expired Posted by appleguy82 • Jul 14, 2021
Jul 14, 2021 5:57 PM
Item 1 of 5
Item 1 of 5
expired Posted by appleguy82 • Jul 14, 2021
Jul 14, 2021 5:57 PM
Dyson Ball Animal Pro Upright Vacuum (Refurbished, Purple)
+ Free Shipping$140
$200
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The problem is, with the Ball vacuum, it is impossible to vacuum under furniture without taking it apart and changing to a different attachment. Also, the vacuum is heavy and hard move around, especially up and down stairs. If you have lots of furniture (like sofas, loveseats, coffee tables, etc.) I wouldn't recommend this vacuum, as you can't run the vacuum head under anything (because the Ball blocks it). Also, if you have stairs, I also would not recommend this vacuum, unless you feel like a workout every time you vacuum the staircase.
I will say the return was easy with Walmart. You can return it to Walmart. Or, what I did, you log into the website, go to the order, press "return". Then it lets you print a pre-paid return label (at no cost to you). Then just put the vacuum back in the original box it came in, slap the label on the box, and drop it off at the nearest UPS store for free.
I believe this vacuum was designed by a bunch of Engineers in white coats in a lab, that have never actually vacuumed a home before. Great engineering design, but horrible in practical application or use.
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That said, Dyson vacuums are about the most over-engineered in the industry. I tore down a DC15 Ball vacuum to the individual screws for a deep cleaning. I'm very mechanically/electrically inclined, but had doubts on whether it was going to go back together well. Taking pictures of each section before removal saved me.
My dog is a fluffy newfoundland mix and he sheds like crazy. This vacuum pics his hair up no problem and leaves the carpet looking like he never shed on it. Course it doesn't stop him from laying on it after it's freshly vacuumed!
Literally just bought an internal hose, changeover hose, new filters for $70... Wondering if I should return the items and buy this instead.
Thoughts?
Despite this caveat, this model, the original Animal v1, is an INCREDIBLE vacuum. I had a Dyson DC14 before getting this model a week or two ago, which I had used to vacuum the house on the previous weekend. On first use in the living room alone, I filled the canister. It's astonishing how much more effective it is than our previous vacuum. It's also a pleasure to use: it has powered forward movement, and the ball joint makes navigation very simple. It used to take endless back-and-forth push/pull passes for our DC14 to suck up hay (we have guinea pigs), and this thing got it up in a single pass.
The only design issues I have with it are the standing lock mechanism, which disengages when diagonal downward pressure is applied, and is too easy to disengage when pushing the vacuum around on its wheels; and the hose/cable, which are still connected (as they were on the DC14) and thus require that the entire cable is unwound in order to use the hose. Otherwise, its the best purchase I've made in months.
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The problem is, with the Ball vacuum, it is impossible to vacuum under furniture without taking it apart and changing to a different attachment. Also, the vacuum is heavy and hard move around, especially up and down stairs. If you have lots of furniture (like sofas, loveseats, coffee tables, etc.) I wouldn't recommend this vacuum, as you can't run the vacuum head under anything (because the Ball blocks it). Also, if you have stairs, I also would not recommend this vacuum, unless you feel like a workout every time you vacuum the staircase.
I will say the return was easy with Walmart. You can return it to Walmart. Or, what I did, you log into the website, go to the order, press "return". Then it lets you print a pre-paid return label (at no cost to you). Then just put the vacuum back in the original box it came in, slap the label on the box, and drop it off at the nearest UPS store for free.
I believe this vacuum was designed by a bunch of Engineers in white coats in a lab, that have never actually vacuumed a home before. Great engineering design, but horrible in practical application or use.
The swiveling works great on carpet; not so much on hard floors, and the rigid skirt in the head can also push granular bits like kitty litter out of the way when they're larger than the opening between the skirt and the floor.
However, the greatest failing of this design is that over time, the plastic weakens, and when that happens the dust canister unlatches from the vacuum on its own when applying pressure or torque while vacuuming, because the central spine flexes, and the latch isn't strong enough to prevent that from happening.
It relies on the wand being locked into position to provide a lot of the spine's rigidity, and over time, even that's not enough, so apply enough force, and the canister pops loose.
Lift it by the top handle, instead of the one on the canister, and the thing pops loose. A fundamental weakness in the design.
The suction power, however, is, and remains strong; it's the best facet of the vacuum.
And, Dyson service center customer support (not phone support) is good, if one happens to have one nearby.
They happily replaced the entire power head assembly at no charge after the brush bar clutch burned out, and it stopped rotating, due to long hair getting into the area behind the spindle.
Dyson has instructions and a video [youtube.com] on how to clean and maintain the brush bar. But they omit the area on the shaft behind the spindle adjacent to the gearbox, which is what caused the issue.
With regard to the use on stairs -- unsuitable. I use the power brush attachment, which does a decent job, but be prepared to use hearing protection, because it generates a lot of noise.
Make no mistake -- these are consumer grade vacuums, and may be fine if a deal can be had. They have their good points, but also serious flaws, at least in the Ball design.
I've never owned the earlier models which may have helped build their name reputation, but based on my experience with the Ball, I think the brand is overrated. My old Sharp that the Dyson was meant to replace may not have the same suction power, but it was less fussy to use, and hasn't fallen apart. I still keep it around for duty in dirtier places like the garage.
Bought a Shark and never looked back.
My main gripe with the "ball" series is they are difficult to navigate, i.e. - turn the thing when vacuuming. It will give your wrist a workout! It is so difficult to turn that my wife refused to use it - that's when we got a V11.
The V11 canister doesn't have near the capacity of the corded models. You've got to empty the thing far more often.
My recommendation is to stay away from the larger ball models - just too difficult to maneuver.
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