Church vacuum

[motojoejo]

So in helping clean my church yesterday I had to change the belt again in the commercial Hoover Guardsmen. This has been either weekly of bi-weekly thing for this vacuum since the day it was purchased (last year) to replace an Oreck for cleaning the sanctuary. I've checked the bearings, greased brush roll bearings, used only genuine Hoover belts, made sure height is right but still the belts break. Being at my wits end with this thing, I'm thinking use it upstairs in the large choral hall where thin commercial carpet is.

So my thought is now getting a Sanitaire SC899F. My questions are:
1) How well does this do with thick plush wool carpet? Or will it have the same issues as the Hoover?
2) How well does the shake out bag system work?

I rather like the fact of the wide base and the fact that the belts are still available at local hardware stores and even Walmart. I just want to make sure it won't have a problem with the super thick, dense, plush, blood red wool carpeting.

 

[miskini]

They may not break as often as your Hoover, but definitely won't last as long as a Kirby belt.
I would look on Craigslist for a used Kirby or a royal. Belts last forever, and you can buy a used Kirby for $100 or less.

 

[fantomlightning]

Don't...

Just don't. The RD belt equipped Sanitaires and Eurekas are worse with belts than this Hoover. On medium pile dense carpeting in my home, with the height set correctly my belts are stretching after about 4 hours of use. That equates to about 4 weekly cleanings out of a belt for me.

 

[motojoejo]

I'd love to get a Kirby for this job but I don't think Kirby is OSHA approved and that is an issue.

Would the Royal Commercial Vacuum be good in this situation?

 

[sptyks]

If you can't use Kirby, then I would definitely get a Commercial Royal. The cleaning ability is just as good as a Kirby and better than the Sanitaire. The belts last a long time on the Royal. It is available in two floor nozzle sizes 14" and 18".  Does your church have pews or removable seating? I would get the 18" size unless you need to get into tight areas. 

 

[motojoejo]

royal it is!

The pews don't move but there is oak hardwood flooring under them so no worries. It's the 112' aisles and chancel that are carpeted. I think the 18" would be a perfect choice and if those belts last two months then I'll be screaming for joy.

 

[blackheart]

I could be wrong...

But a Kirby is double insulated which i think does make them safe for use in commercial environments.

Regardless, with that much floor Space i'd still go for an 18" royal.

 

[tolivac]

If there is bare floors between pews-a backpack vacuum may be a good choice.For the carpets---STAY AWAY from the "wide" Sanitaires.The standard width Sanitaire is better.If you want wide sweep-go with the Royal mentioned above.Another "church" vacuum is a "porta-Vac" made and sold thru Greenville Sew&Vac.It is a MD central vac mounted on a janitors cart with a 50Ft cord and 35Ft hose.Also he can make up a HEPA version-I have it-A ProTeam backpack vacuum mounted on the janitors cart.The thing is handy at my place-another "go to " canister besides the NSS M1 and my NuTone Central vac.If you are interested in one of the Porta-Vacs I can give you Mikes phone# and see if he can make one up for you-if it has to be shipped will see if he can still make the machine and send it to you "knocked down"You would have to assemble it.It is big to ship assembled.They are great machines-have two here at work for Tx maintenance.The machine can stay OUTSIDE the transmitter and you use the hose whereever you need it.It is also great for cleaning blower and transformer rooms!Mike made up the HEPA model for a possible hospital customer.I bought one of the prototypes.The hose stows in a bag on the back of the cart.The cord winds on a cordhook on the side of the cart.The machine comes with a floor wand and carpet-floor tool,and handtools.As I say-liked the HEPA one and bought it for myself!

 

[dustin]

The Sanitaires are just as bad with belts, sadly. I had one to clean my church a few years back, and it ate through belts regularly. It was all flat commercial carpeting, and the most I ever got out of a belt was about a month. I was even using the Hoover 48 belts rather than the Eureka RD belts (slightly shorter and tighter) the eureka belts would start slipping within a week. More than once the (seemingly fine) belt would break partway through vacuuming and I would have to stop and go to the hardware store to get a new one, since I was out. Even with the belt issues, it was a great cleaner and the carpets never looked better. I would recommend you look at Windsor's Versamatic line- they have 14" and 18" nozzles, and are driven by a geared belt- so no slipping breaking belts. They have a performance indicator on the nozzle (green means the brush is set to the correct height and the bristles are the correct length, red means the brush has jammed and cut off, red and green means the brush is working, but not optimally- either the height is set too high or the brush (easily replaceable strip) has worn out. It also has a full bag warning light, and the machine runs very quietly. They are rather heavy, so keep that in mind. Excellent machines though. I have the 14" model and love it.

 

[kirbyvacuum]

Kirby all the way

If you can go for Kirby I was head custodian for two churches for 20 years Had a Heritage2 and a G3 i retiried after 20 years the Kirbys are still their and work well Check out e-bay