How To Clean Bissell Little Green Waste Collection Tank

I bought my kickoff Little Green Machine in 1994.  It was a kickoff-generation, ugly, dark green box with one purpose: to suck up pet accidents and spills.  It was the just thing on the market at that time, and I desperately needed something to assist in cleaning upward after an aging dog with float control issues.  It worked well, and I got several years' use out of it for my $lxx.00 investment.  Eventually a plastic hose barb cracked inside the unit and I couldn't find a replacement so I trashed information technology.  Bissell has always had a policy of refusing to supply internal repair parts to customers, cheers to paranoia near consumer lawsuits.

I purchased a newly redesigned model at that time—i that sort-of resembled an egg standing on its fatty cease.  Information technology was a poor redesign with some flaws (like solution heaters that constantly failed) that I fabricated do with for several years.  I must say here that Bissell was proficient about support.  Later writing to complain twice virtually product failures, they replaced the unit both times at no charge.  The 2d exchange was for the first version of their 1400-series model (Figure 1) , which at the fourth dimension was brand-new.

Figure one. The Bissell Little Green.

I've been through three of these in the last six years.  Afterwards the showtime unit of the new series died, I began studying their blueprint to run into how I could service information technology myself (and extend its life a few years equally well).  These things accept gotten progressively more expensive, and my terminal replacement was priced just over $100.00.  For that amount of money I expect something to concluding longer than a year!

Quirks and Pattern Flaws

The first redesigned 1400-series model had a simple storage prune on its backside that you'd snap the hose's sprayer wand into.  The wand was always popping out of the clip and striking the flooring, which would eventually crack the sprayer head and further decrease its already weak suction.  Other bug included: the solution heater would dice, the sprayer would merely stop working, or would begin to clog after using the unit for six months or so.  The wand would drip cleaning solution later on you finished using the unit and were putting the wand away.   Finally, the cleaner would develop a stench from the urine I'd be cleaning despite rinsing the unit's recovery tank after each use.  This is due to the way the recovery tank is designed.

Figure 2. Tank areas that collect waste material.

Y'all can see by looking at Effigy two that there are a couple of problem areas (circled in red) most the recovery tank's top.  These seem to collect material that eventually begins to smell.  Only swishing hot water around in the tank is not sufficient to clean the areas, and yous cannot admission the tank'south insides to physically wipe the surfaces clean. The sprayer head and wand connection indicate was designed such that muddy water tends to collect in the nooks and crannies which as well creates an unsightly, stinky mess.  This junction also provides a interruption in the air stream and contributes to the unit's biggest problem– information technology simply doesn't have much suction ability.  The expanse you lot clean will remain fairly damp.

Design Improvements in newer models

I kept that original 1400-series model going for three years, past my estimates about two times longer than I should've been able to.  The fixes were fairly simple for a geek to do.  The recovery tank sabbatum on a very thin rubber gasket that was glued to the chief unit's base.  This was in improver to the prophylactic gasket on the tank itself.  The base of operations unit's gasket began to wearable abroad after a time, and I managed to make a replacement from some sail safe I purchased off of eBay.  I cracked the sprayer caput attachment apart and re-glued the pieces together with five-infinitesimal epoxy.  I also glopped extra epoxy into the designed-in gaps and cracks while I was at it, which helped increase suction.  I finally had to retire the unit afterwards trying to discover why its motor was whining so loudly.  Afterwards I took the unit apart to maybe oil the motor I learned more than about the unit's Achilles' heel.

The currently-sold unit of measurement has several design revisions that seem to accost some of the bug.  The wand clip on the unit of measurement's back has been redesigned and includes a swivel arm that locks the wand in place.  Hallelujah!  No more than dropped sprayer wands!  The sprayer hose has been inverse from a solid greenish to a greenish-tinted clear hose.  This allows the user to come across how much crap is in the hose (and tell how well the suction is working).  The recovery tank'south base gasket is gone (shown in Effigy 3 sans gasket), which also eliminated a source of fluid leakage into the base.

Figure 3. Redesigned recovery tank dock on base of operations.

Finally, Bissell redesigned the sprayer head with better welds and eliminated the extra gaps.  This helps to a degree, but the redesign introduced several new ways for dirty solution to collect in the sprayer/wand connection and stink upwards the works.  They did naught to redesign the collection tank tower, which still collects material that leads to 'Stinky Tank syndrome.'  My current unit had its hose replaced twice, once under warranty.  (This may accept been due to my sucking upwards hot water in order to affluent and de-stink the unit.)  The original hose was a little as well short and it was nether stress when the wand was placed into the clip.  The stress also ended upwardly breaking the prune after the unit was no longer under warranty.  I performed a couple of uncomplicated fixes to increase its suction simply didn't implement anything major.  I performed the second hose replacement myself, equally I finally plant a source for internal parts.  I had to purchase a second unit while waiting for the parts to arrive as they were backordered for a calendar month-and-a-half.

