Thread Number: 3828
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Post# 43550   6/11/2008 at 21:29 (5,768 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)   |   | |
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When I stopped over in Sarnia on the way back from Ohio, Pete tossed me this nicely coloured Canadian model 1148 Dial-A-Matic, pointing out the loose handle problem. I don't recall if we turned it on or not. Nonetheless, I think it pretty and under the dirt it's in very nice original condition. So I figured I could do something about the wobbly handle... On plugging it in it would not run! Curious in that the motor shaft turns freely with no strange noises... |
Post# 43554 , Reply# 1   6/11/2008 at 21:50 (5,768 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)   |   | |
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So out comes the meter to find where the break in the electrical circuit is. In that process I find out how well assembled the DAM is, in that it seems designed to NOT be taken apart easily and to get down to the various assemblies it all has to come apart. So I did... Switch good, motor good, plug & cord good - the break is somewhere between the motor cord and the switch, inside the handle. Mmmmm....How to get the handle out of it's mounting socket. And it is here that I discovered what many already know - the handle has a plug & socket tucked up inside. It was unplugged. Duh. Perhaps it was loose from a previous repair ( the handle bolt is a brass replacement of smaller size) and finally jiggled itself free. Should be simple to shim up the handle support ring all stiff & tight again as the plastic is not cracked or distorted. The steel ring barrel with riveted bag compartment/cord hook is held in place with an impossible rivet thang and so that assembly must stay where it is - a job for crack-filling crazy glue to snug up that rivet. Well, she runs just fine now. Long night and coming up on bedtime, I'll pack it in the Felix proof box 'til next crack at it. The plastic case parts are soaking in the tub of soapy water getting all clean and sparkly. Dave - lives to take 'em apart. :-) |
Post# 43573 , Reply# 3   6/11/2008 at 22:45 (5,768 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)   |   | |
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Christine, a cheap basic AC/DC Voltmeter from Radio Shack, etc. will have a dial selection for OHMs. The meter's case holds a battery and so touching the plug-in leads together will register a 'completed circuit' without plugging anything into the wall socket such as a test lamp. At a basic level the same thing as a Christmas Bulb Tester. With this as an indicator you can test each and every electrical path that has exposed terminals and isolate the area where the electric current breaks. For example, touching the leads to the switch terminals in the Off and On positions will tell you is the switch is good or garbage. Saves biting the tip off your tongue or gnawing through a fingernail as you eliminate the possibilities. :-) Dave |
Post# 43575 , Reply# 5   6/11/2008 at 22:53 (5,768 days old) by camelotshadow (Valley Village)   |   | |
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E = IR Ohms law if I recall I was a physics major Also learned this stuff at 13 when I got my amatuer ham radio license morse code too I've grown up with this stuff so here & there some of it snuck in by osmosis LOL |
Post# 43577 , Reply# 6   6/11/2008 at 23:18 (5,768 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)   |   | |
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When I was maybe 6 or 7 years old I wrapped a piece of lamp cord around a long spike, connected the ends to a plug and stuck it in the wall socket... Of course this blew the main house fuses. Mom found me blissfully twitching. This is when Dad sat me down and taught me about electricity and we correctly made an electromagnet - on battery power. Anyway, I have 'successfully' been giving myself inadvertent shocks for many years now. This may or may not have made me the person I am today. :-) I'm also the kid who just had to lick the chrome bumper to see if my tongue would stick; no one had to talk me into it. LOL Whenever I got a cut - and my hands are a testament to many sharp mishaps - I liked to probe & inspect the wound before the band aide. Just last week my dentist remarked I was a fast healer as the 3 biopsy cuts were utterly gone in a week. The stitches dissolved out in two days. Dave |
Post# 43594 , Reply# 9   6/12/2008 at 07:29 (5,768 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)   |   | |
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Christine, you are a delight! Matt, I saw one of those screw on handle brackets on a machine at Tom's. Ugly but effective...for a time. As Tom said, it was the last fix the machine would get as the screw holes weakened the plastic case even more and when that cracked, it was goodbye. If only Hoover had continued the handle hole another 1/4" down in to the bag chamber brace. Since mine isn't yet cracked I'm going to do my clever best to snug it up again. I surmise the undersized replacement handle bolt isn't helping any, allowing the handle to also swivel. Concerning the later uprights, I asked Tom about Hoover USA's two piece handles in comparison to Canada's one piece-ers. He said the Company liked to pack the whole vacuum in a small box for shipping rather than two. Makes sense. The DAM handle socket with the plug connectors obviously followed this design directive. Btw, while all the manufacture info is stamped into the brush roll plate I haven't found a serial number anywhere yet? Where would that be??? Dave |
Post# 43732 , Reply# 10   6/13/2008 at 21:53 (5,766 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)   |   | |
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I've replaced the rotting black foam behind the grill, repaired the cracked grill 'tines' and fixed the wobbly handle, I hope. The handle slips down into a metal barrel, the bolt passes through and threads into the barrel, tightening around the handle. Didn't wash the case central frame yet so no water woould wick into the repair area. The metal barrel has a sort of plug washer at the bottom that is riveted through the case into the bag chamber. When the plastic compresses enough through use the rivet's hold loosens, allowing the barrel to rotate as well as wobble from side to side. I wedged the rivet tight with a knife shim, centered the barrel and applied crack filling crazy glue to the hairline gaps. This plastic really likes crazyglue - it melts and fuses the plastic like model airplane cement. Anyway, I tilted the body and used a needle to inject crazy glue into the rivet's hole so some would creep under the barrel. This has created a seat for the barrel's end and the whole thing is now as tight and immovable as original. I hope. Nothing more could be done other than to drill out that rivet and replace it with a bolt to solve the handle's future wobble trouble. Dave |