Direct Air vs Bypass Air confusion

[anontemp123]

I've read a lot about the technical difference between the two. What I can't understand is how the bypass method filters better than direct air. Why does the fan placement -- before or after the "filter" -- matter if it all goes through the filter eventually? And if having the fan before the filter, like with direct air, gives you less filtration, wouldn't that automatically make tandem air as "worse" as direct air, because it has both?

When I use the vacuums we currently have, I always notice that not only is the vacuum sucking, but there is also air blowing out of the vacuum. I suspect that air that's blowing out might have something to do with the difference between the two, but I can't find an explanation that delves into those details.

Also, I've read certain Miele canisters will "filter the air around you". Is this just a way of saying "bypass", or does this mean they have an air purifier built-in that runs at the same time as the vacuum?

Recently upgraded carpet and our Dyson wouldn't run. Started reading about vacuums and couldn't resist going down the rabbit hole. It's a whole other world down here. Currently can't decide between four models, wish I could get them all. Hope I made sense. Thanks for any help.

 

[eurekaprince]

The primary objective of a bag-first configuration in an upright vacuum cleaner is to protect the fan and motor from damage by dirt and debris passing by the fan blades. Fan-first uprights require all dirt and debris, including stones, sand, paper clips, pins and other hard objects to pass through the fan before being blown into the bag. By putting the bag first in the pathway of the dirt, and having the airflow sucked into the bag (instead of being blown into the bag) the fan is protected from damage.

As a secondary benefit, an onboard hose can be used to provide suction to the brush roll cavity as well as for above the floor cleaning.

You can have good filtration in a fan-first vacuum and in a bag-first upright vacuum. Neither configuration guarantees better filtration of the exhaust air. Some say the classic, fan first upright vacuum configuration exhausts cleaner air because most dirt falls away from the path of the air flow, whereas in a bag-first upright, as in most canister cleaners, the air is always fighting its way through, over and around the collected dirt in the bag.

 

[anontemp123]

Thank you for the clarification. I don't know why every online resource informs the reader that bypass equals better filtration.

Is there a thread or section of the forum where we can ask for help choosing between different models? I don't want to violate forum rules but I couldn't find any such section.

 

[eurekaprince]

I think you'll find as many opinions about "what's the best vacuum?" as there are posters here at Vacuumland. Everyone has a favourite brand or certain set of criteria that determines their answer to "what's the best vacuum?"

Though many at Vacuumland disagree with the methodology and results of Consumer Reports tests, I personally have found them to be quite helpful. I always take into consideration their "brand reliability" survey results along with their test results.

My current "best vacuum" advice to others is actually a pair of vacuums - one upright to clean carpets and one canister to clean everything else. My upright of choice is the lightweight Hoover Platinum Bagged upright (rated "excellent" for carpet cleaning by CR). My canister of choice is the quiet, versatile Miele C3 Alize (rated "excellent" for airflow through the hose and for noise suppression by CR.) These 2 are a dynamic duo that gets the job done easily and effortlessly. And the combination cost me under $1000.

 

[sptyks]

Anontemp123,


 


If you want your new carpet to be as clean as it possibly can be, then you should get a Direct Air machine. Direct Air vacuums such as Kirby, Royal and Riccar Tandem have the most airflow and best agitation of any Bypass air vacuum.


 


It's a known fact that Airflow and Agitation is what cleans carpet. These Direct Air machines have more airflow and clean better because the fan is located only 3 inches from the carpet. In a Bypass machine the fan is placed after the bag and the air must travel through 3 to 5 feet of hose and internal piping with numerous twists and bends before reaching the bag. This reduces airflow by more than half as measured with my Baird Airflow meter.


 


It is true that with a Direct Air vacuum all the dirt and whatever other objects you pickup such as small stones, sand, paper clips, screws and coins must pass through the fan on the way to the bag. This is not the problem that it once used to be when fans used to be made of metal which is actually quite brittle. Foreign objects hitting a fan spinning at 18,000 RPM would most likely break one or more blades of a metal fan. The newer Kirby and other Direct Air vacuums have fans made out of Amodel which is similar to Kevlar but 300% stronger than Kevlar, so they are now pretty much Bullet Proof. Royal still uses a metal fan but it is designed with very curved fins which pass most objects through the fancase with little problem.


