
Like many other [Bissell
SpotBot](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NNZ2WU?ie=UTF8&tag=abodit-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000NNZ2WU)
owners the very loud beep that the SpotBot emits once its done it's job
has been a constant annoyance in what is otherwise a very handy device.

If you have pets or children a SpotBot is an essential accessory. It's
also handy for parties where a spilled wine glass can be cleaned up in
minutes hands-free while you continue talking to your guests. The
SpotBot is small and can be brought in, dropped on the spot and a few
minutes later it's all gone. No paper towels, no apologetic guests on
hands and knees. Sure, it's noisy but it's a lot less intrusive than a
full-size steam cleaning vacuum cleaner.

The only downside to this indispensable appliance is the beep noise
which begins as soon as it's finished cleaning and goes on forever until
you stop it. Not only is it persistent, it's also very very loud.
Searching the internet for a solution produced an article which didn't
even identify where the beep was coming from and had a solution that
involved programming a micro-controller and soldering it in to the upper
circuit board! That's clearly not an option for most people and I wanted
a simpler solution so today I took it apart and figured out how to
silence it.

Below are the steps I used to quieten our SpotBot. Make sure it's
unplugged first and remove all the liquid containers from it. Proceed at
your own risk and although this process involves no electrical changes
you should not attempt it unless you are comfortable opening and
reassembling electronic devices.

<a href="/images/uploads/2010/12/IMG_2655.jpg">
<img alt="SpotBot disassembly" src="/images/uploads/2010/12/IMG_2655-150x150.jpg" class="sidephoto" />
</a>

The first step is to open the SpotBot. To do this you need to remove all
of the screws on the top side of the unit including the two that are
hidden under the panel to the right shown here. There is no need to
remove any of the screws on the under side of the unit. Once you have
the unit separated into two parts you may also need to remove the zip
tie around the wires in the middle to give you more room to work. Up
inside the top half of the unit you'll see a small white box made out of
flexible white plastic. Open that box and you'll see a circuit board and
on the front-left corner of that circuit board you'll see a small
piezoelectric device that is responsible for emitting the beep.

<a href="/images/uploads/2010/12/IMG_2653.jpg">
<img alt="Silencing the SpotBot" src="/images/uploads/2010/12/IMG_2653-150x150.jpg" class="sidephoto" />
</a>

You could at this stage undo more screws and get the board out so you
can unsolder the beeper or add a resistor inline with it, but as a less
drastic solution that can reduce the volume to a much more tolerable
level you can try the simple fix of applying a large blob of glue over
the piezoelectric device to quieten it down.

Once the glue has set, reassemble the unit and enjoy your new, slightly
quieter Spotbot. As the glue cures the sound will get quieter.

**Click the images to see larger versions**


The Blog of Ian Mercer.

Topic: hacks

Silencing the annoying SpotBot beep - a simple hack