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Thread Number: 18114
Bissell Powergroom 92L31 |
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| Post# 198075 8/29/2012 at 19:56 (4,251 days old) by Diabeticdoode (Tulsa, Ok) | ||
Hi everyone, I'm new here so forgive me if this is in the wrong section or whatever. Judging by the posts I've read on here, and just around the web in general, Vacuum enthusiasts aren't very fond of Bissells. My favorite modern brand happens to be Bissell, so please don't judge me too harshly lol
I have a powergroom, and the headlight has gone out. Bissell sent me a new one, and it burned out immediately. They said to take it to the shop, but I don't particularly like the shop closest to my house. SO my question is if any of you would know what's wrong with it, and if it was something that I could fix on my own? Thanks! | ||
Post# 198087 , Reply# 1 8/29/2012 at 22:59 (4,251 days old) by Durango159  (State College, PA) |
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You're ok, Vacuums are vacuums.
Welcome Aboard!! If you have an interest in vacs period regardless of make and model, you're in the right place!!
Vacuums are vacuums. Everyone has favorites, likes, dislikes. There is a fair disliking for bagless vacuums in general. Bissell in particular is not necessarily disliked but they could definitely do improvements. We have threads discussing Bissell and one thing that comes up is Wolly World and other stores sell them so cheaply that vacuum shops don't really have a market for carrying them. Many of their machines are actually good cleaners. I like and own the PowerForce bagged upright 71Y7. Now with your powergroom. There is a current Bissell Powergroom on the market sold at Wal-Mart that is bagless. However Bissell also made a Powergroom bagged model about 10+ years ago, very similar to a Singer. Which one do you have? The Powergroom from years ago would be fan first and could be Soft or Hard bag. The bagless model of course is a clean air design. Do you have a current tester to see if anything seems out of place with the headlight socket? Not sure how handy you are, but if you're willing. Try opening up the machine and looking at all the wiring, see if anything looks burnt, broken etc. Its possible you may need a headlight socket. Look inside the head light socket. Should be 2 wire leads but they should not be touching. If they touch they short each other out which could eventually cause your house circuit breaker to shut off. I'm in PA so can't really help with a repair shop but perhaps someone else can recommend something. I've posted a link. If you have your model number handy, you may be able to find it on that page and get the full schematic to locate a part number if you find something broken. Pictured below is a 10 Amp Bissell soft bagged that I used to own. This would be similar in design to the older Bissell Powergroom upright. Upload some pictures as well!! Good luck and keep us posted. CLICK HERE TO GO TO Durango159's LINK 
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Post# 198088 , Reply# 2 8/29/2012 at 23:00 (4,251 days old) by Durango159 (State College, PA) |
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You're ok, Vacuums are vacuums.
Welcome Aboard!! If you have an interest in vacs period regardless of make and model, you're in the right place!!
Vacuums are vacuums. Everyone has favorites, likes, dislikes. There is a fair disliking for bagless vacuums in general. Bissell in particular is not necessarily disliked but they could definitely do improvements. We have threads discussing Bissell and one thing that comes up is Wolly World and other stores sell them so cheaply that vacuum shops don't really have a market for carrying them. Many of their machines are actually good cleaners. I like and own the PowerForce bagged upright 71Y7. Now with your powergroom. There is a current Bissell Powergroom on the market sold at Wal-Mart that is bagless. However Bissell also made a Powergroom bagged model about 10+ years ago, very similar to a Singer. Which one do you have? The Powergroom from years ago would be fan first and could be Soft or Hard bag. The bagless model of course is a clean air design. Do you have a current tester to see if anything seems out of place with the headlight socket? Not sure how handy you are, but if you're willing. Try opening up the machine and looking at all the wiring, see if anything looks burnt, broken etc. Its possible you may need a headlight socket. Look inside the head light socket. Should be 2 wire leads but they should not be touching. If they touch they short each other out which could eventually cause your house circuit breaker to shut off. I'm in PA so can't really help with a repair shop but perhaps someone else can recommend something. I've posted a link. If you have your model number handy, you may be able to find it on that page and get the full schematic to locate a part number if you find something broken. Pictured below is a 10 Amp Bissell soft bagged that I used to own. This would be similar in design to the older Bissell Powergroom upright. Upload some pictures as well!! Good luck and keep us posted. CLICK HERE TO GO TO Durango159's LINK
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Post# 198089 , Reply# 3 8/29/2012 at 23:15 (4,251 days old) by Durango159 (State College, PA) |
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Shawn, your first word was Hoover!!
