Big Power Vacuum

[cam2s]

So after a long dry spell here of not finding anything interesting, finally made a good find at the thrift store. Sitting in the back they had this big purple beast, which I'll get into in a moment, an Electrolux Super J, and a Bissell Healthy Home vacuum. Of course it always works out that they never have anything then a bunch of stuff at once but oh well I loaded it up in the cart. The big purple beast, or a Big Power vacuum as it is actually called, certainly is an interesting creature. It looks to be an Italian made machine. It uses water filtration, plus a foam filter and a micro filter. However, there is no separator like a Rainbow, it uses deflectors and baffles to keep the water in place. This is the complete machine sitting next to a Rainbow D3C for comparison.

 

[cam2s]

Here is the water bucket assembly, there are pieces that go inside. It is designed to use 3 quarts of water.

 

[cam2s]

Here is the underside of the power unit with the 2 filters in place. There is another place that screws in over this. Unfortuatnly, it seems that the last owner committed the water vacuum sin of leaving the unit together wet...these filters smell like a wet basement.

 

[cam2s]

The back side of the unit has the speed control. 1 and 2 is suppose to be for the air purification mode, 3 and 4 is for vacuuming, 5 and 6 is for shampooing.

 

[cam2s]

The power nozzle is made by Technica. It has an auto shut off when the wand is locked into the upright position as well as a shut off switch in the handle of the hose.

 

[suckolux]

Well, can't say it's not different or boring! Very colorful.

 

[blackheart]

oh!

I've seen one of those in the trade in pile at my favorite haunt. I looked it over but never ran it, how does it compare to a rainbow?

 

[dysonman1]

I have a Big Power (in fact, I have two - one with a separator like the Rainbow but that's the newest model). The original big power is a filthy mess to clean out. The bucket with the holes in the bottom drips wet pet hair when you lift it out, and you have to use your fingers to pull the wet hair off of it. The bucket is too big to rinse in the sink, you have to use the bathtub to clean it out. After one use, I say "no thanks" and have never used it again. It IS interesting and colorful, but very poorly thought out.

 

[cuffs054]

Cam, could you show how the pieces fit together please? It looks easier to clean out than my H2O which is like a gig saw puzzle,

 

[cam2s]

Update

Well I got the machine working and have had a chance to use it a few times. Performance seems to be adequate, the water was about as dirty if I had used my Rainbow, however the power nozzle could stand to be a little more aggressive. The swivel neck is handy though. The bucket system is a pain though, and dysonman's comments were pretty much spot on about emptiying it. The air purifying mode is nice, however the website says you only need to run it about 20 mins to clean the air. I haven't had a chance to look at the motor but I'm assumed its a brushed motor, so it wouldn't be able to run continuously. Also, when the machine is running without the hose on it sounds like a drain backing up, so not necessarily something one would want to listen to. Putting the hose on does quiet it down a bit. Changing the speed doesn't really make the motor that much louder or softer, it only really changes the pitch. Therefore the air purifying mode is a bit louder ( in addition to the fact that it sounds like it has indigestion) than you would want, but the vacuum mode is pleasantly quiet. The power nozzle is louder than the suction motor.

Here is a sequence of photos of me dumping that water after I had used it today. I did find it prudent to go into the back yard and use the garden hose, rather than dumping the dirty water in the toilet and rinsing out of the bowl in the sink as I can do with my Rainbow.

 

[cam2s]

Order of assembly is big bucket, inner sleeve with grate on the bottom, top collar and then the deflector.

 

[countryguy]

Wow, way too much work to assemble and then empty and clean afterwards. The Rainbow is much easier.

Gary

 

[cuffs054]

Cam, thanks for the pics.

 

[kirby519]

Glad I like my Kirby.

Anyone that thinks a Kirby is hard to use should try one of these. I'm not a big fan of the Rainbow due to the set up and take down. But this Big Power is over the top by my standards. Pass thank you very much.

 

[dysonman1]

The new model of Big Power has changed considerably. It now uses a separator (like the Rainbow) and even has lights that shine down into the water basin. The Power Nozzle has also changed - however - the new nozzle is WAY too big (like two shoe boxes put together).

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Cameron,

Thanks for the intricate, descriptive photos.  Although (everyone knows HOOVER is my vacuum), I appreciate you sharing all of that.


  Best of luck using your new machine.


 John