Eureka turbo tool just died!

[niclonnic]

My Eureka AirSpeed Unlimited Rewind has a turbo tool for stairs and upholstery. It's an okay tool; it slows down a lot when touched to a surface.

When I was vacuuming my stairs earlier, I was halfway through with vacuuming when suddenly, the brush stopped spinning! At first, I thought a lot of hair was tangled in the brushroll, so I turned off the vacuum, removed the tool and took it apart. There was quite a bit of hair and stuff all tangled up. So I untangled it and inspected the turbine. Turns out that on the side of the turbine where the belt rides, it has become very stiff! And to make matters worse, the spaces are so narrow, I can't tell if anything is tangled in there!

So I put the turbo tool back together, put it on the vacuum hose, turned it on and now the brush still won't spin! It does so, albeit extremely slowly.

Is there any way that I can revive this tool? I find these turbo tools to be really useful. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I am uploading some pics. #2 shows the tool with the brush still tangled. #3 shows the untangled tool with all the hair that I pulled out of it.

 

[vacuumlad1650]

Those are so cheaply made, they don't even have bearings. I wonder if the plastic got warm, and soft. Have you tried it after it sat and cooled?
Andy

 

[niclonnic]

Yes

I just tried the tool not too long ago, and it still doesn't turn. And the vacuum has strong suction through the hose. There are no blockages in the system.

 

[human]

What do you mean it died? I've never met a turbo brush that even worked in the first place. As far as I'm concerned, It's gotta have a motor or it's just a useless gimmick.

 

[niclonnic]

What I mean is that

The tool was working just fine when I started, then halfway through cleaning, it decided to crap out on me. The brush just came to a complete halt. That's when I broke down and untangled the tool. After that, I put it back on the hose and turned the vacuum on. No spinning. I tried turning it by hand while the vacuum was running. Still no spinning. I then gave up and vacuumed the rest of the stairs using the vacuum in upright mode, by holding the vacuum in the air and gliding the brushroll over each step, in a rather awkward manner. I then vacuumed upstairs and called it a day. Then I let everything cool down for a few hours. Finally, I got the vacuum back out, plugged it in, put the turbo tool on the hose, turned the vacuum on and it STILL wouldn't spin!

I've had a couple turbo brushes that actually worked; those are from Dyson and Hoover. Dyson has a "clean-air" design where most of the airflow is drawn through the brushroll, while some is drawn through the turbine, driving the brushroll. When this brush is used on dense fabric, more airflow passes through the turbine. So rather than slowing down, the brushroll increases in speed!

My Hoover WindTunnel 2 Rewind Pet, on the other hand, uses a "pet" turbo brush with rubber blades rather than bristles. This tool has ventilation holes on the front near the brushroll, so it won't slow down easily during cleaning. Hoover's turbo brush is great because it's essentially tangle-free, though some hair accumulates near the turbine over time.

That is my two cents on the matter.

 

[vacerator]

Try some light

plastic compatible oil on the shaft ends both for the belt and vanes and the brush roll bearings. I've got one from Germany and that helped. Sewing machine oil, if plastic safe, or LaBelle hobby oil, the one for model train wheels, not for gears.
The Electrolux (European) electric upholstery tool's from the Oxygen 3 series also fail.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Speaking of turbo brushes, my belt-driven Kirby Turbo Brush hasn't failed me yet!

~Ben

 

[niclonnic]

Vacerator

I have some 3-in-One motor oil that's equivalent to SAE 20. Would that work on my Eureka turbo tool?

 

[vacerator]

Nick,

I don't know if 3 in 1 oil is plastic compatible.

 

[sptyks]

The Kirby Turbo Brush is very reliable because it is really a RugRat in disguise.


 


I've had mine for over 2 years and it is still running great.


 


 

 

[fantomfan57]

Stan,

I think I have one of those Kirby Turbo Brush put away in my kirby tub. I am planning to vacuum out the truck with a Kirby Zip brush, but will try the other too. I just thought the Zip brush would do better in tight corners.

 

[niclonnic]

Looks like I...

...found the culprit! I took the turbo tool apart again today and took a closer look at the turbine.

Turns out that on the side where the belt rides, there's hair and carpet fuzz tangled in between the turbine retainer and metal cog. No wonder the brush doesn't spin!

So I tried to clean it, but as I said in my OP, the spaces are so narrow that it's very difficult to try and untangle any hair. I tried using a narrow tool, and it worked somewhat well.

I am uploading a pic, so you can see what I mean. It's kind of hard to see the hair, but it's there.

 

[thermokid]

Turbo tool cleanout

when my turbo tools get hair in that tight space I use a pair of tweezers to pull the hair and strings out.. Good Luck Dan

 

[niclonnic]

Update

So last night, I took a narrow tool and used it to pull hair out of that tight space. Earlier today, I attached the tool to the hose and turned on the vacuum, and the brush now spins again, although a little slower than before. So it looks like I've revived the turbo tool!

 

[niclonnic]

Update #2

So I went to use this tool today on the stairs, and I've noticed that it takes a little while for the turbo tool to accelerate. I was cleaning, and the brush was spinning at full speed. But as I was nearing the top of the staircase, the brush stopped spinning again!

So I took it apart, and more hair was trapped in the extremely narrow space between the turbine retainer and metal cog. I took the tool apart and removed the turbine. Then I found some narrow tweezers and used them to pull out the hair stuck in there.

Eureka's turbo tool really is a piece of junk! I should NOT have to clean a turbo brush this frequently. I just want something that works.

 

[vacuumlad1650]

I wouldnt recommend using the tool. They are more trouble then their worth...


Andy