Nilfisk/Alto/KWE WDC 40-40 Industrial Wet/Dry Vacuum Cleaner Fixed!

[fixitclinic]

Product: Industrial Wet/Dry vacuum cleaner

Make/Model: Nilfisk/Alto/KWE model WDC 40-40, Nilfisk WDC 40-40, Alto WDC 40-40, KWE WDC 40-40

Disposition: Fixed! It needed a new pump, Åke was able to purchase a replacement pump online from a auto parts dealer

At Virtual Fixit Clinic 551 2020-04-19 Lund Sweden we saw Åke's Industrial Wet/Dry vacuum cleaner:

-From Malmö, Sweden: Wet and dry cleaner for professional use Alto NILFISK/ kew technology  WDC 40 40 It should be possible to spray liquid/detergents on the carpet or whatever we want to clean but nothing comes out of the nozzle. In fact, nothing is pumped through. I don't know when or how this occurred. Probably long time ago. Yes, we disassembled it and found that the liquid is not pumped through. We found a very good repair guidance on youtube ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoO9ckyJ-rs  ) for that particular kind of pump (Italian ULKA type EP7). We followed it and concluded that the pump should work but it doesn't.

In the video of 551 2020-04-19 Virtual Fixit Clinic Lund Sweden it starts at 42:41 (queued up here): https://youtu.be/4OPYRAE97E4?t=2561

Here's Åke's May 6 2020 email report on the successful repair:

From: Aake 
Sent: den 6 maj 2020 13:35
Subject: the "hoover"

  

What kind of beast it is: Nilfisk/Alto/KWE, model WDC 40-40 - like liquid vacuum cleaner for professional use. Age: at least 20 years old

The function: that it can spray liquid detergent on the dirty surface (for instance carpets and textiles), mechanically knead it, and finally suck up the excess liquid together with the dirt.

(It will have a new and distinct function since we have more carpets, chairs w textiles AND our old ones degenerate with age. They all will need more frequent cleaning to last)

 

The problem: the liquid detergent wasn’t sprayed out at all. (the vacuum worked).

Tips from the audience: check if hose was clogged but that was the first thing we did. Also tried bypassing a long hose. 

Rather: noticed it didn’t suck up liquid from the liquid container and questioned the liquid pump. It made sound as it was working…. Checked out pump specific repair videos on YouTube: suggestions: fixed back-flow valves, no turning magnet. All checked and found OK.  Pump re-assembled and re-installed. Still not working.

Tried to fill it up with water before starting suction. Still no suction but the liquid went through the spar nozzle. Tried several variations on filling up the pump to ease the suction without other results then lots of water on the table. 

 

Despite the age, similar pumps (same  model and producer) could be purchased from a vendor for car parts located in the middle of nowhere but with on-line service. The current version of the pump was possible to mount in the same position as the previous one but with some minor adjustments. Now the machine works. A new machine would cost 500 – 1000 euro. The new pump costs about 50 euro.

 

Best

Åke

[Tomas Vanhoof (BEL)]

Hi Åke

Cool you were able to fix the vacuum cleaner!! :-)

Could you add the specific part number and where you found it, for future reference, just in case someone else bumps into the same or a similar issue!?

TIA!

Tomas

[Jessika Richter]

Hi Tomas,

I asked Åke about this and here is his reply: The part we replaced was the pump for the liquid detergent. It’s an Italian thing from ULKA, model EP7. The pumps are more or less the same as they were 20 years ago. It took some brain gymnastics but it was possible to get it in place and working.

 

It was sourced from Bollnäs Bilvård.

 

https://www.bollnasbilvard.se/dammsugare-vatdammsugare/6050-rg-2000-pumpmotor.html

 

The pump is a kind of standard unit used in different applications. Guess it could be found from other vendors, too.