How to keep your Big Brute at Peak Performance

Does your Big Brute continue to work properly? Its performance might not be as good if you haven’t given it much attention in a while. We’ve had customers who have had their Big Brutes running for over 20 years, and you can too by performing a health check every so often. Here’s how to perform a health check on your Big Brute.

Warning! When doing these tests, never stick your hand, or any other part of your body, over the inlet spigot or hose end when the Big Brute’s running.

Step 1 – Checking your drum

• Remove the power unit from the top of the drum.
• Disconnect the suction hose and remove the filters, waste bags—everything—including any dust, muck or rubbish from the drum.
• Have a good look inside, particularly around the bottom of the drum.
• Check for any holes in the drum, if there are your suction won’t be as good.

Are there any holes in your drum?

• If there are, your suction won’t be as good as it could be.

Is the rim of your drum dented or misshaped?

• If so, this can affect the airtight seal that your power unit makes when you place it on top of the drum, affecting its performance.

Has the spigot been bashed or dented?

• Again, this can affect the airtight seal of your hose cuff makes when you connect your suction hose, making cleaning up more difficult.
• If your drum’s been dented, has holes or your spigot’s in need of attention, have a look at spares and accessories page for information on new drums and spigots.

Step 2 – Checking the motors

• With the drum still empty, place the power unit on top (without any filters or hose attached at this stage).
• Switch on the power and check the suction at the inlet spigot.
• Note that it’s never a good idea to run your Big Brute without the primary filter in place as this can damage your motors.  However, we’re only going to be running the Big Brute for a few minutes and not actually sucking any dust up, so this should be OK.
• The best way to test the suction is to dangle an old, thin strip of rag in front of the spigot. If your suction’s good, the Big Brute should be able to whip it out of your hand from about 12 inches away. The worse your suction, the closer you’ll have to bring your bit of rag to the spigot before it whips it away.

Is the suction good?

• If not, one or more of your motors might not be working. Check our spares page for more information on replacement motors and motor brushes.
• Alternatively, your V40 Secondary Filter on the bottom of the power unit might be blocked

Step 3 – Checking the filters

• Remove the power unit and fit your V39 Primary Filter (the round filter). Check the suction again as in step 2 with a new strip of rag.

Is the suction worse than in Step 2?

• If so, your V39 Primary Filter might be blocked. If you use a V39A Extra Large filter, try this test again with your Extra-Large Filter fitted.
• See this page for more advice on how to clean and replace your filters

Step 4 – Checking your hose

• Finally, let’s check if there are any holes or blockages in your hose that could be affecting your suction.
• Connect the suction hose to the drum spigot and check the suction at the business end of the hose, like you did at the spigot.

Is the suction worse than in Step 3?

• If so, check your hose for holes or blockages. This page has more information on how to quickly check your hose for small holes, along with details on new lengths of hose.

By following these checks occasionally, it will ensure that your Big Brute continues to perform at its best.

However, if you’ve identified any problems, give us a ring and we’ll be happy to talk you through the best solution 01223 88 22 22.