Thread Number: 6628
Dyson DC17AR Impressions and Review 		[Down to Last]

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Post# 73357   6/26/2009 at 23:52 (5,410 days old) by tristar ()        

I'll be the first person to admit that I'm not the world's biggest Dyson fan. I've used a DC07 in the past, and I've never been a big fan of the "Ball" machines. I tend to always view their machines as gimicks and overpriced.

However, being a vac collector, I've finally decided to take the plunge and see what all the fuss is about. I found a Refurbished Dyson DC17 Animal that was within my price range, and I figured that if I didn't like it, I could always resell it and get my money back out of it.

So my first impression was somewhat mixed. I like the color and it looks sporty. The addition of the 3rd level of Cyclones is an improvement since it helps keep the high efficiency cyclones from clogging like the DC07 did and the DC14 to a much lesser extent. I like the brushroll design. It's aggressive enough to really fluff up the carpet in this house, and it doesn't have that God-Forsaken clutch that plagued the earlier models!

It's also got a round brushroll instead of the twist-tie "thing" that's so notorious for winding up hair. Since I've got a rough-coat collie, the LAST thing I want to put up with is a big hairball on my vacuum's brushroll!

Suction seems to be adequate and then some. Since the DC17 doesn't have the "Large Debris Channel" that the DC14 had, the suction seems to be a lot more concentrated. In fact, it's strong enough at the floor nozzle to handily pick up the heavy Berber rug in my kitchen! It's got far stronger suction than I expected it to, both at the rug nozzle and at the end of the hose.

The ability to shut the brushroll off with a switch is nice. It's annoying that it resets every time you shut the vacuum off though. They also didn't seem to take tall people into consideration when designing the position of the brushroll shutoff switch in the base of the cleaner either. I'm almost 6'2" and if I take long strokes when vacuuming like I usually do, or if I'm trying to get up close to something behind me, the brushroll shuts off prematurely! It's a slight nuisance, but I think I can learn to live with it.

The attachments are decent. The upholstery tool actually works very well! The crevice tool is a bit funky and it's got a suction relief on the side. In practice, the suction is strong enough that I think they should have made the relief a bit larger. The dusting brush is useless. The bristles aren't full, and they're so stiff and plasticky that I'd never use it. It'll sit there for decoration. I plan to get their better duster attachment and try that out instead.

Emptying the bin is a bit challenging. You're supposed to simply push the button and the bottom falls open. Since mine's still new, the mechanism is REALLY stiff. In fact, I don't think most housewifes could actually manage to operate it. I know my mother couldn't! I'm hoping that it gets a bit easier to operate in the near future.

Getting the tools/wand out is a bit fiddly the first time you do it. The instruction book leaves a LOT to be desired. I fiddled with the machine for almost 10 minutes before I figured out that you pull up on the red handle and pull the wand all the way out before the handle will release from the vacuum! I was used to the Fantom where it had a release button! The instruction book could use some refining.......a LOT of refining..... I like words.....not obscure pictures!

Actually USING the machine is pretty rewarding actually. It's not overly loud, and it's not really a screamer either. The brushroll motor is a little loud, but it's also got a cogged belt on it. I don't think it's any louder than a later Electrolux PN though, so I'm not complaining.

The machine seems to pull itself along the rug nicely and floats pretty well on the back stroke. It grooms the carpet better than any other vacuum I have! And yes.....it actually DOES deep clean. I was shocked myself to find that out! That said, it's definitely not for the faint of heart! It's heavy, it's powerful, and the brushroll is VERY well suited from cut-pile carpet, but not much else. If you've got Berber or looped pile carpet, you'd probably want to get a different machine since the brushroll is VERY aggressive!

All in all, it's made a believer out of me. It seems to be a good machine and it far exceeds my expectations! Now if they'd just include a real dusting brush.....

Post# 73359 , Reply# 1   6/26/2009 at 23:53 (5,410 days old) by tristar ()        
The Brushroll...

 It's VERY aggressive. Very well suited for cut-pile or Saxony carpet, but poorly suited for Berber or other short pile carpets. If you've got looped pile, I'd be afraid that the stiff bristles would pull the loops out!

Post# 73360 , Reply# 2   6/26/2009 at 23:55 (5,410 days old) by tristar ()        
Carpet Fluffing

 This is how it fluffs the carpet. Quite surprising! The section you see in the photo below is the most heavily travelled part of my house. The carpet tends to mat down and it's VERY difficult to fluff it back up. I generally wind up using a stiff brush by hand to do it! The Dyson is the ONLY machine in my collection that will fluff it to like-new condition again. You can even see both my and Sophie's foot prints in the pile!

Post# 73361 , Reply# 3   6/26/2009 at 23:56 (5,410 days old) by tristar ()        
Deep Cleaning

 This is a repeat of the picture I posted in my Clubwide Vacuum Test thread about the deep cleaning ability of the DC17. I never really associated the Dyson with being a deep-cleaner, but this one seems to do a pretty stellar job. Way, WAY beyond any expectations I held for the cleaner!

Post# 73362 , Reply# 4   6/26/2009 at 23:57 (5,410 days old) by tristar ()        
Power Switches

 The power switch is sort of a 2-piece job. The red button turns the machine itself on and off while the white switch turns the brushroll on and off. One annoyance is that when the machine is turned off, the brushroll resets to "on" the next time you turn the machine on. I wish it stayed off when you turned it off! Minor annoyance...

Post# 73364 , Reply# 5   6/27/2009 at 00:14 (5,410 days old) by retardturtle ()        

that does sound like a stout brushroll...so if dyson is now the best on your carpet...who were the top 3 before the dyson came along

Post# 73365 , Reply# 6   6/27/2009 at 00:19 (5,410 days old) by tristar ()        
Top 3 Before the Dyson

 The 7 amp Sanitaire S670 was and still is my best deep-cleaner. My next best was the TriStar CXL with VGII brushroll and 3rd in line believe it or not is a measly little 4.1 amp Hoover Concept One.

