Hasta La Ideas

Chinese manufacturers have a bad rep for producing cheap, junky, disposable items for Western consumers obsessed with low cost. But here’s an interesting phenomenon: The emergence of affordable Chinese components with design improvements that rescue pricey Western appliances.

The trigger on my $600-plus Dyson V11 broke. Googling revealed this is a common problem on multiple Dyson models, a design flaw in the trigger that Dyson will not acknowledge, nor sell the replacement part for; instead you’re on the hook to send the entire unit in for an expensive repair. Ridiculous.

Image: VacuumTester.com

The problem is rampant enough that multiple Chinese manufacturers designed an improved, more robust trigger for Dyson units. It can be replaced with simple tools. I ordered this one on Amazon for $13.

Watching a tutorial on how to replace the trigger also reveals that these things are really not designed for easy servicing. Look how absurdly involved this is just to get to the trigger:

It’s ironic that Dyson manufactures in Asia; I wonder if their factory is in the same region as the factories making the improved triggers. If only they could collaborate and install the good ones from the get-go.