Are mini-electrified upholstery tools better than turbo tools?

[ajr2993]

The Wessel-Werk HEB 160 has been excellent for removing deeply embedded dirt in car interiors, on mattresses, and on stairs. It's been used for MD, CVI, and other central vacuum companies. It's much quieter than a turbo tool and it has motor overload protection to protect the belt, which is a plus over the Electrolux Sidekick, and the Kenmore Powermate Jr.

 

[huskyvacs]

I never had any success at all with any air powered accessory tools. They are too weak and lose the rotation the second they touch any solid object. I always heard the SideKick II for electrolux vacuums was good.

 

[blackheart]

oh definitely

With turbines you're sacrificing your airflow to create agitation. With an electric head you get agitation without losing all that flow. I will say i'm not terribly fond of the HEB160. I find it's shape a little awkward to use and it's airpath seems rather restrictive. I do like the stairpro quite a bit. From what I can see it too uses a geared belt.

 

[fan-of-fans]

I'm not sure on that, I think the older Electrolux Sidekicks did have overload protection. The one that came with my Grand Marquis does. I believe some of the older Power Mate Jr's did too, but I'm not sure.

But yeah, I haven't seen any turbo tools that don't bog down. Maybe some of the bigger ones might do better, like the one Beam used for their central vacs.

The motorized tools I find work alright on upholstery, but not so much for carpeted surfaces. I've tried using them on the car's carpeting and forget it, they throw sand everywhere and bog down. I find a vacuum with lots of airflow like a Shop Vac is best for that. The floor mats I take out and use the big power nozzle on.

 

[human]

Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of turbo brushes. My introduction to turbo nozzles was one that was with a bagless Bissell that a former girlfriend had. When she moved in with me, she insisted we use that instead of my Electrolux 1205. I tried using the turbo brush on the steps and as HuskyVacs said, it stopped rotating as soon as it touched the carpet and thus was absolutely useless. That said, of the turbo brushes I've tried, the original Kirby Turbo Brush that was marketed with the orange and gray Heritage I is probably the best of a bad lot. The later Zipp brushes are a joke. It amazes me they've been around for as long as they have.

I'm much more a fan of SideKick style mini power nozzles and have accumulated several over the years. All of the ones I have feature overload protection and most have their own on/off switch. My only real complaint is the angle of the opening is a little awkward but it's still pretty easy to get used to.

 

[robsmith1977]

German Quality

You just can't go wrong with the Wessel-Werks mini electric power nozzle. I know that it may cost just a little bit more than most air-driven tools but it's sooooo worth it for doing furniture and car interiors and the like. And they're just as amazing if not better when used with a vacuum that has super suction such as a central vac.

 

[dylanmitchell]

That's one of the main negatives of Sebo's E3, no option for a powered hand brush. E3 provides 125 watts for the ET 1 power nozzle, that's plenty of power for an electric hand brush, and an adjustable speed one would be very handy. It wouldn't work on E1, E2, and others that don't have a power connection for a power nozzle.

Do any of the powered brush heads fit the Sebo E3 connection?

 

[kirbylux77]

I have the Stair Pro, Wessel Werk HEB160, and Electrolux Sidekick's 1 and 2. The Wessel Werk is nice, but the Stair Pro is SIGNIFICANTLY better by a long shot. Has a far better brushroll and easier to clean out debris from the brushroll and brushroll area. The only area the Wessel Werk is better is the connection is more universal to work with more brands, but that is solved with a wand adapter and pigtail cord on the Stair Pro.

One improvement I would like all these mini electric powerheads to make though is to make a quick release brushroll that can be swapped out for a rubber brushroll like the turbo brushes on pet vacuums used today. Ya sure the turbo brushes rob the vacuum's airflow to work, but the pet turbo brushes also don't get jammed up with pet hair like the mini electric powerheads do.

Rob

 

[panasonicvac]

I honestly like both for different reasons and I would use both personally.

 

[n0oxy]

electric is definitely better

An electric nozzle, whether mini or large is always better than a turbo nozzle for several reasons. First, in order to spin the turbine, it robs the system of cleaning power. Second, everything you vacuum up goes through the turbine and they are very easy to clog. Then you have to take the nozzle apart and clean the turbine. An electric nozzle does not have any of these issues. I have the Wessel-Werk HEB160 and it works really well. The stair pro sounds interesting but I've never seen one, is it still available for purchase? The heb160 is very universal, hose connection is standard and it has a short cord on it that will plug right in to most standard central vacuum and canister electric hoses. You could use an adapter for the hose connection on the Sebo E3 but I think the electrical connection is nonstandard on the hose so you would probably have to adapt that as well.
Mike

 

[jo]

Much prefer electric but…

My first use of any type of mini power nozzle was when we bought a sidekick back when they first came out in the mid 80’s. We hadn’t planned to but we had found out the local Electrolux guy was closing his store and selling off any stock at 40 percent off so Mom and I went by and that’s when we learned about the sidekick as he had one sitting on the counter. Bought it for the stairs. After that didn’t really ever use anything else until a Hoover windtunnel upright that had a turbo driven one and it seemed ok provided any fuzz or hair buildup is kept out AND machine suction is kept at full force so that means the filters need to be cleaned.

My Shark rocket has a nice electric powered one and actually works quite well much like the sidekick. Our early sidekicks don’t have the switch but do have the reset switch. Other turbo ones I’ve used tend to really be adversely affected by suction power of the cleaner itself. If I put that Hoover one on my Electrolux with a fresh bag it actually works quite well but will still big down on anything thick.

I am unanimous that the electric powered versions are far better. At least the Hoover turbo one opens easily to clean it out as the turbo ones are prone to clogging around the turbine since the dirt has to pass through it.

Jon

 

[dylanmitchell]

How would I build a Frankenvac based on my Charles CVC370, a HZNU Mpower nozzle hose made for the NVH380 and a HEB 160 or Stair pro?

Because I want to hack my Henry and build a stair moster.