Help with Dyson DC-33

[yakky]

Long time lurker, first time posting.

My parents have a DC33 that may or may not be working well. While at their house I decided to give it a try (I'm a Hoover guy) and was amazed at how bad it was. It didn't really bite down on the carpet, not even like a newer hoover does. I blew out the insides out with compressed air and put in a whole new set of filters as they were pretty dirty. Slightly better, but still feels like a dud compared my other bagged vacuums. The brush is definitely spinning and if I press the head into the carpet, I get a bit of bite. No big leaks anywhere.

It just kinda glides around on top of the carpet.

Is this how they all work, or is something wrong with this one?

 

[singingrainbow]

That sounds about right, the dc33 has a large debris pick up channel in front of the main brush channel which prevents the cleaner head from really "gripping" the carpet by bleeding off some suction. In general the dysons that use a clutch glide over the carpet and clean the surface well but aren't really deep cleaners.

Assuming the clutch is good, the belts arent stretched out, and there are no clogs then it should be working about as well as possible. Do you know roughly how old the machine is? Do your parents have any thick rugs that could have worn the clutch out more quickly?

 

[yakky]

Hi singingrainbow, thanks for replying. I did see the channels up front, but all the raving fans just make these things out to be powerhouses. I guess what I'm seeing is normal. I'm just used to vacuums being hard to push when they are cleaning and this just glides around on the surface.

 

[yakky]

And to answer your question, its a refurb about 3 years old, at least since they've had it. No thick rugs and its had an easy life as a roomba does most of the "vacuuming" there.

 

[dysonman1]

Look at the nozzle from the side, after the handle is reclined into operating position. Many time, the nozzle hose stiffens, and prevents the nozzle from lying flat on the carpet. When you look from the side, the nozzle should lay flat, not be 'tipped' which it probably is. A new nozzle hose is very inexpensive, and a very flexible new nozzle hose will allow the nozzle to sit flat, and give you much better performance. I used to have to replace them all the time on DC07 and DC14 models, which the DC33 is based upon.

 

[yakky]

I'll check the nozzle and nozzle hose, good tip, thanks.

 

[yakky]

I checked the nozzle hose, it still seems pretty flexible. The nozzle seems to stay parallel with the floor. I removed the dirt canister and have to say there is fairly incredible suction and airflow just from the motor. Seems to get cut by about 1/2 on the usable hose, but I think that is fairly normal for a cylonic.

Just to confirm that it was operating well, I went to Costco on a weekend when Dyson had their demos setup. They had a couple of the ball vacuums and a cordless setup with what looked like a 3x4 floor mat/carpet. I tried both the uprights on it, neither could lift the corner of the mat of the ground, and it certainly was not a heavy rubber mat. My hoover would have injested the whole thing.

Spotting my experiment, the Dyson rep (not a Costco employee) started asking me questions. What was I looking for in a vacuum. What did I currently have. I told him I was checking out the amount of suction and was suprised that neither of the vacuums was able to lift the mat of the floor. He acknowledge the issue and said they balance the suction to a level that works on most surfaces. He said (without me prying I might add!) that other bagless vacuums have more suction at the floor nozzle and that vacuums from a couple of decades ago had extreme suction to the point of damaging peoples carpets. He also stressed that a Dyson would outlast those vacuums. Nice guy, I would have chatted more, but a real customer came up asking questions about the cordless Dyson. I thanked him for his time and left feeling like my mission was accomplished.

Thanks everyone for confirming we have a well functioning DC-33!

 

[broomvac]

My DC33 is the same way and has been since new. It just doesn't reach far down into the pile.

The DC07 (with the same nozzle) that I used in the house I rented over the summer performed similarly, too. I'd say the DC07 paired with my landlady's carpet was perhaps a better match than my DC33 with my carpet. Somehow either the DC07 has slightly more suction and/or her carpet just does better with the original Dyson nozzle. Either way, both vacuums seem to get the carpets suitably clean. Not the best, but somehow lots of dirt always ends up in the bin.

I wouldn't worry about it.

broomvac

 

[ultralux88]

It's not a change in suction

But more of a change in the design of the nozzle. The DC33 has the debris channel Tom mentioned, which vents a fair bit of the suction to do its job, the DC07 just has some vent slots in the back of the plate, creating a totally different feel on the carpet. Both the DC07 and DC33 use the same motor.