Central Vacuum-- Have I reached the Pinnacle?

[vexorgtr]

Lindhaus Vs. PN33.......and the Stair Pro

I got the Lindhaus PB14 a week ago, and I've got to take it for a spin a few times. I like it.

Since nobody seems to have every heard of the PN33 power nozzle, I figure I'd shed some more light on it. It seems to have a few part numbers/model numbers, and shows up all over the place.
Power Nozzle PN33 and Power Brush PB22 I've seen it bundled in kits from Canavac, Husky, ThinkVacuums, Galaxy, Oreck, and Hoover. It's put with canister vacs too. If you do an image search for PN33 or PB22, you'll find a ton of them out there with every name under the sun claimed.

The PN33's best features
1. Tight Steering
2. Custom wand with length adjust and non-visible 120v wire.
3. Dirt finder/sensor
4. foot pedal height adjust (works like a Miele or Wessel-Werk
5. Sturdy weight, so it's not riding on top of tight carpet.
6. Low Noise

PN33's flaws
1. Digs in deeper on the back-stroke
2. A big clingy, and can actually lift carpets with a monster CV powering it.
3. The dirt finder has to be brushed off routinely.
4. Blind spot where the belt drives the brush roll

So... How does it compare to the Lindhaus PB14?

Good things about the Lindhaus PB14
1. Low noise, and moderately soft brush doesn't rough up the carpet too bad.
2. High speed brush leaves things looking very nice.
3. Easy to push, with moderate weight, and brush roll propulsion.
4. No blind spots
5. Air vents prevent it from binding to the carpet.
6. Even pressure on both forward and back stokes.
7. Super low profile gets under stuff.

Flaws of the Lindhaus PB14.
1. The lightweight leaves it riding on top of very tight pile carpet. (the red light doesn't turn on for ANY of my carpets except one when the brush head is not in motion.)
2. limited steering capability
3. Wands/pipes are generic.
4. Adjustments to height are inconvenient.

So, now that I've said all of that, I like both brushes for different reasons. I think they both do a very good job... for the lower pile carpets, I like the way the lindhaus handles it, but on the deeper stuff, the PN33 has been finding and removing more dirt from the deeper carpet every time I run it. My home has some pretty vintage carpets, that are still in OK shape.. the one carpet I swear I get more and more from it every time I run the PN33 on it (you can hear it pinging in the hose).. where I DON'T hear that with the lindhaus. I've been sweeping it every other day, alternating power heads.

I find that the lindhaus excels on the lower pile carpets, leaving it looking smoother when finished... whereas the PN33 appears to be working a bit deeper in the thicker carpet.

IF I would have bought the Lindhaus at full retail price, I would have been bummed out, because Lindhaus and Sebo powerheads are "supposed" to be the greatest ever made... However the PN33 is extremely good and is priced at HALF of the Lindhaus when you consider the wands.

In the long term, It's obvious that the Lindhaus is built like a tank... but PN33 is not a slouch in the build quality, with most vendors putting a 5 year warranty on it.

The only thing I CAN'T comment on is pet hair, since I don't have any shedding animals around here... but I did wind up a good share of my Wife's hair in the Turbocat... I have NEVER had to remove ANY hair from either of these power brushes.

Mind you, I'm not 100% certain of it, but I imagine the high suction of the central vac may help prevent hair wind-up.

Before getting the StairPro, I considered the Wessel Werk mini head, but the price, and the working angle made it less appealing to the stair pro. Having seen videos on the WW mini head, I know it's less noise than the StairPro...which is a bit on the noisy side. The only other thing I fault the StairPro for is the 1/2in blind spots on the edges of the brush roll.

 

[n0oxy]

pn33

I wonder who actually makes the PN33? I actually prefer Lindhaus's approach to wands, they are generic and the cord is external. Granted, it's an extra step to connect and disconnect the cord but this is actually more flexible. When the cord is part of the wand, it must be matched to the type of hose you are using. When the cord is external it will work with any hose that has a standard outlet. For my Centec nozzles, the cord is not part of the nozzle but I was able to get a corded wand that has an external cord that will plug in to my central vacuum and canister electric hoses. Sebo makes an adapter for their power nozzles that does something similar. The wand for the Wessel-Werk EBK360 has the cord attached to it, but the coiled cord can actually be removed from the wand and used separately.
Mike

 

[fantomlightning]

I...

Believe the PN33 is probably built by some Chinese parts source company similar to the nozzle that has a VGIII and geared belt in it. It's been around for multiple years, but has started to gain in popularity as of late. We have a Cirrus canister available to order now that uses this nozzle, and it's actually very impressive for its low price.

I believe years ago there was someone on the forum or YT that got a fairly early variant. From what I remember the rumor was it was supposed to be the next generation of Windtunnel PNs for Hoovers canister line and central vacs but was scrapped. And in a way I can see it, as it looks very much like an update to the classic WT PN that we saw for years on the Futura based WT canister.

