Did they start with DC01 and then go DC02, DC03, etc?
If so, I can see that they may have improved on the prototype, but I would have thought that by DC09 they would have refined it as much as they could?
Don't they license the technology to other manufacturers then?
I see some Dyson dealers are selling refurbs on that auction site.
I think it was one of your old posts that said plaster sandblasts the vacuum, so I figured two a dirty one for DIY and a shiny one for her indoors.
Sorry, I thought the war would be over after two years.
I haven't used an upright vacuum before either, yet I see the models mentioned are predominantly the dc04 and dc07 both of which are upright. That may be fine for "normal" use but for DIY I think you'll be using the hose to connect to your chaser/sander/etc. So I wonder why non-upright models have not been mentioned? Is it that their cyclones are not as good? Are the cyclones better in uprights because they are bigger or vertical or something, or is it just a strange coincidence that the models mentioned are upright?
something else to get in the way. I have visions of chasing walls and tripping over the prefilter and dust going everywhere!
I haven't heard of that one: most here recommend the dc07; what changed between the 07 and 09 models?
Well, quite. It looked like something from a Star Trek episode.
And one of the salesmen in John Lewis admitted to me that bits regularly dropped off the display models.
And it tore buttons off things.
Like virtually everything Dyson does, it was overpriced, brightly coloured tat.
I was looking at the Dyson because it doesn't have a bag to clog with plaster dust. I'm sure the Earlex is just as good at everything else but not for plaster.
Typo on my part - It's a DC07.
Gordon
So pretty much like their vacuum cleaners, then.
I had one of the original Ballbarrows. It was fine, but I agree that everything the man has done since then has been grotesquely designed, brightly coloured and overpriced.
This was the guy who said he would never move Dyson production outside the UK. Within a couple of years of saying that, he had moved Dyson production outside the UK.
Much more expensive but looks good and the filter can be declogged (Dutch?) 'on the fly':
I suspect some wars are never over ;-)
They probably get more mention since the first version (DC01) was upright - and the cylinder versions came later.
As far as I am aware the cyclones in the cylinder versions work just as well, and indeed the form factor would be better suited to a workshop vac. However the upright versions are probably more readily available as non working but easily repairable examples from tips etc I expect.
The suction keeps the lid on the filter anyway!
You can use the dyson directly - however it has limited drum capacity, and the masonry dust will scour the inside of the polycarbonate drum - so it will not look as pretty afterwards.
(excuse my references to upright only models here - these are the only ones I have used)
There are several schools of thought on which is the best way to do this and which model works best. Something like a DC01 which has limited suck compared to later models, fitted with just the main flat filter (and not the HEPA one on the "Absolute" or "+" version) will work quite well - some of the very fine stuff will pass through and get blown out the exhaust though.
More powerful ones like the DC07 will trap even the finest stuff, but will tend to clog their filters more quickly[1]. Hence you need to watch that you keep changing them fairly frequently since otherwise the motor can overheat - it needs decent airflow to keep cool.
[1] One of the keys to not clogging the filters is to keep the air flowing through it - the cyclone will only work at full effectiveness that way. Hence if you periodically choke off the air flow for any reason, you can expect more dust to make it as far as the filters.
I was tempted to say 2 ;-)
Yes, but they aren't all uprights. The uprights tend to have larger dirt bins.
I've worked on many products during my career. I never heard of any getting reaching a point where they can't be improved.
Not that I've heard of. Other manufacturers have to run years behind by waiting for the patents to expire.
Oh, OK. I don't personally care about looks, only function, and the sandblasting doesn't affect function.
IME, it's avoiding overfilling the dust canister which keeps the filter clean. Note that the fill mark is halfway up, because if you go any higher, there's no cyclone anymore. However, when you're using a plaster chaser, it's horribly tempting to just finish off the bit you're doing, and it's so easy to rinse the filter under the tap, it doesn't much matter if you do use it this way. (Just have a spare filter or two to cycle round as they dry, as a previous poster suggested.) In any case, it takes many canister loads of plaster before the filter needs cleaning, even when you do overfill.
In spite of having used a DC04 for many years for plaster and brick, the post motor filter has never been changed and has no plaster or brick dust in it, so none has got that far. All it's ever caught is wear from the motor brushes, but it's pretty much all still brilliant white clean.
IIRC DC01 was upright, DC02 cylinder, DC03 (which we have) is lightweight upright and was "2nd generation". Dunno about the later ones.
Andy
I inherited a 2yr old machine 4 years ago, it had already had parts replaced and in my ownership it went through two control panels, they don't seem waterproofed. It washed no better than other washing machines and I have taken it out in favour of a new cheap hotpoint.
It is quite difficult to get into to do simple repairs ( rubber band around the pump impeller required a lot of fiddling, my fault for leaving it in my pocket) with some of the doors and panels being "snap on" and easy to break if you don't know quite what you are doing. Having expensive spares and Dyson's call out fee made it too expensive to own.
I have a couple of the upright vacuums, one inherited and one skip dived. They work well enough but I think the cyclones reduce the suck power considerably. The main fault is the air passages and bends being too small and easy to block with animal hair and fluff, plus to get to unblock it needs removal of parts with a screw driver. I still prefer it for dusty stuff and have considered robbing the cyclones from it and using the earlex to suck though them.
I see Wickes and TLC stock the wet and dry filter for the earlex at a similar price and there's less queueing at Wickes.
There doesn't seem to be a way of checking stock at a local branch with Wickes like there is for homebase, B&Q and toolstation.
AJH
That is one are where they have improved dramatically with later revisions. On the DC14 animal, all the various bends in the air path are swept and of decent diameter, and more importantly, they unclip without the need of tools for simple unblocking should it be required. The suction is also considerably increased over earlier models.
IMHO too heavy, too unreliable, and overpriced. I didn't like.
I got a Sharp cyclone for DIY, and have been happy with it. More reliable, lighter and cheaper. The cyclone bit is simpler than the modern Dysons, but perfectly effective, and the very finest
Yup, cleaning up a load of plaster dust with our old DC02 clogged the filters up entirely. These earlier models had disposable filters unlike the current ones which are mostly it seems washable.
We've had a DC02 and a DC07, both were fine, but I like the Miele I bought a couple of years ago even more for round the house use, though probably not the best thing for lots of plaster dust.
I've got an Earlex one - a bit crude, cleaning performance is ok, and then finish up with a better one. DC07 is sitting waiting for me to fix it. I've been entirly unable to get the dust drum off for emnptying, can't work out what the problem is at all.
In message , Andrew Gabriel writes
Yup, it was V expensive and also bigger than other machines IIRC so wouldn't fit in normal washing machine space.
It was supposed to be quicker, but do most people care about how long it takes to do the laod?
In article , Fred writes
Plaster dust clogs the filters on my DC-01 pretty quick. At £1 each from Dyson (and you need two) it soon becomes an expensive proposition.
That said, I got 8 filters for 99 pee from fleabay, haven't tried them yet.
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