OT - Dyson advert ruled misleading

What pathetic complaints. There are some seriously sad complainers out there. What are people so anti-Dyson? I like mine although don't think it is the best things since sliced bread - it is just 'good' and is adequate for the average needs. Sad!

Whilst we're on the topic of Dysons, anyone who owns one of the upgright cleaners might want to have a look at these pics.

This is the second time our DC07 has bared the wires on the power cable, this apparently happens when the cable gets sucked up by the front brush roller. We know that we definitely haven't vacuumed over the cable so it must have happened when we've been using the extendable hose and the unit has maybe been dragged over the cable.

What is more frightening though is that we were unaware on both occasions that the wire had been damaged and had the unit being left plugged in, the kids could have touched the bare wires.

The first time it happened, my wife got an electric shock, the second time i had already unplugged the unit and was coiling the cable away after using it when i noticed it.

I've spoken to Dyson about this and all they did was draw my attention to the user instructions which say "not to vacuum over the power cable"!!

Whilst i've had Dysons for 10 years now, i won't buying another one. I now need to decide what alternative to buy for the safety of my family.

What a load of absolute drivel! No - using extendable hose would not do it because the brushes are not rotating The cable doesn't split itself LIKE ANY VACUUM cleaner - it has been DAMAGED bu running over it or dragging under a door etc. Yes - wires give electric shocks DOHHHH. Yes, kids or anyone else 'could touch them' - that would be your fault for damaging the wire - not Dysons. Get an earth leakage breaker to protect them which is good for all household goods. WTF did you expect Dyson to say. They're right! Now take some responsibility yourself. I despair!

My vacuum cleaner doesn't split its cable if I run over it. Not even if I do it dozens of times. Sounds like a design fault to me. Of course a designer might reasonably expect that a vacumm will from time to time go over its cable. It just happens when the cleaner is turned and twisted and moved.

Not to anticipate something as simple as that is like expecting no one ever to scuff the paint on your front door with their shoes - it shouldn't really happen but it definitely will happen.

Using an earth lakage breaker on an ordinary domestic appliance seems a case of overcaution to me. Nor should it really be necessary. I only use such an RCD when I run an extension lead outdoors.

. .

.......because people never ever, not even since the dawn of time ever, get electrocuted indoors.

How do you know? They are dead and can't tell you where they were electrocuted.

In alt.engineering.electrical Michael A. Terrell wrote: | Mike wrote: |> |> On Tue, 05 Jun 2007 20:39:35 +0100, Jim wrote: |> |> >Using an earth lakage breaker on an ordinary domestic appliance seems a |> >case of overcaution to me. Nor should it really be necessary. I only |> >use such an RCD when I run an extension lead outdoors. |> |> .......because people never ever, not even since the dawn of time |> ever, get electrocuted indoors. | | | How do you know? They are dead and can't tell you where they were | electrocuted.

No one who has been electrocuted has every reported that it was indoors. That's good enough for me :-)

Ditto with my Dyson: I never knew before it was a known problem and have probably hoovered (dysoned?) over it every time I've ever used it, from sheer laziness.

The only thing that's ever split the cable was our puppy, who has an innate attraction to noisy things moving backwards and forwards :)

Geoff

Of course total certainty is for the obsessional.

We should look at the relative numbers who get electrocuted an appliance's cable when used outdoors and then for appliances used indoors.

Well, I guess, somewhere, sometime, someone has not been paying attention to where the cord was? All manufacturers assume that a product consumer must have "at least" a little bit of common sense? In your case, non-existient. I hate to say this, but I agree with Mike T. Even he would acknowledge that you are not only an Ambulence chaser, but an Appliance chaser as well, looking for a lawsuit. Show us your Green Card....... :)

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Using an RCD (the modern name for an earth leakage circuit breaker - in use since the 16th Regs came out in the '80's) on a vac will not do you any good whatsoever - unless that is you make a habit of holding on to your water pipes as you vac!

Vacuum cleaners have been double insulated and had two-core cable for decades - Dyson always have been on all models. In most parts of a house where you vac you are unlikely to be earthed so supply cannot run through you to earth and hence the RCD will not work. The contributor who got a shock must have come into contact with both live and neutral from an exposed cable.

The problem with Dysons is that the cable is not heavy enough for the load it carries - have you ever noticed how it runs warm? Not only is it too thin for the power but as a consequence of thinner cable so is the insulation and the sheath which then fails mechanically in normal use. We had a DC05 (small one) and the sheath split at a point about

10cms from the rewind hole when the cable was fully extended - and it happened about three months out of warranty. On the earlier uprights the neutral wire (don't ask me why) commonly failed at the cable entry - I repaired two machines twice each in three years for exactly that.