 


Other things to consider is that most Direct Air vacuums can be configured to be used as a powerful (leaf) blower. Bypass Vacuums do not have this option. Another fact which may clear up some confusion is that most all vacuums (Direct and Bypass) now have as an option top use the new cloth type HEPA bags which filter the air exiting the vacuum so well that it is cleaner than the air you are breathing in. In other words it is filtering the air around you.


 


I hope this video helps you to better understand the differences between Direct and Bypass Air vacuums:


 

 

[sptyks]

Anontemp123,


 


The two best Direct Air vacuums are Kirby and Royal. You saw the all metal Royal in action in the video I posted in Reply #4 above. I am posting the Kirby Sentria user's guide so you can not only see the Kirby system in action, but also see all the things the Kirby system can do. The performance is equal to or better than the Royal.


 


New Kirby's cost anywhere from $1500 to $2995 but you can get a fully reconditioned - like new Kirby system with all the attachments including carpet shampoo system for a fraction of that cost on ebay. Typically $300 to $500.


 


I own several Kirby's and I can truly say it is the best vacuum I have ever used.


 

 

[anontemp123]

More confusion

Thanks, eurekaprince and sptyks, for your assistance. I have read many of your posts, sptyks, but thanks for the refresher. I particularly enjoyed your lively debate with another member on airflow vs suction. (The Avalir announcement thread was also a favorite of mine.) I was completely oblivious to this world, but for the last two weeks, I have spent all my spare time reading about and looking at vacuums. If I may be so bold, I hope to soon write my perspectives and share my experiences. I also have some further queries for you, too, eurekaprince. First, I would graciously ask if someone could help clear up my confusion on a couple of other topics.

The owner of a vacuum store told me that a beater bar is the best at cleaning carpet. (Before, I always took beater bar and brushroll to mean the same thing.) He further explained that folks would keep ruining their hardwood floors, so residential vacuums no longer have beater bars. I thought, "Wow, that's what I need!" Another vacuum store owner, however, told me a beater bar would ruin my new dense carpet. Any thoughts?

Also, I'm still a bit unclear on adjusting the height of a brush roll vs suction power and how that ties into agitation. When I can't move a vacuum on a sample of my carpet, I can reduce the suction power (on vacuums that allow this) and the vacuum will move. But now I am sucking less. Or I can raise the brushroll and it will move. But now I feel like I'm not getting as "deep" a clean; that the brushroll is only combing the top half of my carpet, if you will. If a better agitation machine agressively hits my carpet to make up for only combing the top half of the carpet, won't that ruin the carpet (like that one store owner told me the beater bar would)? Now, on my previous low density, low pile carpet, was the brushroll over-combing and hitting the carpet backing? Just having some difficulty grasping these concepts. It sometimes makes sense to me that I would raise the brushroll on low pile carpet to avoid hitting the backing, and lower the brushroll on high pile carpet to get a deeper clean. But then carpet density enters the equation and I'm confused again.

For bonus points, how is a metal brushroll superior to a wooden brushroll superior to a plastic brushroll? (I know that's not a sentence, but you know what I mean.) Aside from replaceable brushes, I remember reading or hearing something about bearings, but couldn't find information on it.

 

[eurekaprince]

Hi anontemp,

I don't think you can focus on one element of a vacuum cleaner to guarantee good results. Good cleaning performance is a result of the right combination of mutiple features. There are excellent upright vacuums with wooden brush rolls, and poorer performers with steel brush rolls. This is why I like Consumer Reports tests - each vacuum in the test group undergoes identical testing and the results are compared. It's the final result that counts. In deep carpet cleaning, the tests measure how much material is removed from identical carpets by each vacuum. Each stretch of carpet is "dirtied" in the same controlled manner before the vacs are tested on them.

