iRobot Advanced Power System Ni-MH Battery, 3000 mAh, 80501
by iRobot
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List Price: Our Price: $77.98 You Save: $12.01 (13%) Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 2 months Buy Used: from $75.00 (click here) Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of iRobot Advanced Power System Ni-MH Battery, 3000 mAh, 80501
Customer Review: Defective Battery - Review contains updates re customer service and replacement battery
Summary: 1 Stars
Very disappointed in this product. They describe this as an iRobot battery, and even put a picture of the iRobot battery in the product listing, however, and this should have been obvious from the price, this is NOT an iRobot battery! Now, I'm not an iRobot snob, and I would be perfectly happy with a generic replacement battery, IF IT WORKED! It holds juice, and it will power the Roomba, but upon docking with the home base, I get a one red blink error light (battery problem) and a fast red blink on the charge indicator light (never turns green after charging). I thought this could have been due to the Roomba forcing a deep recharge (16 hour cycle), but I left the Roomba on the home base for 24 hours, took it off, and the Roomba was still indicating it had no charge. I did a reset of the Roomba software (hold down the "spot" and "dock" buttons at the same time for 10 seconds), and only then did the indicator light turn green. As soon as I placed it back on the homebase however, the flashing red lights came back. It's not a problem with the Roomba either, I put the old iRobot battery back in, and the charge indicator light worked like it was supposed to. Until I get a REAL replacement, I'm stuck using my old, dying, iRobot battery... which is still better than the defective, generic battery that was sent by Battery Superstore.
Keep an eye out for an updated review. I have a message into Battery Superstore asking for a replacement of the defective battery they sent me. I will update this review with a review of their support, as well as any replacement they send out.
******UPDATE******
I sent a message to the seller, via the Amazon interface, telling them of the problem with the battery. They were quick to respond, and upon answering a few of their follow up questions, they were quick to process a replacement for the defective battery. I will update this review once I receive the new battery.
******UPDATE******
The battery they sent out to replace the defective battery, is defective as well. Same problems as the first one they sent out. I will be contacting the seller again to see if possibly there was a problem with the entire lot, or if I am just extremely unlucky in the batteries they have been sending me.
****** FINAL UPDATE******
Rather than keep sending me defective batteries, the seller has agreed to refund my money. They even sent a prepaid mailing label for me to return the defective batteries.
Overall, I'm disappointed that the product did not work, but I couldn't have been happier with the customer service. I ordered an authentic iRobot battery finally, and it works perfectly.
Customer Review: As good or better than iRobot original... from ShopXtreme
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this for a Roomba 530 that went defective. It was only a couple weeks past the one year warranty and the bumper circuitry malfunctioned. I wasn't very happy about that as I had used it only about fifty times. Roomba offered to replace it with a top of the line scheduling model for a considerably reduced price to compensate for my loss. However, it would not have a battery, docking station, charger or lighthouse. I would have to use all the accessories from my old Roomba or buy anything else I needed.
Since it was a top of the line model, I elected to get the new one. I also decided I wanted to get a much better battery than what I had. After considerable research on these batteries from different sellers, I purchased this battery from ShopXtreme and it is an outstanding performance battery. I believe it is identical to the one sold by iRobot. In fact, I believe it is better. It runs for almost two hours before needing recharge. Before using it, I charged it for 16 hours even though it came with at least a partial charge.
The design of their battery makes it impossible to put it in wrong because there is a protrusion which has to match up with the battery compartment and it will only go in one way. That is important.
The key thing to look for is the rating of the mAh, which is the mili-amp hours. The higher that number, the better the battery is and the longer the run-time will be. Mine was 3,500 mAh. The battery sold by Roomba on their website is only 3,000 mAh and costs $89.00. It doesn't take much to realize that the one at ShopXtreme is a great value.
I would also caution you not to buy a NiCad battery which may look very similar to these and will also work in your unit. It is an easy mistake to make and may be tempting because they cost less and look the same. However they are the older version batteries much inferior to these and can develop a memory which will result in a short battery life and poor performance. Make sure it is an Ni-MH.
I can't speak for the other vendors, but if you order what I did from ShopXtreme, I am quite sure you will be happy and completely satisfied.
Customer Review: DO NOT BUY FROM SELLER
Summary: 1 Stars
I placed my order on Febuary 23rd after looking around for a replacement battery for my Roomba. Found this seller, which had a great price and said the item was IN STOCK so did not think twice about placing my order. Order status said that the item would arrive sometime before March 4. I then promptly received an email going as follows...
"We are sorry to inform you that the item is on back order due to the great demand and the new inventory will be arrived on 3/6/09. If it meets your schedule, we will ship the order by USPS Priority (2-3 Day Fast delivery) as soon as we receive the new stock. Please advise
We apologize for the inconvenience."
I was not in a rush to replace the battery, so I said ok, that's fine. So then March 10th comes around and I still had not received my battery, so I email them again, to which they replied with this...
"I've confirmed with the inventory and shipping dept that the new stock shipment haven't arrived due to the delay by custom and it will arrived on 3/13 for sure. We will ship the order asap and thanks for your patience."
Needless to say, today is March 17 and I still don't have the battery. After reading the other reviews on here I wish I had looked more into this seller before placing my order. DO NOT PURCHASE FROM THEM! I did email them again today... Gotta wait to see what the reply is.
Customer Review: Generic battery but works well
Summary: 5 Stars
There seems to be a variety of experiences with this battery, and I wanted to relate my experience with purchasing it.
I was shipped a generic Roomba 500 battery by "Allergy Be Gone". I think unless you buy directly from Amazon (for about 2x the price), this is what you will get. When I installed the battery, I found that it was keyed so you could only install it in one direction - it wasn't possible to install the battery backwards. It was really easy to install, requiring only a Philips head screwdriver. My Roomba then charged up in a very short period of time, and it now runs for 2+ hours. The battery charges fine using either the charging station or when plugged in directly.
I think "Allergy Be Gone" sells a higher quality battery than "Battery Superstore" sells. Reviews that mention Battery Superstore seem to be lower than other sellers, so I would recommend being careful about who you buy this from.
Overall, I am very pleased with this purchase since it saved me some $$$, but I wish ALL the sellers were clearer as to whether they are selling a generic battery or a iRobot branded battery.
FYI: iRobot has a video showing you how to install a battery on a 500-Series Roomba on their website.
Customer Review: BEWARE OF BATTERY WAREHOUSE, THEY ARE SELLING GENERIC BATTERIES!
Summary: 1 Stars
I was a little skeptical when I saw that Battery Warehouse was selling this battery for $41, when even Amazon.com is selling it for $63.47, and some vendors sell it for as much $90, but I went ahead and took a chance with Battery Warehouse on the battery.
What a mistake that was. When I received my battery and opened it up, I immediately noticed that the sticker indicating that the battery was indeed iRobot genuine was missing. I called Battery Warehouse to inquire if this was a real iRobot battery, and they assured me that it was, but I still had second thoughts about it.
After a call to iRobot, we determined that this was in fact a generic battery that was NOT made by iRobot. I was also told that using this battery in my Roomba would void my warranty!
Battery Warehouse refused to allow me to return this, so I had to get Amazon to give me an A2Z refund on it. Make sure that you buy this from someone other then Battery Warehouse if you really want to get the item that's pictured.
I Will tell EVERYONE I know to STAY AWAY FROM BATTERY WAREHOUSE!