American Dyson DC17 - Stripdown & Refurbishment!

[beko1987]

Small hot glue bodge to try and stop the corners sticking out so far



Sort of works



The brushroll motor can be fitted back in and the cover replaced now



The internal hose was still disgusting although on this model plays zero role with keeping the head connected to the floor so that's fine, it's not torn, that's all it needs to be 



The whole assembly can be clipped back in now



Hose fitted and the wire cover replaced



Springs refitted



We can then take a packet of the FINEST cheap replacement small wheels and the baseplate

[beko1987]

And fit 2...



Rubber flap back in place



Rubber seal back in



Then refitted to the cleaner, as the replacement brushroll still had not arrived by this point



You'll see it more though when it arrives...



I refitted the clip to hold the tools I don't have...





And realised I had not done a good job when washing the parts up...



Oh well, no one will ever know, refitted with the washed pre motor filter

[beko1987]

We can refit the cyclone seals



Then wire up and refit the switches and housing



U-Bend re-assembled!



And fitted



Onto the wand. The hand grip and top cord hook go on first





Then onto the wand latch. Place the two clear rings as shown, with the spring behind the top one (it will be a pain...)



Feed the wand in from the top, then slide this assembly up and screw it into place without anything moving...



We now have what looks like a dyson...

[beko1987]

However despite going through the washing machine



The hose was still disgusting



So into a bleach bath for 24h it went...



Then flipping washed again to make extra sure, dried and finally it could be fitted to the machine





it then sat here



for another 9 days until finally a parcel from americaland arrived for it!



I splashed out the extra 80p to get 2 belts with it, because I'd pay more in postage for a belt than it's worth



Finally we can fit the brand new brushroll

[beko1987]

Looks much better now!









Then I used it, for the first time really

and holy moly it's utterly amazing! I do rate it as my NUMBER ONE favourite dyson ever tbh, certainly in my top 5 best performing vacuums I've ever used, I rate it above my Kirby Sentria 2!

Every time I use it, it just leaves amazing track marks



And pulls up loads of filth





I cleaned a church with it...

[beko1987]

And when my mum moved house I gave the place a good going over and it transformed the carpets!















It's utterly wonderful!

Issues?

Well, maybe...

When reassembling the above, I did not position the brushroll recline switch correctly, so it does not turn the brushroll off when you stand it up. Not a huge problem tbh, it has a special button and I haven't used it for above floor cleaning because that's what cylinder vacuum cleaners were invented for...

I also forgot about the epoxy repair to the chassis when filming that church cleaning video.. So when I heave-ho'd it up to swing it into the car boot there was a crack and it went floppy... and that's where we are today, I need either a chassis for it, or to strip the chassis back off so I can do a very ugly but very strong repair...

But either way, hope you enjoyed!

[MVacs]

Super write-up as ever. 

They are an excellent carpet grooming machine, I agree. We got one of these in 2016 (now gone) but we enjoyed using it too.

This is what I said about it back then:

The machine seems to be an amalgamation of ideas from the DC14, DC18 and DC27, but redesigned with the added super duty brushroll motor and a toothed drive belt so no slippage and less snapping going on.

It actually looks like a real quality piece of kit. Everything has a satisfying click not a 'may break any second' crappy click to it. Fat brushroll, toothed drive, wide pick up slot, etc. This is a machine designed to clean carpets and not fall to bits at the drop of a hat. Here they could market it as a commercial machine too, like Sebo do with theirs.

The US is a very demanding market and stuff needs to work and be simple to maintain. Americans are more keen on carpets than we are and I think favour deep piles. I once read that they like to see the tracks left behind on the carpet by a vacuum cleaner, and that, along with deep piles, is why Dyson use wider brushroll slots there.

Up to now, my thoughts are this is the machine we should have had instead of the DC27. It would have been the logical progression from the DC14 and would have owned the market. It is a machine that takes much of what is good and durable about Dyson design. I am itching to try it when it is rebuilt! 

Imagine taking a Dyson DC14, giving it to Sebo and asking them to redesign it so it is simply better and more durable. What you would get back is the DC17. It's a shame we never got this model here.