Sorry about the double post.
If your first word was Hoover, then chances are your parents owned at least one. Do you remodel the make and what got you into them? You have 15 vacs in your collection. Are you more of a upright or canister person, bagged or bagless? Mostly Kirbys, mostly Bissells, mostly Hoovers?? Not tryin to poke too hard, but just get an idea. I myself am a power team canister nut!!!!! Love most full size bagged power team canister except for the Cen-Tec CT14DX power heads. That of course makes me not so much of a Kenmore person. I use uprights too. As I mentioned we actually have 2 Bissell Powerforce bagged. Also have 2 Hoover Windtunnel uprights, Kirby G4, Hoover Power Drive upright, older Electrolux model 1451 pre 1986 upright. Primarily Hoovers I like. I've done house cleaning as a sidekick for over 15 years and have tremendous success as far as efficiency, power, performance, and durability with Hoover PowerMax style canisters. The canister vac with all of my posts is a Hoover Windtunnel Plus S3639 which was mine but now my parents have it. Below is a Hoover PowerMax Supreme S3530 that I own. 
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| Post# 198095 , Reply# 4 8/29/2012 at 23:53 (4,251 days old) by djtaylor (Salt Lake City, Utah) | ||
Welcome to the forum. There is no reason to ever say sorry for liking any brand. I have a friend on this forum who likes Dirt Devils, I'd never make fun of him or be mean to him for it. I love Kirbys, I'm sure that some members on this forum hate them. That's OK. We can love what ever we want, but we should never get nasty with someone who likes a brand that we may not.
Just my two pence. Justin | ||
| Post# 198199 , Reply# 5 8/30/2012 at 15:49 (4,250 days old) by Diabeticdoode (Tulsa, Ok) | ||
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Oh gosh wow! I wasn't expecting a reply so fast! haha thank you!
My powergroom is definitely the newer one. It's the one currently sold at Wal Mart. I know, lol. Actually, it's the first new new vacuum I've ever bought, fun fact. I really liked the color, and actually wanted to buy it anywhere but Wal Mart, but it's exclusive to them, so. Lame. haha I'm definitely taking your advice about looking at the headlight wiring, because now that you mention it, when I replaced the bulb the wires looked odd, but I may just be jumping to conclusions. I'll let you know. OH GOSH. The picture you posted! I want one of those models SO BAD. I remember seeing them new when I was younger, and even wanting one then. Gosh. There's another Bissell from the 90s, but since those models are so hard to find info on it's hard to describe. It was a blue hardcase, maybe that was the Powergroom you were referencing? Oh gosh. I'd love to find one of those. One of my childhood friends had one when I was younger, and I used to go hang out with her mostly so I could use that. haha I'll attach a picture of that model. As for my collection. I used to have many more! But because of reasons, I lost many of my old vacuums, and had to start over. The only "original" vacuum from my childhood collection is a Dirt Devil manual sweeper. My grandmother bought it for me, so that's pretty much gone where-ever I've gone. (house wise lol) Only recently have I had time to reinvest, and really start back up. As for preference. Oh gosh no. I mean, if it's cool looking, or old, then I'm pretty much hooked. Although a canister that I would LOVE to have is the Fantom Lightning from the late 90s. Oh gosh. I used to have the VHS tape demo years ago, and I would watch it over and over and over. Same with the Thunder, from Fantom. Loved them both really. But nope! No real preference! I do love the style Hoover canister that you posted though! And the one in your prof pic is another one that I would LOVE to have. The color is just so cool to me. I feel like Hoover had a matching upright around that time, correct? I used to love that translucent blue. I'll get a picture or two of my Powergroom and post it sometime! My collection right now Hoover 512 (I think 512.) Eureka Rotomatic Lewytt Canister One orange and one green Hoover Convertible (I don't remember the specifics right now) A blue hoover hardcase, which I can't think of the name right now... I've seen pictures of it around this forum though. I think it has a flower on the front? An Electrolux canister (gosh I can't remember the model of any of these right now, currently they're in storage, so when I get them out, I'll straighten out my list.) Amway Cleartrak Kirby Dual Santronic (500? I think 500) A Blue Eureka canister A Tri Star something. (it looks like a bullet) A Hoover Soft and Light Supreme (I just found this the other day at a friends house. omg.) And I think that's it. Oh and a Dirt Devil Dynamite for the garage, if that counts lol. Like I said, I'll straighten out the list one day when I can get to them. 