Why doesn't information technology suck (enough)?

The Bissell Piddling Green's designers had a challenge, I'thou sure…how could they suck upward a spill and easily separate the water from the air?  Most wet/dry vacs have a foam filter that the suctioned air passes through, which keeps the h2o out of the exhaust.  I'm certain the designers didn't desire their customers to bargain with replacing a filter (liability lawsuits, y'all know!), given the tendency for most consumers to spiral upwards the simplest of operations.  This probably led to the electric current design.

Suction is provided by a motor with a squirrel muzzle fan attachment located in the base.  Air and water are pulled into the sprayer head, through the hose and into the recovery tank.  The tower-similar structure you saw in Figure ii is divided in one-half.  The water falls into the tank since it's heavier than the air, and the air exits the hole in the opposite side of the belfry.  The air stream then passes the fan/motor associates and is blown out the unit of measurement's backside. Uncomplicated design, yes, but flawed.  The air has a high degree of moisture in it, and there is no filter of any kind to protect the metallic motor and bract associates.  If you accept too much suction the air will have even more than water in it; this will accelerate the disintegration of the motor and allow water to blow out of the exhaust port with the air.  Yous read that right—the motor will disintegrate faster.  This is the Achilles' heel I mentioned earlier.  When I disassembled my last unit to endeavor and oil the motor, I discovered that the blades and motor casing were and so rusty that they practically savage apart in my easily.  That was what acquired the motor to scream and whine.  This is a marketing textbook example of built-in obsolescence!  At the fourth dimension I didn't know where I could go repair parts, just now I know and volition share the source with yous.

Making Things Suck More than

Then, we know that the unit will eventually stop working due to the disintegration of the motor.  Should that stop united states from making the unit work a flake better? NO!  If it'southward going to have a finite life before we have to repair it, permit's mod it to perform its job better.

Figure 4. The Sprayer/Wand junction.

Look at the sprayer/wand connection in Figure 4.  Yous can meet a safety O ring that attempts to seal the wand/sprayer connection point.  In my last unit this O ring was so loose that no seal was taking identify.  I went to the hardware store with the old ring and found a new i that was a little thicker.  Its size is given as a "number 32."  I replaced this ring, which now requires the user to jockey around a chip when removing/reattaching the sprayer caput.  The improvement is well worth the additional effort that will exist required.

Now take a close expect at the sprayer head/wand.  If you'll notice, there's a button that y'all have to press down on to remove the sprayer.  This is located on a molded plastic lever that flexes when the push button is depressed.  This design feature besides allows a good bargain of suction to exit the hole around the lever.  Additionally, the terminate of the wand does not seal inside the sprayer head.  This is a 2d betoken that allows air to exit around the lever and allows dirty water to accumulate.  Sealing that leak will require a bit more work; nevertheless, we tin can significantly increase the suction by installing a flat safety seal into the wand beneath the push/lever assembly.  How much boosted suction does that give?  I don't accept a scientific method to gauge it, but past merely holding the sprayer caput against my hand with the unit running before and after the mod, it feels as if I've approximately doubled the suction.

I took a piece of 1/16" thick sheet prophylactic and cut a 1.five-inch by 3.5-inch piece from it.  I and so applied rubber cement around the edges of the piece (Figure five) leaving the center dry.

Figure 5-a. Apply cement to pad edges on i side only.

Figure v-b. The finished pad.

This is important!  If the rubber adheres to the lever, information technology volition be extremely difficult to work the lever and remove the sprayer caput.  Adjacent, I folded a piece of paper from a magazine (Effigy 6) and inserted it into the slot around the lever.

Figure 6. Protecting the lever from glue awarding.

This allows you to utilize contact cement around the lever without accidentally getting mucilage on the lever itself.  Apply rubber cement to the within of the wand in approximately the same area where the rubber will go as in Effigy 7.

Figure 7. Use glue into the wand.

Afterward applying the cement into the wand, chop-chop pull the paper out of the slot.  At present look about five minutes to allow the gum to go tacky.  Later on you've waited, flex the rubber piece in an arc as shown in Figure eight and advisedly insert information technology into the terminate of the wand with the gum side facing the glue inside the wand.  Practise NOT Permit THE PIECE TO CONTACT THE Gum Within THE WAND UNTIL Information technology'S IN POSITION.  If you lot do, it will be extremely difficult to remove.  You may want to utilise forceps or tweezers to help y'all in alignment.

Figure 8. Carefully placing the pad into the wand.

One time it'due south aligned, press the rubber into place, exerting force per unit area effectually the edges of the rubber.  You may have to use a tool to accomplish in and push the edges downwards.

