charles~richard
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2006
- Messages
- 3,021
(Okay, this machine kinda falls between new and vintage, but I am posting it in NEW so I don't feel like quite such a freakin' old fart!)
A friend asked me if I would look at his Hoover vacuum -- he said "It's making a very bad noise."
Well, having no idea what model he had ["it's the type that stands on the floor with a long cloth bag" he reported], or what might be the problem, I agreed to take a look with the stipulation that I may not be able to repair it.
He brought it over.
It's a "Hoover Decade 800 Heavy Duty." I turned it on and "makes a very bad noise" was an understatement! It sounded like the whole bottom was going to shatter apart and go flying all over the place!
{{{*BBRRRRRRRRAPPPTTTTTT!!!*}}}
I immediately unplugged it, turned it over, removed the bottom plate, and could immediately see the problem: The plastic fan blade had a crack in it that went all the way from the edge into the center hole! I told him he must have vacuumed up something very big and heavy to have caused that big of a crack, but of course he insisted that never happened!
And the bag was nearly full to the top -- so full that I had a hard time getting it out. I smacked his hands for that, telling him it should never get more than a third or so full. He was contrite and promised it wouldn't get that full again.
I went to the local vac shop and got a new fan, some bags, belts and light bulbs. (The bulbs still worked but I figured I may as well replace them while I was at it.)
I have to say, there are very, very few other vacuum cleaners -- new or old -- that are as easy to repair as this one was. Five screws removed, and I had the motor out and sitting in my hand. It was a breeze to affix the new fan, drop the motor back in, replace the bulbs, screw the 5 screws back in, put in a new belt, attach the bag [which I had removed and washed because it looked a bit dingy], and insert a new hypa-hepa-super-duper-allergen-filtration paper bag. The total time spent repairing this machine, including giving it a beauty treatment with Windex and Armor-all, could not have been more than 10 minutes.
I gave it a test drive on my one Oriental rug and was quite impressed. It's powerful, not too awfully noisy, and the headlights are VERY nice ---- their brightness reminds me of those new "super blue" auto headlights! They provide a very bright, very wide swath of life.
All in all, this really is a very impressive vacuum cleaner. It's the first time I have seen this model, that I am aware of. If I had seen one before, I really wasn't paying close attention -- being primarily an Electrolux and Kirby sort of guy! But it won my heart over with its super-ease of repair and very impressive performance; and, again, not too awfully noisy.
And, now, piccies of course!
A friend asked me if I would look at his Hoover vacuum -- he said "It's making a very bad noise."
Well, having no idea what model he had ["it's the type that stands on the floor with a long cloth bag" he reported], or what might be the problem, I agreed to take a look with the stipulation that I may not be able to repair it.
He brought it over.
It's a "Hoover Decade 800 Heavy Duty." I turned it on and "makes a very bad noise" was an understatement! It sounded like the whole bottom was going to shatter apart and go flying all over the place!
{{{*BBRRRRRRRRAPPPTTTTTT!!!*}}}
I immediately unplugged it, turned it over, removed the bottom plate, and could immediately see the problem: The plastic fan blade had a crack in it that went all the way from the edge into the center hole! I told him he must have vacuumed up something very big and heavy to have caused that big of a crack, but of course he insisted that never happened!
And the bag was nearly full to the top -- so full that I had a hard time getting it out. I smacked his hands for that, telling him it should never get more than a third or so full. He was contrite and promised it wouldn't get that full again.
I went to the local vac shop and got a new fan, some bags, belts and light bulbs. (The bulbs still worked but I figured I may as well replace them while I was at it.)
I have to say, there are very, very few other vacuum cleaners -- new or old -- that are as easy to repair as this one was. Five screws removed, and I had the motor out and sitting in my hand. It was a breeze to affix the new fan, drop the motor back in, replace the bulbs, screw the 5 screws back in, put in a new belt, attach the bag [which I had removed and washed because it looked a bit dingy], and insert a new hypa-hepa-super-duper-allergen-filtration paper bag. The total time spent repairing this machine, including giving it a beauty treatment with Windex and Armor-all, could not have been more than 10 minutes.
I gave it a test drive on my one Oriental rug and was quite impressed. It's powerful, not too awfully noisy, and the headlights are VERY nice ---- their brightness reminds me of those new "super blue" auto headlights! They provide a very bright, very wide swath of life.
All in all, this really is a very impressive vacuum cleaner. It's the first time I have seen this model, that I am aware of. If I had seen one before, I really wasn't paying close attention -- being primarily an Electrolux and Kirby sort of guy! But it won my heart over with its super-ease of repair and very impressive performance; and, again, not too awfully noisy.
And, now, piccies of course!
