6 year old me is sqealing in joy right now!

[amtraksebo1997]

After 16 years, I finally got one... and only days after getting that Lift Off. I now have a late 2000s-early 2010s Dirt Devil Breeze bagless upright vacuum!

This is a machine that I've been wanting to get my hands on for a long time now, ever since I saw them un stores, at one of my old babysitters' houses, etc. To me, this machine is what I think of when someone says the term "bagless vacuum". It's just such a generic bagless design that I love so much!

As for how I got it, that's a bit of a doozie. Basically, I saw one day that my neighbors had this machine in their garage. I thought at the time that it was cool that he just so happened to have this dream machine of mine, but I thought I wouldn't be able to get my hands on it from him, and even if I did, it'd probably be in poor shape. Well, fast forward to a last week, and I saw it again. The day after that, it was at the curb. Not bearing the sight of seeing this machine get thrown into a dump and destroyed, I grabbed it and threw it into my mom's shed. She was pretty steamed at me for doing so, but eventually I moved it over to my dad's. I asked my neighbor why he threw it out, and he said that he just did it to clear up space, and that he wasn't aware of anything wrong with it.

Upon opening it up, it was gross and dusty... The head was packed with all kinds of debris and such, and the belt was snapped (suprising, I know). It had all of it's attachments except for the wand (the one on it right now is a Hoover wand from my stash of extra tools). In general, it was just gross. I speculate that it was being used as a dry-only Shop-Vac, hense why it was in the garage, but I could be wrong. 40 or so disinfecting wipes and a cleaning off with my Kirby G7 later, and it looks more or less new.

I just turned it on for the first time. The headlight works, the suction's good, and the motor sounds fine (aside from the small amount of arching, or whatever the term is, coming from the carbon brushes). All it seems to need is a new filter and belt (or should I say, belts), a matching wand, and possibly a new brushroll (the one that's in it doesn't spin the most freely, and I don't know if the end-caps come off).

Finally, as I was cleaning it out, I found how easy and simple it was to do so. All of the screws in it are the same size, all of the electrical components are in the base, and said base easily comes off with 4 screws. I guess I shouldn't be super suprised, considering this was a budget machine back in the day, but it's still appreciated nonetheless (especially for someone not as skilled in servicing vacuums like me).

Also, ignore the creature that may show up in some of the photos. I think our house is haunted by some class 6 entity, and it only shows up in pictures sometimes. We gotta call the Ghostbusters to flush it out! ;]

 

[justjunque]

Congratulations, Anonymous!
I love when people find one of their dream machines!

 

[amtraksebo1997]

Basically me right now:

 

[hoover300]

I had this exact one when I was like 12. Yanked(literally) from overgrown grass in front of a barn at a yard sale. The handle release was busted so it was laying down for years, the motor I remember was completely rust covered and seized. I remember a a tiny plant growing in the headlight lens. lol

Later I had the featherlite branded one with the black handle. Powerful unit.

 

[amtraksebo1997]

Hoover300

Yeah, there were a ton of variations, name changes, and feature additions to this type of machine. Some of the ones I've found are the DD Swivel Glide variants, some called the DD Swift, a rebadged Regina variet, some called the Jaguar, and some Vax variants from across the pond. It's so surreal, because for the longest time I thought the only versions of this cleaner were the Breeze and Featherlite. The more you know, I guess.

 

[panasonicvac]

My grandparents had the Jaguar version, from my understanding that one was only exclusively sold through Target. I still remember the day when we first bought it from Target and assembled it together back in 2004. It was the best vacuum they've ever owned despite it's flaws. I should've replaced the motor when it died 10 years later. I think my favorite version they've sold is this Featherlite which from my understanding was also exclusively sold through Target. I also liked the blue Breeze version, from my understanding that one was only exclusively sold through Sears. And there was a purple Extra Light I liked that may have been a Walmart model.

 

[amtraksebo1997]

PanasonicVac

I know. Part of me wants to get a few other variations of this machine (i.e., a Swivel Glide model, a blur and/or yellow model, and a bagged model), but I'm pretty sure that's going to happen. At most, I'd want to get a blue bagged model, and the dark red one with the orange and yellow "Breeze" logo on the bin, since my babysitter had both.

