Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Today my Dyson DC04 motor burnt out it is 7 years old exactly and its burnt out.  Does anyone think this is good for a machine that is 7 years old?  It was used heavily throught its life.

I have have a choice to either buy a new mtor which will cost me £25 from Dyson and fit the motor myself or spend £180 or so and but a new Dyson.  I don't really like the newer Dyson and haven't got a lot of money to spend so don't mind buying a new motor and fitting it myself (I have had to strip the motor last year and put new ducting on the machine)

Its a shame as even though initially I didnt expect the Dyson to last this long I really didnt want it to go wrong at 7 years.   Any people with similar expecrience of their Dysons burning out after 5 - 7 years?

Hi bucks03,

Then I'd think that with 7 years of use, 2 or 3 times a week, you probably got your money's worth out of the machine. Vacuums claimed to go for the 10-year and beyond mark usually come at far higher prices.

Your feeling on the matter acknowledged, personally I'd say get a new one if it won't prove to be a critically major budget-bender. You'll have warranty coverage again in place for a time. Besides which, who knows what else may go wrong. This is not an all-metal machine and plastic housings degrade as they age.

Good luck,

Venson

I agree. For 7 years your Dyson has done well with regular maintenance - well done! Most owners abuse them or try to vacuum things that they wouldn't normally do with their older bagged vacuums. I know one guy who copied Dyson from his own book (who originally used a DC01 and warned not to try it at home) and vacuumed their garden lawn with them to save them raking the grass and it went kaput! Others I know have inadvertently allowed their Dyson to fall down stairs intentionally since they are claimed to be robust and then found parts breaking off them!

The DC04 is one of the most available reconditioned uprights you can find on EBAY if you really miss your old machine. I had one for several years (5) which was reconditioned to replace my DC01 and out of the four Dysons I've had, the DC04 was the most reliable. (Had a DC02 cylinder - rubbish and a lighweight DC03 which was shockingly bad for its filter system.)

Hello Bucks03:

My suggestion is similar.  If it were me and mine, I'd repair mine and keep it if I was so inclined to like/keep a DC04.

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote:

Yeah Carmine,  I agree with you.  I do not fancy giving Dyson any more of my money (I suppose I will be though if I buy the motor off them :( )   But I do not feel the need to buy a new machine when this one works perfectly once its repaired.  The machine itself still looks kinda new, you would not think it was 7 years old as I have not abused the thing.

Others suggest I buy a new machine but I do not see the advantages of these machines over this DC04 which has proved reliable for the 7 years.  Ok it has had a new duct because the other one cracked but I know that there is a weakness where the handle goes into the machine so when usuing on lino I support the machine buy holding the back part as the suction is so strong the machine sticks to the floor.

A new motor can be purchased for £35.00 and I can put it in myself.

I have a spare post motor filter in a box somewhere so can put this in the machine as the post motor filter in this machine now is completely black both sides from the carbon dust build up.

What is your point of view on this Dyson lasting 7 years, do you think this is good or not?

bucks03 wrote:
Buck03,

Seven years without any maintenance sounds long to me and paying £25 sounds like a cheap fix.


DIB

bucks03 wrote:
Bucks03,

Seven years of heavy use and without motor maintenance seems long.  A £25 fix seems cheap too.


DIB

bucks03 wrote:

Hello Bucks03:

7 years is good.

Carmine D.

DysonInventsBig wrote:

Gotta say  i agree........you got good life from a hard use vac....well worth the money to replace the motor since the rest of the unit is fine....id do it

without second thought......dyson came thru on this one.

turtle1

Thanks for the responses guys.

I have taken my DC04 apart today, just to get the motor out so I can get the numbering out as I was told that Dyson used 3 different types of motors for the DC04.  I'm assuming that they mean the Dyson Lime one which has no brush control, the Zorb and of course the standard brush control DC04 I have.  I will order the motor when I come back Middle East  end of next week.

Anyway, I took out the motor, turned the spindle and noticed a slight rattle.  The fans are not rotating!!!  I'm not sure what has happened here as the motor turns ok and so does the nut at the back of the fan bit but the fan doesn't.  It seems that when the motor burnt out it made something break in the unit as the fan did not just decide to break 7 years later.  The motor has a funny smell to it and 2 - 3 communtator bits look scorched.

I agree it has does good in 7 years.  The belts look in good order too on the clutch so will keep the same clutch, just replace the motor and the post motor filter which is completely black.

Id like to post a link to my Youtube video showing the noise the Dyson DC04 does but not sure if I can here so just search  Dyson DC04 Motor Burn Out in Youtube.

bucks03 wrote:

Hello Bucks03:

Thanks for the update Bucks03.  Enjoy your trip to the Middle East!  Good time to go. 

Some questions:  Are the commutator segments shriveled?  Loose?  Gaps between them that are larger than the gaps bewteen the good segments?  How are the motor's carbon brushes?  Should be chopped up and shriveled too if the commutator segments are bad.  These problems would all result in the burnt smell of the motor.

Fan/bearing issues:  Has the hole in the center of the fan widened over time so the fan nut no longer holds it firmly in place to turn with the armature?  This may have caused the fan to freeze.  But you should be able to move the fan with your hand.

Not sure what motor is used in the DC04, have never seen one and taken apart.  Dyson's DC07 used a single fan panasonic motor with an excellent reputation for lasting more than 7 years in bagged vacuums. 

BTW, all the possible problems you describe should have had tell tale signs/symptoms before the motor died.

You may want to take the motor along with you and ask the opinion of the pros who inspect it.

Carmine D.