Goblin Aquavac Bulldog 6200P -- Stripdown & Refurbishment!

[beko1987]

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A few years ago, someone from the lovely Autoshite forum offered me an Aquavac Bulldog. Always have had a soft spot for an Aquavac, so naturally I said yes!



It had some tools, and also some lovely paperwork!



It wasn't too awfully filthy



And the original box is always lovely to have



It ran OK

So let's start by... leaving the hose whole as it doesnt come apart... Fine!



Tools, yep, as you are



Excellent, time to start stripping something apart



The top unclips from the recovery tank



And with many little snap clips the hose inlet unclips from the incredibly premium feeling tank

[beko1987]

The tank sits on a dolly that pulls off, then the 4 really sturdy castors pull off from that



Removing the plug reveals this to probably be the original cable. Nice



I mean, as nice as a tiny bit of the cheapest flex the early 1990s had to offer can be... 4 screws hold the top cover on



We do have some damage here



And a snapped off post



Time to un wire it all



The switch has a condom on it



Essentially all the wires join at this choccy block



And after unplugging from the switch you can leave one side fully wired together and just remove the mains cable

[beko1987]

Then the motor wires and an earth lead (earth to the lip of the tank underneath) are left



Undo all the screws underneath now, and we can get to the motor. Earth strap runs to here



And manouvers out



I found a date wheel! December 1988, earlier than I Thought (the design went on pretty much unchanged from the beginning to the end in the late 90s so its easy to get confused! The tank clips are the big giveaway that this is an earlier generation, I have a later 620 with the later style clips



The motor is in amazing condition, usually their a rusty pile of junk!



The 3 clips come off the middle rim



Then we can take the motor apart! Fancase off



Hold the fan under a thick cloth and crack the nut off, reverse thread IIRC but I cant remember, it's one of the ways 



Then you can see these bolts

[beko1987]

The fancase bearing mount comes off then



The bearing can be removed



And the top half of the motor stripped apart! One stuck carbon brush...



The dolly for the wheels had some repairs too, I removed these



Silly thoughts crossed my mind but i stayed focused on keeping it original... The flimsy crappy tank would implode itself I think with a 2200w miele motor 



Scrubbed, polished and made pretty for it's laid out image. SImple thing with few parts, made with Irish pride (during this era)



Cannot remember the size, 608z I think but the image isnt clear, but new bearings were obtained and fitted! This one has a spacer ring too, dont loose that



The motor flew back together nicely

[beko1987]

The machine really was very clean, the plastics get destroyed with usual use!



The motor base drops into the hole



Then the motor and top frame



Wired back up along with a superb hot glue repair!



The dolly got new epoxy in it's cracks and a drop of oil on the castor swivels had then 17% better than before



Inside the bin has seen work before, and TBH I just washed and left it as its not rusty and air tight! Hose inlet clipped back into place



Vacuum together



And it's NIB once more 



From this

[beko1987]

Tapped some dents out during, this made the dolly sit squarer and not pushed in on one corner!



And much cleaner now





Tools...



And I got my own Aquavac 620 out for a comparison! identical machines, just one has a taller bin and is from the mid 90s (1995 iirc, its a bitsa machine, its own thread is to come  )



ALl that work made it run smooth* and quiet* again

They're VERY LOUD, but it's a smooth and constant ear bleeding, rather than screaming away. I sold this to another collector though and just kept the 620.

Thanks for reading!

[MVacs]

I've never had one of these in for any work, I've only ever seen them online. Were they a low-volume machine?

[beko1987]

I've never had one of these in for any work, I've only ever seen them online. Were they a low-volume machine?

No they sold loads of them, they were very popular!

Problem is they didnt last! Drums rotted out, motor bearings exploded or they were just abused to death!