When I looked over my Neato XV-21, I thought it was far too clean to be a high mileage appliance. There were several possibilities:

  1. The previous owner was meticulous about keeping things clean (supported by the plastic protective wrap.)
  2. The Neato was barely used.
  3. A Neato is very good at keeping itself clean.

Thanks to a second Neato found in a thrift shop, this time a XV-12, we now know #3 is false. This one is well used, and very much looked it! The previous owner didn't bother cleaning the vacuum before dropping it off at the thrift store. I have several loops of hair tangled up in the roller brush. The largest loop has even snagged what looked like furniture padding foam.

Neato XV-12 dirty brush roller

The largest loop has also tightened enough to damage the roller brush. Once I cut that loop of hair and debris off the roller brush, I see a slot cut into the rubbery blade.

Neato dirty brush roller ripped

There was also debris tangled on the motor shaft driving this roller that had to be cleaned off before the roller brush could function properly again. The cavity for the roller brush showed extensive wear from a life as a working household vacuum (above), whereas the XV-21 showed barely any wear (below).

Neato wear pattern

Those were problems found on the suction side of the vacuum. What about the exhaust side? The vacuum is generated by a fan which sat downstream from the dust bin filter, so its cleaniness would be a clue at how effective the filter was. Everything seen here are dirt particles that have made their way past the filter.

Neato XV-12 dirty vacuum motor

But even though this vacuum lived a harder life, its battery was actually in better condition and could run the vacuum computer for several minutes before fading out. As a result I was able to query all components individually using its USB port without having to hack a battery into this vacuum. All signs indicate that this robot vacuum is likely fully functional except for its battery.

And fortunately, with the arrival of replacement battery packs, we don't need to drill holes and hack external battery packs for a full system test. We can install the new batteries into this XV-12.