My First Dyson (DC14 Animal)

I finally acquired my first Dyson vac a few days ago and have had a real blast finding everything possible I can about it. It is a DC14 animal with all attachments in lavender and steel plastic. In my pics I spied a serial number of “229-US- A 18561”. Would anyone know how to decode this? I am mostly seeking the year of manufacture; my best guess is around 2004-05.

Weighing in at 18 lbs and a 1400 watt motor, I expected great things once I cleaned all the clogged filters and brushroll. The motor needs some help, what with noisy bearings and an un-polished commutator. At the moment, it only pulls about 10.6 Amps (1272 watts @ 120V), but I think I can coax another 10% out of it when I do a complete teardown in the coming weeks.

I unraveled the many odd noises it made one at a time. I identified three major concerns:
1) Massively clogged sponge pre-motor filter
2) Brush bar vibrations
3) Previously mentioned motor bearings

The pre-motor sponge filter was dark brown. I was in for a surprise when it cleaned up to a medium green many gallons of water later. The brush bar confused me for a time as I cleaned the hair out of it and it still made grinding noises. After a brief trip to YouTube, I pulled off the end caps and axle and saw giant wads of hair and dry bearings. After a cleaning and re-greasing, I re-installed the brushroll (without the Dyson tool) and turned the DC14 on. It was the weirdest thing I never heard. No brushroll sound whatsoever! Completely quiet. I had to look at it spinning to convince myself it was actually working. Utterly amazing; no noise or vibration.

The bottom “lifetime” HEPA filter was another story. Somehow the overly delicate plastic front-facing tab was gone and thus, the cover was being held on by only three points, not four. Well, when I hit the power button, my ear ached with quite a loud whistling. OK maybe I’ll replace that motor cover part, or maybe I’ll just hot glue it since I shouldn’t need to replace that filter for a number of years if ever.

This unit has so many airway connections from the rug plate up to the motor inlet that I made sure to clean and re-condition all the seals along with the dirt cup seals. Speaking of the dirt cup, pushing the red release button didn’t do anything, until I cleaned and lubed all the moving parts. Only then did the mechanism actually release the bottom cover.

Time for some eagerly awaited tests. I pulled out a Baird meter and my new Marshalltown water lift gauge. For previous water lift tests, I used a home brew setup that would max out at 94” and was I ever glad I didn’t use that one because from the base of the DC14, bypassing the dirt cup and with the whistling HEPA filter removed, it pulled 120”. That’s right, 120 i-n-c-h-e-s! What do you need all that lift for? It’s just an upright. Oh wait, it has an expanding hose and with the aluminum wand stretches, just barely, to the top of 13 steps. Something like 14 feet. Wow, just wow.

Again from the motor base tube, I watched the Baird meter gently snap the yellow bar past the “10” mark, completely maxing out that gauge. A quick digital anemometer reading confirmed an airflow of 128 CFM. Could this mid-2000’s plastic behemoth actually beat the airflow king in my arsenal, a Kirby? I quickly re-assembled the DC14 and my face dropped: only 78.6 CFM from the hose (not extended) versus 106 CFM for the Kirby’s hose. Even with all the Dyson’s starting airflow, by the time it passed through its incredibly complex plumbing with rubber seals galore, a drop of over 49 CFM occurs. Through the same air path, the water lift only dropped from 120” to 112”, so it’s not like there were significant air leaks…

I then decided to vacuum the entire house, about 2200 square feet of 70% carpet and 30% linoleum. The handle is moderately heavy since many things are attached to it, even though Dyson does claim a lower center of gravity compared to the DC07. As I mentioned previously, the brushroll is so eerily quiet, the only real guarantee that it’s working are the nice, mild carpet lines left behind. The motor does have that Dyson trademark high pitched sound that didn’t bother me as much as I thought it should. Transitioning from carpet to bare floors and back again was amazingly easy due to the multi-wheel architecture of the rug plate. And having a rug plate that floats (up/down and tilt) is positively brilliant! A great, level and consistent connection to most floor surfaces is a totally new experience to me and no user intervention is required.

The brushroll has medium-stiff bristles that not only do a good job of grooming, but do fairly well at picking up most carpet debris; however, it also means a fair amount of carpet comes with the dirt, so I’m definitely left with less carpet with every use. Unlike newer Dysons that have the airflow in the middle of the nozzle, the DC14 puts it off to one side, just like cheap Hoovers (or at least my Tempo Widepath). So unfortunately, I could notice the left side of the vacuum (as viewed from the rear), didn’t pickup small particles that a higher CFM, center-fed vac could easily get in one pass.

