It’s an intricate device. We’ve always accepted that, but never knew how much so. Our adventures began when we clumsily dropped our V8 and cracked the top part of the housing. Must have landed on its head.
On YouTube we watched two disassembly videos (one, two) before proceeding.
We had our trusty tamper-free tool set which (surprisingly) came up short. Needed an extension to get into some deeply set Torx screws. Dyson have made it doubly tamper proof.
Upon disassembly, we were glad to find the damage limited strictly to one component – top component. We drizzled some Araldite epoxy over the cracks. The V8 generates strong suction, provided the airflow is channeled as intended and not leaking out from cracks. Hence the importance of sealing up the cracks from our booboo.
While it lay in pieces, we found it interesting trying to trace the air path. By “interesting” we mean not immediately obvious. Our investigation was hampered somewhat by our dust allergy and the extremely dusty parts. YouTube wasn’t much help on this subject. The only explanation we found was brief.
Eventually, we washed the parts prior to re-assembly. We didn’t want the gaskets covered in dust, making for a poor seal. With clean parts, it was easier to examine how it worked.
Cyclone Separation
From what we can determine, large bits of waste collect in the outer bin, filtered by the perforated metal drum filter. The fine dusty air makes its way through into all the cones, which we’ve discovered to be cyclone separators (how it works). They filter out fine dust into the inner bin. Air with even finer dust goes up into the pre-filter. What the pre-filter doesn’t catch passes through the motor and then the HEPA post-filter.
Thus, the cyclone separator components we disassembled (that formed the bulk of the central filtering structure) specifically filter fine dust, which was why the dust within was so messy to handle.
On the matter of fine dust, any fine dust not captured by the cones get caught in the pre-filter. That means the dust in the pre-filter is either just as fine or very fine and highly irritable to folks with dust allergies – like us. We’ll be wearing a mask the next time we clean that thing out.
Despite the fact that we now know how to disassemble the V8, we’re happy to say there will be very little reason to ever do so again going forward. Afterall, regular maintenance at the disassembly level reflects a poor design which isn’t the case here. The only item that will need regular attention is the pre-filter.
Pre-Filter
We remember instructions that describe washing the pre-filter under running water. We’re not partial to that idea (washing and drying), preferring instead to disassemble the pre-filter and simply tap out the dust.
However, the tabs that clip in the upper and lower halves are very firm. So firm it’s difficult to separate the two. To make it easier to separate the next time around we used some sidecutters to remove the lip against which the tab braced. There are three tabs, we figured two are enough to hold it together. We’re a lazy lot and do it for our own convenience.
Our first instinct was that most of the dust went into the bins and the pre-filter prevented dust going into the motor by catching dust on its outside while clean filtered air passes into its core. As it turns out it’s the other way. Dusty air is drawn into the core (from the opening at the top), then downwards and outward, so that fine dust is caught in the core, with the pre-filter itself serving as a bin (like a sock) – for ease of disposal.
Gotta admit, after messing around with our V8 we’ve developed a greater appreciation for the engineering that went into it. Feeling a little better about the price we paid.
Poking Around Inside the V8
The V8 has 15 cyclone separator cones. Five on the upper tier and ten on the lower. The tangential inlets near the top of the cones can be clearly seen below.
Thanks to these cones, the V8 draws high suction by filtering out fine dust without the need for membrane filters (that clog up fast).
Ease of Disassembly
The V8 is more modular than the V6. The cyclone separator pack is attached to the motor and handle by a slotted mechanism (easily released by some buttons), while on the V6 it appears fastened – we haven’t the pleasure of disassembling that … yet.
Similar to the pre-filter, the perforated metal drum filter is also tough to remove. It is also snapped into place by a handful of tabs.
Behind the metal drum filter, on the structure beneath, there are five tabs near the top and two lips at the bottom. The metal filter snaps in place against these. The lips at the bottom don’t pose much resistance, it’s the tabs that make disassembly difficult.
Five tabs? That’s far too much redundancy. So we filed down two tabs. Surely three tabs is plenty to hold the metal filter in place. Struggling just ain’t our style.
Final Words
Long before we had a V8, we had the V6. It functioned very well, our major gripes with it were that there was no battery level indicator and that the motor was too shrill. Battery indicator was important, because there was never any telling when the vacuum would run flat and stop working. Dyson assumes we always keep it fully charged, but we prefer to cycle our lithium batteries to prolong their life. So sometimes the vacuum would die abruptly during our moments of need and it won’t be until a few hours of charging later that we’d be back in business. We’ve no patience for that. Amusingly, tinkerers have modified their V6s to include a battery meter and higher capacity battery. Worthy effort, but Dyson themselves offered a more elegant solution.
The V8 addressed both of the V6’s shortcomings. There are three bars on battery level indicator, while the V6 had but one (useless) bar. Noise is far more tolerable from the V8’s low pitched motor drone, unlike the piercing whine of the V6. Also, the perforated metal drum filter on the V8 is far easier to clean than the plastic mesh drum on the V6. We were very happy upgrading to the V8.
So dropping our expensive (and new-ish) V8 was utterly disappointing on two fronts. Firstly, the obvious material loss of equipment integrity. Secondly, that we’re losing our minds and dexterity since we were wildly cavalier in our handling only to find that our declining reflexes failed to avert mishap.
It was grim for a few days until we commenced repairs, but overall: silver linings. Discovering the inner workings of the V8 was so worthwhile, it made up for the damage we foolishly caused. We’ve also come to appreciate how to better maintain it.