Need a replacement battery for your Poolblaster/buster?

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C

cruzmisl

0
May 26, 2007
185
Hi All,
I finally got my battery pack and charger for my Pool Blaster. The old one died and it turns out part of the problem is the wall wart charger ends up overcharging the NiMH batteries. Anyway, rather than deal with Watertech and buy a flawed system again I decided to look for an alternative.

What I got was a 5000MAH capacity battery, which is double the capacity of the original. I also got a smart charger that shuts off when the battery is fully charged which takes about 5 hours. I had to do some soldering because I ordered the wrong ends but it works perfectly. So twice the capacity and a better charger for a few bucks more (~$70). Makes sense to me.

I asked the owner of the company if he would manufacture a plug and play kit for TFP members and offer a 10% discount. I asked for this and have no idea if it infringes on the site policies so that's all I'll say about it now. Suffice it to say if its OK I'll work on getting a link set up if anyone is interested. I have no affiliation with this person and will gain nothing but he was the one who manufactured it for me so I thought I'd ask.

Here are some pictures. The install is a joke with a single phillips screwdriver.

Comparison between new battery on left to old battery on right

battery.jpg


Battery installed in Pool Blaster

buster.jpg


and the charger,

charger.jpg
 
Bama, it has a rubber seal that is secured by 8 or so screws so no problem with sealing it. The battery is encased in a plastic housing along with the motor. What do you think abou the discount link?
 
OK let me know. Like I said I have no affiliation. He's just a guy that built what I needed, delivered it promptly and its a good product. I figured others on the forum could benefit from it which is why I asked about the discount.
 
I would definitely be interested. I wouldn't mind a PM if you can. I have 2 Watertech supplied "battery packs" that include all of the works. One is working, the other is not. The wall wart charger fried a battery then sent me, they replaced that - I have since returned to using the timing charger that was in the original Pool Busters, but I'm not certain that charger is much better.

I'm also looking for a replacement motor. If anyone knows where they can be purchased, I have tried googling using all of the different #s that I found on the several that I have and have not come up with anything concrete. I'm trying to keep my Buster alive, we love it but it certainly takes more work than it should - ANY water getting in the battery pack (which is pretty easy to do) causes huge problems if not quickly removed.
 
+1 on this. I got an Aquabroom (which takes D-cell batteries) only because I could change the batteries as I've heard a lot of battery problems with the PoolBuster. However, the Aquabroom takes forever to vacuum a spa as the vacuum head is so small. Would love to get a poolbuster to cut my time in half if the battery is better.
 
Sorry for the late response. Hang tight for a bit on the battery if you can. I had an issue with my battery last year., It vented in the unit and caused quite a mess. We think the charger missed the peak and overcharged the battery. I'll keep everyone posted how the new one makes out. I don't want to suggest anything and give people problems.
 

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I called Batteries Plus (in Plano, Texas) and the guy said he could build me one for $33, plus tax. I'm taking it to him tomorrow morning, along with the unit and the charger (just so he can see all of it). He said he could have it back to me in 24-48 hours. Can't wait to get back out there and get the pool vacuumed!
 
Interstate Battery Center will also build one for you for $29.99, plus tax. That's where I ended up taking my old one. They'll have the newly-built one fully charged for me when I pick it up tomorrow, so I can go straight to the pool and try it out.
 
Got my fully charged (they charged it overnight at the store) rebuilt battery pack back and just used it on the pool. The pool was REALLY dirty (no leaves, just LOTS of dirt). I made it halfway through (started with the deep end, where most of the dirt was) before stopping to let the little guy rest. It was still running ok, after nearly 30 minutes of hard work, but I could tell the skimmer sock was clogged with dirt, and it was slowing down on how well it was picking up. So when I stopped to put a clean sock in, I decided to wait until tomorrow to do the other half.

I also had the guy check my charger and he said it's charging like it's supposed to and should be fine. I'll plug it in late tonight and let it charge for ten hours, then try it again tomorrow. Hopefully, it will perform as well as it did today. So far, I'm very pleased with the $29.99 price for new battery. The cleaner seems to have a lot more power, because usually, the skimmer sock will catch all the dirt and not send it back out the sides - it sent some of it back out the sides today.
 
I may have found a motor for you. My motor was rusted beyond belief, but I already discarded the machine. I have included pictures of what I found in my Pool Blaster and a motor that I think might work. The motor is less than six bucks, online. Good luck!

[attachment=0:2pfum749]motor rusted LR LR.jpg[/attachment:2pfum749]
[attachment=1:2pfum749]motor.jpg[/attachment:2pfum749]
 

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frescapop said:
I may have found a motor for you. My motor was rusted beyond belief, but I already discarded the machine. I have included pictures of what I found in my Pool Blaster and a motor that I think might work. The motor is less than six bucks, online. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Awesome. Thanks. I will probably get one just to have it.

I ordered a battery from Interstate (30 plus shipping) and it looks good. I have installed it and tested and it runs fine. I am working on rigging up a charging cord from my sons RC Car charger, which is a much more advanced charger than what came with the Pool Buster. Hopefully, that will help the battery last more than one season.
 
tphaggerty said:
frescapop said:
I may have found a motor for you. My motor was rusted beyond belief, but I already discarded the machine. I have included pictures of what I found in my Pool Blaster and a motor that I think might work. The motor is less than six bucks, online. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Awesome. Thanks. I will probably get one just to have it.

I ordered a battery from Interstate (30 plus shipping) and it looks good. I have installed it and tested and it runs fine. I am working on rigging up a charging cord from my sons RC Car charger, which is a much more advanced charger than what came with the Pool Buster. Hopefully, that will help the battery last more than one season.
Click to expand...


TP, would you please let me know how to you end up rigging the RC charger, with pictures maybe? After the second half of cleaning last time I posted, I tried to fully charge it with MY charger (Interstate had charged it for me in their store prior) and it didn't charge it. I took the entire unit and charger back to the store and they checked everything out and told me that my charger is not strong enough, or something along those lines. I've had to resort back to the old heavy Aquabot Turbo and it's killing me! I'd really like to have my little lightweight Pool Blaster Max back in operation. Our son has tons of those RC chargers lying around and I'm sure he wouldn't miss one, should one come up missing :p
 
Frescapop, you have a Pool Blaster and I have a Pool Blaster Max. Is there really any difference - in other words, do you think the motor you listed will work with my Max as well? I'd like to have an extra motor on hand too at that price!

Thanks!
 
I think the only real difference between the Pool Buster and the PB Max is that the Max has an 8.4V battery (7 cells) and the regular one has a 7.2V battery (6 cells). The extra voltage drives the motor faster (that is what I have been told, for what it is worth).

I will post some pictures of my charger setup when I get to it, hopefully by this weekend.
 
I actually have the Max...I should have said that in my post. The battery puts out a steady 9.0 VDC. I would love to see if this motor would work in the unit. My only concern would be removing the impeller from the motor shaft. I wish I had an old motor/battery unit to experiment on but, as I said, I discarded my old Max. I receive a new one, via Amazon.com, today. Good luck!
 

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