Simplicity 7 Series

[vacuumfreeeke]

I was at a thrift store the other day and I noticed a vacuum that looked like the one picture below. It was green instead of purple and I thought it was a Riccar at first, but after I got home I tried to to find pictures of it and it turned out to be a Simplicity 7 Series from what I can tell. It was 20 bucks, but I didn't buy it because it was missing the attachments and the lower cord wrap was broken off (things like that bother me)... Anyway, now I'm kicking myself. Anyone know anything about these things?

It seemed very heavy and solid and I really liked the location and feel of the power switch. If I remember right, it had a belt lifter thing to turn the brush off, similar to Panasonics. Really, the whole thing reminded me of an early Panasonic, but it felt more solid.

What do you guys think in case I see one again... maybe I should go back and see if it is still there?

Thanks

 

[dysonman1]

The 7 series has one of the best motors you can put in a vacuum today, Double fans, double ball bearings, huge commutator - that motor is bullet proof. The steel brush roller with replaceable brushes is an excellent agitator for a vacuum, grooms and cleans very well.

If you buy the machine, let me know. I can get you HEPA bags, new brush strips, a new lower cord hook, and the attachments, for the wholesale cost of the parts. It's DEFINITELY worth $20. Once you fix it up it will become one of your favorite vacuums. Yes, it's slightly heavy (about like a Concept 1) but is the perfection of the by-pass upright design.

 

[mieles7]

One of the most impressive vacuums in my collection is the Riccar 8900. The vacuum works well on both hard floors and carpets, and is on par with my Sebo X series. I have the bottom of the line model, so my vacuum can only clean floors unless the extension hose is added, but I can actually hear the air being sucked through the vacuum, in contrast to nearly every other clean air upright in my collection. If you add in all the parts you would want to replace on the vacuum (tools, cord hook) the price would come up to $40, $10 more than I paid for mine.


 


Here's a video of the Riccar against the Sebo.

 

[blackheart]

Go get it!

I found one in the trash recently the cord was cut the baseplate missing but it cleaned up really well and it is one good machine! With a new bag it pulled a 7.5 on my air guage.

 

[dysonman1]

The irony is that we still manufacture the Riccar 8900. About once a month, they take the Simplicity 7850 line, and make Riccar 8900's. We also make the commercial 8920 and 8925 (with tools) models as well.

 

[vacuumfreak95]

Go Back And Get It!

I have the Simplicity 7350 its the best upright I've ever used. I love the sound of the motor so smooth/quiet and the steel brush roll grooms carpet better then anything else. Tacony has really outdone themselves with these machines great company!

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

Thanks guys... I just called the thrift shop and they still had it... they put it to the side for me and I'm going to leave here in just a little while to go get it. I didn't want to make a 45 minute drive if it had been sold already, but it hadn't... they confirmed the price of 20 bucks, so I'm excited. Pics to follow of course.

Tom, I'll take you up on that... I'll need bags, belts, lower cord hook, and an upholstery tool if memory serves, but I'll know more once I get the machine in my possession. Thank you!

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

It's mine, all mine mwha ha ha ha ha.....

 

[mieles7]

Nice Simplicity! Other than the decals being a little scratched up, it appears to be in good cosmetic condition. Does this one have the metal bottom plate?

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

got it home...

I got the thing home and started exploring it.  There are a few problems... both head lights are burned out, the plastic that front wheels screw into is broken, the belt has a hole in it, and it smells to high heavens of dog...  Only missing the upholstery tool and lower cord hook.


 


I haven't gotten to play with it yet because of the bad belt and smelly bag, but I did fix the broken plastic screw holder with plastic epoxy.  Someone had already done it on the other side because I see JB Weld there....  Must be a weak spot/design flaw... this thing has obviously had a hard life, but that's all over with now )  Hopefully it isn't scarred too badly from the abuse from the past and will become a contributing member of the vacuum family.  Spa treatment to ensue.


 


This is how I found it with the cord wrapped around the handle.  The cat had to come see what it was as soon as I brought it in the house.


 


 





The back...  Only missing the upholstery tool.  So glad that the handle release pedal works.


