Rare Dirt Devil M08510 in need of repair – can/should it be saved?

[oldskoolguy]

A while back my rare Dirt Devil m08510 in jade green was taken apart to be inspected and later refurbished. I heard a clicking noise, and thought there was something wrong like the plastic had broke and shards were caught in the motor or the fan area. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case. As it turned out, everything was okay! So I then took advantage and went to refurbish it. Cleaned the metal fan case, replaced the fan which had a crack (but all blades were intact save for the same crack that went partway onto a blade). Cleaned every sngle part (except the motor itself, but the black case was cleaned). Put it all back together and... Electrical buzzing and a noise that sounded like grinding. I check the machine: The motor wouldn’t turn freely. Took it apart again, reassembled it, and still nothing good. At one point, I briefly had it sounding fine, but then it kept having trouble. So then I took it apart again and made sure that both parts of the motor case were sitting flush (or slightly less) with one another. Fixed it, but the motor wires kept popping out as I tried to put everything back in and at one point, the motor’s black wire lost its solder joint (whatever you call it (the little silver thing that sticks out)) so I left it sitting around in hopes that one day I had time to maybe look at it again. Life had gotten in the way (college, work, etc.) and now that I may have more time, I’m questioning whether it should be saved or if I should sell it for parts. Any ideas?

 

[broomvac]

Sorry to hear it’s giving you trouble. I don’t have one of those machines so I cannot visualize exactly what is going wrong with yours. However, I have a feeling that it can be revived.

If there is one thing I have learned from years of repairing vacuums, it is that vacuums can almost always be repaired using industrial supplies not specifically intended for vacuums. Switches, electrical connectors, bearings, fasteners, and carbon brushes are good examples of components which are almost never unique to just vacuums. These parts are almost never made exclusively for a vacuum application, but rather are just a standardized type/size which the vacuum cleaner manufacturer has used in ther product. Thus, these components can be purchased from local or online industrial/specialty stores, often for a very reasonable price.

It sounds like the crux of your issue is that you have a broken electrical connection. All it may require is a simple re-soldering. If a connector has actually broken in such a fashion that it cannot be repaired, take the broken pieces to an electrical supply store. I’d bet they have whatever you need.

If you have no luck with this, you could always wait and either find a parts machine of a less-rare variant or simply scour eBay for what you need.

Good luck!

 

[dysonman1]

I had no idea there were rare dirt devils. Sorry for your problems.

 

[huskyvacs]

Saving a vacuum is always worth the repair. It's a simple repair if you know your way around motors. If it can be replaced, you would need a new hot terminal it seems. Never seen the inside of one of these so I cannot be sure if it could be reattached.

The way I see it is you have 3 options:

#1 - replace the entire motor with an identical motor of the same voltage from one of the red models (easiest)
#2 - open up your phone book for vacuum repair shops and have them repair it for you (expensive)
#3 - repair it yourself via sourcing your own terminal post and reattaching (most difficult)

or if you go with #4 - sell it off and likely not get much for it as most people would buy it as a decoration, or would want it as cheap as possible to have a shop repair it

Good luck! I a few of the 90's Dirt Devils and I see them every time I go into Goodwill, but they are always so overpriced ($15-$20) and I don't buy them.

 

[huskyvacs]

@dysonman1

Yes, there are several rare Dirt Devils. There is the 12V one for plugging into cars, there is the green one that Oldskoolguy has, and there are a couple rare motor sizes of the red ones that were not made in large quantities. Also the Dirt Devil Easylite(?) upright in turquoise is also rare, which I just purchased.

I don't know the exact specifics but I just picked this info up here and there over several months from collectors on YouTube and here too.

 

[broomvac]

@huskyvacs

What makes you think replacing the broken terminal post is so hard? Did you not see my earlier reply? These parts are frequently available from electrical supply stores and do not take much effort to replace.

