OK, maybe I wasn't clear enough.
I did say I'd fixed the vac with a 10c resistor, I didn't explicitly say it was fixed <span style="text-decoration: underline;">before</span> I vacuumed the sheet - but I had.
No, I haven't changed my story, so I'll make this clear.
I live out in the sticks. I drive 1.5 to 2 hours to town to do grocery shopping.
There are two stores in a town near me that have skips (dumpsters) behind the store, I have asked them both for permission to retrieve things from the skips (dumpsters) and they have agreed. This is an unusual arrangement here, usually trade ins and returns are kept secure from the public, probably due to liability concerns. They cut the power cords off many, but not always. I can fit new cords. The Bissel vac had its cord unharmed.
They sometimes have new or almost new small appliances in them, I can only assume they are warranty returns. One (a toaster) even had its price sticker still on it, so it must have been an ex-display toaster, sold unboxed. (as another aside, this toaster's fault, as I could see it, was that it tripped the earth leakage breaker. (RCD.) The actual fault was a raisin stuck inside, shorting the element to the metal frame inside. Remove raisin - toaster fixed.)
Because these stores are both in the one town, and the town is a long way from the city and thus from the manufacturer's warehouses, it appears that the manufacturers don't want the items returned for inspection, it isn't worthwhile them paying freight to transport a broken small appliance a long distance just in case it might be repairable or not faulty. This means inevitably that some small appliances like vacs, toasters, coffee machines are going to be discarded in the skip when there is only a trivial fault, or occasionally because the buyer is an idiot and the item isn't faulty at all. The store staff don't want to get into an argument with customers, they hand over a new gadget, bin the returned one, the manufacturer or importer replaces the gadget and the customer goes away satisfied. It builds goodwill in a small community.
Big stuff like washing machines will be inspected/repaired under warranty, but I have also salvaged some good recent model washers, such as a 3 or 4 year old Bosch FL which only had a pump full of pet hair stopping it. I fixed it, cleaned it and gave it to a friend who runs a wildlife rescue shelter - it now washes blankets for orphan kangaroos and wallabies. Its new owner knows how to clean the pump filter...
Maybe I should get myself another Bosch, it seemed to get pet hair off the washing and into the pump...
Any way, maybe we can let this thread die now.
I will eventually resurrect the Frigidaire and use it for overflow rinsing. I might also try another front loader with bigger drum perforations - I have a few. All rescued from the dreaded crusher.
