilt lever needs to be removed first. Removing this panel is tricky, but it isn't impossible. Looking up at the bottom of the black panel, there are two tabs, one on the left and one on the right. These tabs fully secure the panel in place. The trick is to use a flat-head screwdriver under the plastic to gently lever the tabs out of the way.  Note in the pictures how I approach these tabs with my screwdriver.  I usually release the left side first, and then I release ...
Read more

Porsche Key Remote Battery Repair Video How-To

We now live in the age where part of your life is spending time and money maintaining and repairing things like your car keys . My Porsche's remote key was getting weaker and weaker, until one day it stopped operating altogether. Keyless remote without the remoteness. Not so good. I was a bit fearful spending a sizable chunk of my time and money at the dealership to have such a small problem addressed, and so I decided that I would try to replace the battery myself. Items required A clear work surface A small flat blade screw driver. A quality lithium CR-2032 Battery, available here. Procedure The following video shows how I successfully opened up the key without breaking it, and replaced the alarm remote battery. In short, from the vantage point of the key's steel part facing away and the buttons facing up: I take a small screwdriver and press on the little plastic tab on the left side.  At the same time I use my fingers to start to pull the two halves apart.  From th...
Read more

Macintosh: Upgrading an eMac

It's been a long time since I wrote this article, but the fact remains: The good old eMac can still be useful if you take the simple steps to keep it as good as it can be.  All can run Tiger, and most can run Leopard - great operating systems for their day with a bit of useful life.  This article describes the procedure I used to upgrade my old eMac, including: Replacing the internal hard disk with a large capacity drive. Increasing the memory for performance Upgrading the operating system Here I'm upgrading a 700 MHz eMac, but the procedure and tasks for upgrading other eMac models should be almost identical. Upgrading versus Replacing My sister's eMac is of the 700 mhz variety, with 256 MB of memory. The machine seemed to be getting "slower", and the original 40 GB disk was becoming jammed packed with photos and iTunes, and within a few months she'd be out of disk space. There were two options to address the problems: upgrade the eMac, or go o...
Read more

Robust Installation of an HDHomeRun Networked TV Tuner. 64 OTA channels!

I added an HDHomerun (HDHR) over-the-air (OTA) streaming box to my home network, bringing over-the-air broadcast TV to my computers, phones and tablets.  The HDHR is a big upgrade from my previous setup: using a simple "window mount" antenna directly connected to my TV. A TV-attached antenna is good for watching some TV for free, but the HDHR offers so much more flexibility. Figure 0: HDHomeRun on my basement wall   My original OTA TV setup was haphazard at best. It was finicky, ugly, and hard for other people at home to use. I would actually tape my antenna to a window whenever I wanted to watch OTA TV. Plus, it only worked on my TV and not with my other devices. I wanted a cleaner and more modern OTA setup. After looking at possibilities, I developed two goals: (1) bring my OTA TV into the modern Internet-connected era, and (2) set it up in a reliable and pretty way so that other family members wouldn't have to fool around with the antenna or anything else.  With that,...
Read more

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, Repair #2 - Broken Fill Button

My Soda Stream Jet's fill button broke, which means I can not longer carbonate water by pressing the pushbutton. This caused all sorts of grief in my household. Here is how I managed to repair my Jet to give it another 10 years of life (hopefully). First, a look at the button The fill button on the top of the SodaStream is actually a simple lever. Pressing down on the button moves a pin that does the actual work of pressing open the Carbonator's valve. Unfortunately, the axis point is fairly thin and can see a lot of stress. That's where my Soda Stream button cracked. [ I think the usage tip here is "don't over-press the button like a gorilla, it doesn't do anything but put high stress on the button."] Cracked levering point of the button The Pesky Lever Retaining Pin The Fix It was pretty easy for me to replace the button: Take off the back of the Soda Stream and remove the carbonator. Push out the the button lever's steel retaining pin. This takes qu...
Read more

Adding a Water Flood Sensor to my Vista-20p alarm system

My Honeywell Vista 20p alarm system is fairly comprehensive, but I want one more feature: an alarm that lets me know when my sump pump isn't working properly. Here is how I added one for about $8 in special parts.   I'm afraid of a flood in my finished basement. I'm fortunate - my basement sump pump system is already redundant, with two independent pumps and two outflow pipes. The primary pump kicks in when the water level reaches 6 inches, and if that doesn't work, then the backup pump kicks in when the water level reaches 7 inches.  The backup pump should never kick in unless the primary pump is having a problem pumping.   But there is a problem with this setup: I might never know if my primary pump has failed, leaving me with no redundancy.  I want to be informed when I have one (or god forbid, two) pump failures. My goal is to have my Vista 20p alert me when the sump's water level is ever beyond the point where my primary pump should have kicked in, alertin...
Read more

Other Posts

Show more