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Post# 198222 , Reply# 6 8/30/2012 at 17:05 (4,250 days old) by kloveland (Tulsa) |
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| Post# 198244 , Reply# 7 8/30/2012 at 17:24 (4,250 days old) by FantomLightning (Ohio) | ||
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Well... When it comes to the Lightning infomercial video if you ever wanna see it again just head to this link. And if you ever wanna discuss them with a fellow Lightning nut just shoot me an email. CLICK HERE TO GO TO FantomLightning's LINK | ||
| Post# 198266 , Reply# 8 8/30/2012 at 18:06 (4,250 days old) by director12 () | ||
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This was on the Powergroom as well. Don't you miss this vacuum Zach? I'm sorry to hear about it being taken back last year. I have a feeling the older Bissells are way better. | ||
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Post# 198315 , Reply# 9 8/30/2012 at 23:56 (4,250 days old) by Durango159 (State College, PA) |
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Yes definitely let us know about the wiring situation. So your Bissell Powergroom was also one I debated getting for a friend. But then I decided on a bagged machine instead. Consumer Reports also rated that model, the Powergroom 92L3W as being "Good" on Carpet Cleaning which surprised me, as many other Bissell uprights were rated as "Very Good" for carpet. I definitely quite surprised by that as this machine is extremely cool looking and the name "Powergroom" would make you believe in such. I know CR isn't the most reliable but I often get duped into getting what they suggest.
You'll have a nice catch when you find most any Hoover power head canister. The one for my profile is the Hoover Windtunnel Plus S3639 with turbine hand tool. The Windtunnel upright mate that I think you're thinking of, I have as well. It's labeled as such but its basically a Hoover Windtunnel Supreme Widepath U5458-910. It's missing attachments and tool door right now, it also has no agitator right now. I need to get a new agitator. The generic is cheaper but debating if I should stick with the regular Hoover Windtunnel agitator if findable. The only Eureka canister I have, has a Roto-Matic power head. It is model 1784B. Is your Rotomatic the straight suction round machines, or does it have a Roto-Matic power head. As I'm a power head canister nutcase, I typically don't machines earlier than the 70's cause that's when I believe the first power heads or at least best showed up. I like power head canisters and uprights as they're the most useful to me. I like versatile products so a straight suction canister doesn't have as much use to me, although I do have a Hoover Portapower. I also have a Hoover Sidewinder hand vac. I've pictured both my Hoover and Eureka Below. You have me stumbled for a Hoover blue hard bagged upright with flower on bag case. As blue is one of my favorite color, I am more prone to draw towards them. LOL!! I'm possibly thinking an Elite, one of the teal 12Amp Elites may have had an extra logo on front. Another could be Windtunnel Pet edition and perhaps its a paw print on the front, that kind of looks like a flower? CLICK HERE TO GO TO Durango159's LINK 
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| Post# 198339 , Reply# 10 8/31/2012 at 04:51 (4,250 days old) by richardlee1985 (Swindon, Wiltshire) | ||
My dad (when he lived in the US) use to have a blue Singer Vacuum cleaner, it looked pretty much identical to the Bissell Softbag pictured above by Durango159. I can't remember the model name or number but it had a red slide switch on the handle but the rest of it looked the same. Anybody remembers that type of machine? :-D
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| Post# 198737 , Reply# 11 9/2/2012 at 15:23 (4,247 days old) by Diabeticdoode (Tulsa, Ok) | ||
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@kloveland oh gosh another Tulsan! That's exciting. I met a kid once years ago at Sears when I was trying out the vacuums, but that's about it. I haven't known anyone else around here who collects! About the shop, I was referring to ABC. Like, I've been by, but it just doesn't look like a cool place. Idk. Do you have any experience with them?
