I have Rainbow Rep coming to my house

[n0oxy]

cv300

That is a good power unit. It uses a 740 air watt flow through motor, there is a debate whether the flow through motors are as good as bypass motors, supposedly the bypass motors will last much longer. One of my power units uses the same motor, it's the Vacumaid garage vac pro, this one is not designed to be used with pipes, there is just an inlet on the front, connect a central vacuum hose and start cleaning. It's a very powerful motor and not that loud. I do think the bypass motors are louder than the flow throughs.
Mike

 

[vexorgtr]

Despite Lindsay using the Flow-Thru motor, they warranty them for 10 years. If you're not popping your bags, how is any significant dirt going though your motor anyway? The Lindsay bags (I use HPB1) catch almost all of it. The Lindsay bags are tough too! I had to cut one up to recover a vacuumed item, and it was surprisingly difficult.

 

[tomdawg]

Mesh filters from rainbow rep

I saved the mesh filters rainbow rep and I used it on my miele, I saw that it did just as well. n00xy i took your word for it, crazy! so Im not so compelled that it works better than miele.
The only thing i like about rainbow is the smell, smells so good when your cleaning with it!

 

[vexorgtr]

As a former Rainbow and Miele owner/user, I agree... the fragrance is nice, but how big of a motor can one put in a canister before it becomes impractical? General logic takes over at some point leading to the conclusion that....

More real power = Bigger badder motor /w/ better tools. You'll eventually hit the weight pinnacle on your canister... as you're dragging a half gallon of water weight or more behind you... The biggest baddest motors are in Central Vacs my friend... and you need not drag them behind you.

 

[mark40511]

It does smell good

I don't care what anyone says - you can't use a vacuum that smells as good as a water filtration vacuum. You can put the scents in other vacuums, but it's NOT the same.

 

[vexorgtr]

Fragranced vacuuming

The water vac with fragrance is indeed a very nice thing. Nothing annoys me more than a dirty bag smell. That's why I waited til I had a Central vac (vented outside) before selling the Rainbows. With the vacuum exhaust going outside, there's NO bad smells.

 

[ralph123]

Regarding central vacuums and filtering outside, how do you avoid the loss of conditioned air? If your house is extremely tight (i.e. minimal air leakage), does that cause any problems with central vacuums?

 

[vexorgtr]

Central Vacuum vented outside.

I've not heard any issues about a home being THAT air tight. I actually already own an air exchanger that pumps air out of the basement to control humidity.

I couldn't imagine a central vac motor being able to pull so much air that you'd actually create a vacuum inside the house and change the internal pressure. No home could possibly be that tight, or the residents would eventually die from lack of oxygen from living inside an air tight box.

All I can tell you is that I have lots of power anywhere I plug the hose into, and if I forget and have two hoses plugged in, the leaking hose makes the hose I'm using perform more like a "typical" canister vac... I'd be glad to provide measurements if someone would like to loan me the tools..

For those of you who aren't familiar with it, "Cleaning" the pipes in a central vacuum is accomplished by sending a large wipe though it. (similar to lysol wipes, only bigger) The wipe is moistened, and has a roughed surface. It's designed to "catch" anything that may be in the pipes and take it to the power unit. I've picked up some crazy stuff over the years, and if it makes the first turn (at the inlet) it makes it all the way to the tank....

The only thing you learn to do with a central vac is to start closer to the inlet and work your way out... so you don't step on the hose. The Crush-Proof hoses are great, and surprisingly lightweight... I have one still going strong after 8 years of abuse.

 

[ralph123]

Just making up numbers, let's suppose the central vacuum has 100 cubic feet of air per minute (i.e. 100 cfm). If the central vacuum is venting outside, is it fair to assume that after 15 minutes of vacuuming that 15*100=1500 cubic feet of conditioned air is blown out of the house? The replacement air has to come from somewhere, and most houses have enough leakage for it to flow in from the attic, walls, doors, windows. In the link, a family actually had to open windows while running their central vacuum due to the house being so tight.



https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/recirculating-central-vacuum-air.22322/

 

[mark40511]

I didn't even think about that

Sort of like those window portable air conditioners with one hose. I learned last summer the one hose models take the air its conditioning and just blows it outside at the same time.....super inefficient.