Beater bars are also not a guarantor of better deep carpet cleaning. The vibration and agitation provided by a bristle-only agitator can do as good a job of disengaging dirt from a carpet pile. The only thing to watch out for are overly soft bristles as these may not provide sufficient vibration. But again, the "proof is in the pudding" so to speak.

Setting the height of an upright on it's lowest setting will not always guarantee a better cleaning of the carpet. The nozzle needs to be able to "breathe" to prevent "suction lock" and allow airflow to carry away the dirt. As long as the brush roll is somehow making contact with the top of the nap, that is all the vibration you are going to need to dislodge the dirt. You will remove more embedded dirt by going over the same area a few times with the nozzle height set just right, than going over once with the nozzle set at its lowest setting.

For delicate carpets, I would recommend a weaker cleaning mechanism - best use an airdriven turbo nozzle with a canister cleaner. These will provide a gentler sweeping action than a motor-driven brush roll.

 

[sptyks]

Hello Anontemp123. You have many good questions.


 


Let's start with the brushroll. Brushrolls no longer have beater bars on them, but that is not a problem because the newer brushes are now stiffer and beat the carpet just as well as beater bars. The second store owner is wrong! Hoover used beater bars in their vacuums for decades without causing any damage to carpets. But beater bars did have a problem with damage to wooden flooring.


 


The new stiffer brushrolls have plenty of vibration but pose no danger to 99% of today's carpets. Wooden brushrolls are best and are used on the most expensive vacuums. Wood is best because it allows for a magnet to be imbedded into the brushroll. The magnet is used to activate the BPI (brushroll performance indicator) light which is present in the newer Kirby's and Royals. Metal is Ok but doesn't allow for a magnet. They also have a tendency to rust if used on a damp carpet or stored in a damp area. Stay away from plastic brushrolls which may not be well balanced and have inferior bearings.


 


If you should purchase a Kirby or Royal vacuum, you will not need to worry about setting the correct nozzle - brushroll height as it is a foolproof process no matter what type of carpet you have. When set properly, Kirby's and Royals are designed to do a deep clean every time without doing any damage to the carpet. It is a fact that no vacuum cleans any better than a newer (less than 10 years old) Kirby or Royal. Here's how the height is properly set:


 


Kirby: With the motor running, lower the nozzle one click at a time with the Toe-Touch control, until you hear a change in the motor sound when the brushes first contact the carpet, then lower one more click which will form a seal between the nozzle and carpet. You are now at the proper height. The BPI light should be on steady green. If BPI starts to flicker or goes out, you have gone too low and/or the belt needs to be replaced. On the Kirby, the very lowest setting is for use with the Carpet Shampoo system.


 


Royal: With motor running, turn the Height Adjustment knob clockwise. When the Adjust-O-Rite button on the front of the nozzle sucks in, you are at the correct height. The BPI light works the same way as the Kirby BPI.


 


I have tried to answer all of your questions but if you have more, then ask away. I check in here every morning.


 I am wondering if you have had a chance to watch the two videos I posted earlier, especially the first one which does a great job of explaining the difference between Agitation Airflow and suction.


 


~Stan

 

[hooverkid]

Let me see...

So let me see if i can answer all your questions in one go, for a vacuum to work well on carpet you need 3 things, airflow (the amount of air the machine moves), agitation(the vibrating and grooming the brushroll does on the carpet) and suction (the amount of force the air is pulled through the machine).I along with many others agree that airflow is the most important element of a vacuum,the direct air or fan first style of vacuum uses a fan placed a few inches from the cleaning nozzle and as a whole will produce more airflow than a bypass or bag first machine, agitation is the second most important element to how well a vacuum will clean carpet and you get the best agitation when you have a combination of good airflow to pull the carpet up to the nozzle,a good brushroll which typically the best brush rolls are made of wood or metal Examplesof thesetype of brushrolls include metal beater bar brushes like what is found in traditional direct air vacuums like a sanitaire, a metal brushroll with brush stiffener like in riccar and simplicity tandem air vacuums or a wooden brushroll like royal or kirby bell nozzle direct air vacuums use and the third element in agitation is height adjustment that puts the nozzle at a balance between good airflow and good brush contact to the carpet if the nozzle is too low the vacuum won't have good airflow and if it is too high the brush won"t give the best agitation. Suction is less important in direct air vacuums but in clean air vacuums the suction pulls the dirt from the tube to the bag. Hope this helps!

