Dyson Medic

If you have one of the range of Dyson air purifier fans, or the hot + cool heater fan combination, they are fitted with a circular HEPA filter.

It is located behind the gauze with the little holes in it.

Three variants are currently available: The tower purifying fan, the desk purifying fan and the “hot+cool” which is also a heater that purifies the air.

When used via the app (recommended) the machine runs a timer and the app tells you when the filter is ready to be changed.

However, the filters are rather expensive at the moment, so the question we are often asked is “Do I really need to change the filter?”.

Disclaimer: We should of course say that if you want to follow Dyson’s recommendations to the letter, do not hesitate, buy a new filter and change it. The same might be said for asthmatics, those with allergies, etc. The advice in this article may or may not invalidate your warranty, blah blah…….et al.

This article is for those who dont feel like buying another filter so soon, and think there may be a little life left in the old one yet.

You will be surprised how much dust actually builds up in there. So let’s take a look……..

I like to start by vacuuming around the vents where the air comes from. You tend to get a streaky build up of dust there solidified a little by water vapour in the air. I find a Dyson stubborn dirt brush (being used here with a Sebo vacuum cleaner rather than a Dyson) is ideal for our purposes here.

Next, there are two buttons on the side one depresses simultaneously to remove the top of the unit.

Having done that, the filter and its shroud are easily removed.

Now here’s the bit you wasn’t expecting: slide the outer shroud off and look at that dust! 

That is testament to how much dust and other detritus these Dyson air purifiers really pull out of the air when left 24/7 on automatic mode as mine are.

Take your brush tool and get rid of that with your vacuum cleaner.

Usually, you can also carefully remove the outer filter gauze in order that the bristles from your brush tool can get right into the pleats of the filter and get as much out as possible.

Take care doing this though, as the pleats are quite delicate here being made of paper. Gentle stroking up and down (ooh er missus!) is the way here. Don’t go at it like a bull in a china shop.

Having cleaned the filter up, replace the gauze, vacuum up what is now all over the floor that look like little grey worms, the inside of the shroud and the internal bits of the fan you can see and refit it all together again.

You may wish to reset the timer on the Dyson app to tell it you have had a “new” filter. Scroll down on the app and expand the options, go into “settings”, and click “filter life”.

Then hit the “reset” button.

Yes, you’re sure.

And Bob’s your uncle, you’re all set (as our friends over the pond say).

I have three connected Dyson “Pure Cool Link” air purifiers at home, one of each type, and find them a great thing to have (if somewhat overpriced).

I tend to leave them on automatic 24/7 and they really do respond to the air quality going on where they are. See here how the air quality dips into the orange at peak times of day when traffic levels are higher on the street (with the windows open).

So yes, they do their job and are a good product, but I think the filters a tad expensive. So I like to get two cycles out of mine before I change them. And having three machines, doing what you have read above saves me about £125 a year.

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If you have a grey and lime green Dyson DC04 (called a “silver lime”), it was originally fitted with what is known as an Ametek motor.

Most other Dyson DC04 vacuum cleaners were fitted with what was known as the “YDK” motor.

While broadly similar, the two motors are different. And the problem for Silver Lime DC04 owners is that Ametek motors have been unavailable new for some time. And nobody makes them after-market any more.

This is a DC04 Silver Lime.

And this is the Ametek motor that is usually fitted.

Yes, that’s the one you can no longer buy new.

However, if you want to replace the motor in this DC04 variant, it can be done.

In order to retrofit the more popular YDK type motor, you need this adaptor kit.

Which is used with a YDK motor.

This adaptor kit when used with a YDK type motor allows you to replace the motor on your Silver Lime DC04.

So where to buy? 

You can buy cheapest >>here<<. You can buy on Amazon >>here<< and on eBay >>here<<. 

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There are plenty of Dyson DC04 vacuum cleaners left in Australia and New Zealand, despite them being a model dating from the mid 90s.

What isnt always abundant in Australia and New Zealand however is DC04 spare parts.

And for that matter, the people with Dyson DC04 vacuums in places like France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Holland and other European countries also have some issues buying DC04 spares.

This post applies not only to those in Australia and New Zealand, but to anyone who is not in the UK.

Dyson will tell you DC04 wand handles are no longer available.

What they mean is DC04 wand handles are no longer available from them. Not the same thing.

Yes indeed, you can still buy new ones.

The new ones are standard grey with generic silver fittings like this.

They replace these colour variants:

And fit these machines:

However, when you are not in the UK, what is usually a killer is the shipping cost to overseas for oversize boxes – in this case about a metre long.

