Customer Reviews

Remanufactured Dyson DC14 Full-Kit Upright Bagless Vacuum Cleaner

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's now July 2008. The Dyson is great! And when I finally read the instruction, I realized I'd been needlessly suffering using tool attachments with the wand in place... the wand is removable!!! That allows easy access to furniture, stairs, anything. The really great thing is that the rotating furniture/stair attachment works fantastically when the wand isn't in the way... the rotating brush keeps going when doing our carpeted stairs and velour furniture. Cat hair is gone!!! I love this thing!

OK. So I just got it and only used it to vac my upstairs (without moving furniture... just a quick test) and it took me barely 10-minutes for about 1200 sq ft of hard floor. It cleans great! It's extremely quiet, which makes me think it might be broken since Consumer Reports (and some reviewers of the DC 14 all-floors) said it was noisy. But after using a Hoover canister for the past 20-years, this thing is fantastic. Don't let anybody tell you that it doesn't do hard flooring. I highly recommend this vaccuum. I'll give a futhher review after a few weeks of use (and when I've had a chance to use all the tools). Consumer reports also gave it a lower rating for ease of use, but I put it together and got it going easily without reading the manual (don't tell Dyson!).
p.s., the cat was scared, but nowhere nearly as freightened as he is with the LOUD Hoover.

We had been using a Hoover WindTunnel that we'd purchased five years ago from the factory store for 180. While it seemed to work reasonably well, it was just incredibly loud. And it was heavy and not so easy to maneuver.

What we like about this Dyson, which we purchased after reading an incredible number of reviews here at Amazon and elsewhere:

1. noise level, compared to the WindTunnel, is surprisingly quiet. We don't have to yell to hold a conversation while vacuuming.

2. Aesthetics. Going from Hoover to Dyson was like switching from Dell Dimension to Apple iMac.

3. Suction, of course. Every other review here which claims shocking amounts of dirt being picked up the first time is TRUE. Our landlord had steam-cleaned the carpet just a month before we moved in. It really was shocking to see how much was in the dust bin after the first vacuuming.

4. Ease of dust disposal. Really quite easy!

5. Not having to stock vacuum bags.


It's not a small sum to spend on a vacuum. However, we have a baby who's just about begun to crawl, and we convinced ourselves that getting a really good vacuum that can keep the floor clean was for the good of the baby. You can justify all sorts of spending when the baby comes! :-)

We were also considering getting an Oreck, but we weren't so satisfied with their XL Air Cleaner.


January 29, 2010 UPDATE: It's been nearly three years since we purchased this refurbished unit, and it's still going very strong. In addition to the list of likes above, we'd like to add:

6. the fact that it comes with two washable and reusable filters, so you don't have to wait for the filter to dry fully before using the vacuum.

7. the fact that pretty much the whole unit can be taken apart and put back together so easily. It's a marvel of a simple, elegant design.

I've wanted one of these since they came out on the market... but I had a Fantom Thunder, which was no cheap purchase itself and I couldn't see spending the money for a Dyson.

Last week, the belt broke on my Fantom, so I finally pulled the trigger and ordered this DC 14 Full Kit Dyson. I read all the reviews of the different models and felt like I picked the best one...

Today, I have been sweeping, and sweeping, and sweeping, and I cannot believe the amount of dust, dirt, and dog hair I have picked up! I thought my Fantom was amazing, but this is truly awesome!

I gave it four stars out of five, because I am not 100% pleased with the price. I do believe it is overpriced due to its popularity. I also worry a little about the lightweight plastic that it's made of... I hope it lasts... The last problem I see is that the instruction book is totally worthless... not good instructions at all... it's made for people who can't read apparently, because you mostly have to go by the drawings and diagrams. We had a little trouble assembling it, and that was frustrating.

All in all, I am very pleased that I bought it. I compared many different Dyson models as well as other brands as recommended by Consumer Reports, and I really think I picked the right one.

If you are wavering on whether or not to buy one, I say do it!