 

[anontemp123]

Yes, in fact I had already watched those videos, and part 2 of the first one, too. (In part 2, he does the tug of war again.) But I like reruns so I watched them again. Just going to let your responses bounce around in my head for a day, then I'll be back.

Eurekaprince, would you consider a used basic C1 Delphi canister to be a reliable investment? I mean like how, with a Kirby, you can buy any old beat up one and get it to work. I am being offered a C1 Delphi, no attachments, just the powered floor brush it comes with. I couldn't find videos on dissecting it like I did with Kirby models.

 

[anontemp123]

hooverkid, in a directair, the path the debris takes up until it "hits" the fan, isn't that the same type of suction as in a bypass? In my very limited understanding, it's the larger diameter airflow in directair that is creating greater suction than with bypass. I see it as: with bypass, the fan is so far away it has to work so much harder, and the airflow diameter has to be smaller, to get good suction. Whereas with direct air, the fan is right there, so it doesn't have to be as powerful to get good suction. I hope I explained my (probably wrong) intuitions clearly.

 

[vacuumlad1650]

Ok gather round kids and I'll post the real way a Direct Air vacuum works...or at least how Hoover designed it. Let me dig out my copy of Fabulous Dustpan by Frank G Hoover
Andy

 

[vacuumlad1650]

"Fabulous Dustpan"
Chapter 11
The day they moved the wheels back
Pages 107 and 108

Andy

 

[anontemp123]

Thanks for the great read!

I don't understand why a bypass also can't "lift" the carpet and comb it? My DC14 Dyson definitely lifted my old carpet a little. (Maybe it was poorly installed carpet.) Does direct air lift the carpet better in some way?

Again, I have no doubt direct air is preferred for carpet, just trying to make sure my concepts are somewhat sound.

 

[hooverkid]

On a bypass machine all the suction is going to the nozzle through a 1 1/4" hose normally placed on the side of the cleaner this makes the vacuum not pick up well in the side opposite the intake hose and because the hose is small the hose also reduces the amount of air. Think of it like this if you have a lot of dirt in a work bench and your using a shop vac you'll pick up more dirt in one pass if you use a tool with a wide opening, on a direct air vacuum there is a wide opening to the fan that helps to move more air.

 

[eurekaprince]

Hi anontemp,

The Miele Delphi is a fine cleaner, though it rates only average for carpet cleaning. If you are getting it for very little money, why not? You can always upgrade, improve and enhance the cleaner gradually by buying easily available genuine Miele attachments and filters. I'm not a big fan of power nozzle canisters because I find the electrified hose, handle and wands too heavy and bulky and prone to electrical problems like cutting out. But you can always buy a regular non-electrified hose and wand and bare floor brush and attachments to make this your primary cleaner for everything but carpets. For carpets, I much prefer a basic, classic lightweight upright as a companion to the canister. Even a cheap grey Eureka DialaNap Boss will do the trick!

 

[eurekaprince]

On the other hand, why bother with a used C1 Delphi missing most of its attachments when you can get a brand new "suction-only" Miele Olympus for $330? It's the identical vac without the power nozzle configuration for deep carpet cleaning. The suction only carpet nozzle is fine for removing surface litter from carpets. I still prefer the more deluxe Alize over the Olympus.

See below for a nice summary of the Olympus:



http://https//youtu.be/qVFnybNxsF4

 

[vacuumlad1650]

You have to realize that airflow is lost when it goes through the twists and turns of a hose. This can be the difference between lifting a 1974 Buick with a 1974 Kenmore magic cord and lifting a Brick with a Kirby. The design is a huge part. Twists and turns of hoses are detrimental to airflo
Andy

 

[myles_v]

GR! I typed a very long response that was erased by my phone when I tried to post.