Like I said before, a great way to repair vacuums without spending a fortune is to find the part you need without shopping for vacuum-specific parts.

 

[huskyvacs]

@ broomvac

Because OP does not know motor repair as he stated, and he has not provided any photos, so you are only assuming what the damage is and that it can be fixed. Nobody knows the extent of the damage. Also there is no guarantee that whatever you find in the hardware store will work in a 20+ year old vacuum cleaner and be the correct size to fit back into the motor cleanly without being too close to other components of the motor.

 

[broomvac]

The standard sizes for connectors such as blade connectors were standardized years ago and have not changed since the vacuum was built. And besides, those connections are well away from any of the moving parts of the motor anyways, by necessity.

But I’m not here to argue. I feel it will likely be an easy fix.

Good luck!

 

[oldskoolguy]

Thanks everyone for the input. At the moment I am debating whether I’m going to try to swap the field and armature from the motor case from my junked late model 08510 (square belt plug) and connect it, or just sell it as parts (either as a whole lot or separate parts). So if I can find a m0810 with the square belt plug (the one I remember my family having as a kid), then this current one will be sold for parts.(I’ll make a wanted thread in the supermarket forum).
Huskyvacs, on an off topic note, I don’t have the 12v Dirt Devil anymore. That was gifted to my brother for Christmas after a refurb. Even included a set of attachments and a belt lifter for him. Hoping maybe I can score a paper bag converter one of these days so he doesn’t have to worry about dust flying back up at him when he has to empty the cloth bag. Don’t know how I could score such a rarity but I guess I just have luck!

 

[madman]

I mean... there's a million different things that could be wrong. It's a little hard without seeing it and/or being there.

If I had to venture a guess, I'd say a brush or commutator problem. Buzzing noise when running? Sounds like that to me.

 

[ultralux88]

If you have a good running machine with a complete motor, just cut the BS and swap the motor. Those motors weren’t made to be taken apart repaired.

 

[vacuumdevil]

Royal created Dirt Devil as a disposable commodity.

@oldskoolguy
I hate to break it to you but usually dirt devils are not worth the time.

 

[dysonman1]

When I was buying the trade-in vacs from the Kirby and Rainbow guys, to rebuild and sell, we threw away every single dirt devil. Sometimes, smashing them with hammers first so they would all fit into the dumpster. I remember remarking at the time (more than a decade ago) that "NO ONE will ever collect these piles of junk". I guess if you live long enough you'll find someone who doesn't know or remember what crap they were when new.

 

[huskyvacs]

@ dysonman1

....or you find out that not everyone thinks the same as you do with the same bias to any vacuum newer than 1968 technology. Myself and many others on this site as well as on YouTube love Dirt Devils, collect Dirt Devils, and know for a fact they are great vacuums.

If they are such crap then how come they can run for decades with little to no maintenance by people with no mechanical knowledge on how to repair them? I still have the Dirt Devil hand vac my mother bought in 1993 brand new and it still runs today, albeit a bit sparky, and it has never had anything done to it other than belts. No lube, no grease, no carbon brush replacement, nothing. Never been opened. Show me any other vacuum that can do that, you won't find one that will still run with that little amount of care without having blown the motor out. They were built to be tough as well as cheap, and that's why they were so successful. They are the Lada of vacuum cleaners.

I have been here for several months and read into a lot of topics and comments from all sections of the site in my educational quest, and I still have trouble understanding how people can have blinders on and be so closed-minded about vacuum brands on a site about gathering people together from all over the world that collect them. Then they go and bash on people that like the vacuums that they hate purely out of spite (or hatred for the younger generation of collectors perhaps the underlying issue). There's more than one brand and model out there, guys. Explore.

I have a 1920's Air Way vacuum myself, a 1930's Hoover, as well as just having bought a brand new 2018 model Eureka at Walmart and having a Shark Navigator and a whole shelf of Dirt Devil hand vacs in the stable too. Gotta' have some variety!