The Dyson does a respectable job cleaning, deep cleaning, etc......but it excells at fluffing the carpet and doing my day to day work. I'll keep the forum posted as I use it more. So far it's only been used in video tests and for the very first time was used on the house today.

Post# 73370 , Reply# 7   6/27/2009 at 01:43 (5,410 days old) by retardturtle ()        

i heard those concept ones were nothing to doubt..pretty great vacs..and as is my 684sc...i love it. but the t-star & pn you find to surpass your kirby..i never woulda thought that....from ur close ups it looks like we have the same type of carpet also..ive found that 3 on the sc684 does great..how abt u

Post# 73387 , Reply# 8   6/27/2009 at 09:41 (5,410 days old) by tristar ()        

The Concept One works so well due to the QuadraFlex brushroll. I'm pretty sure if it had anything else it would be less than lackluster in the performance department. It's got a small fan and a tiny motor. It moves a decent amount of air, but nothing to write home about. But when you couple it with that brushroll it becomes a beast.

The TriStar has close to the same amount of airflow as a Kirby, but has a smaller nozzle. ~100CFM on the TriStar and ~120CFM on the Kirby. The 4" shorter nozzle coupled with the VGII brushroll makes it clean better. I've been very disappointed with the agitation that the Kirby has. I've tried every brushroll they offer and there's just no vibration to speak of whatsoever. With the carpet in this house, vibration is required....otherwise there's no sand or grit that comes up in the vacuuming. Believe it or not, the Dyson actually vibrates the carpet much harder than the Kirby does.

On my Sanitaire, I find that I have to use 4 or 5 with my carpet. It depends on how matted down it is when I start. Mine's got an 8 position adjustment, so it's probably similar to 3 on a 6 position.

Post# 73411 , Reply# 9   6/27/2009 at 16:01 (5,409 days old) by retardturtle ()        

your not the first person to mention the quadra roller...how great it does...do you have a pic of it?nvr saw one i dont think....i figured a g6 br with the stiffer brushes would do pretty great... metal fans and all...that dyson broll kinda looks like a eureka broll.

Post# 73421 , Reply# 10   6/27/2009 at 17:30 (5,409 days old) by tristar ()        
Quadraflex Agitator

 I'm too lazy to haul out the camera and take a picture of my own, so here's one stolen from the internet.

What makes it good is the fully spiral design with the brush stiffeners. It doesn't have beater bars per-se since they're actually behind the brushes themselves. It acts sort of like a Royal brushroll with it's stiffeners if you've ever seen one of those.

Post# 73428 , Reply# 11   6/27/2009 at 17:57 (5,409 days old) by retardturtle ()        

thanks...but i think we have one in a box at the shop and i see what u mean about the cleaning action of the brushes and its design...ill do some searching at wk.

Post# 73433 , Reply# 12   6/27/2009 at 19:14 (5,409 days old) by vibragroomer ()        
It does vibrate

 I have a Hoover Celebrity with the Qudraflex PN. It definitely vibrates the carpet, so I guess the brush stiffeners help in that regard. I've always wondered what the "quadraflex" designation is intended to convey. I'm guessing -- beating action, sweeping, action, airflow, and suction.

Post# 73435 , Reply# 13   6/27/2009 at 19:36 (5,409 days old) by rolls_rapide (-)        
Quadraflex

 With the tradional Hoover agitator in mind - two brushes and two beater bars - I always imagined that "Quadraflex" related to the presence of four brushes ("quad").

The "flex" part probably relates to the kinetic flexing/flicking action of the bristles as they flex around the relocated beater bars.

Post# 73436 , Reply# 14   6/27/2009 at 20:10 (5,409 days old) by vibragroomer ()        
Hmmm!

 Calum, that sounds good too! In fact, I'll bet you're right!

Post# 73437 , Reply# 15   6/27/2009 at 20:17 (5,409 days old) by hoovercelebrity (Germany)        

Well written review. :)

Where did you get the "reconditioned" Dyson; and how much was it, versus a new machine? Difference in warranty? Difference in quality?

~Fred

Post# 73438 , Reply# 16   6/27/2009 at 20:18 (5,409 days old) by rolls_rapide (-)        
Thank you

 However, I cannot take credit for the explanation of the flexing/flicking action - some other member(s) of this site mentioned it a few months back.

Post# 73445 , Reply# 17   6/27/2009 at 21:19 (5,409 days old) by tristar ()        
Factory Rebuilt

 It's a factory-rebuilt machine. You can find them through dozens of online retailers, shops like Fry's Electronics, and of course eBay. I paid about $250 shipped for this one give or take. Don't remember the exact amount and I'm entirely too lazy to dig out the receipt right now!

It's essentially new when you get it. It was still in the sealed factory carton from being rebuilt. It just didn't come with the pet turbine or the "Flat out" tool. It's exactly the same as a new one, but carries a 6 month factory warranty instead of the 5 year warranty that a brand new one comes with. It was absolutely SPOTLESS when I got it and you couldn't even tell anything had ever been used. It was basically brand new for all purposes. It's already been registered for warranty through Dyson's website.

For comparison, the DC17 Animal (which this model is) MSRP's for $549! So I got it for less than half price...not bad.

Post# 238919 , Reply# 18   7/4/2013 at 09:57 (3,942 days old) by director12 ()        

Great review.

Post# 238954 , Reply# 19   7/4/2013 at 15:07 (3,942 days old) by myvacsrock (USA)        
Haha..

 I forgot about this thread. I ended up with this machine from Eric. Wow it has been a long time ago now..


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