It was good while it lasted! (Dyson DC02)

Member Name: newquayboy

Product:	Dyson DC02
Date:	13/12/03 (888 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Powerful, Small - Simple to store, Easy to use

Disadvantages: Heavy to carry, Noisy, Needs emptying alot

PLEASE NOTE THIS REVIEW HAS BEEN UP-DATED AS OF SUNDAY 4TH APRIL 2004



It was October 1997, and our not-so-trusty Electrolux 612 upright finally gave up the ghost after 5 years of ?will it or won?t it die now?. And what a time it picked to do it, just before a party we were holding. So in a fit of rage/panic, my mum and I sped to our local Seeboard Superstore (they are all closed now by the way), to be confronted by a suprisingly large array of cleaners. We wanted a cylinder, and we wanted a Dyson. So that left us with the DC02 range. But which one to choose? The basic silver/yellow model, with the Dual Cyclone technology and the ability to sit on the stairs? The blue, transparent ?clear? model, which was the same in all but colour? The silver / yellow / purple ?Absolute? model with HEPA filtration? Or the red / purple / yellow ?De Stijl? model, which had HEPA as well?

20 minutes later, we walked out with the basic silver / yellow model, having parted with £199 for the little, but heavy, monster. At this time Dysons were all the rage, especially as the DC02 had not long been released, hence the extortionate price tag (ONLY Dyson could persuade shoppers to spend that much on a vacuum!!!)

?So what does the DC02 do?? I hear you cry
Well, are you all sitting comfortably, then I?ll begin?

The DC02 was Dyson?s first cylinder vacuum, and it was a revolution. No other vacuum sat on the stairs securely. No other cylinder offered a high standard of filtration. And NO other vacuum offered Dyson?s Dual Cyclone technology. This works by the cyclones forcing the air flowing through them to spin at super-high speeds, which throws the dust and dirt out of the airflow to settle at the bottom of the cyclone. This is actually a very efficient way of removing the dust (if you are on a roundabout in the park and it?s spinning fast, you feel as if you are being pushed to the edge don?t you? At least you should do!) And as if this weren?t
enough, t
he air passes through a pre-motor H-Level filter, which keeps dust out of the motor. It then passes through a post-motor H-Level filter or HEPA filter, which kills bacteria and removes any last bits of dust. For those of you puzzled, HEPA stands for:

?High Efficiency Particle Airfilter? (just to clear that one up!)

The DC02 is a triangular shape at the bottom, which means it can straddle a step without fear of it crashing down onto un-suspecting passers by. It also has on-board tools on the back behind a little flap; where you just press a catch, and you have a crevice nozzle (for the tight corners), a dusting brush (for dusting obviously!), and a small nozzle (for doing the stairs, the car etc.) If this doesn?t seem enough for you, then you can order a small air powered ?Turbobrush? which is better at removing pet heirs and stubborn dirt from hard to reach areas. You can also buy a large ?Turbobrush? for normal vacuuming, as the DC02 only comes with a normal floorhead. This has a small pedal which lowers a stiff brush, to protect hard floors from being scratched by the metal soleplate. If you accidentally put this brush down when vacuuming carpet, then you will not be able to push the floorhead, no matter how hard you try.

I think that?s all there is to the DC02; it is pretty much similar to other vacuums in other respects. It has cord rewind, which makes storage easier; telescopic tubes, for the taller or shorter person to use it comfortably and other features.

However, it?s not all perfect, as nothing ever is!! The DC02 is quite a noisy vacuum cleaner; which can be either useful, or annoying, depending on where and when you?re vacuuming. It is also quite heavy to carry, which older people might find hard to cope with. Apart from this, the DC02 is a brilliant vacuum cleaner, it is perfect for flats and large family homes ? it survived almost daily use by our family for 6 years, and being bashed and crashed by ou
r lovely cleane
r! :-) We then consigned it to our cupboard when it was replaced with a Dyson DC07 Animal, which I have also reviewed.

Now the part you?ve been waiting for ? ?where can I buy this amazing machine?? I hear you cry. Well first let me tell you a few things. Dyson no longer produce the DC02; it has been superseded with the DC05, the DC08 and the DC11, of which, the DC08 and DC11 have Dyson?s new Root Cyclone Technology, which has eight cyclones instead of two, and claims to provide 45% more power than the Dual Cyclone. If you want a new Dyson with the Root Cyclone Technology, then they start at £199 for the DC08, and £269 for the DC11 (prices from currys.co.uk on Sunday 4th April 2004). DC02?s can be bought second-hand from ebay.co.uk for around £40, to my knowledge. This would suit you if you want a Dyson, don?t mind a used one, and don?t want to fish out at least £200 for one.

If there are any questions you want answering, feel free to leave a message in my tooyoo guestbook, or visit dyson.co.uk (for information on the DC05, DC08, and the DC11 only).

Thanks for reading my review; I hope it has been helpful!

© newquayboy 2004

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