To sum up what I originally tried to post...

I'd agree with Eurekaprince on his recommendation. Basic Miele canister, and I would go with a Kirby, Royal, or Aerus Electrolux as an upright. If you have dense carpeting then I'd probably go with the Kirby since it has tech drive, but if you have a lot of stairs you'd be carrying it up and down then I'd go with a Royal since they're a bit lighter.

My personal favorites are the Aerus Electrolux uprights, even though they aren't amazing deep carpet cleaners. They may not be the best for dense carpet, though, ecause they do not have a height adjustment.

I'd love to see how much you would've gotten out of your old carpets with a Royal with brush stiffeners, since you'd been using a Dyson DC-14.

 

[sptyks]

Here's another fact:


 


Direct Air vacuums lift the carpet much better than Bypass Air vacuums because of the increased amount of airflow. The combination of having the fan so close to the carpet and the larger diameter of the air channel provides a vast improvement in airflow.


 


It's a fact that as the air path increases in length, the suction and airflow decrease. This can be proven when using a Kirby in Hose mode. The Kirby ships with a 6 foot hose, but there are 12 foot aftermarket hoses available. When you connect a Baird Airflow meter to the end of a 6 foot hose the meter will register a 7.5 - 8.0 on the scale. When you attach the Baird at the end of a 12 ft. hose the meter reads about a 5.0. Therefore, the longer the airpath, the lower the suction and airflow. Remember the airpath distance from carpet to fan on a Kirby or Royal is 3 inches. The distance from carpet to fan on most Bypass machines is 4 to 6 feet with several bends in between.


 


The diameter of  the airpath is also a huge factor in determining the amount of airflow through that airpath.


 


 

 

[eurekaprince]

Fan-first uprights also don't need 12amp screaming motors. A 5amp motor on my wonderful Hoover Platinum "Oreck clone" is sufficient to provide excellent deep carpet cleaning. The WindTunnel segregated suction channels help make good use of the airflow provided and prevent scattering of dirt kicked up by the brush. It's not very noisy either!

I think the no-frills classic fan-first Eureka Boss also uses a 5amp motor, maybe 6amps. Works great though! Less electricity drawn = a little less on your monthly electrical bill, too!

Truth be told, I've never picked up anything so dangerous that it broke the fan blades on any fan-first upright I ever used. Even the cheap 1983 Eureka Dial-a-Nap with the plastic fan blades survived after 20 years of use!

 

[durango159]

What kind of carpet did you install??

There is a new kind of carpet on the market that is very very soft in texture. Due to the softness of that texture, it has caused MANY vacuums on the market to basically suck down like glue to them and not work very well. The carpet is called Frieze.

Due to this trend many manufacturers have worked to come out with a new "venting" technology to reduce strain of the cleaning head on a carpet to allow more airflow into the unit inside the cleaning head.

I have attached a youtube video produced by Panasonic that explains it quite well while introducing their new power nozzle for the situation.

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

 

[durango159]

Here's my explanation for a lot of your questions.

***I am sorry that this got so long.  I have put some headings to split it up a little!


 


Filtration
Many sources tend to still think of "Direct Air", also known as "Dirty Air", as the old fashioned vacuum cleaner technology. Likewise many older vacuums that had this technology simply had a paper bag and then the air was exhausted. HEPA was not a thought at this time!!

A direct air machine actually has two areas on the machine where air will be exhausted. The first area of exhausted air is where the bag is. Only a low percentage of direct air units have a hard bag cover; most are soft cloth outer bag. For these you need to shop well and research that a HEPA bag is available, if that is the filtration level you're seeking. Generally the outer bags themselves are not HEPA rated. It is important to know for this that there are varying grades of what can be rated HEPA as well. True HEPA is 99.97% of all particulate down to .3 micron. Unfortunately many manufacturers won't tell you the exact specs of their HEPA grade!! But passing filthy air through a single thin layer of so-called HEPA is not as good as going through a second thick filter.