The Post Office and most couriers begin to penalise parcels that are over 700mm in length and the price ramps up.

However, there is a cheaper way to do it – utilise the eBay “Global Shipping Programme”.

The Global Shipping Program (or “GSP”) provides a safe and easy way for sellers to “sell internationally and ship domestically.” The details are taken care of—from helping identify which types of items can be sold where, to completing customs forms, to calculating and providing international shipping with tracking.

All international shipping and import charges are calculated automatically and paid for by the buyer upon checkout. Once an item is sold, the seller sends it to the Global Shipping Center using the shipping method of their choice. After the purchased item arrives at the Shipping Center, the seller’s job is done.

How this benefits you with something like a wand handle is that despite the package being long, eBay’s clout with the couriers mean no size penalties.

You can buy a new Dyson DC04 wand handle >>right here on UK eBay for £29.99 including UK delivery<<. eBay will then charge you a further £11 for the onward shipping of the handle from the UK shipping centre to your door down under.

That is £41 in total which is currently around AUD$66. Including customs clearance and tracking. Nothing else to pay.

Some time ago Dyson discontinued all support and spare parts supply for the DC04 as we mentioned here: Dyson Are Ending Parts & Service Support for the DC04 Range.

While the supply of parts hasn’t yet diminished terribly due to the aftermarket, some spares are starting to become elusive to obtain new.

For this reason, it’s always pleasing when new DC04 spares become available as it means even more Dyson DC04s will continue to be repaired and fewer of them will end up in landfill.

We mentioned recently that DC04 wand handles will be available shortly, and already two parts from the wand are already available in advance of that.

The wand release catch:

And the wand cap:

The release catches and the wand cap being made available in silver solve the problem of colour matching between variants.

The release catches fit all models:

As do the top swivelling wand caps.

It is worth noting that there are two variants on the original wand caps, one had a spring fitted, and one did not.

This new version fits both variants.

Where to buy? 

Dyson DC04 Wand Release Catches

You can buy the wand release catches on eBay >>here<<, on Amazon >>here<< or from Manchester Vacs >>here<<.

Dyson DC04 Wand Handle Top Caps

You can buy the wand caps on eBay >>here<<, on Amazon >>here<< or from Manchester Vacs >>here<<.

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This article first appeared at Manchester Vacs. 

Some may have noticed already that the cost of genuine Dyson spares has just massively increased.

Some parts have gone up over 100%.

It seems to be right across the board. It won’t have filtered through to every sales platform as yet, because people are sat on stock they bought at the old prices. But it will in the near future.

We are adjusting prices each day at the moment as we go to restock an item and find it has shot up.

Here is an example:

Standard Dyson clutches on eSpares are now £32.99.

Ours are currently up to £22.50. A tenner cheaper from us as I bulk bought some as soon as I saw this happening. But in time, ours will creep up too.

This is going to have a knock on effect on the folks who service, repair and recondition Dyson machines.

I can’t see this having much to do with the $/£ values (there are fewer dollars to the pound than is typical right now) as it has happened too quickly for it to have permeated through to the trade if that were the cause. And in any event, the £/$ weakness is something like 15-20% off typical levels, not 100%. So nobody can credibly blame Brexit.

So the only reason I can see is that Dyson have simply decided they want more money for the stuff if they are going to supply it. Because they can. Which is their right, I suppose. People can buy the stuff or not; I expect they don’t really care either way about people repairing machines out of warranty.

It does create an opportunity for the aftermarket to make some spares that might not have otherwise been financially viable, but on the other hand, it may also serve to put some people off repairing machines if the cost becomes prohibitive to do so.

Worth a discussion I thought. As ever, you heard it here first.

Dyson, in the last week or two have just began drastically increasing their spare part prices.

Some spares have doubled in price, some more than doubled.

Is this Dyson trying to squeeze the after-market for more money or something more mundane like the poor dollar to pound exchange rate putting prices in sterling up? We dont know.

What we do know is that Dyson clutches as fitted to DC03, DC04, DC07, DC14, DC27 and DC33 have doubled in price.

This may not have made its way through to the retail channels yet as many will be holding stock bought at old prices, but trust us, genuine Dyson spare parts are set to increase in price across the board.

This makes the prospect of stripping and rebuilding Dyson clutches more appealing to the DIY enthusiast.

There isn’t typically that much that goes wrong with Dyson clutches. The belts stretch and snap over time and/or the white nylon clutch wheel melts like this.

If you are thinking of rebuilding a clutch, clutch belts are no issue to find, but the white wheel (cog) that melts has always been unavailable (unless you had some old units to cannibalise).