@FantomLightning WHOA thanks for that! That definitely brings back memories. Those seem to be getting so hard to find anymore. I'd really like to find one of the old VHS tapes. @Durango159 Oh gosh I really wish I knew what model it was! It's definitely from the 60s, or 70s... I'll try and find a picture in the foru and link you to it. Blue's my favorite too! That's the main reason I wanted this particular Powergroom. I just wish it wasn't only sold at Wal Mart. agh. @richardlee1985 I do! That's also on my want list. They are so hard to find it's ridiculous. Well, at least around here it seems haha | ||
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Post# 198813 , Reply# 12 9/2/2012 at 23:42 (4,247 days old) by Durango159 (State College, PA) |
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| Post# 198839 , Reply# 13 9/3/2012 at 02:57 (4,247 days old) by kirbylux77 (London, Ontario, Canada) | ||
Shawn:
A word of warning to you if you wind up buying the blue Bissell Dual Cyclonic PowerGroom or silver PowerGroom Pet. These models let TONS of dust escape thru the Dual Cyclonic system that gets captured by the pre-filter that sits in the tray below....and unfortunately that pre-filter is very small, doesn't have much surface area. All that dust will wind up in the motor & wind up causing it to fail prematurely. If you do buy the Bissell, since you will need a replacement HEPA filter at some point anyways, I would buy the Arm & Hammer Style 8 HEPA filter it needs as a spare filter....it comes packaged with a pre-filter included. Then take the pre-filter that comes with the vacuum, & add the replacement pre-filter to it. It will be a tight squeeze putting the tray back in, since it will have more material than it's meant for, but still do-able. This will greatly extend your motor's life, & also extend the life of your HEPA filter too for that matter! The filter & pre-filter run about $15 in WalMart, so that's a good deal since the pre-filter from Bissell should EASILY be about $10.
Regarding the powerhead....be VERY CAREFUL with this vacuum & be sure to clean it on a regular basis!! According to my local vac shop, which I am on very good terms with the owner, he sees a lot of these Bissell PowerGroom Dual Cyclonic vacuums come in needing premature brushroll replacement. He says that he feels the brushrolls aren't made as well as the Bissell Cleanview & Powerforce vacuums are. Another problem these vacuums have had is the brushroll housing becoming melted because of friction caused by the brushroll endcaps melting & failing, although he has seen this less often than just the brushroll failing. As a matter of fact, funny story here....right now I actually have a FrankenBissell PowerGroom Pet! Why you might ask? Well, the vac shop got one in for warranty repair, needing to be entirely replaced because the brushroll endcaps melted & failed, & damaged the brushroll housing. Bissell's answer was to replace the entire vacuum under warranty, rather than just send a new powerhead. So, after the vac shop got what he needed off it to do the warranty job, I took it home & replaced the powerhead with one from a black bagged Bissell Powerforce. It fits & works perfectly fine, & I got a vacuum for free & saved it from otherwise going to the dump. So, be sure to check the brushroll for hair & carpet fibers wrapped around it regularly to avoid any problems. Rob | ||
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Post# 199008 , Reply# 14 9/3/2012 at 22:11 (4,246 days old) by kloveland (Tulsa) |
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ABC vacs
ABC vacs doesn't carry any older vacuums (or parts). I asked them one time and they said they throw out all the old stuff, other than that they are usually friendly. We may live in the same area (11th and Sheridan). The shop I'm referring to is about 15th and Sheridan.
