The Dyson Guy is the name, Dyson vacuums are how I roll! I've owned almost every Dyson product, trained on Dyson products, dreamed about Dyson products, and hold fast to the fact that Dyson is supreme!
This blog is your quick resource for Dyson info, tips, answers, and opinions on the products and technology coming from Malmesbury, England.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

DC17 Won't Suck Up

A common issue on the DC17 model is the suction disappearing, and eventually the motor turning off. The issue is likely a very easy fix. A lot of people have gotten rid of their Dyson altogether when they could have solved the problem in less than a minute.
The likely reason your DC17 has lost its suction is because the seal at the bottome of the cyclone assembly is not as tight as it needs to be, so over time, if the bottom of the bin is not closed precisely each time, it will push up on the rubber seal, and little by little over time, push it up.
When that happens, the seal is broken at the bottom and much of what is sucked up is sucked in through the cyclones and onto the filter instead of staying in the bin.
Naturally, that blocks the airflow which decreases the suction, which stops air from coming in the motor to cool it off, which causes it to overheat and turn off to cool down.
The solution is simple, just open up the bottom of the bin and pull the seal back into place all the way around (yes, you will have to wash your hands when you are done).
It should like the picture below when you are done. If you want, to keep it from being an issue any longer, you could put some super glue on the inside of the seal at the top where it locks in to the cyclone assembly.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Vacuum Shop is Bashing Dyson Part 2

I compiled a list of reasons why the majority of shops don't like Dysons.
1. They don't make enough money selling them
Dyson is a high demand product in the market, so Dyson as a company has the power to set and keep the margin on their products to where they want them. The dealers don't make nearly as much on Dyson as some other brands, they are naturally in the business to make money (don't hold that against them, that's why you work too!), so they are more likely to sell you something that will be most profitable for the business. Not to mention, so many of the big box stores (Best Buy, Target, etc.) who sell thousands of Dyson units each month will often run different sales throughout the year, and customers walk into a vacuum shop where they would like to sell a couple Dyson units a month, and they want the same or better discount that that the big store is offering; which of course means that they will have to take a cut out of the smaller profit they would normally have.
2. There is not as much potential to have customers come back to spend more
What business doesn't want customers to come back? The one that doesn't want to stay in business! One of the selling features of Dyson is that there is no additional cost. the belts are designed not to break, there are no bags to replace, the filter is a lifetime filter, and it has a five year warranty. So that leaves the vacuum shop with nothing to bring the customer back in to spend more money like just about any other vacuum would.
3. Not fun to work on
Dyson has led the way in vacuum technology for years, everyone else is just copying them as close as they can without breaking the law. So with that, they have created some very innovative ideas, that complicate repair side of things if something goes wrong. As soon as these guys have it down, Dyson comes out with something new
4. So many to work on
This ties in a little with the previous one. Since there is so many Dysons that have been purchased, it naturally means more will come through a repair shop, which means the more they are going to have to work on something that can be more complicated than the other vacuums that need repair.
FYI, some shops will use this as a tool against Dyson. They will point to all the Dysons lined up for repair and say, "Look how many have issues!" As I said already, the more that have sold, the more are going to come through a repair shop. If five million units have sold, and only 250,000 of another vacuum have sold, which one is more likely to more in repair shops?
There are a couple more reasons that I could throw out, but these would probably be at the top of the list.

Vacuum Shop is Bashing Dyson part 1

This is not surprising at all. I have worked for years with different vacuum shops, their owners and employees; some are great, some are not so great, and some I frown at if I happen to drive by.
As a customer walking into a shop like that, you assume that these guys are as close to expertise as you are going to find, and for the most part, you would be correct. They know the ins and outs of almost every vacuum that has come across the market for decades, which is pretty impressive. They see the trends of broken components, garbage models, good models, technology, and so on. They know their stuff.
Yet if you went to five different vacuum shops across your closest big city and asked them which vacuum they would recommend as the best, you would likely get three or four different answers; and you would be lucky if you found one that said Dyson. They would throw out the name of whatever they have the largest collection of and go on to show you all the benefits and half an hour later, your walking out with a bagged vacuum with some extra bags. They will likely never sell you a Dyson if they don't have to. If you ask them about Dyson, much of what you will hear will be negative. Probably the only decent thing they might say is along the lines of, "It's the best bagless vacuum, but..." To not make this post too long, I'll split it up, so to go to the next post: