oliveoiltinfoil
Well-known member
All of this EU regulation on vacuum cleaners topic is genuinely shaking up the industry for the first time in over 20 years, previously done by Dyson, arguably.
I am in no position to really comment on Dyson models built within the last 5 years or so as, I haven't owned one. I did have a DC24 about 2 years ago, which to be honest, wasn't too bad. Had quite good suction and relatively good agitation and a very nice set of tools, but is really suited for people with small homes and a lot of money to spend on a small cleaner - I thought it was a bit over priced, but this is Dyson we are talking about, a lot of his products are.
Browsing through argos.co.uk as I usually do quite often, especially since these regulations, looking at what new vacuums are appearing, and I noticed the DC41 MK2 has been reduced to £319.99. I had a £10 argos voucher which needed to be used by next week. I work from home and had nothing to do today so I went to my local argos shop to pick it up, surprisingly, it was in stock.
So I now have a brand new Dyson to add to my collection 4 vacuums (I know, not a lot at all really). All in all, I am very impressed with this machine. You can see Dyson's views and opinions very apparent in the literature supplied with every one of these models. Hahah!
I can also confirm the specifications on this vaccum. It is 700 watts, ratted at 198 air watts, which is very impressive, and represents a very efficient motor.
The DC41 MK2 has this new 700 watt motor, along with a redesigned floor head, which dyson claim is 75% more powerful. It certainly feels powerful and makes a lovely low pitched hum, similar to a sebo felix or miele s7's brush bar motor. It agitates the carpets incredibly well, and the head is very much sealed onto the carpets. I thought the active baseplate was a bit of a novelty, but it must be working, as going from low to high piled carpets, there is no change in how much effort is needed to push and pull the vacuum. This model also has something I have never seen before. As you can see in the picture, it has a slider bar which raises or lowers a rubber lip, which controls the seal of suction at the head. A very cleaver idea as this means light weight rugs you can raise the lip so there is suction leak so it doesn't stick as much, and on thick piled heavy rugs and carpets, lower it to create a good seal.
The brush bar is massively improved on the DC41, as they left some horrible streaks of dirt on the carpet due to sparse brushes and plastic spacers, whatever they are. This only leaves one, quite large one however which I think is the belt drive. It is very easy to push and pull as the brush bar pulls it forward, and the machine is well weighted and the head has micro rollers which assist the manoeuvrability.
The ball takes some getting used to, especially after using something like a sebo felix. The ball makes for tighter turns, but requires more effort to steer, although this is getting better with use, as I am guessing the rubber seals and wheels are wearing in. Surpassingly, it gets under beds and furniture better than I thought, but of course doesn't go completely under.
The suction is very good indeed. It really is. You would never know this is 700 watt, or any different to a normal dc41 with a 1400 motor. There is supposedly 57 watts difference, with the mk2 having the disadvantage, but I cant imagine it makes that big of a difference. It is very effective at carpet cleaning. Hard floor cleaning with this is brilliant. It doesn't stick to the floor as you can raise the lip however much you want, meaning larger dirt and debris is collected rather than pushed around. Edge to edge cleaning is very good on both sides.
The tangle-free turbine head, again I thought was a novelty, but it is the east turbo hand tool I have ever used. It is amazing, and vibrates anything you are cleaning, something I have never experienced. The brushes are quite stiff, it grooms the carpet and of course, doesn't get tangled in hairs. It also floats and adjusts to contours in sofas and cushions.
Surprisingly, a lot of the parts on this vacuum are quite substantial. The cable is thicker than it is on a lot of vacuums, yet the rubber is very soft and flexible. Will you just look at the plug? Beautifully deigned and is worth a snapshot! The whole vacuum I think is quite attractive. It isn't beautiful like an old Hoover or Kirby, but it looks futuristic, and I haven't found any hindrances in the practicality. It is very easy to use.
It has no pedal to recline it as a lot of us know, instead works on pressure. It is easier than I thought to use. You can wheel it around, but you have to lean it back and try not to put much pressure on the handle to do this. Most of the time it works. Other times, it is tricky to make sure it is clicked in the upright position. Probably my biggest grumble with this vacuum so far.
Another thing worth mentioning is the heat pollution, if you could call it that, or the lack of. It appears these lower powered motors emit much less heat than your 1,400 - 2,000 watt motors. The air which comes out is barley warm. It is also very quite, doesn't scream. It is a very pleasant sound.
The dirt bin is relatively large at 2.1 litres, and this has collected a lot of dirt. I vacuumed right through two days ago with a sebo felix, yet the dyson has still pulled out a considerable amount of debris, and very fine dust. The bins has very good rubber seals and not a spec of dust has leaked from the bin.
Filtration quality is second to none. I honestly haven't touched the filter in terms of washing it. I just pulled it out after 1 hour and 15 minutes usage. Not a spec of dust. Those cyclones are really doing their job. The HEPA filter also doesn't have any carbon dust on it. I wouldn't expect too much after just over an hours use, but on some other vacuums, carbon dust would have already settled on the post motor filters. Could this also be to do with the lower wattage ?
There is also a flap cover near the motor, which you can use to get any blockages out.
The build quality is better than I expected. After reading various reports and opinions from people claiming they are flimsy and fragile, I tend to somewhat disagree. The design of this vacuum is forgiving. I am in the motor trade, as was my father for some 50 years, and the materials such as ABS tend to appear flimsy, but that is done deliberately so it absorbs energy. Case in point, the cable storage plastic "lugs" on the back of the machine bend and flex a lot, but they will not brake. I have tried. There is no white stress marks either, like there would be on a cheaper plastic. I have nod doubt that some of these parts could and have broken on dysons, but they are much better designed and made than I thought.
I do love this machine, but I wouldn't pay over £400 for one. £320 seems a reasonable price. Get one at the price point or lower and it is very worth while.
I am in no position to really comment on Dyson models built within the last 5 years or so as, I haven't owned one. I did have a DC24 about 2 years ago, which to be honest, wasn't too bad. Had quite good suction and relatively good agitation and a very nice set of tools, but is really suited for people with small homes and a lot of money to spend on a small cleaner - I thought it was a bit over priced, but this is Dyson we are talking about, a lot of his products are.
Browsing through argos.co.uk as I usually do quite often, especially since these regulations, looking at what new vacuums are appearing, and I noticed the DC41 MK2 has been reduced to £319.99. I had a £10 argos voucher which needed to be used by next week. I work from home and had nothing to do today so I went to my local argos shop to pick it up, surprisingly, it was in stock.
So I now have a brand new Dyson to add to my collection 4 vacuums (I know, not a lot at all really). All in all, I am very impressed with this machine. You can see Dyson's views and opinions very apparent in the literature supplied with every one of these models. Hahah!
I can also confirm the specifications on this vaccum. It is 700 watts, ratted at 198 air watts, which is very impressive, and represents a very efficient motor.
The DC41 MK2 has this new 700 watt motor, along with a redesigned floor head, which dyson claim is 75% more powerful. It certainly feels powerful and makes a lovely low pitched hum, similar to a sebo felix or miele s7's brush bar motor. It agitates the carpets incredibly well, and the head is very much sealed onto the carpets. I thought the active baseplate was a bit of a novelty, but it must be working, as going from low to high piled carpets, there is no change in how much effort is needed to push and pull the vacuum. This model also has something I have never seen before. As you can see in the picture, it has a slider bar which raises or lowers a rubber lip, which controls the seal of suction at the head. A very cleaver idea as this means light weight rugs you can raise the lip so there is suction leak so it doesn't stick as much, and on thick piled heavy rugs and carpets, lower it to create a good seal.
