Dyson long term durability vs. other brands

[man114]

Since I've been on this Fantom kick as of late, doing a quick scouting I've got a lot of 11 amp Fantoms as well as Thunders, Destinys and Destiny Pluses. Some of these are pushing a hard to believe almost 20 years old. A few of these, like a Destiny I got yesterday were probably in regular use up until recently. I'm also happy to report the $4 Thunder I got last week works perfectly and only needed a belt, its in really good shape too.

This has got me to wondering how Dysons will hold up in long term regular use, my oldest Dyson is a DC07 but I alternate vacs between a Fantom Thunder it and my Rainbow and use it only upstairs, consequently I use my DC33 downstairs as well as a Thunder and the Rainbow.

While the DC07 seems pretty sturdy aside from its brush roller clogging, the DC33 doesn't seem all that sturdy, in fact the motor in mine doesn't sound all that hot and I hardly use it and maintain it meticulously.

If I recall my DC07 is 7 years old, and it has always been alternated with another vac, so it was never used heavily.

I bought the DC33 about 2 years ago if I recall.

The think that worries me is they seem so rickety especially the new ones. You pick up a Fantom Thunder that is one solid machine, the handles on the Dysons wobble and parts squeak.

I'm wondering if anyone knows how they're holding up under real every day use from a repair shop perspective.

I just have the feeling I'll still be using my Rainbow and Thunder after the DC33 has come and gone, the DC07 seems a bit sturdier. Are they cheapening these things out?

 

[gusherb]

My DC07 was used regularly for 7 years by it's previous owner, who wasn't very nice on it. It's survived but with a cracked canister handle, and a nozzle hose that's split and needs replacing. Other then that a good cleaning fixed it, and it could go a long while yet IMO. Still runs perfectly. The plastic is creaky and rickety feeling though.

My DC17 feels like it could give a long healthy life too, it's a bit more solid and has no creakiness for one. Not sure about the Cyclone assembly and it's longevity, I'm sure those will need to be completely disassembled every once in awhile.
And I think they used Panasonic motors in those. Can anyone confirm that?

 

[parwaz786]

The Dyson DC41 s the WORST Dyson I used... Performance is not as good as they say, the wheeled Dysons are better
My neighbours DC33, they have a 5 bedroomed, 2 bathroomed house, 3 storeys, and a BIG family home, loads of kids, and the DC33 is their best vac, they always had Vax, Numatic Henry and now the DC33 multi floor
My DC14 is the fab model, its better built than the DC14 and its much more easier to use
the DC04 is un beatable, its quiet, has a large bin, has 230 AW, good brushbar for UK homes, light, easy to use, filter hardly gets dirty and its UK made

 

[gsheen]

I have a dyson dc23 allergy that has only ever been used as a shopvac, It all started when we were building and I got sick and tired of the fine dust clogging the wap's filter every few minutes. I drove through to my shop and fetched a demo allergy model which had been discontinued. I took it home and sucked up everything with it. Thats was two years ago and its still working strong, we used it at my shop when sucking up all the dry wall dust but now days its hooked up to my fine wood sander and does an amazing job of sucking up the fine dust

 

[dysonman1]

Dyson motors are certainly more protected than Fantom motors. Fantom cleaners had either no pre-motor filtration, or poor filtration through a metal mesh screen. Dyson's, of course, have really good pre-motor filtration - but then again - they weren't basing their profit around a hepa filter that had to be replaced every two years as Fantom did. Fantom Thunders were well made - being based on a commercial Vectron model designed for Johnson Wax to sell to janitorial services. The Fury was made significantly less expensive, and was designed to maximize profits from their popular infomercial.

Overall, the Dyson cleaners are not experiencing the same repair problems that Fantoms did. They are experiencing different ones. Ultimately, the Thunder's motor was the best motor ever used by a multi-cyclonic upright (It was a double fan, double ball bearing Lamb motor with a small belt drive shaft - virtually the same motor used in Compact, Filter Queen, etc.). Too bad Fantom had no pre-motor filtration in the thunder (other than the cyclones). If they did, those cleaners would run 30 or more years.

 

[madaboutsebo]

No more wheeled Dyson's...

I see in the UK Dyson has decided to drop it wheeled Dyson Uprights (and I think canisters too!), no longer showing on UK website. So no more DC33 or a successor to it! It was confirmed also by a Facebook reply to a customer/fan comment. The ball cleaners are more man-movable to the wheeled versions hence the reason. Not all Dyson users/fans like the Ball versions! Wonder if other Dyson markets will follow!?

 

[parwaz786]

madaboutsebo that w now, the are going madaboutsebo was me on facebook! I think dyson are going downhill with their ball vacs

 

[madaboutsebo]

Cool nice one thanks for letting us know parwaz786 good question by the way! That was me that put the other comment after Dyson!!

I have to agree with you the latest ball vacuums are not as good! Wonder if that's why they have continued the base DC25 in grey! You read so many negative comments from users of the new ball vacuums!

