Automatic Litterbox Central

I have done everything that the website suggests. The water line is clear, I emptied it and both areas underneath are clear. I don't know what else to do. Any suggestions?

Does anyone know if you press any one or two buttons if it resets the machine?

I'll try anything.

Thanks, Tamara

After the water level rises, and the machine expects to begin churning, what happens?
Does it begin, and stop, as if jamming?
Does it hum, as if attempting to start?

I assume you are only using LitterFree granules. Anything else will most likely ruin the machine permanently.

Are you getting "Err 1" on the display? If so, read on...

If you haven't already, take the unit out of the pan, turn it upside down or sideways so you can see the water holes in the bottom of the machine. Check to see if something is lodged in those holes. Until I trained my 4 cats to not put their toy mice in the cat box as a thank you, the toy mice would get stuck in the unit where the water is removed/recirculated, and as a result, there was no water flow. The machine would generate a humming sound, then stop with Err 1 on the display.

Until my kitties were trained not to put toys in the box, it was a big problem, and we could not set the machine in automatic mode. We ran it manually so that we could check to be sure there were no toy mice in the box.

Another thing you might look at is the hose that dumps the dirty water in the toilet. Where the hook part and the hose come together, separate them and pull out the black rubber gasket and clean it out. If this gets clogged up with cat hair, etc., this will cause problems. I usually clean out the rubber gasket when I put in a new solution bottle.

One other question - is the fan working when the machine is normally blowing cool and hot air? If not, you should not run the machine as it will get overheated.

I have four machines and four cats (Siberian) and we ALL love the LitterFree machines. Two of our kitties have learned to press the correct button, so when they finish their duty, they start the machine! My kitties don't mind the sound at all because they know their cat box is getting cleaned. Without these machines I would not be able to have kitties - I have asthma with other litter systems - dust, handling the litter, etc. LitterFree has enabled me to have my very favorite animals.

Let me know how you make out. I'd be glad to help further if you still have not resolved the problem.

I've been having weird problems with my Litterfree as well. It started by simply showing Err1 when it was time for an automatic cycle. But if I unplugged it, the Err1 would go away and I could manually start the machine and it would work fine. But now in addition to that, it's also stopping the cycle before the drying and showing Err1. If I unplug it and press start it will fill fine, but not always a complete cycle. It also (once) filled, but wouldn't churn and then showed Err1. And once it showed Err1 and kept showing Err1 even after I unplugged it. I was all set to take the unit apart and decided to try one more time to unplug it and this time the Err1 light went off and I could manually start the cycle. So basically right now I can get it to go through a full cycle including drying but usually I have to unplug and run it 3-4 times before a full cycle will happen.

A little background on the unit. I recently bought it used. The previous owner had accidently spilled some cleaning solution over the unit and the buttons are sticky from that. I've tried cleaning it from the outside with alcohol, but I'm thinking I should try taking the unit apart and cleaning the inside of the buttons to remove all the goo. I'm just putting this off b/c I dread taking the unit apart.

Any suggestions????

BTW, I've had the Litterfree for a few weeks and still haven't gotten my 2 kitties to use it. One cat will pee in it but that's all. They are using the basement floor which is getting old! But this system has the potential to be so wonderful so I'm not giving up just yet!

Just be careful if you pull it apart. There are definitely some seals in there that need to be re-seated properly. Aside from that -- mainly being careful when you put it all back together -- it's not hard to do. Also, try not to tear the caulking that is covering the pump-out hose. It is a thin-membrane which is very easy to tear. Be prepared with some food-grade caulk if that happens.

Well, my Litterfree was completely wigged out. Except for filling and draining, anything and everything that could have gone wrong did. It would run a full cycle manually but refused to run it if it was a timed cycle, it wouldn't churn, then it would, then it wouldn't, it would blow cold air but not hot, it would fill and churn but not blow any air at all, it would fill and then stop everything else. It seemed every time I unplugged it (to get the Er1 light to go off) and then replugged it in, it would choose something new to stop doing.