The brush bar is massively improved on the DC41, as they left some horrible streaks of dirt on the carpet due to sparse brushes and plastic spacers, whatever they are. This only leaves one, quite large one however which I think is the belt drive. It is very easy to push and pull as the brush bar pulls it forward, and the machine is well weighted and the head has micro rollers which assist the manoeuvrability.
The ball takes some getting used to, especially after using something like a sebo felix. The ball makes for tighter turns, but requires more effort to steer, although this is getting better with use, as I am guessing the rubber seals and wheels are wearing in. Surpassingly, it gets under beds and furniture better than I thought, but of course doesn't go completely under.
The suction is very good indeed. It really is. You would never know this is 700 watt, or any different to a normal dc41 with a 1400 motor. There is supposedly 57 watts difference, with the mk2 having the disadvantage, but I cant imagine it makes that big of a difference. It is very effective at carpet cleaning. Hard floor cleaning with this is brilliant. It doesn't stick to the floor as you can raise the lip however much you want, meaning larger dirt and debris is collected rather than pushed around. Edge to edge cleaning is very good on both sides.
The tangle-free turbine head, again I thought was a novelty, but it is the east turbo hand tool I have ever used. It is amazing, and vibrates anything you are cleaning, something I have never experienced. The brushes are quite stiff, it grooms the carpet and of course, doesn't get tangled in hairs. It also floats and adjusts to contours in sofas and cushions.
Surprisingly, a lot of the parts on this vacuum are quite substantial. The cable is thicker than it is on a lot of vacuums, yet the rubber is very soft and flexible. Will you just look at the plug? Beautifully deigned and is worth a snapshot! The whole vacuum I think is quite attractive. It isn't beautiful like an old Hoover or Kirby, but it looks futuristic, and I haven't found any hindrances in the practicality. It is very easy to use.
It has no pedal to recline it as a lot of us know, instead works on pressure. It is easier than I thought to use. You can wheel it around, but you have to lean it back and try not to put much pressure on the handle to do this. Most of the time it works. Other times, it is tricky to make sure it is clicked in the upright position. Probably my biggest grumble with this vacuum so far.
Another thing worth mentioning is the heat pollution, if you could call it that, or the lack of. It appears these lower powered motors emit much less heat than your 1,400 - 2,000 watt motors. The air which comes out is barley warm. It is also very quite, doesn't scream. It is a very pleasant sound.
The dirt bin is relatively large at 2.1 litres, and this has collected a lot of dirt. I vacuumed right through two days ago with a sebo felix, yet the dyson has still pulled out a considerable amount of debris, and very fine dust. The bins has very good rubber seals and not a spec of dust has leaked from the bin.
Filtration quality is second to none. I honestly haven't touched the filter in terms of washing it. I just pulled it out after 1 hour and 15 minutes usage. Not a spec of dust. Those cyclones are really doing their job. The HEPA filter also doesn't have any carbon dust on it. I wouldn't expect too much after just over an hours use, but on some other vacuums, carbon dust would have already settled on the post motor filters. Could this also be to do with the lower wattage ?
There is also a flap cover near the motor, which you can use to get any blockages out.
The build quality is better than I expected. After reading various reports and opinions from people claiming they are flimsy and fragile, I tend to somewhat disagree. The design of this vacuum is forgiving. I am in the motor trade, as was my father for some 50 years, and the materials such as ABS tend to appear flimsy, but that is done deliberately so it absorbs energy. Case in point, the cable storage plastic "lugs" on the back of the machine bend and flex a lot, but they will not brake. I have tried. There is no white stress marks either, like there would be on a cheaper plastic. I have nod doubt that some of these parts could and have broken on dysons, but they are much better designed and made than I thought.
I do love this machine, but I wouldn't pay over £400 for one. £320 seems a reasonable price. Get one at the price point or lower and it is very worth while.
though I have just purchased an ex condition DC04 Absolute+ for the bargain price of £20, so will need to get rid of some vacs to make room again.
I am always doing that typo. Seriously though, you have to sort of see it to believe it. 