The second area of exhaust on a Direct Air unit is at the motor area. This is air that has been specifically brought into the unit to cool the motor and is then exhausted by the motor. Unfortunately there is generally NO filter for any of this area. Due to many systems not being fully sealed, there also tends to be a fair volume of dust in this air that escaped the vacuum path somehow and ended up in the motor area. This air also has emissions from the carbon brushes that the motor uses to operate. It is for these reasons above that Direct Air units are considered to not have as good of filtration as Bypass systems.

A bypass system generally has a single exhaust. Instead of a separate entrance needed for incoming air to come in and cool the motor and then be exhausted, this system instead uses the air that the dirt traveled in, which then passed through a combination of filters to then cool the motor and then be passed through another filter. So in a good Bypass system the air for cleaning has gone through a bag or cylcone, a premotor filter and then a final HEPA filter. Therefore there are little emissions from the motors carbon brushes being released or otherwise. The HEPA filters on these units are also thick as a HEPA is supposed to be so it is a true HEPA system. Also in-case a hole was to form in the bag that air is still filtered again!

Brush rolls


 


Brush roll, agitator, some Eureka models called it a Disturbulator.  Some people call it a beater bar!!-- That's where it gets confusing.  The brush roll should not be referred to a beater bar, though it can contain beater bars.  Beater bars were plastic or metal bars put on the vacuums brush roll to increase the agitation.  The point of a brush roll is to not only use bristles to sweep up pet hair and lint and groom a surface but also to create an Earthquake type of effect on the carpet to vibrate dirt from the bottom of the pile to the top where the bristles and air flow work in unison to carry the dirt away.  However, beater bars have been replaced by a 2nd row of bristles in over 95% of the markets machines.  With good bristle design and layout, outstanding agitation is achieved.  Generally a chevron design is highly recommended to guide the dirt towards the air duct. 


 


Some brands like Oreck market that their brush roll is good on hard flooring.  But do you really want to risk a high speed powered brush roll on your delicate floors???   Do you want to see similar brush roll grooming marks on your hard flooring that you'd see on carpet???  I hope you answered NO!!  The best tool for cleaning bare floors is a horsehair bristle equipped bare floor brush which is attached to the suction wand of a hose on a vacuum.  Miele and Riccar or Simplicity have the best designed ones for this as well.   A good bare floor tool can elongate how much time you need to go between wet cleaning of your hard floors.  Kitchens and bathrooms are a different story, but other rooms such as dining room, living room, bedrooms, the use a good bare floor tool will make your life much easier and will not damage your flooring during the cleaning process!!  I would try to avoid any bare floor brush that has wheels on it!!


 


AirFlow/ Suction/ Carpet Height


As far as carpet height, a Kirby explanation is the best.  Set your vacuum to the highest setting it has.  Turn the vacuum on and push it.  Gradually lower the vacuums cleaning head one setting at a time until the tone of the machine changes and you start seeing grooming marks.  Go one setting lower than that and you should be good for height setting. 


 


The suction seals the rug to the vacuum by pulling the carpet up to the vacuum.  This action isn't highly noticeable until reaching the edge of an area rug, door mat etc, but trust and believe a good vacuum is doing it the entire time it cleans.  The exception is on some carpets that are glued down.   But suction doesn't remove the dirt.  This is where air flow comes in.  If the seal to a surface is too strong then air can not enter and therefore the dirt won't go away.  The suction pulls in air and the air carries the dirt with it as it travels through the vacuum system.  You may notice upon viewing the bottom plate that surrounds the brush roll area of a vacuum cleaner that it generally is not the same flatness all around.  Usually along the front and side are some grooves.  These grooves allow air to come into the path.  The grooves also help to reduce a snow plow effect and can help the machine better gobble up chunky items, such as Cheerios.


 


Manufacturer


Tacony is a U.S vacuum manufacturer producing vacuum cleaners under the brands of Riccar, Simplicity, Fuller Brush, Maytag, Carpet-Pro, the Aerus Lite and other vacuums.  One of their Maytag uprights is shown in the Youtube video below and you can see how good agitation using a brush roll with only bristles effectively cleans and has no plastic beater bars!!  In terms of vacuum cleaners Tacony products are fantastic and highly rated!!  You won't go wrong with a Riccar, Simplicity, Fuller Brush or Maytag vacuum. 