I bought this vac with high expectations. Unfortunately, it did not live up to them. I have brand new thick carpet. If you turn the unit on and just let it sit in one place for a few seconds, the beater bar bogs down and trips a ratcheting sound that resembles the noise of a cat getting sucked in tail first. I can repeat the problem over and over with ease. Initially, I thought it was a defective unit. But I have come to believe it just can't handle the thick pile. It works fine on every other floor.

After sending it back, I had opportunity to visit a Dyson dealer who also sells other brands. We threw salt, sand, rice and coins onto a big patch of his ceramic tile and store carpet and ground them in with our boots. Then I took the Dyson (DC 14 and DC 15 Ball), an Electrolux Commercial, Kirby G5, Oreck XL21, Eureka Sanitaire, and Riccar Radiance, and put them through their paces in a side by side test. The salesman didn't have to do much selling since the vacs had a chance to speak for themselves. While all the vacs got the stuff off the carpet, all but the Riccar took multiple passes (four on average). I also noticed that almost all of the vacs (except the Riccar) were strong on the right side but weak on the left. Both Dyson products beater bar seemed extremely underpowered on heavier carpet (we tried them on two weights of carpet) as did the Oreck. When we moved to the tile floor, the Dyson took the sand and salt off of the tile but left it in the cracks of the grout. Unacceptable to me.

In all honesty, when I finished the test, the Dyson products felt like plastic toys compared to some of the other products. They did a mediocre job but were incapable of dealing with the heavy carpet. Just pushing them through it was a labor, wearing my wife out after one large living room's worth of vacuuming. The Riccar, on the other hand, almost crept forward on its own. The Dysons would probably have faired much better on lower pile carpet. Had I not done the side by side test I would never have known how they all compared

I will buy a Riccar Radiance, the hands down winner in my tests. It is a little more expensive than the Dyson but far less than the Kirby. And it was the clear winner on the floor. The salesman didn't have to say anything at all. The Vacs did all the talking.

THIS IS ONE GREAT VACUUM but was I ever shocked to find that no attachments were included! After reading all the reviews and and even one that says that Dyson Customer Service sent the missing attachments very promptly, I wrote an email to Dyson and here is what I received in response!

Thank you for contacting us.

Unfortunately refurbished units do not come with attachments. If you would like to purchase accessories, give us a call at 1-866-MY-DYSON at your earliest convenience and one of our trained experts will be happy to place an order for you. Please have the vacuum's serial number and the date & location of purchase available when you call so that we can expedite your request as quickly as possible.

The Dyson helpline is open Monday through Friday from 7 am to 8 pm, Saturday from 8 am to 6 pm and Sunday from 9 am to 6 pm (CST).

Regards

SO A WORD TO THE WISE, don't expect to get all that is listed:

* 12 amp upright vacuum cleaner for use on all floor types
* Root8 Cyclone technology ensures powerful, consistent suction
* Wand expands to 17 feet; mini turbine head; bare-floor tool; on/off brushbar
* 5/7-gallon bin; HEPA filter; accessory kit included
* Measures 13-3/8 by 14 by 44-6/7 inches; 90-day warranty

There is a six month warranty, however, but no accessory kit, mini turbine head, bare-floor tool, on/off brush bar...

Over the years I have bought vacuums, electric brooms, dustbusters, The Kone, electric mops...all in an effort to get spotless floors. I got the top rated vac by Consumer Reports. I should have saved my money, and bought the 'expensive' Dyson. This Dyson costs less than all the useless products and vacs and it DOES THE JOB. All of the accesories are easy, and it was a breeze to snap the few bits together, making it easy right out of the box. NOTHING is better, faster, or easier on bare floors.

I have had my Dyson for over a month now and it's simply fabulous! Mine was "reconditioned" but looks and acts brand new. For the first time in decades of dog ownership, I feel like I can really get my house clean. The rotating upholstery attachment keeps me from cringing when company sits on my couch wearing dark clothing. I bought mine primarily on the reccomendation of a friend of mine who has a Dyson (she paid retail and still loves it) Well, I could go on and on, but the bottom line is, if you're going to vacuum why not do a great job? And along that same line, if you're going to buy a great vacuum why not save some money? The reconditioned Dyson fits the bill 100%

Bought via Amazon, received quickly as usual, and have vacuumed my entire house with it. Overall I really love the unit in every respect...

