Author Topic: The diary of a cheap Dyson DC16 (Read 21174 times)

beko1987 · « **on:** October 21, 2013, 07:52:00 pm »

It arrived today! £15, plus £8 postagelater, and I had my first play with a Handheld Dyson.

Verdict? It's a cracking little thing for £22, but I sure am glad I didn't pay £300 for it!

I only had my lunch hour to play with, but it had a full battery so I gave the drivers footwell of my car a once over and it was ok, for 4 minutes until the battery died.

I took it back in the office and plugged it in. Once the light went green, I unplugged it and put it back in the box. Came home, and spent 6 minutes vacuuming the stairs, when the power stopped. Pull the trigger again, and it comes on for a second then goes.

I was prepared for this, having read the hundreds of comments out there about the faults, and after checking the little magnet by the filter, and that the cyclone was in properly I deduced it must be the battery, which had got quite hot in use.

So, it currently sits charging on the fridge, with a new ebay special battery on the way. I like it, it does the job I want it to do, so it deserves a new battery.

Once the missus has used it for a few days, I will strip it down, clean it and rebuild it, it's a bit manky, carrying the dyson flag well it is!

It is more powerful than I was expecting, certainly promising.

MVacs · « **Reply #1 on:** October 22, 2013, 06:45:16 pm »

I really should put a handheld section on the parts site. We can do those batteries at a decent price.

What always put me off them was Dysons limited warranty - to me - suggested they had less faith in them.

beko1987 · « **Reply #2 on:** October 22, 2013, 07:56:41 pm »

I think you should! The rate this is going, I'm going to need to buy some more on the cheap in need of batteries! Had my mother and the MIL comment positively and hint at wanting one. Told them to wait until I had finished this one to see if it's worth it!

Do you have genuine or pattern batteries then? What sort of price would they be? What are your prices for new filters too, havent washed mine yet but if they dont come up well then I'll be wanting some!

I built my own guarantee into it by only paying sod all for it! Would probably get more than I paid by putting it straight back on ebay with some good pictures and a good description!

Made a quick video just now with the rubbish from the DC25. This also highlights the red light of doom issue! (it has been on charge all day, so no question about that). Hopefully the battery will come tomorrow, so I can see if that fixes it, if not then it's time to get internal on it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_75J_w78bE

beko1987 · « **Reply #3 on:** October 22, 2013, 11:06:01 pm »

Just timed it from a full charge to not working anymore no matter what I do,got 3 min 48seconds out of it. Will time it with the new battery and see if its any better.

Felt like a very long 3 minsjust holding the trigger waiting for it to die though.

beko1987 · « **Reply #4 on:** October 23, 2013, 05:02:18 pm »

Since the little DC16 has proved itself worthy of the job of picking up bits of food my daughter drops, I started cleaning it up tonight...

by washing the filters

Post motor filter looking lovely

Pre motor filter looking worryingly dirty. Are the cyclones on these really that inefficient?

but certainly not in need of replacement, just a good clean. So I washed them in hot water with a bit of washing up liquid massaged through. Came up good as new.

Left them on the radiator to catch the heating when it comes on at half 6.

CBA to do anything to it tonight, but will continue the stripdown after the new battery comes and I've seen if it fixes its runtime and red light of death issue.

MVacs · « **Reply #5 on:** October 23, 2013, 09:32:08 pm »

Just for info, that little cover that covers the post filter we have squillions of new ones I got in a deal.

beko1987 · « **Reply #6 on:** October 25, 2013, 08:54:24 pm »

Will come to you if I ever break the ones thats on it!

The new cheap battery came yesterday, and I bought it home from work tonight.

It seems to have fixed the red light of doom issue completely. It had 6 minutes of charge out of the box so I vacuumed various things whilst I waited for the battery todie completely. Just taken it off charge 4 hours later and it's cool to the touch, the old battery would get rather warm during charging. It also seems to have improved the motor somewhat, although the clean filters no doubt help with that.

It's a different colour than the machine, but for £23 delivered I'm not going to complain!