Until now that is.

Yes, the after-market has ridden over the hill to the rescue again! 

Just to put these parts in context, here is where they go.

You can find Dyson clutch strip down and rebuild topics >>here<< and >>here<<. It isn’t really an amateur job, but for the experienced technician it isn’t terribly painful either. Especially once you have done a few.

You can buy the wheel (and little circlip) on its own >>here<<.

For those of you who prefer to buy on Fleabay, you can buy the wheel together with the belts on the UK site >>here<<, the US site >>here<< and the Australian site >>here<<.

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The Dyson DC04 is one of the classic Dyson models of vacuum cleaner dating from the late-nineties that is what we call the Ford Transit of Dysons: It does everything you want it to, and doesn’t break down very often if you do simple maintenance.

It does what it says on the tin. Decade after decade.

The Dyson DC04 is a SUPER vacuum cleaner. One of the best there ever was.

The vacuum monolith that is Dyson, that controls over 50% of the UK vacuum cleaner market, was built from the profits of machines like the DC04. And many thousands of DC04s are still in use today.

Quite rightly so.

However, a couple of years ago, Dyson discontinued all parts support for the DC04 and basically hoped to relegate them to history.

Of course, Dyson don’t really want you using a twenty year old vacuum cleaner, they want you to spend £300+ on a new one.

For them, this is perfectly logical. They now reckon we all need “Cinetic” machines with no filter, a robot or a cordless machine that can be over £400.

These machines are all mostly capable for their intended use. If you have a few hundred quid spare, why not buy one?

But what of the people who are quite happy with the old DC04 they already have?

What of the people who simply want to fix it or buy a spare part when it breaks?

Is “Sorry, that part is no longer available” a satisfactory answer?

Not really.

Enter what is known as the “after-market”.

As with cars, a couple of years after they come out, you can buy a “genuine” oil filter for £20 or an “Aftermarket” one for £8. They both do the same thing (often made in the same factory) but one costs less and comes in a different box.

We see the same with vacuum parts. When the original manufacturer stops making them, very often an after-market manufacturer will make them instead. This is why you can still buy parts for 1970s Hoover Juniors. Or spares for the Dyson DC01.

So what about DC04 wand handles? 

Over a decade or two, we saw weaknesses in the DC04 wand handle. The tool holder on the back breaks. Sometimes they snap altogether halfway down. This isn’t bad design, this simply aged plastics doing what they do beyond their expected service life. Dyson offer a five year warranty. Your wand handle broke after ten years, so it happens. Time to buy a new one.

But Dyson won’t sell you one because they are now “obsolete”.

But they are not obsolete if someone in the aftermarket decides to pump the money in to make that part again.

That is what has happened with DC04 wand handles.

Today, we at Dyson Medic got some aftermarket prototype DC04 wand handles to test for a UK manufacturer. We tried them on range of clutched machines (they dont fit the green/grey or Constant Max variants unless you change the hose) and they work just fine. Here are the photos.

These are now in manufacture since we gave them the green light.

I will update the topic here when they become available in the UK in a couple of months.

Edit: These are now available. You can find them cheapest >>here<<, but for those who prefer to use third party platforms, they are >>here on eBay<< and >>here on Amazon<<. Trade can buy in 5s >>here<<.

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This article first appeared at Manchester Vacs. 

Sebo versus Dyson?

It’s a big question and one that is popping up more and more. As Dyson focus more and more on cordless and handheld machines (of which they are the undisputed market leader), robots and other domestic appliances (like hairdryers), the more traditional vacuum cleaner buyer, who remembers bags and likes a more traditional machine with a flex as a main vacuum, is sometimes tempted to look elsewhere.

If you are looking for a quality vacuum cleaner, and don’t fancy a Dyson, you may well end up at the door of Sebo. Possibly Miele or Kirby, but more often than not, Sebo.

Whatever you do, PLEASE don’t buy a modern Vax, Bissell, Electrolux, Hoover or similar mass-produced machine. In our opinion, none of those are quality products any more.

It is a subject I have seen on a few discussion sites. So I thought we would try it here with a poll so folks can vote as well.

As we sell both, I think I can consider myself *reasonably* objective. That said, I have had nothing but Dysons at home since the mid/late nineties when we were first selling new DC04s. And in all that time I think the DC14 we have at home now is my 4th or 5th permanent ‘home machine’ since then (none died, all but the current one we still have were later sold – but I look after them).

