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DYSON CYLINDER REVIEWS
Depending on whether you are buying a Dyson cylinder for the first time or you are upgrading your 10-20 year old Dyson, a lot has changed. If you are just chucking out your DC02....well Dyson have been busy and are now up to DC54 in their cylinders.
They've gone from the original dual cyclone to root cyclone to radial root cyclone to two tier radial root cyclone to cinetic cyclones in that time.
What does all that mean in plain English?
Basically the suction is better and the filters don't get dirty as fast or they don't need filters at all!
You'll be pleased to know most of the annoying issues that affected the earlier Dysons have been resolved. Cylinder or canister models were always reasonably reliable anyway. A few notable differences are the parts are more robust, the cables have been improved and the rewind seems to last a lot longer. Motorhead models as I always recommend are best avoided.
I'm not saying they are flawless otherwise we wouldn't be in business, machines break down, moving parts wear out, that is just the way of the world.
However, buying the right Dyson from the beginning will make your experience a lot better. Think about it, if you have a family with 4 kids and two dogs is your Dyson going to get more or less abuse than a 70 year old who lives alone in a 1 bed apartment?
Some of the Dysons are designed for light use in small areas, others are workhorses designed for daily use banging into walls with the kids riding on them.
Cylinder models you need to be especially careful with, if you have a large house that is mainly carpeted, I recommend you buy an upright every time. The cylinder models are great for hard floors or small carpeted areas but a suction powered turbine head is never a match for a motor driven brushbar. Like I said above the Dyson cylinder motorhead models (which are the only cylinders to have a motor driven brushbar) are best avoided purely on reliability alone.
Read on below and I will give the pros and cons of each one, who it is more suited for and any known defects.
Each review is totally independent and in my opinion only, as an ex-Dyson service engineer who has repaired over 15,000 Dysons and still repairs them daily, I would like to think my opinion counts more than a shirt and tie salesman in a big retail outlet.
PLEASE NOTE: We do not mention motor wattage below as it does not matter, all that does is tells you how much electricity it uses! To measure how powerful a vacuum cleaner is we use air watts which is a valid measurement of suction power.
DYSON DC26 CYLINDER REVIEW
The Dyson DC26 cylinder, this model has been out a few years now but is still available through a few different channels which is why I have included it.
The DC26 is ideal for people who are looking for a lightweight, compact vacuum cleaner. As you can see by the picture it fits in the palm of your hand.
If you have a lot of carpet, couple of kids, a dog etc this is not the Dyson for you.
If this will get light use in a flat/ small house then it is perfect. The DC26 is also compact enough for any caravanners out there who feel the desperate need to clean on their travels.
Features on all models: washable pre filter, long reach hose/ handle.
Weight: 5.3 Kg
Suction power: 160 Air watts
Bin capacity: 0.68 litres
PROS: Compact, lightweight.
CONS: Bin capacity is very small, suction not as powerful as the larger cylinders for obvious reasons.
KNOWN ISSUES: Apart from usual wear and tear not a lot really. Dyson cylinder models are pretty much bulletproof in most cases.
DYSON DC32 CYLINDER REVIEW
The DC32 is an excellent cylinder model. If you want a new cylinder model then this is the one I would go for. The DC32 only comes available in the animal model.
This means you get HEPA filtration (for allergy sufferers) and all the tools you should ever need.
My only advice is to keep the pre filter clean. If the post filter gets blocked because of this then you are looking at £30+ to replace the HEPA post filter. A non-standard motor is also installed in this model so it might be a bit tricky finding a repair shop to fix it if it does go out of guarantee.
Apart from that it's a pretty solid machine and one I would recommend.
Weight: 8.78Kg
Suction power 280 Air watts
Bin capacity: 2 Litres
PROS: Strong suction, good size bin capacity.
CONS: Apart from usual wear and tear not a lot really. Dyson cylinder models are pretty much bulletproof in most cases.