But can't the same thing be said for a clothes dryer? Isn't it take air from inside the home and venting it outside?

 

[miskini]

Hey tomdawg

How much did you end up paying for the rainbow.

 

[tomdawg]

Miskini

I ended up returning it.. the $2500 was just too much. on the other hand, my mother in law has one and doesn't use it anymore, she said i can have it! needs some work though.

 

[miskini]

Wow

$2500 is a lot of cash. Did you try to negotiate the price any. Also, did they give you a hard time returning it.

 

[n0oxy]

flow through motors

I think the issue with flow through motors is that they only receive as much cooling air as can go through the hose, so if you're using a small tool, the motor will not get very much air, this would not be an issue with a bypass motor since they use a separate cooling fan.
There is certainly limitations on how big of a motor can go in to a canister cleaner, a central vacuum will definitely be more powerful, and you can use them without pipes, that's actually a really nice set up, no pipes to install and all of the power they have to offer.
Mike

 

[tomdawg]

Miskini

I did try to negotiate but he just kept packing the machine up and started to leave.
When i called him to return the vacuum- he said, thats no problem and he will come by to pick it up.. I did say what would it take to be a recruiter or dealer- but that didn't go so well.. he even offered to refund the full price and do interest free financing.. I told him I don't do financing on purcheses like this

all in all, the guy was very respectful and nice.

 

[kirbysthebest]

Calling may not protect you

The three day right to cancel requires a written notice.
Though it sounds like your dealer is ethical, he could say he was never notified that you wanted to cancel, and without written proof you could be stuck with the purchase.

 

[vexorgtr]

Flow Thru Motor

I've checked the temps on my motor after vacuuming every floor in the whole house... and the curtains and cabinets. The only Off-Time is whilst changing tools. It never got hot. It was actually cooler than the Nutone it replaced which was NOT flow Thru. It's got a 10 year warranty, I'm not scared about the temps. I check the bag frequently, since it's easy with the lift off lid (no latches). I've sucked up so much from the carpets when I first got the electrified nozzles that there's very LITTLE left to pick up... I have vacuumed the whole house 3700sq ft, and havn't produced a gallon of dirt in 3 sessions of vacuuming. The first time I used the Electric Power nozzles, I got 1.5gal in one session....(it was very fine talc-like dust)...

 

[rivstg1]

dumping the water

I've had rainbows since 1999.....I've emptied the dirty water basin in the toilet 50% of the time....never had a backup in the pipes from that....so to each their own....but I don't think the threat of 'clogging the pipes up' is valid from my experience....dump all you want...just like you take a dump....all you want....it'll get taken outta the pipes.

 

[ralph123]

Mark said: "But can't the same thing be said for a clothes dryer? Isn't it take air from inside the home and venting it outside?"

Yes it is true. There are heatpump and condenser dryers that are not vented to avoid this problem. They are popular in Europe because they are more energy efficient.

Here are some quotes from the linked article:

"Ventless dryers have actually been around for decades–in Europe. In fact, there they are just called “dryers.” Many countries much prefer ventless dryers; Switzerland has been outlawing our big, vented dryers since 2012. The reason for their European popularity is this: European homes tend to be very small, in very old buildings, and they just cannot accommodate the large, vented ones that we have here."

"Other advantages include:

It’s a lot less expensive to install because you don’t need pipes or find the place to vent. You just need an electrical socket.
Ventless dryers use about 30% less energy than the traditional ones.
Chances of clogging and fire are decreased because you’re not venting out anything.

One disadvantage is that it does take a little longer for the clothes to dry."




https://www.appliancesconnection.com/blog/ventless-dryers-vent-less-way-dry-clothes/

 

[vexorgtr]

Dumping the Rainbow's Water Bin down the Toilet

This is fine to do.... IF

#1 You don't have "low flow" toilets.
#2 You don't have a septic or aeration plant onsite.

As for the low flow, I've seen lint from a "efficient" washer clog up iron drain pipes since there wasn't enough water to get it out to the street. Filtering it through a nylon is a good solution.

Septic/Aeration systems should only see stuff that biodegrades easily. This would be TP, and body waste. You don't want to introduce too many solids to the system, as they take time to break down. Synthetic carpet fibers are not good bacteria food. We filter our wash machine lint for this reason.