Renovate – Fix It Workshop

Nilfisk GM80 industrial vacuum cleaner

This ‘vacuum beast’ from the 1960s gets serviced, ready for today

Sometimes big is best and when it comes to longevity, this machine is tough to beat.

FixItWorkshop, Worthing, May’20, Nilfisk GM80 (large) before treatment…

FixItWorkshop, Worthing, May’20, Nilfisk GM80 (large) after treatment…

I wasn’t born when this machine was made, but good quality designs and engineering foresight, means that new parts fit retrospectively. Why aren’t all machines made this way?

Make and model: Nilfisk GM80 (large)

Fault reported: Poor running

Cost of replacement: £600-800 (approx.)

Manufacturer support: 8/10

Cost of parts: £14.94, inc. carriage

Hours spent on repair: 1.5 hours

Tools needed: Screwdrivers, test meter, soap and water etc

Sundry items: Silicone spray, WD-40, cleaning materials, wire wool

Repair difficulty: 3/10

Cups of coffee: X1

Biscuits: X2 Chocolate Hobnobs (that don’t dunk that well in coffee, truth be told)

Recently, I got the opportunity to tackle an industrial vacuum cleaner in need of a proper service, which had been in continual use since the late 1960’s. Judging by the condition it was in when I first received it in the workshop, I doubt that some parts of the machine had received any care since its first day at work.

The machine in question is a Nilfisk GM80 (large). It’s a ‘large’ as it has a milk-churn sized base to it, which means it can swallow a lot of dust. The large base has long been discontinued, but you can still buy the current smaller base, should yours be damaged. Indeed, the Nilfisk GM80 range of vacuum cleaners are all quite modular and feature different levels of filtration, depending on the specific environment they are put to use in. This means you can easily swap parts from donor machines to keep older machines going. The design means that parts seldom go obsolete, new parts just get improved and fit older models. Great news for sustainability.

Back to the machine in question. It had been covered for many years under a service contract, but for whatever reason, that company were no longer taking quite as much time as they should and applying as much care with each inspection. This ‘serviced’ machine had recently had a new motor (hence later model motor housing) but the basics of vacuum principles had been overlooked.

I won’t go into the repair blow-by-blow, so here’s a summary of the work completed:

clean of all rubber seals and mating surfaces, essential to avoid air leaks
check and adjust all housing clips and adjust as necessary (all of them in this case)
wash motor diffuser (this had been changed within the last year)
wash main cotton filter (this had never been done, it was so clogged)
wash motor intake filter
check condition of motor brushes and bearing end-float (all fine)
check and tighten electrical IEC connection
inspect flex for damage (all OK)

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The previous service agent had stated that the damaged hose (original 1960’s rubber item) was now unavailable and that a replacement was impossible. Impossible eh? That’s two letters too long.

Upon taking the old hose connectors apart (and removing layers of gaffer tape), I discovered that the internal diameter was similar to a Nilfisk-to-Numatic aftermarket adaptor and with a little adjustment, this 1960’s Nilfisk machine could be made compatible with Numatic’s vacuum cleaner hose design, which is much more abundant, here in the UK. So, with a little jiggery pokery, this machine is ready to work for its living, once again, with a shiny new hose.

So yet again, when an ‘expert’ tells you that something cannot be repaired, don’t necessarily take their word for it. A second opinion can sometimes save you time and money.

The repair didn’t break the bank either and I have since taken on more machine service work for this organisation.

Minimum Cash for a Maxi Micro Scooter

A Maxi Scooter Gets a Refresh!

Before and after…

This is exactly the kind of job that I should have done with my daughter, but I had to do this repair in secret on this occasion as the scooter was to be a present for her.

FixItWorkshop, Worthing, October’19, Micro Maxi Scooter (before).

FixItWorkshop, Worthing, October’19, Micro Maxi Scooter (after).

Birthdays can be expensive times, but Dad is a shed-dwelling-repair-mad-penny-pinching fiend and it means that his children’s presents don’t need to be new. Take this Micro Maxi Scooter. £129.99 when new, second-hand for £10. Wheelie good value.

However, a £10 Micro Scooter isn’t going to be as fresh as one costing £129.99 is it, so time for a few service items and light renovation.

Make and model: Micro Maxi Scooter

Fault reported: Tatty, noisy wheels, brake rattles

Cost of replacement: About £129.99

Cost of parts: £16.68 (bearings, grips and tassels)

Hours spent on repair: 1

Tools needed: Allen keys, screwdriver, drill

Sundry items: Silicone spray, PTFE spray, rag

Repair difficulty: 3/10

Cups of tea: 1

Biscuits: 0 (I was being good for a change)

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It’s amazing what a bit of spit and polish, mixed with a little elbow grease can achieve. A rattily, untidy Micro scooter that might have end up at the tip prematurely is now as good as new, thanks to some time spent and basic new parts, which only cost just over £16, or just over 10% of the value when new.