 


Kirbys clean well.  But brand new they are around $1700.  They are heavy, can be awkward, the only way to shut off the brush is to turn off the unit or remove the brush roll assembly altogether.  Attachments are in a separate caddy that would have to be carried separate and it's not the quickest process to exchange.   I used to do in home product demonstrations for both Rainbow and Filter Queen cleaning systems.  I came across MANY Kirby owners.  Sadly only a small handful of those owners liked the units.  The rest felt that they were highly pressured into buying a very expensive unit that was too heavy and a lot of effort to use.  They had purchased a Kenmore, Hoover, Riccar, or Bissell as an easier to use vacuum and rarely used their Kirby.


 


Dysons represent the best design for how a bagless system works.  In general on most of their units the cyclonic action works well at separately the dirt from the air and filter life lasting longer.  Suction and airflow through the hose are generally very good.  However Dysons have not been tested well at providing good agitation and they typically don't have a good outlet of getting sufficient airflow to the carpet cleaning head for a thorough clean.  Additionally some of their brush roll designs have had bristle tufts that felt like pieces of concrete.  Some carpet manufacturers, such as Mohawk actually void your warranty if a Dyson is used due to agitator damage and insufficient cleaning. 


 


No matter your budget Tacony has a product line for you!!  Fuller Brush is on the budget friendly end but a great cleaner.  For power nozzle canisters the Simplicity Verve or new Wonder and Prima lines are fantastic!!!  Miele is also highly rated and Aerus is a great brand. 


 


Central Vacuum Thought


Also have you thought about a central vacuum???  That might be of interest to you!!  Numerous options are available and the air is exhausted outside.  There are Hide-A-Hose systems that store the hose in the wall.  Wally Flex systems for a hand held hose great at cleaning up in the garage or laundry area, Vroom hose system that can store underneath your kitchen sink to clean up your kitchen floor, power nozzle kits.  Central vacuums have come a long way with various additions.



http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVfQ_SA1tHY

 

[turbo500]

Wow, Rob, that's a hell of an explation. Very well written!

Personal preference aside, I have to agree with the others - direct air/dirty fan cleaners are better for the majority of carpets. That's not to say other designs don't also work well, but they do give the best results.

The problem with direct air is that the hose suction is often not particularly strong (Kirby aside). The design relies heavily on airflow rather than suction, but the drawback to that is usually weaker hose suction. Because the dirt is passing directly through the fan, the fan has to be solid and pretty basic.

Bypass/Clean fan design will give greater hose suction as the fan design can be far more complicated and, in some cases, have multiple fans to generate more suction. Bypass usually does have better filtration, although there have been huge advances in filtration of direct air machines over the last few years.

Bypass motors make for better cylinder/canister cleaners for above floor/hard floor cleaning, whereas direct air is better for medium-deep pile carpet.

 

[suckolux]

Nicely done Rob, but the Kirby brushroll can be turned off!

 

[kirbysthebest]

To turn off the brush roll on a Kirby

Turn off the machine. 


Move the belt lifter to off position.


Turn machine back on.


 


When you desire the brush roll to operate again.


Turn the machine off


Move the belt lifter to the ON position.


Turn machine back on and adjust as mentioned above.


 


You can also use the Kirby in the canister mode, where there are bare floor tools available.  As well as a Bare floor brush that you can use on the Rug nozzle with the belt in the off position. 


 


Kirby also has an attachment to polish, and new models clean the bare floor.


 


 


In the archives there is a discussion of Direct Air/Bypass air



http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?28347

 

[sptyks]

Kirby Brushroll

Yes the Kirby brushroll is easy to turn off.


 


First, turn off the motor if it is running, then just turn the Belt Lifter counter-clockwise until the Red arrows line up. The Kirby is now ready to use as a straight suction cleaner on hard floors or delicate rugs.