Sounds like you have the beginnings of a great collection. | ||
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Post# 199187 , Reply# 15 9/4/2012 at 17:23 (4,245 days old) by myvacsrock (USA) |
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That picture reminded me.. That i have a Singer version of that. Works awesome, and a good machine. Grooms the carpet very nicely :) 
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Post# 199218 , Reply# 16 9/4/2012 at 23:56 (4,245 days old) by DURANGO159 (State College, PA) |
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| Post# 199374 , Reply# 17 9/5/2012 at 14:55 (4,244 days old) by Diabeticdoode (Tulsa, Ok) | ||
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@kirbylux77 Thanks for the advice! I've definitely noticed that the design is odd. I clean out the filter about every 3 weeks or so, and definitely notcied that there's an awful lot of dust. The housing that it sits in is also very dust as well. It's cray. Do you think that would have anything to do with the headlight problems I've had? Maybe?
@kloveland Oh gosh they do? That's a shame then. I bet they get some cool things in through there! Yeah! That's the one I was talking about. I live out in Bixby (111th and Sheridan) but we always go to the reasors on yale (around 21st ish area) So I'm around that part of town a lot. @myvacsrock oh my gooooosh I really want to find one of those models! They are getting so hard to find anymore. What do you do for bags for that model? And for any older Bissell model really... I noticed on their website the only bags they still sell for older models are for the lift off. (and I'm assuming plus model?) Do they not make bags for older models? @DURANGO159 I pulled apart the vacuum yesterday! The wires weren't touching, but they have a little groove they sit in, and they were still in that groove so. Idk. I guess I will have to end up and take it to the shop. Agh I just hope I end up with my own vacuum again and not some other one. You know, something else I noticed when I was messing around with it, the wheels are awfully loose. Like, crazy loose. They wobble from side to side and everything. I realize it's only an $80 dollar vacuum, but you know. Just kind of irritating. | ||
| Post# 199422 , Reply# 18 9/5/2012 at 16:33 (4,244 days old) by FantomVacuumFan (St.Petersburg, Florida) | ||
Hey Diabeticdoode,
I also wish to welcome you to vacuumland. I hope you don't mind, but since you said you used to love Fantoms, specifically the Thunder and Lightning, I sent you an email to the email address on your profile. Also, if you use facebook, I have a Fantom Vacuum page on facebook you would be welcome to join! Hope to get a chance to talk to you :)
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Post# 199515 , Reply# 19 9/5/2012 at 23:06 (4,244 days old) by DURANGO159 (State College, PA) |
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Front wheels or rear wheels. Front wheels can easily be replaced. It's one assembly, I've gotten Bissell replacement front wheel assemblies for $5. Rear wheels, are probaby on plastic axle. I'd probably remove the hood and they come off and can be reinstalled or something. I would definitely play with it and see what I could. Worst comes to worst, a wheel usually doesn't cost too much, as long as the support of the housing for axle is in good shape.
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Post# 199516 , Reply# 20 9/5/2012 at 23:08 (4,244 days old) by DURANGO159 (State College, PA) |
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Oh yeah, write down your model number, serial number, if you're worried about getting your same vacuum back from the shop. I've never experienced a problem with that, if you have, look to another vac shop. Also is your machine under warranty? Did you buy extended warranty or replacement program through Wal-Mart with that purchase?
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| Post# 199803 , Reply# 21 9/7/2012 at 10:56 (4,242 days old) by Diabeticdoode (Tulsa, Ok) | ||
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Post# 199992 , Reply# 22 9/8/2012 at 16:55 (4,241 days old) by DURANGO159 (State College, PA) |
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| Post# 200837 , Reply# 23 9/15/2012 at 21:52 (4,234 days old) by Diabeticdoode (Tulsa, Ok) | ||
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