So I broke down and pulled the thing apart for the second time. This time I cleaned the spilled cleaning fluid from every spot I could using alcohol. I even took apart the control panel and cleaned every little part in it (though there wasn't much fluid in there). Some of the connectors had some corrosion from the cleaning fluid so I carefully cleaned them the best I could. It didn't seem like I was really doing much, but it's all I could think to do.

After about 3 hours cleaning and putting the thing back together (the putting back together is definitely the tricky part), I hooked it all up and low and behold it seems to be working just fine! It even ran a timed cycle which it hasn't done in weeks. So I guess whatever I did worked. Hopefully it will stay running smoothly AND my cats will actually use it!

The only question I have has to do with water inside the machine. When I opened up the unit, at the very bottom there was a layer of old sludge. There are no seals around the casing of the unit (except around the drainage hose) so I'm wondering if maybe the first time i opened the machine, I accidently adjusted something that controls the amount of water that is allowed to be put into the box. It seems that if it lets to much water in when filling it will rise enough to get into the unit.

Also I'm wondering what the little black hose is that has an open end (not attached to anything on one end). What is this for? Does water come out this?

Still having high hopes for my Litterfree,
My2cats

Hi all,

Out of desperation for a second box, I bought one on E-bay from a company that got a bunch of the "demo models" when LitterFree went under. However, I think they got gyped, and thus I may have too. The first one they sent was a mess, and I ended up sending it back. The replacement they sent appeared to be better, but after a few tries, it too has some serious problems. I think they got a batch of returned models.

The box works just fine with no litter in it. But, when you add the litter, even just a little, the agitation cycle goes for just a minute or two, and then stops. It appears to be getting stuck. The motor does not run as loudly or violently as my original does, so it seems it is not able to "power through" the beads. There doesn't seem to be anything in the way from external inspection, although I have not yet had the nerve to open it up. The time I opened up my original, I nearly didn't get it back together!

So then, in my attempts to sort out this problem, I was running a cycle, and during the second cycle it sounded like it was going to drain, but didn't, and then it filled like normal, causing the thing to way overfill and water to spill out the back. Agitation cycle ran (well sort of), and then it all drained out just fine. No error, nothing.

So, I seem to have a couple of issues here, and any suggestions are very welcome. I have asked the company to send yet another replacement, and I will try to work with this one until it arrives, but I am very disheartened. Any ideas?

I think I know what the problem is - the demo model was not designed to pump water out (it would have made a mess on the floor of the store). I am not sure if this can be corrected or not.

I also have a demo unit that was given to me when I was a distributor for this company. If it does anything, it runs very short, short cycles. Michael, you had mentioned something about taking it apart and keeping the motor if another one fails. I'm not that technical and I'm afraid of doing this (in light of comments about seals, etc.). Any takers for this demo???

To reset the machine:

1. While the machine is on, press the Pause button.

2. Press and hold the Hour button, and while holding down the Hour
button, press the Pause button. This will turn the machine off and
reset it to the first cycle.

3. Press the Start Cycle button, and it should start with the
first wash cycle.

Regarding Er 1 - have you taken the motor out to see if anything
is trapped? There may be something in there. Another reason a motor may not start and nothing happens is because you do not have the motor seeded in the machine properly.

Important: After you clear out what was there, and you are ready to put the motor back into the machine, check the following:
1. There are no granules in the large hole in the pan where the motor goes
2. There are no granules in the two small holes where the motor hooks go in
3. When you put the motor back in, be sure that it locks, i.e., the white button on the motor clicks into the alignment tab hole.

If there are issues with 1, 2, 3 above, the machine will not start.

[Not sure of the real names for all the parts. If you are unclear what I mean, let me know.]

Don't give up yet!

tpowers wrote:I have done everything that the website suggests. The water line is clear, I emptied it and both areas underneath are clear. I don't know what else to do. Any suggestions?

Does anyone know if you press any one or two buttons if it resets the machine?

I'll try anything.

Thanks, Tamara