Born To Love Me...

[madabouthoovers]

When pulling the rod out of the brushroll, the bearing may come out with it, so pay attention and dont lose any of the washers that may also come out!. If the bearings are absolutely shot, then be prepared for one of them or both to seperate when removed and the ball bearings inside the race to drop out. At least you will then be able to order the bearings without the expense of having to replace the entire brushroll. Note which way they go into the brushroll recesses as well as they only fit in one way round.

 

[jmurray01]

Yep, I'm aware of the "dangers".

The real irony of it all is that the seller said he had put new bearings in prior to the sale!

Yeah, really sounds like it mate.

I only paid £35 including postage though so I didn't mention it.

 

[madabouthoovers]

Grease

I wouldnt use 3 in 1 - its too light for bearings, its OK for lubing hinges and locks, but grease for bearings as they rotate very fast and produce considerable heat if not lubed correctly. Here's what I use, the pot on the left is real grease, thick and ideal for packing the bearings, or spray some spray grease into the ball race.

 

[jmurray01]

How would you get the grease into the bearings ? They don't separate so it would be pretty damn hard!

The spray stuff - I may look into buying some of that.

 

[jmurray01]

Actually, I've just remembered the Pound shop down the road sells some 151 spray grease, or at least my memory tells me that...

What my memory TELLS me and what is actually correct often differ though.

 

[madabouthoovers]

The bearings on the Ranger's brushroll are not the sealed type that are found on the modern variety of brushrolls (like my Dyson DC07). when you remove the bearing, look at it and you will see the 2 halves have a small gap between them through which you can see the tiny balls inside the race. Depending on how worn the bearing is, there will be some play between the inner and outer race - and if really bad, then the 2 race will seperate and the inner ball bearings will drop out. You need to clean the bearings in some white spirit or turps, get all the crap out of them, then pack the grease through the gap into the ball race, or spray some spray grease through into the ball race, and let it dry. Mine were badly jammed up at one end with hairs, so needed a good clean up.

 

[jmurray01]

In my opinion if the bearings are filthy inside it would be better to replace them if you can buy them cheaply enough.

 

[madabouthoovers]

On the link you gave me - go to the bottom of the page and you will see a pair of bearings for £4.07 + postage. This is all you need, and lube them through the little slit you can see just under the tops.

http://www.vacuumcleanersparesuk.co.uk/acatalog/HOOVER_.html

 

[madabouthoovers]

I'd inspect them and clean them first though, its up to you, but if the brushroll is in otherwise good nick, then its madness to buy the complete brushroll just for the want of new bearings.

 

[jmurray01]

"and lube them through the little slit" It's a good thing I have a clean mind

 

[madabouthoovers]

Bearings are Here as well, cheaper price and the same thing:



http://www.yourspares.co.uk/parts/h...77826/bearing-hoover-agitator-pair-BRG51.aspx

 

[madabouthoovers]

If you really do have to have a complete brushroll, then this aftermarket one by Qualtex looks OK for the price:



http://www.yourspares.co.uk/parts/h...hoover-agitator-complete-brushroll-BRL08.aspx

 

[jmurray01]

Yep that is the one I'd go for.

I know I always say to use only Genuine Hoover parts but there really aren't any Hoover brush rolls available anymore for the Seniors and the ones that are want silly money for them.

 

[madabouthoovers]

Yes Jamie, thats very true, and the older your Ranger gets, the less genuine spares will be available, until the point when you cant even get genuine H1 bags or V5 belts. Aftermarket isnt always crap, and in some cases may even be better than the original. Say you had a pack of 2 belts for your Ranger that were genuine Hoover ones - they had been stored in some cold warehouse for years having been made a long time ago - the rubber will deteriorate with age, and so these belts may be of not much use as they will break quickly when put into service. Then say I buy a pair of Qualtex belts for the Ranger made only last year, they will be better due to not being stored for years, although they are non genuine. I have ordered aftermarket belts for this reason, but have ordered genuine bags. I just dont know what conditions the original Hoover belts were stored under before being sold, or how old they are. I will post back about the aftermarket belts in due course. It has an aftermarket belt fitted now anyway by the last owner.

 

[jmurray01]

No doubt Hoover will stop making H1 bags and V5 belts some day, but for the day that happens I'll buy bags and belts in bulk when I have an income.

I must admit, I have a generic belt on my Ranger just now because I got a free pack of generic belts from a brilliant eBayer and don't want to waste them. Once they are finished (which won't be too long if I know generics!) I will be buying Genuine Hoover belts and NOTHING BUT.

 

[jmurray01]

On the subject of those generic belts in question, you really can tell what Hoover means when they say only the Genuine parts are made to the rigorous specifications, because when I put one of the brand new generic belts on the Ranger, I didn't even have to pull hard at all - it just stretched over the pulley with no resistance.

Plus when I used it today although the belt wasn't slipping, I could hear it slapping against the metal belt guard due to the fact it has too much slack in it.

Lets look at the cost difference; £2 for one generic belt or £4 for two Genuine (current eBay approximate prices).

Think about it for a second and taking the fact that Genuine belts last longer out of the equation, you aren't spending any more money full stop!

The fact they last longer just goes to show how much you are saving by doing the right thing and trusting the manufacturer to keep your machine running smoothly.

 

[madabouthoovers]

But do they last longer? at twice the price of aftermarket belts, do they last twice the time? what you pick up with the cleaner also affects the belt life, as anything hard (metal shards/coins/stones etc) will damage the belt due to its exposed design to the dirt passing over it and its pulley. Also, deep pile carpet will shorten the life as it puts more strain on the belt - the same goes for using the cleaner at too low a carpet pile setting, putting strain on the belt too. I think round belts that are exposed like on the old dirty fan cleaners just dont last very long compared to the flat belts that are seperated from the dirt as on a modern clean fan cleaner.
Of course, whether its a dirty fan or a clean fan, if there is no clutch then both belts will snap if the brushroll is jammed.
Whilst I may agree with you Jamie about the bags, genuine Hoover are probably better than cheapo aftermarket as they are more permeable - I cant prove this yet. My ranger has an aftermarket bag on it, and its empty at the moment. I will see how long it takes for airflow to be compromised badly on this bag, then on a genuine H1 bag that I have on order.

 

[jmurray01]

Twice the price BUT twice the belts Steve!

 

[madabouthoovers]

Just thought Jamie - you could use that picture of you with your long pipe and your Ranger to send to a prospective employer for a cleaning job - shows them how enthusiastic you are about hoovering - but you may have to use a Henry though, as many cleaning firms or employers will give you a commercial cleaner to use. Oh and you will have to learn how to clean toilets and empty bins lol

 

[jmurray01]

I doubt it would make any difference Steve.

I will make a similar picture with my Henry though, thanks for the idea.