Dustbusters

[Mike Mitchell]

Yesterday I was cleaning the gaps between my floorboards prior to painting and the ordinary Hoover (actually it's an Electrolux) was being a pain, as the hose is really bulky when you're crouched over the gap with a broken hacksaw blade, freeing up the fluff.

So I thought, I know, I'll pop down to Currys and buy a Dustbuster. But when I viewed what was on offer, I went back home again, Dustbuster-less. These things look so tacky, they are the epitome of complete crap. Plasticky, flimsy in the extreme, they look as if just a strong grip would bust *them*. Not one was suitable. Currys had a Hoover, a Carlton (some no-name brand), and about four different kinds of the Black and Decker Dustbuster. Also, the prices! £37 for a Dustbuster, when I can buy a proper vaccum cleaner for not much more. And that was not the most expensive. Another thing about the design I didn't like: They all seemed tremendously cumbersome - great chunks of plastic, not compact, small handy tools like one would imagine. Useless.

So, Black + Decker, Bosch, Siemens! I know you all peruse these groups. Hang your collective heads in shame at such rip-offs and design something that is about the size of a blowtorch that looks like it might last a bit longer than the trip home.

MM

[Alan]

In message , Mike Mitchell wrote

I bought something similar a lot cheaper from Lidl - it's completely useless.

The advertisements on TV prior to Christmas for the Black and Decker (??) showed how good it was at sucking up puffed rice breakfast cereal. I guess that's just about the limit of its performance.

[Nervous O'Toole]

Got a B&D Dustbuster here and am very pleased with it.

Saves getting the vacuum cleaner out of it's hole for minor stuff.

[Doctor D.]

You are correct about the cheaper Dustbusters not sucking very well, however the 9.6 volt version is excellent.

They are pretty resilient, the only doubt being part of the wall bracket which I have repaired. It is adequate for vacuuming the stair carpet, and deals happily with the eating mess created by two children under 5. They are not cheap though.

Tesco are currently selling a Samsung 1400 watt cylinder vacuum for £19.99. It was £60 according to their adverts and a friend who has bought one tells me it's great value for money.

[MrCheerful]

I bought a lidl one for 9.99 it is very useful for odd small jobs. However I would not recommend it for diy stuff. It has not got the capacity and fills up too fast. However for ten pounds with a two year guarantee it is great. I had a dustbuster before and that had similar problems. I would recommend a small hoover dedicated for diy. You can always modify the hose end for a special application or even take the nozzle off which is usually the most practical for the job you mention.

MrCheerful

[Brendan DJ Murphy]

Which sucks more... The dustbuster or Currys?

Brendan NEVER GO TO CURRYS:

[Mark S.]

I sold a Delta one on Ebay that someone had given me rather than chucking it out and the cheeky buggers want to return it and their £3.20 refunding...

Mark S.

[mike ring]

Mike Mitchell wrote in news: [e-mail]:

You're dead right, I bought one for minor domestic dusting, and it's prettu useless suckwise, the dirt spreads all round it's container and the filter so emtying is a nightmare.

But the cleverest feature on my B&D 3.6 is that the exhaust blows out of the sides and *forward*, conveniently blowing the dust all over the shop before the nozzle can get to it.

A touch of genius

mike r

[Mike Mitchell]

....and they only used it once - on Rice Krispies! Honestly, the cheek of some people!

MM

[DAVID HAMM]

I bought one of those last Monday (I thought they were good value enough and it sucks quite well) to use for a dust extraction system. If it doesn't work, what have I lost, but 20 squids? It's only drawback, is the size of the dust bag. It's tiny.

Dave

[Dave Liquorice]

To over come the small bag use it as the suck for a cyclone separator (dustbin, bucket, some rigid pipe and another length of hose). As dicussed several times in here.

[Lawrence]

My experience of B&D dustbusters is that it does not do what it says. I bought one for use on a boat and found the filter does not catch dust, Comet swopped it for another and again dust everywhere. B&D said not disigned for picking up dust but larger particles, i.e. rice crispies.

I have a henry that does everything well. gravle soot, carpets. you name it. best £80-£100 I ever spent.

Lawrence

usenet at lklyne dt co dt uk

[Andrew]

excellent. My Grundig freeview box packed up after a few months. I had no receipt or packaging so I put it in a Tesco carrier bag and took it back to the shop, expecting a fight. I was immediately disarmed by the member of staff who said "no problem, just take it to the till and they'll organise a replacement for you". They were able to confirm my purchase by entering the date (from my credit card statement) into the till and searching for my name. A duplicate receipt was printed and I was presented with a replacement, more expensive, make (The Grundigs were out of stock so no extra to pay). It must have taken less than 10 minutes.

[Mike Mitchell]

Then why the heck do they call them Dustbusters?!! I have always avoided B & D like the plague, and this reinforces my view.

MM

[John Rumm]

Like:

[R W]

... while they recorded a TV advert....

[Dave]

the bucket used for the inner part of the cyclone. Is the diameter and depth critical to its operation?

TIA

Dave

ps I loaded some new BT software into my computer and it changed me name from Dave to my full name :-(( Now I should be showing as Dave again.

[N. Thornton]

...

Hi. I have a recommendation. Those old hoover dustettes. They got a lot of mention in that famous BMJ report, but dont let that put you off :) Anyway theyre hand held, about the size of a dustbuster but plus they have a great big bag on the back end. Theyre mains, which makes them powerful and very long lasting. You can get them from way back when, still working fine, they filter properly, and cost a fiver at most. Make those modern offerings look like the junk they are.

Regards, NT

Oh, and in case some nut thinks the BMJ article is actually a good idea, the cast metal fan blade on dustettes is _very_ close to the intake.

[Dave]

Just a thought, if Dave Liquorice has replied to me, I can't see his posts. I asked about this some time ago and others thought that I might be running a kill file. The last time I was missing his posts, I was running windoze

98se, now I am running XP and still not seeing his posts. As far as I can see, it is only Dave's posts that do not appear from my server (btinternet). and have never put a kill file into use.

Any ideas any one?

Dave

[John Rumm]

Sorry for the delay in responding....

I expect the answer to that is "yes and no". I doubt it makes that much difference - the main purpose of it seems to be to help get the air rotating and also to prevent a direct path for dust to be sucked from the input to the exhaust.

I am sure if you analyse it scientifically, you would find that it will effect performance - but probably not enough for you to care in this application. (if you did not have the added filtration of the vacuum cleaner to follow then you would need to pay more careful attention to the smaller details).