Is this normal for clutched Dysons?

[niclonnic]

I want to address an issue with my mom's Dyson DC07.

As anybody should know, its helix brush bar is notorious for getting wrapped with long hair. Today, when I went to untangle it, I found hair wrapped around the part where the belt rides!

This is a point of concern for me. I'm worried that the belt might break, which could result in an expensive and laborious repair.

Anybody have this issue with their clutched Dysons? I'm attaching a picture below, so you can see what I mean.

 

[parwaz786]

Yes it's normal but it depends how tangled the brushbar

Hi Nick,

I can guarantee you that the belt will NOT break. They are designed to last a lifetime of the machine like the filters are. The hair going under the belt can happen, especially when the brushbar needs cleaning urgently.

I can assure you that if the vacuum is grooming carpets fine, it still has plenty of life in it. Also, my neighbour has a DC33 and they have such a large family and they use that in their large family home as their only vacuum. The vacuum struggles to pick up strings. Not because of the filters, but because there is literally so much hair wrapped around the brush that it just looks almost similar to a round brushroll. They have so much hair that the brushbar would need to be urgently cleared after about a week or two.

The clutch on their Dyson is still pretty good for a 3 and a half year old machine that gets used twice or thrice a day, still grooms carpets well and even though i's not the quietest of vacuums and we live in a terraced house, we can hear it from next door, especially when they have their windows and/or doors open. I can even hear the brushbar aswell. I know that they have had more hair go under the belt than the DC07 Animal of your mother's judging by that picture. There is literally a lot even under the belt (they have to take the brushbar out and struggle to fit it correctly so I do it for them). So to answer your query, yes it is normal, but it depends on the amount of hair. Must have been a lot of hair, actually!

Happy Holidays,

-Tayyab Parwaz.

 

[fantomlightning]

They...

Won't necessarily break, but they will stretch out to the point that the belts are useless. Rebuilding the clutch and getting a set of belts isn't expensive, but it's a massive pain in the ass even if you know what you're doing. Sorry Parwaz, but both the "lifetime belt/clutch" and filters are BS. Even the synthetic geared belts on DC17s and similar models will break, far before the end of the machines life. And no filter that traps down to 99.97% at .3 microns will last for the life of a machine without blocking airflow, just based on the carbon dust emissions of the machine alone.

 

[niclonnic]

Thanks!

Yes, that was a lot of my mother's hair wrapped around the brush bar.

Her DC07 Animal is still grooming carpets fine. The clutch is still good for an 8 year old machine. It gets used every once in a while, just by my mother, no pets, in her one bedroom apartment.

Oh, and the lifetime HEPA filter still gives off a dog smell.

 

[citroenbx]

I don't see it very often

 

[vacuumlad1650]

thats very normal. I just serviced a DC07 Animal that was worse than that. Ill find the picture tonight
Andy Rousonelos

 

[parwaz786]

Belts

Well even DC03's and DC04's still groom well with their original clutches (dates printed underneath the clutches) and that's the British made models. I had a good few, the machines themselves were filthy and had scratches so were clearly well used. They came out in 1998 and that's 17 years. If you ask me that's really impressive for BELTS and the average consumer would be happy that the vacuum itself (not just the clutch) overall lasted at least 10 years anyways? That's what they claim for their new Cinetic upright (to last 10 years) And the older ones have pretty much indestructible motors and the machines are built like tanks! Very reliable.

I think the question is, does the carpet thickness affect the longevity of a belt? The UK has mainly thin and medium pile carpets, loads of rugs aswell whereas in America there is deep pile. Here in the UK clutch problems with Dysons aren't really much of a big deal, it's all about motor burn outs here that's the main issue these days.

-Tayyab Parwaz

 

[fantomlightning]

That...

Does make a large difference. We see clutched Dysons in on a daily basis (even the newest DC33) at the shop I work at with destroyed belts, and sometimes the clutches themselves totally destroyed. The set up of the machine is just a bad design in general, which makes things sad for the American market as we've only had one non-clutched single motor Dyson. That model is also nearly impossible to find.

 

[parwaz786]

Must be to do with the carpet thicknesses putting pressure on the clutch and brushbar. Hardly ever a problem here. Non clutched models are very popular here aswell as the clutched models. These machines are mostly suitable for the UK market. Machines like the DC17, DC28+ are better for North American style carpets (except the DC33). I hear good things about the ball Dysons (DC41+)in both the UK and America/Canada. The DC40 isn't as good, I had a DC40 and I didn't really like it. Didn't perform as good as I expected. The DC41 is much better though and I have that which is one of the first produced actually! (2011 model and it was purchased in February 2012).