mending things

Well a few weeks ago my Dyson DC14 stopped . The motor stopped working and there was a bit of a burning smell. I left it for a while, thinking it might be a cut out due to overheating and would restart, but after a day, it was still dead. I've had this Dyson for over 10 years and its been pretty good, have repaired a few things and replaced the odd part, but its still in good shape. I sort of assumed that if the motor had failed this was akin to the engine in a car and likely to be expensive to repair, so was pondering getting a new cleaner. However looking on ebay I found that replacement motors were about £16, so not much at all. So I got one, and also figure I needed a new filter for the motor. this is the purple and white filter unit which fits below the dirt container, and is accessed via a hatch. The old filter was black with what I assume was fine carbon dust, perhaps from the motor brushes ? Before I started I watched this video on YouTube, which is excellent and cl...

A new problem , the Dyson DC14 has a removable side section for clearing blockages. From its size I would guess it also can accommodate a filter on some models. Its held in by a plastic catch, attached to the main body of the motor housing. This side section dropped out recently while I was clearing the beater bar of entangled hairs. I popped it back but noticed the catch was gone - it had snapped off. While the suction of the motor should hold this section in place when on, it does need something to pull it in line. I improvised with a couple of cable ties until I can see if there is a replacement part. Update . I ordered and replaced the catch, its called a: Dyson DC14 Motor Inlet Cover Catch 909235 It took a couple of goes as it appears that the shape of this catch has changed within the DC14 production run. There is a 909235-1 and a 909235-2 . Mine had a longer earlier style catch  with a ribbed section, and was initially shipped the later part variant which was ...

I've got a Dyson DC14 vacuum cleaner. See my other posting on general servicing. of late I've noticed that the beater function often does not engage. The beater is the rotating bar of brushes that agitates the carpet. Most upright vacuum cleaners have this feature. on the Dyson it is enabled by rotating a large purple dial on the front left of the suction assembly. The idea is that you disable it for vacuming hard floors, but enable it for carpets. Even turning it forward did not always engage the beater/brush bar. I decided to take the cleaner apart to see what might be the problem. First I needed to remove the lower plate. This is held in place by 3 twist fastenings which can be undone with a coin. Once the plate is removed you can see the brush beater bar. You can see that the beater brush device gets en-wrapped with hair, string and anything that is long and thin. I routinely run a sharp knife along the edge to cut through all the hair and string to easily remo...

I have owned 2 Dyson Vacuum cleaners since 1991. The first was the DC01 model, which served for 7 or 8 years but eventually failed. The main problem with this model was the choice of plastic, far too brittle. So, the inner tool clip fell out from the wand, and the plastic bushes from the wheels disintegrated and had to be replaced with brass tube sections. The cleaner sometimes cut out, caused by a poor cable connection and had to be rewired. It basically vibrated its self to death over a number of years. This was replaced with a DC14, 4 years ago. The DC14 is better made of a more robust and flexible plastic. It is also a more complex design, incorporating more cyclone chambers and removable sections for accessing blockages. It does however exhibit a few problems from time to time, but they are easily solved. It's ironic that devices designed to clean things (vacuum cleaners, dish washers, washing machines) are often vulnerable to dirt or debris. "Screaming" This is ...