 


 





 


Here's the problem... The screw holder was broken.  I wonder how common this was on these.   I used plastic epoxy and that usually fixes this...  


I had to use it on my Windsor Sensor 12 when I got it too as it had the same problem.  Maybe it's just high end vacuums that do this!


 





 


You can see the plastic stuck the the screw... that is not supposed to be separate from the vacuum!


 





 


The other side that someone has obviously fixed with JB Weld...


 





 


 


The brushroll.  It spins freely, and while I wouldn't exactly call it clean, I've seen worse.


 





 


The replaced plug.  I'm going to have to play with this.  The cord isn't inserted far enough in and there is a gap between the cord end 


and the plug where insulation is coming out.  It says "spring action" on it, so I'm not sure how comes off... but I like it better than the 


kind I've seen before that screw together because it has a cord clip on it.


 





 


So, still getting to know this baby and lots of clean up ahead of me, but it should be a fun process.  No experience with Simplicity/Riccar,


so this is all new to me.  I like that the metal bottom plate doesn't require a screw driver and that you can control the suction with the 


knob on the back, much like a Dial A Matic (the whole machine is similar to a Dial-a-matic)...


 


Anyway, Tom, how do we got about this process of me getting the parts and paying you and all that fun stuff?  Thanks again for offering 


that to me (I knew there was a reason I missed you LOL... there were several really).  I need bags, belts, the other filters (pre


and post motor) since these smell like a dog, and an upholstery tool.  I may be able to find the light bulbs at Lowes.  Can you tell


from the picture if the brushroll is in good enough shape to not need to be replaced yet?  It seemed to extend past the bottom plate and


spun freely, so I'm thinking that a clean up might be all it needs, but you would know better than me since you are around these things all


day every day.  


 


Thanks again...  I wouldn't have gotten this thing if I hadn't been encouraged to do so by you guys, and I'm sure I will be glad I did once I 


get this nasty part over with )


 


 


 

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

update

OK, update for anyone who is interested....  I am going to call Tom today at the museum after I wake up a little more (too groggy to be coherent right now) and order the parts from him.  However, being me, I just couldn't wait to  for the right supplies to arrive to play with this thing.   


 


I got all the machine parts clean and dry.  I polished the plastic with a car clay bar, then with Mother's metal polish, then with Meguire's plastic polish, then waxed it with car wax and finally hit it with a spritz of spray detailer and I think it's about as shiny as it's going to get...  I can see my reflection in it.  I was really careful not to get polish on the decals because they are already so scratched, I didn't want to remove them completely.  


 


I found two bayonet style light bulbs at Lowes and put them in... never seen a headlight system like the one on this machine before.  Two separated lights make it look like a car and to change them, you have to unscrew two plastic holders on the bottom right behind the agitator.


 


 


 


I thought a Panasonic/Kenmore Progressive bag might fit, so I snatched the almost full bag out of my lovely direct drive and popped it in the Simplicity.  Then I found an old belt that I thought was stretched enough that it wouldn't be too tight (I think it was from a Concept 1, but I really don't know as there were no markings on it and it was just loose in the bag/belt bin).  I put that on and it went on easily so I know it was stretched enough that it wasn't too tight.  


 


Then I fired this puppy up and started using it for the first time.  All I can say is WOW.  At first, when I read Tom's comment that this machine would quickly become my favorite, I was skeptical.   Yeah, sure, a glorified Panasonic is going to become my favorite... I already have a direct drive, how can this thing possibly compare?


 


This vacuum blows every other machine in my collection out of the water.  I put some of those smelly pellets down to see if that would help with the dog smell (the ones that look like bird seed almost, not the powder, they are grape scented and come in a paper packet)...  it made those things dance around like nobody's business.  Then I vacuumed under the sewing machine... I had a lot of scrap fabric on the floor because I'd just finished a quilting project... this thing inhaled the fabric scraps from an inch away... they were gone before the cleaner head got anywhere near them!  Have you seen the Youtube video where the guys take an empty paper towel tube and use a Royal all metal upright and kind of pull the tube with the vacuum?   Well, I had a round bottle of carpet spot cleaner on the floor and I vacuumed up to it and pulled the vacuum back to keep going and it pulled the bottle up to the nozzle and wouldn't let go... I had to turn the machine off to make it release the bottle!  I'm sure I could have removed it with my hands, but that just speaks to the power of this machine.  I cannot believe a clean air vacuum can be this powerful.  This is all with a nearly full bag and an old stretched, cracked  belt that wasn't even made for this machine.  I put my hand up to the end of the hose and if the hose was any larger in diameter, I'd still be trying to fish my arm out of the machine!  


