DIRECT AIR VAC VS CLEAN AIR VAC

[vacfan1982]

Direct air vacuums such a Kirby, Royal etc produce very high amounts of airflow and will deep clean carpets.

My question is..
Do the best clean air vacuums such as Miele, Sebo, Riccar and Aerus also produce enough airflow to deep clean carpets?

In my humble opinion yes they do

I'm not looking to cause another argument here just a friendly discussion

 

[crazykirbydude]

Generally, air paths on clean air vacuums are longer, resulting in less airflow which in turn, affects performance.

 

[vacfan1982]

Yes that is true. Direct air cleaners will produce more airflow but I still think the best clean air vacs produce an adequate amount of airflow to cleans carpets very well, especially if partnered with a good floorhead.

 

[bryan1980]

I agree with you in general

A good clean-air machine (like the brands you have listed) combines great agitation with decent airflow. Well-designed air paths are key, too. You have to have both of those sorted-out, since most clean-air machines are about maxed-out on their power outputs (well, at least for what a 15 amp household circuit will handle), so bigger motors are not practical.

I bet a lot of people would be surprised that a behemoth like a Kirby only draws 4 to 7 amps of power!

 

[mike811]

This is just my opinion, but I think that the best clean air vacuums can deep clean very well. There is huge difference in clean air vacuums airflow performance even if they have the same size motor.
For example my weakest clean air vacuum has only 55 cfm with the 1100 watt motor (bagless), but one of my bagged clean air vacuums has a 108 cfm with the 1100 watt motor.
Difference in airpath is huge between those. Weaker has a lot of sharp turns and pipes are small in diameter. Stronger has a very simple airpath with minimal amount of turns and pipes are bigger in diameter.
My Kirby Gsix has 160 cfm from the motor and 121 cfm from the nozzle.
My strongest clean air vacuum has 108 cfm from the hose end and about 70 - 80 cfm from the nozzle.

Still I think that the best clean air vacuums can deep clean very well.

 

[vacfan1982]

Well said Mikey

 

[n0oxy]

dirty and clean air machines

I think that a good clean air machine will clean carpets as well as a dirty air machine. The air path is longer but the motors are more powerful. This also allows the clean air machines to work well with attachments. Unless something has changed, the dirty air machines fall short when using attachments although I think manufacturers have found ways to make up for this somewhat. I'm a big fan of canister machines of all types and a good power nozzle canister should clean as well as a Kirby or Royal.
Mike

 

[vacfan1982]

This is what I've always thought Mike. I think it's a very close call.


It's just down to personal preference.

 

[crazykirbydude]

Some direct air vacuums had a very easy attachment system, such as the Hoover Elite. The Hoover Elite was not a great cleaner though.

 

[vacuumdevil]

In my humble opinion.
Machines that have both a high airflow and water lift clean the best.
You mentioned a few good ones like Sebo,Miele, Aerus , lindhaus,etc .
Personally I believe a machine that's are direct air doesn't have the water left it needs to pull the heavier things out of the carpet, likewise Bagless machines that don't have the air flow but have high water lift .
So in conclusion that's why in Central Vacuums you see almost exclusively bypass motors used.

#CentralVacpropaganda

 

[vacfan1982]

I have always believed that you need a balance of suction and airflow for best performance

Some believe airflow is the most important. But who is correct?

 

[mike811]

Good way to test if the vacuum has a good airflow AND suction is to use the turbo nozzle. It needs both the airflow and suction. Faster it spins the better.
Dirty air vacuums can't spin the turbo nozzle very fast because they don't have enough suction to force air through the small hole in the turbo brush.
My best vacuums for this would be the Miele C3, Philips Performer Pro and Nilfisk GM80. Lux Royal is very close.
My DC40 (1100 watts) is surprisingly weak, but so is the airflow. Suction in it is great, but because of the low airflow it's quite poor for using the turbo nozzle.

 

[vacfan1982]

That's interesting Mike I will try that to see which of my vacs spins the turbo brush the fastest

 

[honestjoe68]

Hey Mark,

Do they sell any tandem air vacuums in the UK market?? I LOVE my Riccar and Maytag Dual Suction Motor vacuums that combine the best of both!

I’m not trying to make light of your question, but rather offer a solution... if they make these vacuums for UK use? Unfortunately I know Tacony is only sold in the USA... so Riccar, Simplicity and Maytag Dual suction motors are out.

So for fun I got my Maytag M1200 out and am attaching pics. Hey, not to poke at the crowd waiving torches on the Kirby Avalir 2 Thread (you know who I’m talking about) but you are absolutely correct Mark, the Second (direct/dirty air suction motor) does have a very efficient filter, similar to the high quality on Miele and Sebo. But OMG.. dare I mention this or post pics on that thread... . Not to mention, these Tacony Vacuums would all get an “A” rating for emissions, as I’ve seen first hand the tests where the emissions took the particulate number on the device down to Zero!

Anyhow, I wish they sold Tacony in the UK.. I think you and a lot of the other guys living in the UK would love the excellent quality vacuums they make. BUT.. since Dyson gave you guys the awesome looking UK Exclusive Animal 2... I don’t feel so bad bragging about my USA exclusive Maytag. LOL

I personally think some clean air vacuums can have amazing super STRONG suction and my reason is this.. Look at the Suction produced by the Hoover Windtunnel, Clean Air Vacuum.... if you put your hand over the end of the hose it almost hurts, the suction is SO strong. I wish I had the air gauges like Mike has so I could test it and further prove my point. Anyhow, I know I personally own many clean air vacuums that clean so well.. they can match the power and cleaning abilities of direct/dirty air vacuums. My opinion ONLY.. so if anyone else hops on here and wants to complain... Like I said it’s just my humble opinion.

Thanks and I look forward to hearing which of your vacuums made your turbo air brush spin the fastest!

 

[vacfan1982]

I like the Tandem air. I have used a brilliance. It's agitates extremely well.

We will be getting the Supralite over here

both corded and cordless so I'm looking forward to trying them out

I don't think we will get the Tandem air because of the price. Not many people would pay $1000 for a cleaner here. Most pay between £100-£200 I'd say haha.

 

[n0oxy]

you need both

You need suction and airflow to clean well, as you increase one, the other decreases. The clean air machines, if designed properly will offer a decent amount of both. The direct air machines offer lots of airflow but fall short on suction which is why they struggle when using attachments. It's interesting to see how fast different machines can spin a turbo brush, by far, a central vacuum will spin them the fastest.
Mike

 

[tolivac]

My Kirbys are my favorites-better performance with LESS power drawn than clean air machines.Do like the tandem air vacuums,too.Kirby,Royal are my favorites.Next would be the Volt powernozzle with various canister vacuums I have.Have very few clean air uprights-as a whole don't like them.the only one I do like are the Sebo machines.These do well for clean air vacuums.NOTE on the tandem air uprights these need a heavier guage cord than what is provided-the cord and plug get warm when both motors are in use.Have the Maytag 1200-good vacuum!

 

[henrydreyfuss]

My best carpet-cleaning vacuums are direct-air machines, but these days I find myself using bagless clean-air machines the majority of the time. I love the convenience and versatility.

 

[vacfan1982]

I did the experiment spinning a turbo brush between my Miele C3 and MD Central Vac and the Miele C3 spins the brush faster.

I was very surprised by this.