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Author Topic: My first Dyson DC40! (Mk1)  (Read 7813 times)

Offline beko1987

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My first Dyson DC40! (Mk1)
« on: April 24, 2017, 02:23:07 pm »
I knew this day would come! With Dyson being like Renault value wise, where £300+ turns into £sod all over a few years, I was biding my time and waiting, then yesterday, whilst in London drinking frigging overpriced (£5.05 a pint) beer, I got a message from one of the sales guys at our work. They've bought a new hoover as their old one was broken, didn't know when it was hoovering the floor or using the tools, did I want it before they take i to the tip? It's a DC40, Can bring it in tomorrow...

And here we are at tomorrow! Kerching



The filters are spotless, the machine itself is fairly clean too. But he was right, suction at the wand regardless of where the wheels point. And the changeover valve doesn't work...

I have limited DC40 experience, but noticed a wire hanging around the changeover valve. Hang on, that's not a wire...



Speared through the internal hose from the wand was this! Jamming up the valve. Pulled it out and normal service was resumed!

Well, I say resumed, it had an issue I am all too familiar with



The wooden stick cleaned it out like a champ! And I vacuumed my mums downstairs to test it out. Works fine. Even has both small tools! It's not all good news though, this part here is broken, the bit that holds the head straight when it's upright



What's it called, how much will it cost me Stuart and how awful is it to replace?

Billy bonus, he had the box in the boot of his car to take up the dump, so I had that too! They bought a 40 mk2 for £200



Happy with that! Partly because free dyson, but mainly because this is the next step up in my knowledge! I've not had one of these apart before, and have declined to look at 2 before simply because I didn't want to break one that wasn't mine. This one though, I can strip apart! So a rebuild thread will be coming soon, although not too quickly as I:

A - Want to use it a bit first, because I have realsied that I have zero experience of this era of Dysons, and am just a bit of a faceless internet bore with opinions of them. So it would be good to sort that, it may well become May's vacuum!

B - I have so many other vacs I really need to get done and gone, it's becoming an actual issue now, if I remove the padlock on the shed door 3 things will fall out... Mums spare room has 5 vacuums in it that she hasn't moaned at yet but it's only a matter of time, and her loft has 20 turbopower/turbopower 2's in...

Still, can't beat a freebie!
Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

Offline Madrat

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Re: My first Dyson DC40! (Mk1)
« Reply #1 on: April 24, 2017, 03:44:41 pm »
Don't look at it, sneak up on it, make any sudden movements or loud noises or it will fall to bits, snap and crack.  :-X

Offline beko1987

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Re: My first Dyson DC40! (Mk1)
« Reply #2 on: April 24, 2017, 04:21:27 pm »
Reclining and standing it up makes some interesting noises...
Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

Offline Madrat

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Re: My first Dyson DC40! (Mk1)
« Reply #3 on: April 24, 2017, 04:42:30 pm »
 :biglaugh: puts your teeth on edge don't it.

Offline MVacs

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Re: My first Dyson DC40! (Mk1)
« Reply #4 on: April 24, 2017, 09:30:44 pm »
Don't look at it, sneak up on it, make any sudden movements or loud noises or it will fall to bits, snap and crack.  :-X

 :biglaugh:

Then the head loom will break.

Beko, the parts diagrams are here.

I have a new one @ £199 in case anyone wants one. People walk past it laughing to spend £40 more on a Sebo X4.

Offline Parwaz7862

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Re: My first Dyson DC40! (Mk1)
« Reply #5 on: April 25, 2017, 12:45:56 am »
Good luck with it! It's quite a pain to work on vs the DC41 and DC50 IMHO

BTW be cautious that broken bit at the front is held on by two fragile plastic pins and just goes on the yolk and just comes off as easy as that really, but with a spring under it to make it "float"

Offline GeorgeJ

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Re: My first Dyson DC40! (Mk1)
« Reply #6 on: April 25, 2017, 05:09:56 pm »
Good luck with it! It's quite a pain to work on vs the DC41 and DC50 IMHO
The DC50 was a royal pain, as well.  :'(
You miss 100% of the Dysons you don't buy.  -Wayne Gretzky
 -Michael Scott  -GeorgeJ

Offline beko1987

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Re: My first Dyson DC40! (Mk1)
« Reply #7 on: April 25, 2017, 05:13:03 pm »
Good luck with it! It's quite a pain to work on vs the DC41 and DC50 IMHO
The DC50 was a royal pain, as well.  :'(

I gave up on my DC50, it was too far gone for a warranty blag to be believable, and I didn't fancy spending money replacing the rest of it to then have Dyson refuse to change the motor, so gave it to Tayyab, who said it worked perfectly after some use, stupid thing!

