How Can I Remove the Switch from a Dyson DC01

[Andrew Gabriel]

We have 5 of them spread across the family. Every one works brilliantly and none have had any faults, or any new filters. They have rippled out across the family as members have seen them in use, and realised how much better they are than anything else they had been using before. They can be found for a lot less than £250 if you keep an eye out -- none of ours were more than £150 brand new.

One in particular, a DC04, has been extensively used for building dust and rubble. It wasn't bought for this purpose, but it worked so much better than anything else that it got dedicated to the cause. Over the years, Dyson have continously improved the range with large increase in suck and ease of use features -- something which other manufacturers had seemingly given up on, and now play catch-up in so far as they can without patent infringement.

[Lobster]

Yehbut Dysons come in cylinder flavour too:

(a Henry pilot)

[The Medway Handyman]

You can use a (mains) powered head on a Henry which will then run rings around a dodgy Dyson and retain the flexibility of a cylinder/tub vac. Best upright ever IMO is the Sebo.

[The Medway Handyman]

The domestic appliance repair trade love them to bits. They always have a steady flow of them in for repair. Mate of mine runs a vac repair business on the south coast. Never has less than 20 or 30 in at any one time.

[Bob Eager]

something...

[John Rumm]

(me never having liked cylinder cleaners!)

[John Rumm]

I bet a good proportion of them are DC01s (or similar vintage models) with blocked air passages... The rubber flap air switching, combined with no obvious way of getting at the various passages seems to be a recipe for problems.

[Nigel Heather]

Just a thought though.

Like many I have poor experience with repair engineers (no offence). I feel that if I take anything (vacuum, TV, washing machine, dyrer) to a repair engineer then it is going to cost me an absolute minimum of £50 - sorry if you disagree but this is my personal experience.

So if I can't fix an appliance myself, I will look at its value. If it were a £90 Henry, I would take it down to the tip and buy a new one. However, if it were a £250 Dyson I might be more inclined to try and get it repaired.

Becuase of people like me (and I'm sure you are not alone) it likely that you will see more Dysons in for repair than Henrys.

Personally, at their price I don't think it is cost effective to employ a repair engineer to fix a Henry - better to just scrap it and buy new.

Cheers,

Nigel

[Mike Barnes]

Or if it's less than about 5 years old, take it back to the shop and complain. I did that and got about £200 discount on a new cleaner.

[The Medway Handyman]

Good point Nigel. I guess a £60 bill to repair a £250 vac is more logical than a £50 bill to repair an £80 vac. Having said that, the reliability of the Henry is legendary, even when exposed to the horrors of cleaning contractors.

[Steve Firth]

I've never paid £90 for a Henry, I bought one on the advice here last year and cost me £69.

Youre not talking about value, you're talking about price.

[Lobster]

Obviously no magic red twirly brush then? :-)

David

[John]

Remember - a Henry is just a tank with a motor and fan. If that is what you want then fine.

If you want swirling brushes and bright colours then a Dyson might suit you

[Steve Firth]

Err why would anyone want something that's noisy, heavy and unreliable?

[Nigel Heather]

You should read more carefully before commenting - your comment about being able to get a Henry for £69 rather than £90 just reinforces my argument.

I didn't say anything about value, I was just saying that one of the reasons why you might not see as many Henrys with repair engineers is the cost effectiveness of the repair.

A repair angineer will (in my experience) charge a minimum of £50 for a simple repair.

If I had a £69 Henry with a fault, I would not spend £50 to get it repaired - I would simply scrap it and spend £69 on a new one - so to people like me (and I bet there are many) the Henry is almost a disposable item).

However, if I had a fault with a £250 Dyson I probably would spend £50 pounds on getting it repaired.

This is a contributing factor to why a repair agent will see more Dysons than Henrys for repair.

This is not a comment on value or reliability - just a simple matter of cost of repair relative to replacement cost.

BTW - where can you get Henrys for £69? - I would be very interested at that price.

Cheers,

Nigel

[Bob Eager]

Having said that, Henrys are so simple that (a) there is not a lot to go wrong and (b) anyone can fix them. Mind, the cost of a motor (AFAIR) approaches 50 quid.

There's a guy I see down the PO delivery office most mornings, carrying out large boxes of Dyson spares to his van. All he does, every day, is repair Dysons.

[The Medway Handyman]

Depends where you buy them. £50 is way OTT.

[Bob Eager]

thinking of a different model, looking back..

[Steve Firth]

I read your comment carefully, it's possible that you didn't write it carefully.

Yes you did.

"So if I can't fix an appliance myself, I will look at its value."

Indeed, but you mentioned value and I pointed out that you are mistaking price for value.

I'd repair it myself and safe the £50.

More fool you.

And the legendary poor quality of Dysons is the major reason.

Wait for one of Makro's mail specials, it cost £59+VAT.

[Chris Bacon]

The ones with the 24v "turbo head" are very, very good indeed.