We do have a Dyson cordless DC35 at home as well, an AM04 heating fan, a TP02 fan/purifier and an Airblade hand dryer in the downstairs bathroom. My wife is waiting on her Dyson hairdryer, so as we have a Dyson business as well, we might be considered Dyson freaks.

Until last year, I was one of these blokes who thought proper vacuum cleaners meant “Dyson” and anything else was collectively grouped together as “other crap” (excepting interesting vintage stuff). Certainly, 99% of everything that wasn’t a Dyson that came in our shop for repair the last decade or so could safely be grouped into the “other crap” category. Stuff like Vax, Bissell and Hoover.

I was vaguely aware of other stuff like Kirby (a million pounds new, half a ton in weight and now £50 on Gumtree including 26 boxes of tools you will never use) and the “upmarket” German machines like Miele and Sebo, but we seldom saw them for repair so I had little experience of them.

The last couple of years, I kept hearing people in the trade talking more about Sebo. Last year it was suggested to us that many of the more reputable larger Dyson shops in various parts of the country are now also stocking Sebo as well. I did some online research, and found almost nothing bad written about Sebo. I kept reading tales of people who had had them 20 years and they were still just fine. How they are used in hotels and cruise ships. How even the Whitehouse in the US uses them. Sebo were voted Which? magazine’s “most reliable brand”, etc. To cut a long story short, I met our local Sebo rep, discussed the products in depth, checked them out and shortly afterwards we became Sebo agents.

Sebo has a large and very solid following. Mostly middle class folks in the shires and other affluent areas who typically buy them from places like John Lewis and more competitive independent dealers like us. Indeed, we now offer a Sebo vacuum home delivery service to Cheshire and our near locality. You’ll not find them in Argos, QVC, Netto or Tesco. Sebo simply don’t roll that way. You’ll not see them advertised on TV either. We call them “the best German brand you have never heard of”. It’s like you must discover them……….

Dyson on the other hand are all over the TV and every outlet you can think of. They own about 50% of the UK vacuum cleaner market. We all know the products and most of them work well enough to spend a few years in our homes doing what James Dyson intended them to do.

But which one is best? Dyson or Sebo?

For me now, there is no black and white answer. It very much depends on your usage and personal preferences. Hence this topic.

Sebo – while still a premium product – is generally cheaper to buy than Dyson (because Sebo aren’t on your TV every five minutes and continue to develop machines that work well rather than trying to reinvent the wheel every two years).

Bags versus Bagless.

Dyson are bagless. Sebos have bags.

All but the newest £300-400+ Dysons have filters you must wash and/or replace. In Sebos, the bag forms part of the filtration system so no filters to wash regularly.

Which is best?

There is no definitive answer to this. Both do the job equally as well in most respects. For what Sebo bags cost, the “But you don’t need to buy bags” argument holds little water. If the price of bags (circa £10 a year) matters to you, buy a £75 bagless Vax and throw it away when it breaks (and it will).

Here is a comment from the Mumsnet forum on the subject:

I’ve had an upright Sebo for 12 years now. It’s brilliant! It lasted through 2 years of living in a building site and literally vacuuming carpet padding (previous owners took carpets with them!). It never broke down or failed. We still have it. I have a lot of allergies and chose it because it is highly rated for capturing the smaller particles. I prefer having bags too. I find dealing directly with hair, dead bugs, dust, etc. a bit off putting.

Meanwhile, my MIL has had 3 Dysons in the same 12 years. They look neat, but for me a vacuum, cleaner is a work horse not a style statement.

The whole bagless -v- bags vacuum cleaner argument is like Remain or Brexit, red wine or white wine, fish or steak, or lager -v- bitter. Everyone has a different opinion, nobody can ever be right. You choose what is right for you.

The wife factor.

In terms of vacuum cleaners, my wife is reasonably lucky that she can choose anything we have in stock in our shop to use at home (she would feel luckier if our business was vintage diamonds or Jimmy Choo shoes – but it is what it is). If she doesn’t like it, it can go back and be resold as reconditioned after we have serviced it. The last few years she has been very happy with a Dyson DC14; it has done everything she has expected of it. She tried a DC24 and wasn’t keen on it so it went back. She tried newer stuff and went back to her DC14.

When women she knows started discussing Sebo vacuums, she started using one of our demonstrators to vacuum our shop. Just to see how they were. Recently, she decided she wanted one at home to try it out. Now, one has arrived at home alongside the Dyson………

And her opinion is it is MUCH better on carpet when you hit the “hunker down” button on the top model. Worth noting that the DC14 we are comparing it to is an older Dyson model and not Dyson’s latest model.

