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Message |
jep
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vacuum cleaner repair?
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Dec 7 00:18 UTC 2003 |
I have a moderately old Hoover upright vacuum cleaner. It hasn't been
working well at all, I decided today to try to deal with it, and in
the process, discovered it's possible for an Ordinary Person to
replace the belt that makes the agitator brush go around. (I never
knew.)
When I started the vacuum again, the belt promptly broke.
Investigating further, I believe the agitator brush itself needs to be
replaced.
My vacuum's manual is on-line in PDF format, and so I was able to find
the part number for the agitator brush. (48414-032 or -033).
However, Hoover doesn't make it any more. It's not listed on the WWW
anywhere. I even tried eBay but no luck.
There are a lot of similar-sounding agitator brush part numbers. It's
possible another would work fine. But I don't know how I would be
able to tell from an on-line catalog listing.
Anyone have experience fixing vacuums? Are there stores in the area
that sell such things as agitator brushes, and to which I could take
my old brush and get them to confirm I am getting the right
replacement?
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| 46 responses total. |
gelinas
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response 1 of 46:
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Dec 7 01:33 UTC 2003 |
The name that comes immediately to mind is Ann Arbor Vacuum, on Packard
near Carpenter. There is also a vacuum-repair place on Jackson, east of
Zeeb, next to the Viking Sewing Center. I've never done business with
either of them, though.
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jep
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response 2 of 46:
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Dec 7 02:45 UTC 2003 |
Thanks! I'll call them.
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keesan
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response 3 of 46:
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Dec 7 02:47 UTC 2003 |
Jim has fixed dozens of curbside vacuum cleaners. It may have long threads
wound around the bushings (ends of the roller) that prevent it from turning
and make the belts break. Make sure it turns freely by hand before putting
on another belt. Remove it and clean it first. You might need a saw blade
to cut the threads. We will pick up the next vacuum cleaner we see while out
walking if you like. The last order got filled in 24 hours. Or bring it by
along with the printer. Maybe in two weeks.
How do I link this to DIY? I keep forgetting.
Jim says why would you want to use a vacuum repair place. Don't they charge
you money? That's why god made grex, so you could learn to do it yourself.
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jep
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response 4 of 46:
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Dec 7 02:59 UTC 2003 |
Sindi, I thought of you almost immediately. (-: I am not sure I want
to wait two weeks before I vacuum my floor, though, with Christmas
coming up so soon. Maybe I can get by with my unpowered push sweeper.
There were indeed threads around one end of the roller, and much
collected debris. I cleaned it out, and used some graphite lubricant
I had available, and tested the brush. It spun briefly and then stuck
again. I think it has broken the 2nd belt by now. I'm convinced the
brush and roller cannot be fixed, but the vacuum should be fine if I
can get a replacement.
I'm not very mechanical, so I take on projects like this rather
reluctantly. However, vacuums are pretty simple machines; simpler
than a bicycle for example. Simpler than a computer from an end-user
repair point of view. I know a lot about mine at this point and it
didn't take me long at all.
How necessary is the brush, anyway? Surely the vacuum will do *some*
cleaning if used without that part working.
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gelinas
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response 5 of 46:
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Dec 7 04:03 UTC 2003 |
Some but probably not enough. The roller gets the . . . stuff . . . moving
for the air current to pick up.
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keesan
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response 6 of 46:
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Dec 7 15:04 UTC 2003 |
The belt goes between the motor and the roller and transmits the force from
the motor to the roller. You might need to take off the belt in order to test
whether the roller spins freely. Did you take out the roller before cleaning
it? It should come out easily if it is not wrapped in threads, or cut the
threads if it is. The vacuum cleaner will vacuum without a belt but it won't
sweep things up to the surface of the rug. You can use a regular broom to
do that first. Canister vacuum cleaners often don't have a roller (beater
bar) and rely on the brush built into the tool, which you use by rubbing it
harder against the rug.
We will keep an eye out for a curbside vacuum cleaner. They always just need
to be unstuck and have belts replaced.
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russ
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response 7 of 46:
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Dec 7 17:30 UTC 2003 |
John, fixing a vacuum cleaner is easy.
There are four possible reasons that you could be losing belts:
1.) The roller-brush still has fibers around the shaft.
2.) The roller-brush has frozen bearings.
3.) The pulley at either the motor or the brush has burrs
or other flaws which cut the belt.