The AC cord at 36 ft., is just perfect for my house. It seems that any machine with something in the 25 ft. or shorter category requires stopping and re-plugging far too often. To combat this, I even grabbed a 50 ft. one for my G6 and honestly it’s a bit too long, but I’ll live with it. 

The two “Animal” attachments are built pretty well and seem to perform OK, but I have two issues: 1) they are way too big and bulky and 2) the hose you have to attach them to might as well require a degree in wrestling. The useable suction (about 114”) in the phenomenally expandable hose means it always wants to re-collapse itself. I found myself using one hand/arm to stretch the hose and the other hand to push my attachment of choice. That stretchy hose behaves very similarly to a long spaghetti noodle, pretty much going everywhere you don’t want it to but it’s sure fun playing with it.

After finishing a full Saturday vacuum cycle, I can say I’m utterly fascinated with this machine. Emptying the dirt cup is anything but a clean affair and don’t expect all the dust, dog hair and other particles to come out without a fight. So just use a damp paper towel, completely disassemble the container and give it a proper wipe down inside and out.

The DC14 has “looks” like nothing else and I’d bet I could convince a few people it’s anything but a vacuum. When I look at it, it doesn’t say “beautiful” like a polished Kirby or “heavy duty functionality” like a classic 1980 Electrolux. It says FUTURE. The DC14 Animal is definitely being added to my regular bi-weekly vacuum rotation with the other 11 vacs I use.