 

[n0oxy]

champion and spirit power nozzles

I think one of these might be the pn33, although if it's the one I think it is, it uses a flat belt rather than a geared belt. These are from the think vacuums web site, this first one is called the champion.
https://www.thinkvacuums.com/centra...rheads/premium-galaxy-electric-powerhead.html
They also have another one that they are calling the Deluxe Spirit, this one sounds very similar to the Dustcare PB11 although I think it may have a more powerful motor.
https://www.thinkvacuums.com/centra.../deluxe-spirit-electric-powerhead-silver.html

 

[fantomlightning]

Yep...

You've got it exactly, the first you linked is the PN33 it does use a flat belt unfortunately. The second is indeed like the PB11. For it's price increase I would hope it has a better motor, that was always a weak spot of the PB11 from what I remember people saying.

 

[fantomlightning]

I...

Should add as well, not much point to buy the PN33 unless it's coming with a kit that's a good deal... For $250 you can get better options, or for $29 more you can get the Cirrus canister that comes with the PN33...

 

[n0oxy]

cirrus canister

Are the cirrus canisters any good? I love canisters, whether central vacuum, backpack or pull around, I don't prefer uprights.
The Spirit nozzle supposedly uses a 225 watt motor, I'm not sure what the Dustcare nozzle uses, I have the Dustcare nozzle, it's what came with my Metropolitan canister. The think vacuums web site definitely thinks the Sebo power nozzles are the best, they are indeed very good, I have the ET2 along with the central vacuum adapter.
Mike

 

[n0oxy]

is this the Cirrus canister you are thinking of

Found this on the e vacuum store web site, I might get it if it's a decent machine.

https://evacuumstore.com/p-26209-cirrus-c-vc439-canister-vacuum-cleaner.aspx

 

[vexorgtr]

ThinkVacuum's "Champion" is the PN33 indeed. They are one of the highest priced vendors of it too. Normally PN33+Wand sells for about $150

I know everyone seems to hate flat belts... but if it's any consolation, I've not had any issues with it slipping and getting a flat spot. That power head has plenty of torque.

The name on the sticker at the bottom says "Intertek" so I'm guessing that's who actually makes it. I bought mine in a package from Allegro. They sold the PN33+Wand+35ft electric pigtail hose for $235 shipped on their ebay store. If you hunt around for it without the hose, it can be had for >$150.

Brush Roll, Belts and replacement motor are all for sale fairly cheaply... and Tip Top parts seems to have most of them if they are ever needed.

Although I don't consider the PN33 to be the greatest power nozzle of all time, I do think it's the best in the price range. I tried to do a boat load of reading before I ordered the electric rig (since the CV was all turbo before).

 

[n0oxy]

another nozzle that uses a flat belt

Another power nozzle that uses a flat belt but does clean really well is the Eureka Express, I think it's also sold as the Beam Rug Master, again, not the best power nozzle available but it does clean well. It also uses a flat belt.
Mike

 

[vexorgtr]

My reason to "Flaw" the Flat belt on PN33, is that it creates a blind spot on the cleaning path. PN33 does have a great feature set and is easy to use... I can see why it's showed up with so many vacuums. The PN33 price/function ratio is great... making it both good, and affordable.

 

[fantomlightning]

Mike...

That's exactly the Cirrus canister.

I like it, we haven't had it long so we'll have to wait and see for reliability. However it comes with a 5 year warranty, parts are all incredibly affordable, it's quiet, powerful, and relatively easy to maneuver. Only real complaints I have are the on board attachments aren't that great and it doesn't come with a barefloor tool. Outside that it is on the larger side, fairly comparable to a Miele S8/C3 but a bit wider. But it does have four swivel casters to help make up for that.

All in the best way I can describe it is it's the first new canister I've used in a long time that didn't immediately make me wish I was using a Miele instead.

 

[n0oxy]

hose end

On the Cirrus canister, is the hose end standard? What about the electric plug on the hose, would other power nozzles fit it as well or is the plug nonstandard?
Mike

 

[vexorgtr]

It appears that that Cirrus has the same PN33 Wand system... so that would make the hose a standard flush-mount CV style handle.

 

[ultralux88]

My Riccar RPU-C10 and the current attachment deal...

 

[vexorgtr]

Cool. Do you have a favorite hard floor brush? I'm got several types, and I'm nut sure which one I like best. One is a Nutone Floor tool with wheels on the back, and brush on/off. One is horsehair and the brush has no wheels. Recently I got one of the horsehair ones with wheels. I'm finding I like the wheeled one, but it doesn't always stay in a straight line.

 

[ridgidwd0670]

Aerus/Electrolux or Compact/TriStar floor brush

 

[compactc9guy]

Cant beat a Compact or Lux floor tool i agree.

 

[blackheart]

Floor brush

The wessel werk turn and clean D330 While I don't care for the giant version the about 12" version does a great job with stronger machines and it's maneuverability is great!

Wessel Werk HFT 265, a turbine-less turbo tool it's neat to have a tool with agitation

Lindhaus Wheeled floor tool. This is kind of an odd one it had 1 row of bristles and one squeegee but it's always been one of my favorites it glides over hard floor easily, it's edge cleaning is great and it can do low pile carpeting or rugs.

 

[vexorgtr]

I have a floor brush that sometimes sells as Electrolux, or as generic... Which model are you all referencing? The picture is the style I have /w/ wheels.