Rattily wheels

The four wheels on this model can take a pounding as kids take their scooters off kerbs and through puddles, just as they should. But the small bearings that allow the wheels to spin freely and smoothly can suffer with age and wear. Due to sensible design, the bearings fitted are readily available online and a complete set can bought for a fiver. After removing the wheels using an Allen key, the old bearings simply pop out using a large screwdriver and the new ones can be pushed in using your thumbs or a small vice. If you do this job yourself, don’t forget to clean all of the surfaces with a rag and something like WD40.

Tatty grips

The grips on older scooters can get mucky and after oil and sunshine have worked on them, they tend to suffer with discolouration and cracking. Again, the handle bars are a standard size and you won’t have any trouble sourcing the official replacements or aftermarket replacements

Noisy brake

The brakes on these scooters tend to become noisy with use as the small steel rivets rust and become lose with time. Although this issue doesn’t affect operation generally, it sounds horrible. On this scooter I decided to drill-out the existing rusty rivets and after a quick clean up, replace them with some alloy alternatives. These look better and will last much longer.

During this repair, I couldn’t do much about the chipped Micro Scooter logo, but even a new one would end up like this example after 5 minutes use!

A very satisfying repair and something any parent could do with their kids at home using basic tools.

Small home improvements…

A loved children’s toy house with the longest house number ever, gets glued back together.

On the last weekend in June 2019, I decided to do some home improvements, on a small scale.

My kids are lucky; they have their own stash of toys to play with, at members of our family’s homes. This means that we travel a little lighter when visiting.

My mum had reported that the toy house (pictured below) had developed a case of plastic wall subsidence and had started to literally, fall apart. Time for site clearance or wall ties? Nah, just a few drops of glue and a dose of patience.

Make and model: Generic toy (there’s no maker’s mark on it, it’s that good)

Fault reported: Broken hinge

Cost of replacement: £haven’t a clue

Cost of parts: £0.00

Hours spent on repair: About 10 minutes

Tools needed: 3 X clamps

Sundry items: Some Gorilla glue

Repair difficulty: 1/10

FixItWorkshop, Worthing, June’19, Toy House

Kids toys usually lead a hard life and many, sadly, have short lives. I see loads of dumped toys at our municipal tip which could, with a little love, be fixed-up to be enjoyed once again.

With so much in the media about our collective love affair with plastics and how long the material stays in our environment and food-chain, I think it’s important to preserve what has already been made for as long as possible, for its original purpose or to be re-purposed. That way, plastic things will avoid being sent to landfill, for longer.

The toy house in question is not a high-end product and the materials and finish used are not the finest available, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun to enjoy. I mean, most of the windows open, the front door has working lights and the whole thing opens up to reveal a two-floor mini wonderland. I mean, what’s not to like?

The opening up bit was the problem. The main hinge that holds both halves of the house together had become semi-detached.

FixItWorkshop, Worthing, June’19 clamp on hinge.

FixItWorkshop, Worthing, June’19, don’t touch for a least a day while the glue sets.

It would have been easy to call it a day with this one, but as my youngest daughter had recently taken a shine to it, I decided that all the broken hinge needed was; glue, some clamps and patience. Gluing plastic is tricky as some glues react badly, depending on the type of plastic, which unless you’re someone who has Masters in Plasticology, is hard to work out for most diy’ers. It’s a bit of trial and error and with this repair I decided to use Gorilla glue, rather than a 2-part epoxy resin as I had a bottle of that open already. I’m afraid, it wasn’t very scientific with this fix

With the two halves of the hinge lined up, a dab of glue in the right places, I used three clamps, spaced along the hinge to hold it in place while it glued.

Now, this toy will always be delicate and will never be quite as strong as it once was, but at least it can now be enjoyed once again and more importantly, it won’t be going in the bin.

Re-vamped Micro Mini Scooter (just for fun).

A Micro Mini Scooter repair, just for fun!

I really had no idea that Micro Scooters have been a ‘thing’ for the last few years and as a result, there are lots to choose from on the second-hand market. We picked up a ‘bargain’ for our oldest daughter for a princely sum of £5.00 via a local Facebook For Sale page. With hindsight, it was overpriced.

Just about every part of the scooter was either nasty or plain broken. The handle bar grips were missing, the wheel bearings were all shot to pieces, the steering mechanism seized and the rear brake was missing. The back brake on this scooter type, I’ve since found out, have a habit of snapping off with hard use, so that should have been the clue to the low, low price. But if you read these pages, you know me, I like a challenge.