This 40 is still under warranty, the caper is on! I won't touch it until it's fixed, but the process has started, Dyson have my (mums) details. Once the yolk bit is replaced I'll strip it down in the usual way!
Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

Offline GeorgeJ

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Re: My first Dyson DC40! (Mk1)
« Reply #8 on: April 25, 2017, 05:32:37 pm »
Good luck with it! It's quite a pain to work on vs the DC41 and DC50 IMHO
The DC50 was a royal pain, as well.  :'(

I gave up on my DC50, it was too far gone for a warranty blag to be believable, and I didn't fancy spending money replacing the rest of it to then have Dyson refuse to change the motor, so gave it to Tayyab, who said it worked perfectly after some use, stupid thing!

This 40 is still under warranty, the caper is on! I won't touch it until it's fixed, but the process has started, Dyson have my (mums) details. Once the yolk bit is replaced I'll strip it down in the usual way!
What was wrong with it?  The one I worked on was so rickety in every part that I was afraid to keep it upstairs (the kids for some reason like to jump on my 14, knock it over and ride it like a horse.  It's weird.).  Honestly, after I broke it down to all its parts, it didn't feel like a Dyson.  It felt like a cheap, tiny knockoff from Chinatown.  I also did a very slow vacuuming of my downstairs with it to see what it would pick up, then followed it with the 14 immediately after.  The 14 picked up a little more dog hair and a surprising (and excessive and disappointing) amount of dust and dirt.

I should have followed you here.  I just finished stripping, cleaning and reassembling a 28.  Beautiful, overly complicated beast.  Anyway, I registered it the other day and found it still has 2 years of warranty................... and it's throwing an error code.  I suspect it's the microswitches under the cam (I wasn't confident they went in correctly when I rebuilt it) but if it's not that or a loose connection in the loom, I'm stumped.  I'm not about to start buying parts to test it.  What's most perplexing is the beater bar spins HARD for a second or two, then stops abruptly.  Suction is also ridiculous.  Love it.
You miss 100% of the Dysons you don't buy.  -Wayne Gretzky
 -Michael Scott  -GeorgeJ

Offline Parwaz7862

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Re: My first Dyson DC40! (Mk1)
« Reply #9 on: April 25, 2017, 06:05:01 pm »
Sam's old DC50 update: it worked nicely for a few days and I enjoyed using it more than my other DC50 cos my old one smelled of pets (refurb pending)

Then Sam's dc50 motor blew sparks out the exhaust so I left it in the shed for spares so I will have a mint dc50 ;D

Offline GeorgeJ

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Re: My first Dyson DC40! (Mk1)
« Reply #10 on: April 25, 2017, 06:07:40 pm »
Sam's old DC50 update: it worked nicely for a few days and I enjoyed using it more than my other DC50 cos my old one smelled of pets (refurb pending)

Then Sam's dc50 motor blew sparks out the exhaust so I left it in the shed for spares so I will have a mint dc50 ;D
That's equivalent to a perfectly grilled fast food burger.  Might be the best you can get, but still shit.  >:( >:( >:(

 :smokin:
You miss 100% of the Dysons you don't buy.  -Wayne Gretzky
 -Michael Scott  -GeorgeJ

Offline beko1987

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Re: My first Dyson DC40! (Mk1)
« Reply #11 on: April 25, 2017, 06:52:34 pm »
Ha good update! Handy for spares thougg
Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

Offline Parwaz7862

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Re: My first Dyson DC40! (Mk1)
« Reply #12 on: April 25, 2017, 06:54:05 pm »
Yep ;D lol


Offline beko1987

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Re: My first Dyson DC40! (Mk1)
« Reply #13 on: May 12, 2017, 11:44:53 am »
I have been informed that the Dyson man has been and fixed the stabilizer bar! Apparently he told my mum that although it's fixed, it will still move about as 'it's a poor design'.

I can get on with using it during May now, then strip it, refurb it, write a massive thread then sell it!
Collector and restorer of vintage vacuums, Dyson Appreciator! Come and see my blog, where I am uploading all my mountains of brochures, manuals and other vacuum cleaner paperwork, and also my youtube channel @beko1987!

Offline Elgin

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Re: My first Dyson DC40! (Mk1)
« Reply #14 on: May 12, 2017, 06:05:41 pm »
I have been informed that the Dyson man has been and fixed the stabilizer bar! Apparently he told my mum that although it's fixed, it will still move about as 'it's a poor design'.

I can get on with using it during May now, then strip it, refurb it, write a massive thread then sell it!
at least he admitted about the poor design rather than fixing and walking off and hoping no one notices it will move about

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