Shark Rotator Professional (trash find)

[ladydobermann]

Hey all, Sammy here again! I decided to ditch the "once-a-month" thing and knock it down to every two weeks.

After finding my first vacuum (thread #42300), it was quite some time before I found another awaiting rescue: a Shark Rotator Professional NV500. Shark is, as seen in my bio, my favourite modern vacuum brand, so I was very giddy when I noticed what brand it was!

Dateline: May 12, 2021. Stevens Point, Wisconsin. I was on my way to one of my last therapy appointments (I had been seeing this therapist since about 2012, he has since retired) when I saw a bunch of junk on the side of the road. Being the packrat I am, I had to flip a u-turn and take a closer look. Sure enough, there was the NV500, along with dozens and dozens of boxes. It seemed to me that this person was cleaning out their entire basement. I picked up whatever interested me, mostly VHS tapes, and stuffed it all into the back of my SUV. I couldn't see a blessed thing out of the back and I was about 10 minutes late for my appointment, but I think it was worth it!

Here's the NV500 when I found it, it was a bit north of Park Ridge. Judging by the condition of the tapes and their boxes, the entire basement was underwater. Seriously. I have never seen so much mould on a cassette before. But I digress - this is about the Rotator!

 

[ladydobermann]

Here's a recent photo of the Rotator. "Never loses suction." Maybe if companies stopped saying things like this, there wouldn't be so many vacuums thrown out.

 

[ladydobermann]

View of the rear of the Rotator. I've never seen so much yellowing on such a recent item!

 

[ladydobermann]

View of the brush-- holy crackers!! No wonder it didn't have any suction! It looks like they tried to groom a woolly mammoth!

 

[ladydobermann]

View of the cord. I'm angry. I don't care if I shouldn't have any expectations for a trash-picked item, that's just wrong!!

And on that bombshell, that's all for now! See you in another two weeks!!

 

[dysonman1]

We do a monthly clean-out of my vacuum shop. In any given month there are 20 broken Sharks brought in for service. I sell them a different vacuum that can be fixed, and we throw the 20 Sharks away. Are there any models you'd like me to keep from the crusher that you're looking for? I'll give them to you.

 

[ladydobermann]

Dysonman - I appreciate your offer, but I really can't take in bulk groups of vacuums. I'm running out of storage space!

 

[tolivac]

If I saw a Shark vacuum in the trashpile as this one--I would LEAVE it in the trashpile!No telling what is NASTY in its filters?????So many folks buy bagless vacuums-they eagerly use the machine,dump the bin and put it away.Use it again and again-after dumping the bin and wonder why it picks up less and stinks----The manual they threw away with the vacuums box tells them about the filters and how to clean and replace them.And it seems like folks that own dogs buy these machines?

 

[huskyvacs]

I've seen worse in bagged vacuums that have been sitting 35-40 years. The bags actally trap and percolate the filth. But nonetheless, it's why man has invented a myriad of cleaners and sanitizing agents. Enzymatic cleaners make quick work of the cleanup and dissolve all the bacteria and gunk - especially in the hoses. You would also be surprised to know that these get used commercially too. They hold up surprisingly well. My local Menards has one to keep the lighting department carpeting vacuumed and dusting off the display fixtures.

 

[tolivac]

Commercial Sharks-HMM lets look in the places dumpster to see how many "dead" Sharks are in there-may be more than you think.To a business a Shark vacuum is a DISPOSABL vacuum-it quits picking up-into the dumpster it goes!When I see those being used commercially-how many have they gone thru????

 

[jo]

Well…the owner had a right to cut the cord!

As exasperating as this is. Cutting the cord off was the owners right. He or she likely took it to use as an extension cord or to repair another appliance or vacuum. Those cords are pricey new! If I find a junked vac that’s no good to keep I cut off the cord and put a female end on available at any hardware store and I magically have a nice extension cord for my vacuum or other appliance that needs a sizable length cord that isn’t one of those heavy duty orange yard cord types!

Hopefully there ain’t much else wrong with it except a lot of filth that needs removal. That much gunk on the brush roll can bend and destroy the bristles so it may now need a new brush roll to clean effectively.

I like Sharks as the lower priced end of modern day vacuums but don’t like the disposability factor of them.

Jon

 

[thevacuumbarn]

If I had to have a budget machine, there are so many machines I’d much rather have than a Shark. For example, an Oreck, or a Hoover wind tunnel max bagged Or Hoover Tempo. That, or I could find a used Kirby, Kenmore, Simplicity, Tristar, or other bagged machine for next to nothing and fix it up. The only good use for a Shark is to part it out and sell the parts to people who got scammed by the slick marketing monstrosity that Shark has proven itself to be. I’ve heard that it isn’t as bad in Britain, but here in the US, there have been so many reports of people going to collect on their Shark warranty and being told that they can’t because of some minor technicality. TTI still makes parts available for most of their machines, and their bagged T series machines take HEPA bags, which filter much better than the infamous Shark dust bin without a real cyclone system.

 

[ladydobermann]

Jon -

"That is the problem with liberty."

Indeed, it's the right of the owner to cut the cord or modify their vacuum as they see fit. But, to me personally, that's like taking a 1970s muscle car and painting it bright purple and putting spinners on it.

 

[lesinutah]

When

I worked retail for 9 years as a manager. If we had a corded electronic we had to cut the cord. People dumpster divers and could resell the items. The Manufacturers have contracts that there not reusable. If someone took a vacuum returned and it was faulty they could try to sue shark.
It's dumb reasoning but that could be the reason behind some odds cut.
I have quite a few sharks I got for little or nothing. You clean them up and clean the filters etc. I took one my wife's boss gave here. I cleaned it up and put brand new filters. It was over 90 cfm.
People don't have to like them but good durable vacuum. There is a bunch of plastic vacuum. The vacuums in the 80s and 90s are really bulky plastic bagged vacuums. I'd take a shark over those any day. You do find vacuums that are dead. I take cords, hoses and brush rolls if there in good shape.

 

[fan-of-fans]

We had one at work the prior cleaning lady used. I don't know what happened to it. We used to use it to clean around the computers and I used to clean my desk with it sometimes. I liked it, it was easy to push and the attachments and hose weren't bad at all compared to others.

I think Sharks are pretty well thought out, just that they aren't really meant to be repaired on the component level.

 

[huskyvacs]

They can cut the cords all they want. I'm an electrician.

 

[tolivac]

Some people do cut cords on appliances left on the curb-the cords have surprizing value at scrapyards.You just have to get a lot of them.The vac place here does this-vacs that are scrapped he cuts the cords and puts them in a large box.The vac goes into the dumpster.

 

[huskyvacs]

That might have been true several decades ago but not anymore. Many scrapyards do not take copper strand wire because it cant be cleanly stripped and its too fine to recycle. It doesn't melt into sufficient amounts and it falls apart all over the place once its sheathing is stripped off.

Also if that's the case than every Dollar Tree within a 50 mile radius is a honeypot by selling extension cords for $1 ea.

I have an Oreck Axis and some Dyson Ball model that were from a vac store dumpster and a store return dumpster, both with cut cords. Cost me about $15 and 10 minutes of work to put the new OEM/used cords back on. Most vacuums the power lead is just connected onto the motor's outgoing wires with crimp-on marrettes. Super easy to fix.

 

[tolivac]

The vac shop that recycles the cords-the yard he is using is doing it at this time-same with other places that have scrap cords and cables.You just need a LOT of it!!!The methods of scrap cable processing have improved greatly.