Bissell Air Ram

[justjunque]

Just wondering if anyone knows anything about the Bissell Air Ram. Maybe it's one word? AirRam?
I had never seen nor even heard of it. But, someone has one out on the curb, just down the street from me.
It appears to be a cordless type of thing. There's a charging cord hanging on it.
I don't see any type of bag or canister that the dirt would go into.
I just didn't know if it was something worth dragging home, or if I'm better off leaving it there for the trash guys to pick up tomorrow.

 

[ilovehoovers]

They're made by/in collaboration with Gtech, who sells them in the UK. The motor is really close to the ground and the brushroll is surprisingly aggressive, making it surprisingly powerful for a cordless.

 

[huskyvacs]

They are great vacuums, and fairly recent. Also very expensive. Grab it. They sell for $90 - $120 used in working condition. Retail MSRP is $215.99.

It is called the "AirRam" and is known as the GTech AirRam in the UK. Here it got branded as Bissell as a captive import.

I have one too, I only paid $50 for mine as a parts unit, and it had cockroach pieces in it, so it's been quarantined in my garage in a bag for the last couple years. lol

 

[justjunque]

Thanks.
I'll do an after dark drive-by and see if it's still there.
I would imagine there's something wrong with it, if they're expensive (ish) and they just put it out on the curb.
I know it looked dirty, but that's all I could tell. Like I said, I didn't even know what it was.

 

[kloveland]

I have one I found at a thrift store. The battery is removable and can be charged outside of the vac with the charger. Which is a nice feature.

It doesn't have a lot of power but does have an aggressive brush roll and longer battery life while vacuuming. It does clean carpets well for a cordless vac due to it's brushroll.

It reminds of the GE carpet sweeper which had very little suction from the 60s. It's a cordless version of that.

 

[huskyvacs]

Roger made a video on the older model, from 2013, it's similar to the newer iteration of the model.

 

[blackheart]

I have one.

I got it from Joshp83. I find it's best used for post project cleanup as it's wider airpath allows it to pick up materials like nuts, screws etc. Now when it comes to like general cleaning it does alright on carpet it'll get up hair and surface litter but it's no deep cleaner. When it comes to hard floor it....really struggles with denser small debris like cat litter, I think the inlet for the bin being towards the top of the unit along with the more sparse brushroll just makes it difficult for those types of matter to be picked up. The filtration is also nothing to right home about it's a foam filter inside of a perforated plastic sleeve.

Now with those issues out of the way it's handy, good for a quick clean. It also appears to have a belt driven fan. As when the brushroll is turned by hand the fan will spin too.

 

[justjunque]

Well...I got it.
Good night o' living, what a mess!
There's a clear section on top of the nozzle, and that looks PACKED with dirt and dust.
And, taking a look underneath, the brushroll is now a hair-roll. Looks like a woman's long brown hair, just completely covering the brushroll.
There are a lot of white paint scuffs on it, so it has definitely been used, and not well cared for, by any means.
I don't even know how this thing works, so it's going to be a challenge trying to just clean it up before I can even see if it runs.

 

[justjunque]

Well, I figured out how the basic parts come apart.
The handle seems to be in good condition. Everything else? I don't really know what to say.
This may be too far gone.
I rinsed out the filter. The Bissell video I watched said not to use soap or detergent on it; just water. Unfortunately, it kind of stinks. And, clear water didn't really help with that.
Is it just me, or is the dirt bin completely ridiculous on this machine? If it can't be taken apart and washed, it's just going back in the trash. The bin, that is. But, actually, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to just return the whole thing to the curb where I found it.
Maybe I'm just disgusted right now, by how gross people can be. I'll take another shot at it tomorrow, and see if I can get anywhere with it.

 

[justjunque]

Anyone else who has one of these:
Can the dirt bin assembly be taken apart and washed? This one is filthy.
I rinsed out the filter. But, there's the clear bin, and a blue perforated tube inside it. I'd like to separate those two parts and wash them.
The only screw I saw was a #10 Torx, which I removed. But, it still doesn't seem like it wants to come apart.

 

[kloveland]

Barry, you can wash the bin and all of its parts. I don't know if they separate, I did my best with mine with a long toothbrush. I did take out the cleaner thing on the rod that slides up and down. 

 

[kloveland]

I've read the top part of the handle can easily come off. Mine had screw in it to secure it by the first owner. 

 

[justjunque]

Thanks, Kenny.
I wish I had waited until I got a reply. I put a little more effort into trying to separate the two parts of the bin, and I broke it. So, I guess that's a goner. Also, just in case the cleaning went well, I've had the battery plugged in for a few hours, to see if it would take a charge.
I'm not sure, but I think some LED is supposed to light up when it's charging. Mine isn't. So, it would probably need a new battery. I'm not putting that kind of money into it.
Back to the curb it goes.

 

[justjunque]

If anyone nearby wants it, and can pick it up in person, you’re welcome to it.
Like I said, I’m pretty sure it needs a new battery. It could use more cleaning. I got rid of the bulk of the crud.
The dirt bin might still be okay to use. It cracked a little bit on the side of the lid that opens to empty it. But, it’s so minor, it might not even affect it.
I know, there’s not many members in my neck of the woods. But, I just thought I’d offer, rather than have it end up in a landfill.
It’s really a pretty neat looking vacuum.