I tried the top X4 Pet model above in my office at home today (with the “extra” button on) and it left streaks across the carpet. Even my seven year old girl (who was “helping” me) said it was like “the carpet in the hotels in America because you can see the stripes where it is clean”. And they use Windsors, which are also Sebos.

My wife has decided she wants to hang on to her new black Sebo, but isn’t *yet* ready to give up her DC14 (unless I find her an adaptor that makes all the Dyson dusting and other tools fit the Sebo). So in a Dyson -v- Sebo contest, she is undecided.

Edit: We now stock the >>Dyson tools to Sebo vacuum adaptor<< – I solved that one.

People who have owned a Sebo seldom want anything else. But the same could be said for people who have owned Dysons. So what for the people coming from Vax, Hoover, Electrolux or Bissel into something better? Which one to choose?

So I put the subject out for discussion and a vote in our poll. Dyson or Sebo?

This was a guest article on Dyson Medic by Manchester Vacs – the largest Dyson and Sebo agents in the north of England. If you like the article, please use the social media buttons below to share it. 

Dyson has now launched the “Pure Cool Link”.

Known also as the TP02 (if white).

It is worth noting for the reader that Dyson do not give us items to review, this, as with anything, we bought with our own money – so what you read here is utterly objective and uninfluenced by any third party.

This looks like a standard Dyson tower fan at first glance, but it is also an air purifier. Hence the “pure” in the name.

So if “pure” refers to the fact it cleans the air, and cool relates to the fact it is a cooling fan, you will wonder what the “link” aspect of the name is.

This relates to the fact that you are able to link the item through your home wifi to an app on your phone.

From the Dyson Link app, you can remotely control your environment, as it automatically monitors, reacts and purifies – then reports the results straight to the Dyson Link app on your smartphone or tablet.

And by jove, it works!

It looks as if Dyson fans have improved a little since we reviewed the AM04 heater some time back. We thought that asthmatic and ineffective, this seems a lot smarter and seems to do what it says on the box.

Connected items are where Dyson are heading. On the Dyson Link app, options exist to add your Dyson Robotic 360 Eye vacuum cleaner. The one that isnt yet launched in the UK. So that means if you have the robot, you will be able to control it from the same app.

So we have had the Dyson Pure Cool Link running all afternoon at home today, and it wasn’t long before the screen glowed orange and told me the air quality was “fair”.

About forty minutes later left running on automatic, it went to green and told me it was good.

Configuring the app and finding your way around the controls isnt rocket science, but only those familiar with smartphones, apps, wifi and similar technology will wrap their head around it. My bet is a lot of older less tech savvy people will buy it and use it as a fan without the benefit of the information and reporting that the internet link and the app provide.

But even for those folks, using it as a regular fan with the remote control – one that happens to clean the air – won’t be a great hardship.

You don’t miss what you never had. I doubt the non-tech savvy buyers will care if they don’t use the app.

So other observations: It is quieter than the early Dyson fans, the oscillation is nice and smooth (my AM04 creaks and groans). The build quality is like any modern Dyson product, a bit plasticky and lightweight, but the product finish is good. It looks nice in the corner of the room.

The eagle-eyed will spot a copy of James Dyson’s book on the shelf.

Up to now I am liking it and it can stay.

The only thing I can be sniffy about is the price. At the time of writing (because later they will come down) they are £449 on Dyson’s website, circa £425-£435 on eBay and Amazon and >>£399 delivered from Manchester Vacs<<.

Is it a lot of money for a fan that cleans the air with a HEPA filter? Well, yes it is. But nobody buys a new Dyson product because they are cheap. You buy them because you want one.

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We always find it rather tedious when a component on a Dyson that tends to break is only available as part of a larger, much more expensive assembly.

If you are the owner of a DC30, DC31, DC34, DC35, DC44, DC45, DC56 or DC57 you will be familiar with the blue spring-loaded catch that you depress to remove the cyclone to access the filter.

It usually says Filter Filtre Filtro フィルタ- on it.

Sometimes they break, and replacements have been unavailable until now.

This clip is not to be confused with the DC16 clip that looks very similar. You can buy that one (part number 910750-02).

But if you have a DC30, DC31, DC34, DC35, DC44, DC45, DC56 or DC57, you need this one.

You didn’t used to be able to get it, but now you can.

Here is where you can buy:

In the UK, you can buy from Manchester Vacs >>here<<.

From UK eBay >>here<<.

From UK Amazon >>here<<.

From overseas in US Dollars >>here<<.

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You can also leave a comment or question below if you are so inclined.