Figure ix. The pad in it's proper place.

Allow the piece sit overnight to dry out; then reattach the sprayer caput and turn the unit on.  Y'all can hear a picayune flake of air still exiting the hole effectually the push button.  Concur the sprayer confronting 1 mitt and cover that hole with your opposite thumb.  If you tried the suction before the modern, y'all should notice a considerable difference in the amount of suction after the mod.  If you wish to embrace the hole with a piece of electric tape yous can easily seal the leak, and remove the tape when you wish to clean the unit.  Alternatively, simply embrace the hole with your pollex equally I practice while using the Little Light-green.  I am considering milling a second channel effectually the stop of the wand with my Dremel tool, then using a 2d O-ring to completely seal the connexion.  This would allow for more than comfortable utilize of the sprayer wand.

Some tips on using the Green Auto

i)  Make clean the unit of measurement after each utilize by holding the sprayer caput nether warm (non hot! I learned my lesson…) running water.  I volition sometimes mix some pine-scented cleaner with h2o in a saucepan and pull that through the hose. Note that you lot tin only suck so much fluid into the recovery tank; there'south a white line on the tank showing the maximum level.  When yous've finished flushing the sprayer head and hose in this fashion, hold the sprayer head above the unit pointing upwardly for a moment or two to allow all the remaining h2o in the hose to be sucked into the recovery tank.

two)  Stopping the dribbles. When you've finished cleaning a spot and you've turned the ability off, hold the sprayer caput above the unit pointing upward and depress the trigger. Hold the trigger in for a count of five before releasing it. MAKE Sure THE Ability IS OFF Before DOING THIS OR You'LL SPRAY HOT CLEANING SOLUTION ON YOURSELF OR SOMEONE ELSE. Performing this maneuver allows any cleaning fluid notwithstanding in the hose/sprayer head to drain back into the unit of measurement, and prevents leakage when you lot're moving the sprayer head around to clip it onto the unit.

three) Clean the recovery tank after each apply. Do not allow cloth to stay in the recovery tank!  This allows the textile to soil the plastic and contributes to 'Stinky Tank syndrome.'  Dump the recovered cloth into the toilet and flush it. Employ the toilet because whatsoever pet pilus in the water may clog your sink drain.  Run hot h2o into the tank from the top pigsty, then turn and twist the tank to thoroughly swish the h2o around earlier emptying the tank once again into the toilet.  Remove the prophylactic gasket from the bottom of the tank and make clean information technology with soap and water or pine-scented cleaner as well.  Fabric tends to collect on the backside of that gasket and besides creates a aroma.  If yous have a saucepan that's big plenty, you tin can dump the entire tank into a water/pine cleaner mix and get things smelling a bit better.

four)  Use only distilled water in the unit. I cannot stress this enough.  The minerals in tap water can build up after awhile and collect in the heater assembly.  This can clog the sprayer when bits of the accumulated minerals fracture off and mix with the cleaning solution. When the sprayer wand gets clogged you lot'll run across that fluid has entered the head just nothing exits when yous press the trigger.   To remove the clog yous can usually insert a cotton swab into the channel inside the sprayer head, and gently move it around to grab and remove the clog.  Occasionally the clog gets wedged into the sprayer hole; this requires pushing a slightly-bent straight pivot into the pigsty from the outside to push the clog out. You lot can then use the cotton swab to remove it.

The heater itself can be cleaned by commencement disassembling the unit and and then removing the cover on the heater but information technology's a major hassle.  The heater box sits atop some plumbing bits and has a thin hose entering and exiting on its sides. To get within it you remove the screws that hold the top cover on.  You'll run into maze-like channels inside the heater, and should see whitish material inside those channels.  Those are the mineral deposits, and you remove them past scraping them out.  Yous'll then replace the top embrace and reassemble the base.  This tin take up to an hr the first time you do it.

Getting Repair Parts

I don't know why it took then long for me to notice a parts dealer (despite Google), but Hesco Sales (www.hescoinc.com) volition sell you any function they can go from Bissell. At that place'southward a section on their website where you enter your unit of measurement's model number and tin pull up exploded diagrams of the unit of measurement to help identify your part. In my case the part data wasn't available on their site. Several emails afterwards they had the office information and made the part orderable. Notation that they have a $25.00 minimum social club, then my advice is to get a couple of the hose clips I mentioned earlier. They're cheap and make good filler material for your lodge. Also, you'll somewhen need them.

Hopefully yous found this information useful, and peradventure you will be able to save your unit from the trash heap (or have gotten the courage to rescue i from the thrift shop).  If one person can keep their unit running longer I've done my job.

Source: https://virtualvenesect.com/2011/03/30/hacking-modding-the-bissell-little-green-cleaner/

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