Cordless Powerhead

[mike811]

This idea has been in my mind for a long time.
Now I finally did it. Powerhead used for this is the Miele SEB 217. Motor comes from the old cordless drill. Belt tracking was a bit tricky, but now it works. Cogwheel happened to be just the perfect size in the drill motor.
Finland is full of straight suction canister vacuums and this will make a powerhead use easy.
This is still in the prototype stage, but all I have to do is to make battery holder for the pipe and switch of course. Pipe will be always the same because almost all vacuums use 32mm pipe size.
Time will tell how it is going to hold up. If not I can convert it back to original.

 

[dysonman1]

That's cool. Did you know Miele already made a battery power nozzle? I have one, it's the same one that came with the Delphin vacuums and was made for Miele by Wessle Werks.

If you want to see a REALLY good cordless power nozzle, Tacony's "The Volt" cordless power nozzle is awesome.

 

[mike811]

Thanks
My idea came from the Accu Nova what you mentioned. This ph doesn't need a big motor. Original is just a 50 watts. Drill motor has more than enough power to run it. I am mainly concerned motor overheating in long use.
I have seen the Volt and it would be awesome with its separate suction motor.

 

[vacfan1982]

The Volt is basically the Riccar Supralite cordless without the bag?

 

[n0oxy]

volt is awesome and Europe pipe size

Yes, the volt is a modified version of the Riccar super light cordless, I think it's also known as the Simplicity Freedom cordless. They removed the bag, I think the battery pack might be in a slightly different place and attached a handle to it to receive a standard 32 MM hose end. It will definitely give a straight suction canister excellent carpet cleaning power, and will easily outclean any turbine nozzle.
Interesting that a lot of the European hose ends are 32 MM, I always thought it was 35 MM. My Hyla, Miele c1 Olympus, Vivenso and Lindhaus HF6 all use a 35 MM hose end. My Sebo D1 is even larger, around 36 MM I think.
Mike

 

[honestjoe68]

That is so cool! I wish I was mechanically inclined to build things like this as I have a lot of ideas in my head too. I can’t wait to see your video after you hook up the battery.

You both have my interest peaked mentioning the “Volt”.... can I get some more info on it, maybe a picture? I own the Riccar Cordless SupraLite Upright and Love it. Is the Volt something new coming from Tacony?

Thanks to you both Mike and Mark.

 

[tolivac]

The vac shop near me had a Meile cordless PN-it was troublesome-mainly the battery would not last long.It finally died and was thrown out.Get the Volt-best PN out there-corded or not.I have one and really like it-use it with any canister vac whose hose will fit the Volt wand.

 

[kirbyvertibles]

I think that's really great how you came up with your own way to do this.

 

[n0oxy]

for Honest Joe, more information about the volt

Here you go, a youtube video that describes and demonstrates the Volt nozzle, it's a great nozzle for sure.
Mike

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6UFO3tngNg

 

[honestjoe68]

@n0oxy

Excellent! I love both in theory but I’m sure it would be exorbitantly expensive to fit my older home with a central vacuum system.. but if I did I love the idea of the retractable hose and the Volt!

Thank you for the link, that’s a beautiful machine! If it performs the same as my Riccar Cordless SupraLite, which I’d assume it’s identical in agitation but I’m thinking would have more suction from the central vac.

I can highly recommend the SupraLite regarding the excellent battery life (always gives 60 to 70 minutes depending on carpet nap) and agitation is excellent! I told Roger (ibaisaic) I wish he could make a video for me as I’m not very good at it nor do I have the professional camera and lights he does. But basically I put dry pasta, sand, dirt from another vacuum bag and Pet hair down and you could see it vibrate and bounce before entering the vacuum. Not one speck of sand was left either, I’m very pleased with its performance and (in my humble opinion) the SupraLite Cordless could replace a corded vacuum, for a smaller home, if you supplement with a small canister (similar to what Oreck does) for above floor cleaning.

Thanks for the information.

 

[lux_luthor]

Riccar Cordless @honestjoe68

That is a post I wish I had of seen when I was searching for an upright vacuum! I was really considering this but there weren’t really any reviews, and the YouTube videos out at the time weren’t convincing enough for me.

 

[n0oxy]

volt with a canister

You can also use the volt with a straight suction canister or even a central vacuum if it doesn't have a hose management system. I've paired mine up with my Miele C1 Olympus, my Sebo airbelt D1 and my Henry, it's awesome. Since Roger has started importing United States machines I suggested that he get one of these nozzles and try it with his Henrys, I can pretty much guarantee that he would never use a turbine nozzle again. It's also really interesting to pair up the Volt with older machines such as a Eureka canned ham or Air-way model 55, it gives them carpet cleaning abilities they otherwise would have never had. There are only two flaws I can think of with it. It uses a flat belt instead of a geared belt and it's not totally sealed, so at times debris may end up in the nozzle and you will have to take it apart to remove it. Still, these are minor disadvantages compared to what it offers and I would recommend it for any application where you want to give a nonelectric hose cleaner excellent carpet cleaning ability.
Mike

 

[kirby519]

@mike811

My question in all of this is. Why don't the European counties produce more canister/cylinder vacuums with a power nozzle?

It would seem there is or would be a demand for units equipped with a quality power head. European countries have area rugs and fitted carpeting in homes in those countries just the same as we do here in America?

Is it due in part to the new EU electrical standards that require reduced power consumption in the form of Higher Efficiency appliances?

 

[mike811]

I think why we don't have many powerhead canister vacuums in the Europe is that there is no much demand for them.
People seems to be happy with the straight suction canisters. Many buy a turbo brush to these vacuums and think that it's the solution for a carpet cleaning.
Surprisingly door to door sale vacuums like the Kirby and the Lux Intelligence with the powerhead (Lux Guardian Platinum) seem to sell well. I see a lot of those in the Internet auction site. So people see the powerhead as a premium feature.
Problem seems to be that people think that the powerhead canisters are difficult to use.

 

[kirby519]

@Mike881

You did a great job on the retrofit on the power head. The choice of using a motor from a drill is great. Plenty of tork from that motor to spin a quality agitator.

A lot of the vacuums today have agitators that are just weak for most jobs. Now if you can find a way to install/attach the battery with out inhibiting the spaces a power head can go you have a great set up.

One thing I can see is with adding the weight of the battery it would be beneficial to strengthen the base of the power head and a sturdier swivel neck if you were to be put your design on the market.

 

[mike811]

It needs some more work

 

[honestjoe68]

@mike811

Wow.. very impressive! Looks like you achieved a lot more power and torque than Miele did on their battery powered brushroll.

Great job and if you could design a long cylindrical shaped battery with a slide in holster attached to the wand.. you’d have a beautiful, streamlined machine! Very impressive even as is.. congrats on such fine work.

 

[kirby519]

Is there any way you can tighten the tension on the belt?

The vacuum has excellent suction and possibly causing the belt to "slip" due to the increased resistance on the agitator therefor causing the rattling noise you hear.

Or possibly install an idler tension wheel to decrease the slack in the belt?
By putting downward pressure on the belt or lifting the belt with the idler wheel putting upward pressure on the belt to take up the slack.

 

[vacman1961]

I just saw that Perfect, the company that makes the copy of the Electrolux is coming out with a cordless power nozzle. It is based on the Electrolux PN5 design, it has a big battery attached to the top, makes it kind of cumbersome, but I heard it runs for 50 minutes and will clean as well as the electric version. I think it is going to be introduced at the VDTA convention.