4.) The belt is so loose that it slips regardless, and
it wears through in short order.
Eliminating 1 and 2 is easy; just see if the brush turns freely with
the belt off. A close scan of the pulleys should tell you if it's 3,
and if you can turn the brush while holding the belt immobile then 4
is your problem.
To fix, use a knife, oil, small round file or adjust tension as required.
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slynne
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response 8 of 46:
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Dec 7 17:39 UTC 2003 |
Someone left an old Dirt Devil at my house that had a bad roller-brush.
Since I have all hardwood floors, I just took that out and use it
without the brush. It works great :)
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jep
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response 9 of 46:
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Dec 7 22:50 UTC 2003 |
The roller brush is jammed up. It is not easy to fix. Yes, I took it
out. I took the shaft out of it, and cleaned it really well, and it
still jammed up again after a couple of minutes.
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jep
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response 10 of 46:
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Dec 7 22:50 UTC 2003 |
This could be my impetus to get a Roomba. They're $200 at Best Buy.
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goose
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response 11 of 46:
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Dec 7 23:32 UTC 2003 |
I have heard that Roomba's do not do a very thorough job. They sure look
cool.
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jep
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response 12 of 46:
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Dec 7 23:52 UTC 2003 |
Heh. I doubt if I do a very thorough job, either. At least with a
Roomba the floor would be vacuumed regularly.
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keesan
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response 13 of 46:
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Dec 8 02:41 UTC 2003 |
Do you really want to spend $200? Jim offers to fix it if you drop it off.
And we have another one that you might find simpler to fix. Larry (polygon)
stopped by to trade monitors (we had made a computer for his five year old
to play games on and gave him the only monitor for which we had a manual and
we needed it back for linux). He brought along his broken vacuum cleaner
which he does not want back if it gets fixed. The symptom was that he smelled
something burning when he tried to use it. Jim and I debated whether that
might be the motor or the belt burning, so Jim took a look at it.
I have posted his photo at www.usol.com/~keesan. He asks for ideas.
John III might like to try fixing this one. It is relatively new. Kenmore.
The red spiral is the brushes on the beater bar.
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jep
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response 14 of 46:
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Dec 8 15:17 UTC 2003 |
I don't see the pictures of the vacuum, Sindi. I don't know what kind
of useful suggestions I could have about it. I have fully 30 minutes
of experience in vacuum cleaner repair; that with a Hoover.
No, I don't really want to spend $200, but I do need to be able to
vacuum my floor. The Roomba does something I think could be very
useful to me; it vacuums automatically when you're not around. It's
something I've thought about getting even before my vacuum broke, but
now that appear to need a different vacuum anyway, it seems worth
considering again.
If I go that route, I'll probably still want a supplemental vacuum.
Either my current one or a different used one would fill my need just
fine, if they work.
I am not going to mess around a lot with vacuums. The ones I'd get are
on the low end anyway. I'm not going to spend a lot of time and energy
avoiding spending $100-200 for a vacuum.
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jep
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response 15 of 46:
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Dec 8 15:29 UTC 2003 |
I had subscribed to Consumer Reports WWW page when I was looking at
cars. Since I got a 1 year subscription, it's still available, and it
only makes sense to use it for vacuums.
So I did so, I went out and read up on current vacuums, and thought
their "Best Buy" for upright vacuums, the Eureka Boss Smart Vac 4870,
seemed like a decent choice for me at $140. Everything on the planet
is on sale right now, so I went through ads yesterday looking for one.
Hahaha! Not a chance. They're not sold. I could get one on eBay...
So then I looked through their ratings for the under $200 vacuums that
are being advertised.
Hahaha! *None* of them are reviewed. Nothing very close to what's
being advertised is reviewed.
Consumer Reports really isn't very helpful this time around.
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gull
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response 16 of 46:
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Dec 8 17:10 UTC 2003 |
Re resp:3: I have long hair, so I have that problem in spades. Every
month or two I have to cut away all the hair that has wound itself
around the beater brush of my vaccuum. This is one reason I won't be
buying a Roomba...I figure I'd spend all my time cleaning the silly
thing. Also, you have to pick up all the clutter in the room before
setting the Roomba loose, and that takes me much longer than the actual
vaccuuming.
Re resp:15: I've always had that problem with Consumer Reports, too.
They seem to live in some alternate universe that has completely
different brands and models available than the one I live in.
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