Miele S7 Hose Problem

[vacfanatic]

I took my S7 Swing's hose into the dealer today since I needed to get bags, to address an issue with it. A very serious and annoying issue I might add! When I first bought the vacuum, the hose would retract back into it's original shape, and would not "smush" when you blast the suction.

I have no idea how this happened, or why, the dealer was also very stumped. It must just be something wrong with the manufacturing of my hose. The dealer's demo model hose, still works just fine and does not choke itself when you put your hand over the end of the hose with the vacuum on full power.

After my hose does this, I have to shut off the S7, screw around with the hose for 5 mins trying to get it to go somewhat back into it's designed shape, and resume vacuuming. Problem is, it won't stay in the side of the cleaner as it's designed to. The hose has never been stepped on, stretched excessively, etc, and I bought this vacuum in Jan 09.

If you put a brand new bag in my S7, and use the hose, it'll choke itself and cut off over 50% of the suction, to the point where the full bag indicator is all the way red.

Dealer is ordering me a new hose assembly under warranty, and for the inconvenience, they gave me a free box of U bags. $18 I saved, and can't wait for a working hose.

 

[vacfanatic]

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[vacfanatic]

This is how the hose ends up after I store it. It's basically way too long since it's not retracting correctly. Either the coiled wire inside is the issue, the hose material itself, etc. It's not twisted up, and if you try to untwist it, it just goes right back to this awful state of unhappiness.

 

[kenmore81]

That is so annoying

This has happened to me but with cheap hoses and over streachin.For a 900.00 vacuum there is no excuse there has to me a defect in the coil.Its nice of the dealer to give you the extra bags tho.
Kenny

 

[dial-a-nap]

Your house is WAY too clean in the background - scatter some dirt around, would ya?
;-)

What dealer did you get that from here?

 

[vacfanatic]

Greg Greg Greg... what are we to do with you! LOL - I got this from OK Sewing & Vacuum off Dodge. I bought my S5 Capricorn and this S7 from them. They are all very nice to do business with, highly recommend them when you decide to buy the new in box S7 Tango you were talking about!!! ;-)

Andrew

 

[rolls_rapide]

Vacfanatic

Any news on the replacement hose yet?

I was looking at Dyson's testing videos last night, and one of their tests seems to show a similar effect to yours, but their hoses spring back from a collapsed state when the suction is removed in the test film.

Are you sure that your hose doesn't have something blocking it, like a carpenter's nail that has become lodged vertically between the coil turns?

I have only ever seen an over-stretched hose refuse to retract itself. I've never seen the self-collapsing problem.

 

[vacfanatic]

Still waiting for the dealer to call me once it has arrived. They had to order the hose from Miele, which I assume will be sent from Germany. I'll give it another week and then call for status.

Also, there is nothing stuck in the hose, it does this the entire length of the hose, only when you stretch it out and block the suction at the hose end. Very strange indeed, but I think the coil is just defective. Can't wait for my replacement. This is my favorite cleaner to use, out of all of them that I own.

 

[rolls_rapide]

Ta for replying.

 

[samotronic]

I just can't believe that such a flawlessly designed (seemingly) vacuum had this happen. I have an S7 Bolero that continues to impress me more and more as I own it. Like you, Vacfanatic, I also own a Kirby Diamond, which I consider the gold standard, but from the standpoint of a new style vacuum specifically designed to address 90 years of complaints about vacuums, I thought the S7 nailed it. Since I still prefer my Kirby, I use it a little more often than the S7 and have to wonder if something like this could happen to my S7 if I used it more frequently, but to date since I bought in January 09, it remains flawless.

My only gripe at S7 engineering is the nob for the hepa filter which is sharp and sticks up significantly from the base, causing many nicks at the bottom of my wooden furniture and cabinets.

I applaud your approach to this situation and that you don't seem remotely bitter or angry about this, and appear to feel that your hose was unique in this problem.

 

[vacfanatic]

Thanks

Chris,

I really don't see any reason to get bent out of shape over it. Anything is subject to defects in the industry. $50 or $500,000, nothing is guaranteed to be perfect.

I'm just pleased that the dealer who represents the company for a good reason, has done a great job of keeping me a very satisfied customer. I forsee myself to be doing business with this dealer for many years to come.

 

[ibaisaic]

Andrew,

I am a UK member and have two S7 cleaners including our version of your Swing.

I had not experienced the same issue as you regarding the hose until last weekend when I was vacuuming the car.

Using the small turbo brush, I noticed my hose doing what you described near where it enters the cleaner. It has not happened since and I could not replicate the effect. Before the hose squashed itself, I had picked up a large piece of screwed up paper which did block the hose temporarily until I stretched it out to its full length which cleared the blockage. The hose has returned to its proper shape and fits as neatly as it did when I first got it.

Thanks for pointing this out and it will be interesting to read if any other S7 owners have experienced this. I thought yours might be a one off, but as I've seen the same thing happen myself, I am worried that this could be a problem about to blow up in Miele's face. They make a lot of big claims about testing their cleaners including the hose and even suck up a load of nails which doesn't damage it or the bag.

Miele are pretty close to perfect in my opinion, but no vacuum cleaner is without its faults or niggles. Please let us know how you get on with the new hose and I'd be interested to hear if it's the same as the original or if you notice any differences in the material or construction of it.

All the best,

Roger

 

[vacfanatic]

Roger,

I wouln't be worried about it unless it starts to get way out of shape like mine did. These cleaners have a lot of suction at the hose end, so if yours had something stuck in the hose, it probably is ok that it sort of "smushed" like mine did. As long as it went back to it's designed shape, and isn't about 6" too long like mine is, you should be fine. However, if this is a problem that turns out to be a widespread issue, I'm sure Miele would just redesign the hoses for our replacements, or use a different material. They surely would not just sit and do nothing about it if this turns out to be a widespread issue. I'll let you guys know how my new hose turns out! Should be here this coming week... I hope

Andrew

 

[vacfanatic]

New Hose

Well after 17 long days, my replacement hose arrived from Germany. Now I can use the S7 again, and the full bag indicator is now where it should be on an empty bag. This hose feels a bit more flexible, similar to the Hoover Windtunnel 2 Hose I have. I think the material is a bit different, the folds seem to be wider in the hose.

Anyway, I'm glad to have a new hose for it. Off to clean!

 

[vacfanatic]

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[vacfanatic]

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