Dyson DC-17 Rehab

[stricklybojack]

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Well it's been awhile since i posted a vacuum fix-up, but as i was looking over my vac hoard i saw a Dyson i forgot i had picked up somewhere. And, as i recall, EVERYBODY HERE ON VL LOVES DYSON. So without further ado...

What we got here is one nasty vac. Brush roller was tight, filter caked, etc. but the machine otherwise works fine and that's what i wanted to tackle, something straight forward and cost free.
Nice purple on these. Another Dyson in my collection, with a cracked body, gave up a couple of attachments, not exactly for this model but they will work and are in good/new shape. The crevice tool didn't fit. Maybe i will check Ebay for the right bits, but mostly they are there for show, i use canister vacs for attachment work.
Enough for today. Looks like a couple more whacks at it should do it.

PS: Check out that nail in the sole plate! And that pine needle came out of the after motor filter chamber...no couldn't have come though the fan! But for a second...

 

[suckolux]

Yikes! Ten kinds of nasty, but still running anyway. Hope it turns out ok

 

[panasonicvac]

I've seen a bunch of these that came into vacuum stores to get repaired, mostly due to clogged cyclones. I actually used to own one of these that I bought refurbished (Like new) several years ago, I bought one because one collector (I believe his name was Eric "aka ttuee2006 or tristarcxl") got one of these, and seemed like he was really impressed with it so that's what got me attention into getting one. I thought it was ok overall, I later returned it because it felt like it was destroying our carpets since the brushroll had really stiff bristles. To be honest, I think this was still one of the best dysons that I've ever used. I still go to BedBathandBeyond once every while to try a new dyson model and I've always felt like the DC17 was still better than these newer ball models today. So that's my experience with a DC17.

 

[ocscott3085]

I remember when the DC07 came to the US in 2002/2003 I purchased it as soon as it arrived at Best Buy. I was still living at my parents' house and I remember being initially impressed with all of the German Shepard hair it captured. The brushroll on the 07 was a joke compared to our other vacuums so when the DC17 came out I thought it would be the perfect solution. I think my parents had the DC17 for seven years. I "borrowed" it when I moved out thinking that they wouldn't notice since they had a Sebo, central vac and a Miele! Sure enough, dad called looking for it. While the bristles made me nervous on oriental rugs, for wall to wall it couldn't be beat! I agree with a previous poster regarding the DC17 being one of the best models produced. When the DC17 died my dad bought a DC65 and that thing feels as flimsy as they come. I love the sturdiness the pre-ball machines had. I actually returned a DC65 I purchased in favor of a Shark Rotator Powered Lift Away to supplement our central vac with hide a hose. While I don't plan on the Shark lasting long, it certainly seems better constructed than the Dyson. The tools are much easier to use as well.

 

[sbakerde]

Check your cyclone seal

The dc17 had a flaw with bottom cyclone seal to the bin lid that would allow it to move about of place and caused the pre motor filter to get filthy and some extreme cases burnt up the motor. Make sure that seal is seated and glued to the cyclone. If it's not sealing to the bin lid it going to clog up again very quickly. I used to repair 2 of these a week when I had my vac shore. It's over all a really great vacuum just that one flaw to watch for.

 

[stricklybojack]

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Well this is gonna take at about twice as long as i thought. I got most of the way through disassembling the cyclone but may need to purchase a longer star tool to finish. Also the hose end is being difficult...don't want to damage it so i backed off, for tonight at least, on that.
As you can see this Dyson was rode hard and put away wet. Not a lot of use i don't think but it seems the poor gal never was routinely maintained. Even bin dumps must have been a rare-if-ever occurance.
The brush roll head doesn't want to lower for some reason even though it was happy to do so before i torn into this thing {sigh} ...hopefully that will get resolved so i can get at the rest of this thing.

PS: Yup that axle is bent all right. Thankfully ithe vac's sagging appearance will be easily remedied with a couple judicious hammer blows to the offending part.
And i pulled that pile of crud from one of the cyclones...yeesh!

 

[anthony]

theres

somthing really statisfying about seeing a cruddy old vac getting a good seeing too

 

[stricklybojack]

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Just hot water and a soft cloth will be enough i think.
I found i could disassemble my star tool which allow me to use it with a needle-nose pliers to get at the hard to get at 8 screws...and i loosened them most of the way for better cleaning. Removing them completely would cost a lot of time and net no cleaner a machine.
I couldn't imagine a shop doing all this for much less than the cost of a replacement machine.

 

[henrydreyfuss]

My favorite Dyson Upright

Someone on this thread mentioned the critical flaw of this model: the round gasket at the very bottom of the cyclone assembly. They would get pushed upward from closing the bin (the gasket gets caught on the bin door baffles, and oval shaped gaskets), and it would allow dirt into the cyclones backwards, clogging them, and making a huge mess of the filter. Your machine has the original style cyclone assembly (two cyclones in the center instead of one), and it is likely why your cyclones plugged up. Clean it up, and I would recommend replacing or gluing that gasket into place.

No other Dyson matches the carpet cleaning performance of the DC17, and that includes every ball model, and even the DC28 Airmuscle. It's all in that wonderful, legitimate (if a touch aggressive) brushbar. The machine is noisy, but a joy to use, and it's fun to see the amazing amount of crud it picks up.

I also adore the wand and hose setup on this model (easy to switch to tools and great reach). Very versatile machine. Enjoy!

 

[fantomfan57]

I just finished one of these...

this passed week. I completely disassembled the cyclone, washed and disinfected with the help of a Youtube video. Cleaned everything else including the brush housing. Was missing the dusting brush, but somehow I had an extra in my Dyson tub.

Will be placing it for sale next week. Been several days since I washed the filter, but I am going to wait longer.

I had read about the lower cyclone gasket, so I will be gluing it in place before listing it.

This one was not too dirty at all and sounds great.