KNOWN ISSUES: Apart from usual wear and tear not a lot really. Dyson cylinder models are pretty much bulletproof in most cases.
DYSON DC38 BALL REVIEW
The Dyson DC38 is very similar to the DC26 except that it is the first cylinder to use the ball technology and radial root cyclone.
If you have mainly carpets do not buy this model, it only comes with the mini flat out contact head. This tool is ideal for hard floors but definitely NOT for carpets. You can buy the carbon fibre turbine head for carpets for this model as an extra accessory.
If you have a large house, pets, kids etc this is not for you.
This is ideal for someone who lives in a flat/ small house with minimal carpets.
Weight: 6.02 Kg
Suction power: 170 Air watts
Bin capacity: 0.54 Litres
PROS: Compact, lightweight
CONS: Bin capacity is very small, suction is not as powerful as the larger cylinders for obvious reasons.
KNOWN ISSUES: Apart from the usual wear and tear on moving parts, none yet but these were only released in January 2012.
DYSON DC39 BALL REVIEW
The DC39 ball cylinder is the larger version of the DC38
Like the DC38 it is one of the first cylinders to use radial root cyclone and ball technology.
If you have any carpets then buy either the animal or the animal limited edition as you will need the turbine head and will only have to buy it later if you buy the DC39 multifloor.
Weight: 7.5Kg
Suction power: 280 Air Watts
Bin capacity: 2 Litres
PROS: Strong suction, good size bin capacity
CONS: Apart from the usual wear and tear not a lot really.
KNOWN ISSUES: Apart from the usual wear and tear on moving parts, none yet but these were only released in January 2012.
DYSON DC47 BALL REVIEW
The Dyson DC47 is very similar to the DC38 in size except that it is the first cylinder to use two tier radial root cyclones.
If you have mainly carpets do not buy this model, it only comes with the dual channel floor tool. This tool is ideal for hard floors but definitely NOT for carpets. You can buy the carbon fibre turbine head for carpets for this model as an extra accessory.
If you have a large house, pets, kids etc this is not for you.
This is ideal for someone who lives in a flat/ small house with minimal carpets.
Weight: 6.08 Kg
Suction power: 180 Air watts
Bin capacity: 0.58 Litres
PROS: Compact, lightweight
CONS: Bin capacity is very small, suction is not as powerful as the larger cylinders for obvious reasons.
KNOWN ISSUES: Apart from the usual wear and tear on moving parts, none yet but these were only released in January 2013.
DYSON DC49 BALL REVIEW
The DC49 ball cylinder is about the same size as the DC47
This is the first non-handheld to use a Dyson digital motor.
Again, this is tiny so avoid it if you have a large house, kids, dogs etc it is not for you.
Ideal for people living in apartments who have minimal room.
Weight: 4.9Kg
Suction power: 180 Air Watts
Bin capacity: 0.5 Litres
PROS: Compact, lightweight, quiet because of the digital motor.
CONS: Blocks easily, very small bin capacity and obviously not as powerful as the larger cylinders.
KNOWN ISSUES: Apart from the usual wear and tear on moving parts, none yet but these were only released in October 2013.
DYSON DC54 CINETIC BALL REVIEW
The DC54 Cinetic ball cylinder is the latest cyclone technology from Dyson.
This model does not need any filters due to the Cinetic cyclone technology. This model was only released in January 2014 so time will tell whether the technology works or not.
In my opinion I would wait a year before jumping in and buying this, new technology tends to have teething problems, I remember the problems that the rootcyclone technology had when it first came out.
Like the DC49 it uses the Dyson digital motor, again it remains to be seen how reliable this technology is in a larger vacuum cleaner, up to October 2013 it had only ever been used in the handheld models.
If the technology works like it should then this should be a good model. No filters to clean, strong suction, good size bin capacity - the only downside is the price, starting at £420 for the multifloor its on the expensive side.