Tip re. the Bissell Model 3570 "Lift Off"

[gmerkt]

This is the machine that is kind of two vacuum cleaners in one. The suction part of the machine rests in an upright chassis with a floor nozzle. You may lift the suction (canister) part off and use it separately like a canister vacuum. To facilitate interface between the main guts of the machine and the floor nozzle (which naturally enough has a separate motor to run the brush roll), there is a two pin plug.

I got one of these machines in one of the batches I take in for refurb. Bissell isn't my normal line of country but this one interested me with its gimmicky design. It had a note pasted on it, "bottom part needs fixing." The brush roll wouldn't operate because the electrical contacts between the floor nozzle and the main canister were fried to a crisp. Next stop, look for parts online. This isn't a very old machine, yet every parts source showed these two corresponding plugs as not available.

Further checking online turned up a number of stories about similar electrical contact failures. The juicy part I learned is that Bissell will send you an upgraded replacement machine upon request in return for you sending them back the cut-off cord from the original. I haven't seen it stated in so many words, but this appears to have been a major defect, and being of an electrical nature, a point of possible litigation (like if Bissell's product caused your house to burn down). So I guess that's why Bissell won't make replacement plugs available.

On later models (3760, is it?), they changed the circuit around a bit and these have a three pin plug instead of the earlier two pin.

So don't throw away those burned-out 3750's. The replacement Bissell sends you for free is a Model 89Q9-R. Or at least that's what they sent me. It has the upgraded plugs in it. They tell you initially that it will be a reconditioned machine and mine was labeled as such but looked like a new one. No dirt anywhere on it or in it. All it will cost you is the postage to return the cut-off cord of your original machine.

I don't know if there is a bag limit on these; I haven't tried that one yet.

 

[gmerkt]

Picture showing the "Lift Off" lifted off:

 

[director12]

bagintheback has a Lift-Off, which he harped for the filtration.

 

[bagintheback]

Well the Lift-Off used the standard type of Bissell bagless system for it's time, so it's not just the Lift-Off that has problems. The dust separation is so bad that Bissell had to install two practically hidden pre-motor filters, and the HEPA filters become dirty very quickly. You should really wash the filters after every few uses. That doesn't bother me too much, but the normal user will probably never see the filters.

But, they are very good carpet cleaners as it is a two-motor vacuum. They are worth keeping just for the lift-off feature. Very unique.

 

[Jakesvacs]

I have a bissell lift off, which i love dearly!
They are very nice big vacuums suited to vacuum large places efficently and quickly. They groom good and the suction is more than enough to lift up the carpet!

 

[director12]

The Lift-Off came in a red and gray, a red and yellow, a blue and yellow, a silver, a brown and blue, and a green, so it did come in a variety of colors, and depending on the model, you could get a stair cleaning tool or a bare floor tool.

And I checked Internetarchive, the Cleanview was introduced in 2002, the same year Dysons came to America.

Hope that helps you bagintheback.

 

[gmerkt]

Since the original red 3750 landed here (and the new replacement that Bissell sent), a blue 3760 (parts donor) and lately a green 3760. The green one runs fine, electrical contacts are intact but the handle is broken off and the hose is missing. I'll save it until another donor comes along. I could've used the handle from the blue 3760 but I threw it away, thinking I wouldn't need it.

The blue 3760 would do nothing when plugged in and primary switch flicked on. When I did the post-mortem, I found that someone had used it for a wet/dry vac. The motor was rusted solid; the armature wouldn't turn.

In addition to the differences in the electrical circuit, the 3760 machines have a redesigned dirt bin.

The filters are pretty easy to clean in these, in my opinion. Agree that most users will ignore them.

I don't usually work on Bissell products, but the unique nature of the Lift-Off design intrigued me initally. Now that I've trained myself to work on them, might as well add these to the line-up when they come along.

 

[director12]

I do know Bissell made a bagged Lift-Off in the late 90's.

 

[super-sweeper]

Boy did they!

Their first lift-off cleaner! Vacuumman206 (vacmaster) has one!


 


Has a 2750 years back, bought it at a garage sale when I was young. They tossed out the "Bottom part", and I took home the canister for $1. Got a bunch of vacuums then, and would've came home with a truckload or 2 of them If I started digging around in the PILES of vintage junk as I do today!

 

[director12]

Oh wow.

 

[jodan3399]

Great timing, MIL just dropped off her 4220 (same style as the 3750 pictured, but with the 3 prong plug).

She complained it had no suction, first thing I did was reseat the upper part and now it has suction and power to the brush bar but no response from either switch to shut them off. Plug it in and it just comes on LOL

Will check out the switches later. Poor thing is a mess and doggy as heck.

 

[director12]

It might need cleaning.

 

[fan-of-fans]

I found one of those bagged Lift Offs at a thrift store last year. I believe it's an early one and it's white and red. It was in decent shape and had all the attachments still, so I bought it. Still need to restore it, needs scuffs and dirt removed and new bags and filter. I did test the canister part and it is quite loud!

 

[director12]

Yeah, the canister parts can be loud.