 


There are only a couple of things I don't like.... the switch to turn the brushroll off requires you to bend over to activate it (and it doesn't work, but that may be resolved when I get the right belt... I made sure the clutch pin was in the hole on the brushroll, but it still doesn't work).  Another thing I don't like is the bag door.  You have to push a button while simultaneously pulling the bag door in the opposite direction and I think that is a really bad design.  It is difficult to remove.  However, those are my only complaints and they are relatively minor considering what an amazing power house this thing is.  


 


I'm thrilled and can't wait to get the right parts for it....


 


 

 

[dysonman1]

The 7350 has had a rough life, but there's still a LOT more left in the old guy. You'll notice that the wheel assembly has the marks on the outbound wheels where the axel was bent and they rubbed against the sole plate as the machine was moved back and forth.

The brush roller's hole for the linkage rod should be UP, while the 'forked tongue' is DOWN. Many times the forked tongue and the hole for the linkage rod and both UP and that would make the brush roller not shut off in the bare floor position.

Your brushes look good. New bristle strips are not expensive (less than $15).

Here's a photo of how the brush positions should be when replacing it into the machine. And also how the wheel carriage and wheels 'should' look.

 

[dysonman1]

forked tongue down, linkage hole up

They should be at opposite ends, but it's easy to turn them so they're both facing the same direction - which is the problem with most of the ones I've seen where someone changed the belt but didn't understand 'how'.

 

[dysonman1]

New rubber wheels and wheel carriage.

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

Just got off the phone with Tom...  I always knew he had a vast knowledge, but today I also learned what a nice person he is.  So friendly and eager to help...  He's sending me the bags, belts, filters, upholstery tool, and the rubber pad to make the bare floor setting work... bags and upholstery tool for free because he has extra.  Such kindness and generosity are very much appreciated.


 


He also explained things about the vacuum that I hadn't even considered asking and told me my machine was from year 2000...  I was still in 10th grade when this thing was made!  


 


One other thing I noticed that I don't like is that the belt path is way too wide and a whole couple of inches of the side of the vacuum where the belt is doesn't pick anything up...  I understand that they probably had to do this because of the clutch assembly and because of the fact that the belt is separated from the dirt path, but for such a wide nozzle, there's a huge portion that just isn't usable.  Still, an awesome vacuum and it will no doubt be my daily driver for a long time.  If it is this good with a full bag and old belt, I can't imagine what it will be like with fresh expendables... it will likely suck the carpet off the floor!  

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

Video...


 

 

[suckolux]

Nice video Bobby, well explained, nice views. What a bunch of kind and cute guys we have on this site. Shocked at how much that lovely machine has in common with my old Panasonic 6255, the metal baseplate with clips to remove, same, hose on the back very much like, cord clips, same, belt switch, same, well made, same. Even the same power switch. I hope like that machine which I think I got in 91?? never ever a problem, belts live for years.Good buy,I hope it keeps going that well

 

[knoxfrzb]

brushroll

those brushrolls can be completely rebuilt...the floor/carpet switch problem may be part of the brushroll's little gear which can wear down..new brushrolls arent that expsensive, maybe 50-60 bucks...i think they sell rebuild kits for the bearings for 15 bucks and brushstrips are around 15 a set...

 

[cam2s]

Thanks for the video, it was very informative. These really are wonderful machines. I have a Riccar R600. It doesn't have some of the features of your 7 series, but I believe the design is otherwise similar. It is very well made and I too was very surprised at the level of performance when I first got mine home.
Happy vacuuming!
Cameron

PS...Nice Windsor too. I have a Versamatic and I really love it.