i have an old Henry vacuum cleaner and recently it's started making a
'bzzzzzt' noise like an arc welder when running. It is also a bit
stinky. it's an electrical arc-y sort of smell iyswim?

is it likely that it's just the brushes or is the motor likely to be
completely shot?

shokka

Shokka wrote:
i have an old Henry vacuum cleaner and recently it's started making a
'bzzzzzt' noise like an arc welder when running. It is also a bit
stinky. it's an electrical arc-y sort of smell iyswim?

is it likely that it's just the brushes or is the motor likely to be
completely shot?


I would suspect the brushes, either in the motor, or the mains reel.
Does it make a different noise if the reel is reeled when on?
New brushes are not expensive.

A friend recently complained that her Dyson vacuum was buzzing and
making a "burning smell".
I said I'd take a look, and found that the brushes were well worn.
I sourced new brushes off Ebay for seven quid (having told the lady
that
I thought these were to blame but wasn't totally sure that it would
solve
the problem).
A couple of days later (just long enough to forget how to reassemble
the Dyson jigsaw on my bench ;-) I fitted the new carbon brushes.
Upon reassembly, the machine was just as bad as before... aaaaargh.

No criticisms about Dyson please (they've been done to the death on
this
forum before).
My overall learning from this incident is that IF the marketing
literature for
your new purchase mentions "lifetime guarantee" it probably doesn't
refer
to YOUR lifetime.
All motors will have a finite lifetime - gauge how old yours is and
make a
decision.

HTH

Mungo

Ian Stirling wrote:

I would suspect the brushes, either in the motor, or the mains reel.
Does it make a different noise if the reel is reeled when on?
New brushes are not expensive.

i never realised the mains reel had brushes. i'll check later and see
if reeling it makes a difference.

thanks all

shokka

Shokka wrote:

Ian Stirling wrote:

I would suspect the brushes, either in the motor, or the mains reel.
Does it make a different noise if the reel is reeled when on?
New brushes are not expensive.

i never realised the mains reel had brushes. i'll check later and see
if reeling it makes a difference.


I don't know if they are actual brushes, or metal sliding contacts.

"Ian Stirling" wrote in message
...
Shokka wrote:

Ian Stirling wrote:

I would suspect the brushes, either in the motor, or the mains reel.
Does it make a different noise if the reel is reeled when on?
New brushes are not expensive.

i never realised the mains reel had brushes. i'll check later and see
if reeling it makes a difference.


I don't know if they are actual brushes, or metal sliding contacts.

Sprung contacts

In message .com,
Shokka writes
i have an old Henry vacuum cleaner and recently it's started making a
'bzzzzzt' noise like an arc welder when running. It is also a bit
stinky. it's an electrical arc-y sort of smell iyswim?

is it likely that it's just the brushes or is the motor likely to be
completely shot?

Jump in and find out

Sounds like it could the brushes to me, but who knows


--
geoff

Does it make the same noise when the hose is removed? I ask because I
had a piece of plastic caught in the hose on my "Henry", and that made
a very loud buzz.

Shokka wrote:
i have an old Henry vacuum cleaner

is it likely that it's just the brushes or is the motor likely to be
completely shot?

Numatic parts are cheap as chips try http://www.wcsuk.com/pages/products.htm

Dave

Shokka laid this down on his screen :
i have an old Henry vacuum cleaner and recently it's started making a
'bzzzzzt' noise like an arc welder when running. It is also a bit
stinky. it's an electrical arc-y sort of smell iyswim?

is it likely that it's just the brushes or is the motor likely to be
completely shot?

shokka

There is a small chance that fitting new brushes will fix it. If it has
been run for long with poor brushes, then the likelyhood is that that
commutator has been badly burned and therefore not worth repair.

--

Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.org

Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Shokka laid this down on his screen :
i have an old Henry vacuum cleaner and recently it's started making a
'bzzzzzt' noise like an arc welder when running. It is also a bit
stinky. it's an electrical arc-y sort of smell iyswim?

is it likely that it's just the brushes or is the motor likely to be
completely shot?

shokka

There is a small chance that fitting new brushes will fix it. If it has
been run for long with poor brushes, then the likelyhood is that that
commutator has been badly burned and therefore not worth repair.

However.
If you can remove the motor, and polish the commutator (the bit the brushes
run on) with fine, then very fine, then metal polish, that can work,
unless the copper is cut through.

In article ,
says...
Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Shokka laid this down on his screen :
i have an old Henry vacuum cleaner and recently it's started making a
'bzzzzzt' noise like an arc welder when running. It is also a bit
stinky. it's an electrical arc-y sort of smell iyswim?

is it likely that it's just the brushes or is the motor likely to be
completely shot?

shokka

There is a small chance that fitting new brushes will fix it. If it has
been run for long with poor brushes, then the likelyhood is that that
commutator has been badly burned and therefore not worth repair.

However.
If you can remove the motor, and polish the commutator (the bit the brushes
run on) with fine, then very fine, then metal polish, that can work,
unless the copper is cut through.

Aren't you supposed to cut back the insulation too?

Rob Morley pretended :
However.
If you can remove the motor, and polish the commutator (the bit the brushes
run on) with fine, then very fine, then metal polish, that can work,
unless the copper is cut through.

Aren't you supposed to cut back the insulation too?

Yes, except on engine starter motors. You grind the thickness of a
short piece of hacksaw blade down to just fit the width of the gap,
then use that to gently cut it back a small amount.

--

Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.org