 


To turn the brushroll back on, make sure motor is stopped, then turn the belt lifter all the way clockwise until the Green arrows line up.


 


That's how easy it is.


 


 

 

[durango159]

OK, so here's some revisions/ additions

Thank you all for the comments and helping me to better to state the point I made.  Yes you guys are correct, you can twist the lever and release the belt from the motor pulley on the Kirby easier than it would be to flip over a Hoover Decade machine, remove the bottom plate and take the belt off that pulley to then use as straight suction.--- I don't know if anyone would go to all of that work on a Hoover or Sanitaire style unit??  Even for attaching a hose and tools onto brush roll cavity of a Convertible I think many left the belt intact???---  Opinions and commentary appreciated on this!!!!


 


I guess what I meant by not turning off the Kirby brush is that you can't just push a switch at your fingertips or a foot pedal while the vacuum is currently running.  You have to shut down the machine, wait for armature to fully stop rotating, bend down, rotate the lever, etc.   While that's not hard, it's not as convenient or as fast as a brush roll on/off switch at finger tips.


 


I think if I had a Kirby and I was going to shut the brush roll off like that, I would end up just removing the entire floor head, installing the hose, wands and their multi-surface floor nozzle.  Kirby's come with a multitude of accessories!!!  Basically enough to fill an entire small closet.  The handheld sander does a pretty good job too and it really sucks the dust away.


 


Likewise with the belts on a Direct Air/ fan first system there is no belt protection system.  Anything incoming to the machine may get tangled around the brush roll or hit the fan.  Kirby fans and Royal fans are very durable.  There are many cases where these machines have sucked up screws and pennies and luckily the fan is still intact.  I think the Kirby fan lasts longer as depending on the object a Royal fan may be dented.  However if a large screw was sucked into a Sanitaire direct air vacuum or Hoover Elite, as an example-- that fan would in most cases be shattered.  A large object jamming a brush roll in many direct air units may melt a belt and leave a little mess to clean up on both the motor pulley and brush roll. 


 


There are advantages and disadvantages to both style of units.  One has to outweight the pros and cons based on what is important for his/ her cleaning needs. 


 


The one constant that I have found to be true amongst nearly all vacuum collectors, enthusiasts, and shop owners is that we all despise bagless machines!!!   Bagged, water filtration, such as the Rainbow or Filter Queen with their genuine cones are the way to go.   But bagless filtered or cyclonic systems have numerous downfalls and lose power tremendously quicker while requiring significantly more indepth and more frequent maintenance!!!!


 


Bagged seems to be most preferable now and many manufacturers have a system that seals the bag upon removing so there is essentially no potential of a dust cloud escape. 


 


Sebo/ Windsor/ Aerus machines seem to do the best as far as indication of when the bag is completely full and shutting down the machine to let the user know that.  The bags at that point are generally packed similar to a brick!! 


 


Direct Air machines can pack a bag like a brick but you have to check the bag and make sure it doesn't go above the fill line.  I have never seen a direct air machine come equipped with any sort of bag full indicator.  Though if the unit has an out cloth bag then you can basically judge by the bulge of the bag overtime!!!    


^^^^Please correct me if someone knows of a direct air unit that has a bag full indicator!


 


I guess another point of mention is that generally a direct unit is more energy efficient!!  Many of them come in the range of 6 - 8 Amps of electric usage.  The larger fan, located just a few inches from the brush roll, with a significantly wider opening and being center mounted allows for a greater volume of incoming air and the fan blades are deeper than that found on a bypass system. 


 


Many bypass systems are 10-12 amps of use.  The majority of Bissells, Eurekas, Hoovers, Kenmores, Sharks and all that low priced stuff has consumers thinking that more electricity used equals more power so they all have 12 Amp motors.  It's extremely sad how they try to dupe and misinform the public!!!   Electric usage has nothing to do with the power.  It's all about fan size, how many fans, brush roll design, distance air has to travel and how many sharp turns or 90 degree angles there are in the unit for the air to pass through.