First step was to address the static wheels. An Allen key holds the wheels on to the stub-axels at the front of the scooter and there’s something similar on the trailing wheel. The bearings on our wheels were beyond a re-grease as they’d appeared to have spent their entire life at the bottom of The Channel.

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Luckily, the bearings are easy to replace and good-quality generic items are available on eBay for under £5.00 for a whole set (6 bearings, 2 per wheel).

Next came the handlebar grips. Ours were missing and again, generic ‘copy’ grips are available on eBay which are perfect for the job and are half the price of the original equipment. While I was shopping on eBay, I also found an original Micro Scooter bell. Just the job.

FixItWorkshop, May’18, Micro Mini Scooter, new handlebar grips and bell fitted, prior to painting.

The steering mechanism was next and all it needed was a good clean up and light lubrication with some plastic-friendly white PTFE grease, readily available from Toolstation.

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The shabby foot plate area was once baby-blue but had since faded and had evidence of scrapes. It looked a bit sorry for itself. I decided to address this by giving surfaces a good clean up and then key with wire wool. A couple of coats of good quality plastic primer and then a couple of coats of vinyl black paint, which now gave the scooter quite a ‘presence’. I then decided to improve the foot plate ‘grippy-ness’ by applying a custom grip tape design.

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Before re-attaching the foot plate back to the chassis, the brake needed to be replaced. As with some of the other fixings on the scooter, the brake’s fixings were so rusty, they needed to be drilled out and replaced. Luckily the new original equipment brake came with new improved fixings which fitted perfectly.

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Thanks to the cool dudes at Alleyoops, Worthing for their help and advice www.alleyoopsskates.co.uk. The UK Micro website is also very good as it lists spare parts www.micro-scooters.co.uk/spares-support.

Micro Mini Scooter (AKA ‘Triggers Broom’) renovation spend, May’18:

New good quality bearings eBay £4.15

Generic copy Micro Scooter handlebar grips eBay £9.75

Genuine Micro Scooter bell eBay £7.78

Paint and sundries Shed £2.00 (approx.)

Grip Tape (customised to fit) Alleyoops £8.00

Genuine Micro rear brake Alleyoops £8.99

Total £40.67

I know what you’re thinking… for £40 more, I could have bought a brand-new scooter and saved myself the bother. At times, I did question my own sanity. But what we now have is a perfectly serviceable, one-off that no one else will have. Can you put a price on that?!

Gaggia Classic machine wakes up to smell the coffee.

A Gaggia Classic Coffee Machine repair…

A simple repair…. That’s what I thought when a friend asked if I could look at his Gaggia Classic Coffee Machine, which had developed a nasty little leak when in use. The coffee wasn’t all that good either, due to the lack of pressure available, caused by the leak. In short, it needed attention.

FixItWorkshop, Oct’17, Gaggia Classic Coffee Machine, with a leak.

The owner had already bought a repair kit consisting of the main seals/ gaskets that commonly fail, so I thought no problem, take to pieces, replace seals, happy days. Er, not quite.

Once I’d stripped the machine down, pretty straightforward on these machines, the bare parts were exposed, which revealed the problem. After being fired up briefly, not to make coffee I’d like to point out, water could be seen escaping from the boiler unit, a alloy bodied lump of metal, split in two halves, held together by 4 screws. The boiler, as the name suggests, heats the water up with one heating element and creates steam for the steam wand, with another element, all part of the same module.

After separating the boiler halves, I traced the leak to a faulty gasket, but crucially, one side of the mating faces was heavily corroded and unlikely to re-seal with a new part fitted on its own. Remedial action was required.

This model is a few years old and a replacement boiler is still available on a few websites and prices vary from £40 to £60 at the time of writing, so at that price, starts to make the cost of repair unviable.

I decided that the face with the corrosion had enough material to withstand loosing some, so went about sanding the worst of the corrosion away before gradually moving on to smoother and smoother sandpaper.

Because Gaggia Classics are fairly common, I decided to video this repair process as I suspect the corrosion affects many machines with age and just fitting a repair kit won’t cure the problem on its own. See below. I hope it helps anyone else with the same machine facing the same problem.

Once I was happy with the new finish, I fitted a new gasket and reassembled the boiler. After putting it all back together, I purged several tanks of water through the system to remove debris, before attempting a cup of coffee. Once filled up with my favourite Lidl coffee, the machine performed well once again with no leaks and the end product tasted great.

Cost of a new machine: £249.00. Cost of repair: £4.50, plus time.