By the way, what exactly is the history on this model. I've heard it goes as far back as the early 2000s.

 

[human]

I can't say that's a machine I'd walk across the street for, but then everybody has different tastes. I'm truly glad you're happy with your latest vacquisition and that's what truly matters. From an environmental standpoint, I'll offer you sincerest thanks, on behalf of the earth and myself, for saving what would otherwise be a big hunk of non-recyclable plastic from the landfill. Enjoy!

 

[amtraksebo1997]

JustJunque

You're welcome, I suppose. Though, it was a minuscule amount of help to the environment, and I pretty much only saved it because it was a machine that I really liked. If it were something like a modern Bissell, A Rainbow D4, or another machine that I either dislike or don't care much for. I'd probably say "well that blows that it's going to a landfill", and went along with my day. The only other time I've trashed picked machines was when someone in the neighborhood behind me was throwing out four vintage machines: A low-end F&G Eureka, A private labeled M. Wards Eureka canister, a vintage Kenmore Power mate canister of some kind, and a Panasonic Jet-Flo MC658U. Of the four, I took the two Eurekas to a local vacuum shop to be recycled, and kept the other two. I get that those two were rare, but the Eureka canister was disgusting, and I believe its cord was frayed badly, and I didn't have an interest in either of them. The only F&Gs I'd want to get at the moment are A commercial Sanitare with a disposable bag, and a 5071D.

 

[hoover300]

There was also one in red called the Scorpion

 

[amtraksebo1997]

Hoover300

Yeah, I put an image of one in my reply to you. It was pretty blurry though (sorry about that, BTW).

 

[amtraksebo1997]

Update:

So, I got around to purchasing some new filters, a stockpile of belts, a replacement extension wand, and even a new hood. I only did the ladder since you can't buy the little hose trap-door part separately, and this one was in better condition anyways. There was some rust on the motor shaft, so I took some WD-40 and fine-grit sandpaper and cleaned it off as best as I could, just so the belt wouldn't burn up as quickly during use.

There's one last thing I'd like to address before I start using it. I mentioned that there was a small amount of arching visible from the exhaust. It doesn't seem to be a lot, just a thin line of light between one of the brushes and the commutator.

Sparking has always been something I've been worried about with my machines. However, when it occurred in my Kirby G7, I told my dad, and he said a small amount of arching was normal in machines. I believe him, but at the same time, if it were to let out an excess amout of sparks in the G7, it'd at least be contained in the housing of it, whereas the Dirt Devil has a relatively exposed motor, meaning sparks could possibly fly out of it. I'm not good at motor repairs, but what is the possible fix for the arching, if it's even something I need to be concerned about at this time?

 

[amtraksebo1997]

Asking for a friend?...

 

[centralvacs1928]

A small amount of blue arcing right where the brushes touch the commutator is normal and no cause for concern.

If the arcing gets more significant or starts to wrap around the commutator, the motor is on its way out.

I should save a bad motor and make a video about normal vs abnormal arcing.

 

[amtraksebo1997]

Centralvacs1928

That's reassuring, but I still have some questions.

-Can you elaborate on the difference between the sparks getting worse and them wrapping around the commutator?

-Can the carbon brushes be replaced to alleviate the sparking?

 

[amtraksebo1997]

Update #2

Today I took my Breeze for a test drive around the house, and I gotta say, I was decently impressed. Here are some of my findings (which may or may not be surprising to those who've also used this machine.

1. It seemed to clean alright. It got up a lot of fine dust and hair. I should also mention that the replacement brush roll I got for it was a CWP one (or at least so I think). I just wish it had stiffer bristles so I could agitate a little more, as I notice it did struggle with ground-in fine debris in my dad's room.

2. The hose isn't that long, and is a little cumbersome to use. In retrospect, I shouldn't be surprised, but since I've never actually used one before (just seen/played around with them when I was younger), I thought they'd be a little longer. Also, when attaching/detaching the hose, there'd be a big puff of dust when I removed the lower hose. As for it being cumbersome, I'll tell you this much, I'd take it's hose setup any day over a Rainbow D4C's.

