Four years ago, I purchased both a replacement brushroll and belt for my newly acquired Dyson DC17 Absolute Animal. The original brushroll had gotten rather worn down and loud, so I picked up a generic one off of PartsWarehouse.com for only $27, including tax and shipping. Although it wasn't really necessary, I also ordered a generic belt on Amazon for $10, from the seller "Crucial Vacuum." After installing both of these generic parts, I immediately noticed a difference. The noise had mostly disappeared.
However, over time, I noticed a flaw with these parts. For some reason, the generic brushroll leaves a gap where the belt rides. Therefore, coarse debris such as cat litter gets ON THE BELT. That just didn't seem right. Why is this happening when the Dyson is a clean-air machine? There was also a rattling noise that occurred whenever the brushroll motor shaft got tangled with hair. Despite cleaning it off, I could gradually hear the rattling come back over time while vacuuming.
About a week ago, I decided to disassemble the brushroll housing to deep clean it. This process was a royal pain, but I got everything cleaned and reassembled. I had to super glue a couple of small plastic pieces back onto the inside of the brushroll motor housing. Even after reassembly, I still heard some rattling within the brushroll. Turns out that the end caps had gotten a bit worn over time, causing the brushroll to not turn as smoothly. Since I figured that these generic parts were gradually causing issues over time, I finally got tired of them. So I decided to order both an OEM brushroll and belt off of different sellers on eBay. They were NOS and a bit pricey (about $41 for the brushroll, $16 for the belt, including both tax and shipping), but I wanted to put an end to this rattling once and for all.
Last Saturday, the belt arrived, and just today, the brushroll arrived, both in the mail, and in genuine Dyson packaging. So I set to work, swapping out the well-worn generic belt and brushroll for the genuine, OEM ones. I have made some observations on the generic vs. OEM parts:
What are your views on generic vs. OEM vacuum parts?
However, over time, I noticed a flaw with these parts. For some reason, the generic brushroll leaves a gap where the belt rides. Therefore, coarse debris such as cat litter gets ON THE BELT. That just didn't seem right. Why is this happening when the Dyson is a clean-air machine? There was also a rattling noise that occurred whenever the brushroll motor shaft got tangled with hair. Despite cleaning it off, I could gradually hear the rattling come back over time while vacuuming.
About a week ago, I decided to disassemble the brushroll housing to deep clean it. This process was a royal pain, but I got everything cleaned and reassembled. I had to super glue a couple of small plastic pieces back onto the inside of the brushroll motor housing. Even after reassembly, I still heard some rattling within the brushroll. Turns out that the end caps had gotten a bit worn over time, causing the brushroll to not turn as smoothly. Since I figured that these generic parts were gradually causing issues over time, I finally got tired of them. So I decided to order both an OEM brushroll and belt off of different sellers on eBay. They were NOS and a bit pricey (about $41 for the brushroll, $16 for the belt, including both tax and shipping), but I wanted to put an end to this rattling once and for all.
Last Saturday, the belt arrived, and just today, the brushroll arrived, both in the mail, and in genuine Dyson packaging. So I set to work, swapping out the well-worn generic belt and brushroll for the genuine, OEM ones. I have made some observations on the generic vs. OEM parts:
- OEM brushroll has the Dyson logo, along with a part number on one of the end caps. Box had its manufacture date (Dec 29, 2010) stamped on top. Generic one has no branding. Both brushrolls have equally stiff bristles
- OEM belt also has Dyson branding, and has what appears to be a Kevlar layer on the outside. Generic one was a tad bit loose, has rubber on the outside, and is branded "MS" (seems to be a generic brand for non-stretch belts)
What are your views on generic vs. OEM vacuum parts?