 

[man114]

The comment about a 30 year old Fantom Thunder if they had a pre motor filter is probably a good possibility, the 11 amp Destiny I picked up the other day still sounds good its pushing 18 years. I think with proper maintenance they'd hold up well even without the pre motor filter. I've often thought of trying to mod one to put a filter in in the top of the cyclone shroud but had to tamper with an otherwise good machine, maybe if I come across one that is in really poor cosmetic condition I'll mess around with it.

Furys always get dirt into the motors, if you use it and carefully monitor the eventual loss of suction you could time it pretty well take the motor out and clean the fan with a pipe cleaner. I did this to all Furys I regularly used and all still work. I suppose worse than the dust damaging the motor that quickly the restricted airflow would heat the motor up, then you'd have problems start to arise.

In regards to Dyson, I bought the DC07 for something like $199 on clearance at Home Depot (they had a bunch with damaged boxes but the machine was fine). It at least feels fairly solid. I got the DC33 on clearance for $239 but it just feels a lot flimsier. Consequently my sister bought a Dyson Slim on clearance (pre ball) around the same time and it felt pretty solid. My mom recently bought the Ball animal. I don't think it seems as sturdy. I'm actually kind of glad I never bought one when I could have on clearance at Lowes. I really didn't care for the ball in handling. She had a Rainbow demoed recently and the Rainbow did a better job of grooming the carpet (and still pulled up a lot of dirt).

I think it would be a huge mistake to eliminate wheeled models. I think the Ball design is hard on your wrist.

I like the Dyson technology but each successive generation seems cheaper. I'm not saying they won't outlast a $50 throwaway I'm just comparing them within their own line. I'm pretty confident they'll outlast most of the the stuff they're up against in your big box stores.

 

[parwaz786]

Cool Jon
Shall I add you on FB? and yes I hate Dyson's new vacuums, they are so RUBBISH and they are not as good as their old ones.

 

[turbo500]

they are so RUBBISH and they are not as good as their old on

on what grounds are you making this statement? You can't just say "they're rubbish" and not give a reason for it. By you just saying that and not backing up, why should anybody take you seriously?

I've found the current range of Dysons to be far better performers than any other. The DC40 is a really lovely vacuum to use - lightweight but not as pathetic as the DC24 or DC50, relatively quiet, strong suction and the brushroll has improved dramatically. The tools are also far more accessible - the hose just pulls off.

I think the build quality is very poor for a £350 machine, but overall when compared with other cleaners, isn't too bad. But I don't think the high price reflects the quality of the unit. I'm also not a fan of the handle release on the DC40 and 41. I appreciate that this was done to make the unit lighter, but it's very awkward to use.

Overall though, I was pretty impressed with the DC40 and DC41. I also think there are some really great features on Dyson's current cylinder line up, like the self adjusting floorheads and the new carbon bristles on the brushroll for bare floors.

The DC07 and DC14 were, in my absolutely honest opinion, horrendous. Yes, they had strong suction, but they were bulky, awkward, LOUD, the root cycles would clog up with hair and dust and cause the machine's airflow to drop VERY easily and the motors weren't exactly reliable. I've seen more clogged up and burnt out DC07's and DC14's than any other Dyson. And before you say it, that isn't because that cleaner was more popular. I don't think I've ever seen a DC01 or DC04 with a failed motor that wasn't due to user error (eg not cleaning the filters or sucking up things they shouldn't).

Also, if one really IS concerned about the build quality of the machine, just remember it comes with 5 years cover so if anything breaks, it will be replaced.

 

[suckolux]

My dc18 past the 5 year mark without a hick up in its life

 

[vacuumfreak95]

I have a question.

Is there any way to tell the age of a Dyson by the serial number on the bottom? I have a DC07 and I'm not the original owner so I have no idea how old it is. Also my machine doesn't say DC07 anywhere on the machine! I think this is really weird...Maybe it was remanufactured at some point?

 

[vacuumfreak95]

Here is the machine....

As you can see it doesn't say DC07 on the base like every other Dyson DC07 I've ever seen. Just wondering if anyone can fill me in on why.

 

[madabouthoovers]

Only the early DC07's in the UK had the DC07 logo on the front of the head, later ones moved it to the motor cover, as below.


Even later ones moved the DC07 logo onto the bin.


Here is one I refurbed last year for sale:

 

[madabouthoovers]

This is an earlier model that DOES have the DC07 logo on the head:

 

[madabouthoovers]

And here's one with 2 DC07 logos:

 

[madabouthoovers]

The very late models from about 2007 onwards had no logo at all except on a sticker on the top of the bin:

 

[madabouthoovers]

Oh, and no there is no eassy way to date a Dyson, well not that I'm aware of anyway. The DC07 was made between 2001 and 2009, so quite a long run, but it was a very successful model indeed, and the first vac in history to use multiple cyclones. It was also the first Dyson model the Americans got.