Bill

Photos... < > Photo 1 of 7 View Full Size


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Post# 350652 4/19/2016 at 09:30 (2,922 days old) by wyaple (Pickerington, OH)
Checkrate/Likes 3 I finally acquired my first Dyson vac a few days ago and have had a real blast finding everything possible I can about it. It is a DC14 animal with all attachments in lavender and steel plastic. In my pics I spied a serial number of “229-US- A 18561”. Would anyone know how to decode this? I am mostly seeking the year of manufacture; my best guess is around 2004-05. Weighing in at 18 lbs and a 1400 watt motor, I expected great things once I cleaned all the clogged filters and brushroll. The motor needs some help, what with noisy bearings and an un-polished commutator. At the moment, it only pulls about 10.6 Amps (1272 watts @ 120V), but I think I can coax another 10% out of it when I do a complete teardown in the coming weeks. I unraveled the many odd noises it made one at a time. I identified three major concerns: 1) Massively clogged sponge pre-motor filter 2) Brush bar vibrations 3) Previously mentioned motor bearings The pre-motor sponge filter was dark brown. I was in for a surprise when it cleaned up to a medium green many gallons of water later. The brush bar confused me for a time as I cleaned the hair out of it and it still made grinding noises. After a brief trip to YouTube, I pulled off the end caps and axle and saw giant wads of hair and dry bearings. After a cleaning and re-greasing, I re-installed the brushroll (without the Dyson tool) and turned the DC14 on. It was the weirdest thing I never heard. No brushroll sound whatsoever! Completely quiet. I had to look at it spinning to convince myself it was actually working. Utterly amazing; no noise or vibration. The bottom “lifetime” HEPA filter was another story. Somehow the overly delicate plastic front-facing tab was gone and thus, the cover was being held on by only three points, not four. Well, when I hit the power button, my ear ached with quite a loud whistling. OK maybe I’ll replace that motor cover part, or maybe I’ll just hot glue it since I shouldn’t need to replace that filter for a number of years if ever. This unit has so many airway connections from the rug plate up to the motor inlet that I made sure to clean and re-condition all the seals along with the dirt cup seals. Speaking of the dirt cup, pushing the red release button didn’t do anything, until I cleaned and lubed all the moving parts. Only then did the mechanism actually release the bottom cover. Time for some eagerly awaited tests. I pulled out a Baird meter and my new Marshalltown water lift gauge. For previous water lift tests, I used a home brew setup that would max out at 94” and was I ever glad I didn’t use that one because from the base of the DC14, bypassing the dirt cup and with the whistling HEPA filter removed, it pulled 120”. That’s right, 120 i-n-c-h-e-s! What do you need all that lift for? It’s just an upright. Oh wait, it has an expanding hose and with the aluminum wand stretches, just barely, to the top of 13 steps. Something like 14 feet. Wow, just wow. Again from the motor base tube, I watched the Baird meter gently snap the yellow bar past the “10” mark, completely maxing out that gauge. A quick digital anemometer reading confirmed an airflow of 128 CFM. Could this mid-2000’s plastic behemoth actually beat the airflow king in my arsenal, a Kirby? I quickly re-assembled the DC14 and my face dropped: only 78.6 CFM from the hose (not extended) versus 106 CFM for the Kirby’s hose. Even with all the Dyson’s starting airflow, by the time it passed through its incredibly complex plumbing with rubber seals galore, a drop of over 49 CFM occurs. Through the same air path, the water lift only dropped from 120” to 112”, so it’s not like there were significant air leaks… I then decided to vacuum the entire house, about 2200 square feet of 70% carpet and 30% linoleum. The handle is moderately heavy since many things are attached to it, even though Dyson does claim a lower center of gravity compared to the DC07. As I mentioned previously, the brushroll is so eerily quiet, the only real guarantee that it’s working are the nice, mild carpet lines left behind. The motor does have that Dyson trademark high pitched sound that didn’t bother me as much as I thought it should. Transitioning from carpet to bare floors and back again was amazingly easy due to the multi-wheel architecture of the rug plate. And having a rug plate that floats (up/down and tilt) is positively brilliant! A great, level and consistent connection to most floor surfaces is a totally new experience to me and no user intervention is required. The brushroll has medium-stiff bristles that not only do a good job of grooming, but do fairly well at picking up most carpet debris; however, it also means a fair amount of carpet comes with the dirt, so I’m definitely left with less carpet with every use. Unlike newer Dysons that have the airflow in the middle of the nozzle, the DC14 puts it off to one side, just like cheap Hoovers (or at least my Tempo Widepath). So unfortunately, I could notice the left side of the vacuum (as viewed from the rear), didn’t pickup small particles that a higher CFM, center-fed vac could easily get in one pass. The AC cord at 36 ft., is just perfect for my house. It seems that any machine with something in the 25 ft. or shorter category requires stopping and re-plugging far too often. To combat this, I even grabbed a 50 ft. one for my G6 and honestly it’s a bit too long, but I’ll live with it.  The two “Animal” attachments are built pretty well and seem to perform OK, but I have two issues: 1) they are way too big and bulky and 2) the hose you have to attach them to might as well require a degree in wrestling. The useable suction (about 114”) in the phenomenally expandable hose means it always wants to re-collapse itself. I found myself using one hand/arm to stretch the hose and the other hand to push my attachment of choice. That stretchy hose behaves very similarly to a long spaghetti noodle, pretty much going everywhere you don’t want it to but it’s sure fun playing with it. After finishing a full Saturday vacuum cycle, I can say I’m utterly fascinated with this machine. Emptying the dirt cup is anything but a clean affair and don’t expect all the dust, dog hair and other particles to come out without a fight. So just use a damp paper towel, completely disassemble the container and give it a proper wipe down inside and out. The DC14 has “looks” like nothing else and I’d bet I could convince a few people it’s anything but a vacuum. When I look at it, it doesn’t say “beautiful” like a polished Kirby or “heavy duty functionality” like a classic 1980 Electrolux. It says FUTURE. The DC14 Animal is definitely being added to my regular bi-weekly vacuum rotation with the other 11 vacs I use. Bill Photos... < > Photo 1 of 7 View Full Size

Post# 350666 , Reply# 1 4/19/2016 at 11:41 (2,922 days old) by sptyks (Skowhegan, Maine)
Checkrate/Likes 2 You can have it! It's not something I would ever consider adding to my collection. To me, it's just an over-engineered hunk of plastic with a too long and convoluted air path that is prone to clogging.

Post# 350680 , Reply# 2 4/19/2016 at 15:00 (2,922 days old) by wyaple (Pickerington, OH)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *Really, It's Not That Bad...* I got it for free, so just labor involved on this end. But, check my wallpaper. I own three Kirbys: Heritage II Legend, G4 and a G6. I agree that it's over-engineered plastic, but they are so popular, I had to get one, fix it up and test it. Bill

Post# 350683 , Reply# 3 4/19/2016 at 15:49 (2,922 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)
Checkrate/Likes I find them, in general to be quick and easy to live with. In general.