Except...

... the gawd awful noise the beater makes. There's some sort of ratcheting clutch that the brush belt rides on and it simply activates far too often. Out of the box it would make the noise nearly 100% of the time when on carpet. I'm talking ultra thin smooth throw rugs, not deep pile. I called tech support and they had me remove two thing rubber gaskets from the soleplate which helped a ton but hasn't been a total cure. It still makes the noise occasionally when first turning on the brushes until the motor gets up to speed or something. I can't express how loud and horrible the noise is.

Contrasting to my previous Electrolux vacuums which had a toothed belt and a circuit breaker to protect the motor the Dyson smooth belt and ratchet is a poor implementation specifically due to the HORRIBLE noise. My wife was upstairs, in the laundry room, with her iPod in her ears (so she's effectively deaf in that scenario) and immediately ran downstairs to see what the noise was it was so LOUD and GAWD AWFUL. At this point I can deal with the occasional noise when starting the brush but I'd think many users would send it back.

Also, due to the overall design the head can't get under kitchen/bath cabinets and furniture, it's too tall and bulky. But the on-board tools and ease accessing the hose negates that problem. Really, if it wasn't for the ratcheting noise I'd give it a 9/10. But I think Dyson missed the boat on that issue.

I got this vacuum because I was constantly replacing the bags in my old vacuum and it didn't even have a rotating hand brush. I just got a dog and these weaknesses were really exposed.

The Dyson is solid. The bagless canister and filter system is VERY well designed and easy to use. It's not messy emptying the container at all and it maintains good suction power throughout its use. Speaking of suction power, on deep pile carpet, it won't get ALL the hair on one pass, so don't expect it to. This was a slight disappointment to me, but I doubt anything would get it in one pass. The extension handle, IMO, needs to be longer as I'm constantly leaning over when using it with the bare floor attachment, although it does work VERY well on bare floors. I also think it's sometimes difficult to use the full length of the extension hose without potentially knocking the vacuum over, although if you're careful, that won't be a problem.

Other than those small complaints, I'm pretty happy with the purchase. The bagless design was huge for me. The longer extension hose is great for stairs, and 30' power cord saves me a lot of hassle. It's also not as loud as my old dirt devil. I think it's slightly overpriced and probably should be about $75 less, but if you have the money and don't want to compromise too much, it's a solid purchase.

Dog hair is a big problem --it clogs up all of the vacuums and often they smell bad even after cleaning the filter. The Dyson is supposed to be good at picking up dog hair and I saw on YouTube that you can take it all apart very easily and clean it.

I bought the refurb because it came with the turbo and low floor tools I wanted. I hoped it would be a good one (and it was like new). The turbo tool pulled all of the dog hair and dander off the chairs quickly without any effort on my part. I just pressed the button on the dust cup and watched all of the dirt come out. Wow!

I wanted to test taking the Dyson apart and followed the directions on the Dyson support site for poor suction. The Dyson is designed to be easily disassembled and reassembled. You can even wash the cyclone unit in a sink to remove the dog dander which I think clogs up the other vacuums (because you cannot clean them) and causes them to sometimes run hot.

Vacuuming the stairs always meant dragging the vacuum with me, but the Dyson extension hose is long enough to reach to the top of the stairs so I can now leave the vacuum behind. Another plus is that the extension hose snaps off the vacuum and makes it similar to a shopvac. This means you don't have to worry about the vacuum falling over and hitting you in the head when you try to use the tools.

Is the Dyson better than a Rainbow? To be honest, I would clean the dog hair up with a Dyson before using my Rainbow because it would fill up the water basket before I could get into my spring cleaning. I like both machines but for everyday cleaning I pull out my Dyson.