Cyclone Upright Vacuum Cleaners - Buying Advice

[Peter Hemmings]

I Have an old Hoover Aquajet and am getting tired of continually replacing the "wafer thin" bags which are now sold as spares, and I will be looking for a basic "cyclone" upright in the near future. I understand there are now more options now than just Dyson, and as I have heard of some bad reports of them (expensive parts/unreliability), I would appreciate some actual user feedback. For information, I had an interesting conversation with the owner of a repair shop in Bristol. He said most cyclone problems were due to not cleaning the filter every couple of months and trying to use the machine with a wet filter after cleaning! He also suggested getting a spare filter so that I could usr the vacumm while the filter dried out completely (which can take a few days). Thanks

[Bob Mannix]

These are not suggestions, they are essential. Two months - ha! I have to change the filter every time I empty the machine (Dyson). As they are now washable, you just need two sets as the man says.

[Martin Angove]

We started having to do that, which was odd as it was about 4 months before the filter needed its first clean. We also noticed that the machine (DC07) had a noticeably weaker "suck". Eventually we called the engineer (the machine was about 14 months old) and he diagnosed seals gone and a blockage in the cyclone unit.

Free of charge new cyclone unit, new clear bin, new filter housing and new filter. The difference is dramatic. Suction back to levels we thought were just our imaginings, and haven't had to clean the filter since April, though looking at it now it must be getting near to wash time.

If your machine is still under two years old, I'd seriously suggest calling in the engineer. You might be surprised.

Hwyl!

Martin.

[Peter Hemmings]

In message , Bob Mannix writes

Thanks for the confirmation BTW What is the main difference between say a DC04i and DC07's. Is it just a higher level of filtration or something I would really need!?

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[Alan Shilling]

Had exactly the same experience, DC07 - and at 14 months old too! The engineer reckoned that there were rough bits on the casting of the tiny cyclone passages, and gunge had accumulated. I attempted to check out this theory but the thing seems to be glued together - however I was able to flush the passages out with water, so I now have a spare unit for the next time it clags up (i.e just after the guarantee expires) although as this may be due to a manufacturing defect, the sale of goods act applies.............

Didn't get a new filter (already had two), but he advised putting the yellow plastic one in a 40 degrees wash - it came out looking like new.

He also slipped a thick rubber washer under the filter, I think this was to stop air by-passing the filter by following the slight gap round the spindle in the middle.

Dyson - no loss of suction - that's just not true. No loss of suction due to accumulation of dust in the bin, maybe.

Alan Shilling

[Andrew Gabriel]

I have both a DC04 and a DC07. The DC07 has significantly more suck, and lots of little usability improvements. It replaced the DC04.

Not sure what DC04i is -- they do a DC04 for industrial use, but I haven't heard DC04i term used before. The standard DC04 is obsolete now -- there's still stock around but if it's more than £160, then I would say it's over priced old stock.

[jerrybuilt]

An *engineer*?

(The Importance of Being Earnest)

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[John]

Why would it be necessary to 'call an engineer'. If the technology defeats someone who can use a PC to access newsgroups one would think they would realise that the Dyson could be taken to the shop - or to a repair shop - in the back of the car.

[Paul C. Dickie]

In article , Alan Shilling writes

Fancy that...

[Martin Angove]

Not quite sure why you top posted and then quoted my message *below* your .sig, causing my newsreader to discard it on "reply" but...

...I was suggesting calling an engineer because this is *free*. If the Dyson is within the (2 year) guarantee, you spend five minutes on a local phonecall and the next day some bloke in a van pulls up to your house. If the fault is with the machine - and it most likely is - then the fix and the parts are free. No need to lump the machine into the back of a (possibly non-existant) car and lug it to some shop or other. We bought ours, for example, from a shop in Meadowhell (Sheffield for the uninitiated). Taking it back probably means a 300 yard walk from a car park space, even at a quiet time.

Taking it back also means some time spent without the machine, and probably means going to fetch it too.

All in all, much better to "call the engineer".

Hwyl!

Martin.

[Martin Angove]

:-)

M.

[Bob Eager]

He mentioned two years...presumably the engineer is included in the two year warranty. Paid for it...might as well use it!

[Gnube]

Would that be the Hinge or the Bracket then? ;O)

Take Care, Gnube