Now the next thing to do is componentise it and clean it, but it's so damn handy I'm struggling to find the time! Amy is sold on it too, which is always handy. Got looking at 99pones on ebay now lol!

beko1987 · « **Reply #7 on:** November 05, 2013, 04:12:34 pm »

Well, the little DC16 continues to give sterling service. I did try to strip it down, but alas could not. I washed the cyclone assembly thoroughly as best I could, and gave the motor part a good wipe down and thats it!

Being the rebel I am I'm running it without the big sponge filter, just the filter housing as it improves the suction alot, and in daily use doesnt get too dirty, certainly nothing more than a few hairs that seem to slip through the cyclone.

The cheap battery lasts a good 10-15 minutes now as well, I haven't timed it completely yet, but it can last 3 days being used here and there, and then our stairs on the one charge.

That's about it really, I thoroughly recommend a cheap one instead of a dustbuster, as it does work very well!

Sleaford White · « **Reply #8 on:** December 16, 2013, 02:20:21 pm »

Just got one myself for pennies. It had the red light of death so fitted a new battery I just happened to have. Not very impressed with the suction (cyclone and filters clean) and it makes a right racket! Why is it so noisy??? Anyone any ideas???

MVacs · « **Reply #9 on:** December 16, 2013, 02:40:47 pm »

We got one the other day, had to fit a battery too. Cyclone was very chipped but we had some new ones I got in a deal so one of those went on it.

Charged it up and tried it out, seemed okay, but suction was really nothing to shout about at all.

So we put an in car charger (that we also happened to have some of) with it and bunged it on eBay and someone bought it over the weekend.

I still fail to find much I like about them.

beko1987 · « **Reply #10 on:** December 16, 2013, 08:31:02 pm »

Ah I don't know. For a cheap hand vac their excellent for picking up crumbled biscuit or torn paper after the toddler has gone for bed,for quickly picking the worst off the stairs when it gets too bad and I can't be bothered to drag the Electrolux Z61 out that I have for the stairs, and hiding a massive biscuit eating session before my girlfriend gets home from work.

I've also used it for cleaning up after stripping a vac, it did a good job but the narrow nozzle made it a painful process.

We did have one of Amys friends use it once and comment that it couldnt possibly do a whole house, you wouldnt have time before the battery ran out. I then had to chip in and explain that it's a dustbuster type job, rather than a whole hosue cleaner.

I still like ours, I used it not 15minutes ago to vac out rich tea crumbs from our clothes drawer (where tf did that come from

It did the job perfectly, and saved me having to get the DC03 out and be upset about it's lack of performance!

MVacs · « **Reply #11 on:** December 17, 2013, 10:01:55 pm »

If anyone happens to need one, we have a load of brand new cyclones for these in amber, and a few in the Issey Myake violet colour. Can be a tenner delivered in the UK in case of need.

Just saying......

Sleaford White · « **Reply #12 on:** December 19, 2013, 12:50:27 pm »

Bump.
Anyone any idea why this DC16 is making such a noise or are they all like that?

beko1987 · « **Reply #13 on:** December 19, 2013, 01:24:36 pm »

Ours is very loud, but I put that down to the tiny motor and massive speed.

I did try to take the motor out to find out how it works, but couldn't get it out so left it.

I've not heard another DC16 so cannot compare I'm afraid. Got my eye on one with a dead battery but it's £30, plus £20 for the battery, and the fact that it probably wont sell for more than £60 makes it a bit pointless.

I used ours last night to vac out some empty drawers, and took it into the loft to clean the hatch out as the lid wasn't shutting. It wasn't great at that, needed a screwdriver to scrape the rubbish off the hatch frame, which the Dyson then picked up.

Sleaford White · « **Reply #14 on:** December 19, 2013, 01:54:50 pm »

I managed to get the motor out. Everything seems fine, impeller spinning ok and no muck in there. I only bought it to learn how they worked. I think they're best avoided. Shame really as I get asked every week at the market about them. I just can't see my customers coughing up the thick end of a hundred quid for one.
I'll keep it to annoy the neighbours with!