3. The attachments are ok. Not anything to really write home about, but I did like that the crevice tool didn't overly strain the motor when attached, and the upholstery/dusting brush was alright (I'm glad it even came with those basic 3 attachments unlike some manufactuers...).

4. This machine seems to filter extremely well. Even though the F1 filter is the only filter on the entire machine, that filter does one heck of a job at keeping dust inside the bin. This is because when I removed the bin from the machine, the air intake area was virtually spotless, same with the exhaust, which are great signs! Now, I don't have a particle counter or anything to definitely say that it's only blowing out clean air, but I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case, and this is all in a budget vacuum, mind you. This has really given me a greater appreciation for machines that do most of their filtering before the motor, because then you wouldn't have to worry about it being sealed or anything like that, just the carbon dust I guess. Also, there's also the dilemma of the F1 filter getting clogged up super quickly, but I'd honestly take a little suction loss if it means it's filtering as well as my $300 Henry or My Bissell 3554.

In short, I think I've got more reasons to like this machine than just nostalgia!

 

[kirbyklekter]

Carbon brushes

You may be able to lessen the amount of sparking coming from the armature brushes if you can gain access to them. It sounds like your neighbor didn't really use it enough to use up the carbon brushes, they probably don't need replacing yet. Their holders or containers have a method such as a spring or other that press the brush up against the armature and that's referred to as carbon pressure. As the carbons gradually wear down in length they can lose some of that force that's pushing them up against said armature. This can increase the arching that you see. With "brushed" motors you will always see a little sparkling, it's the nature of the beast.

If they appear to be ok you can try to clean up the armature copper they ride against by either removing them so you can inspect the copper. If it's really dirty,like black , you can try to shine the poles up with different methods. You can buy a special seating "chalk" used to rub against the copper poles just as the brushes do while spinning the armature by hand if still in the motor, or if out you can use a drill to spin the armature. Shining it back up gives you a lot better contact with brushes and less sparking. If you do remove the brushes make sure you put them back exactly as they were so they fit in the same direction they were so they don't scuff or chip which would negate everything you just fixed.

If that's too much hassle, just enjoy it now and keep an eye out for a similar motor to replace some day or find a set of brushes to keep on hand for later. plenty of info on YouTube on dealing with universal motors or where to buy a replacement. If you start hearing a shrill squeaking noise coming from motor, it's reached retirement age. Glad you found what you've been wanting for so long. Enjoy!

 

[amtraksebo1997]

KirbyKelekter

If you could provide a link to that seating chalk that you're talking about, I'd greatly appreciate it. It'd probably be useful for a lot of my machines.

There is a bit of a squeaking noise when the motor starts up and winds down, but I think that's a problem with the bearings and not the carbons. In the meantime, it works and looks good, so I'm satisfied with it.

 

[kirbyklekter]

amtraksebo1997​

I'm sorry this came late. I'm also sorry that I'm still learning how to create clickable hyperlinks...I know. You can google brush seating and commutator cleaning stone" and you'll be taken to lots of info on said product. They can be found on E-bay for instance. Instructions on how to use the cleaning stone are there as well. Hope this helps!​

 

[cheesewonton]

Isn't it a great feeling to finally find something on your own personal Holy Grail List after years and years of searching? That is the high point of collecting.

I also wanted to add consider buying or borrowing a "commutator stone" to clean up the commutator and see if that stops the arcing. Also might want to sand the ends of the carbon brushes being careful to maintain the arc. Not much, just barely touch some sandpaper to the ends just to clean them up. While they are out you can also see how much carbon brush is left. Cleaning up their ends and the commutator ought to get you down to that nice small blue spark you want.

One other thing; examine the segments of the commutator carefully for places where the motor may have overheated and smeared segments together. If you see that unfortunately the motor is done. Doesn't happen often but I have seen it a couple of times in the Ametek motors in old Kenmores that had a rough life.