I have Rainbow Rep coming to my house

[crazykirbydude]

I don't have anything against other vacuums. I am quite fond of SEBO and Riccar, but Aerus Electrolux and Kirby are my favorites. I was just stating my opinion about Rainbow. It's too much of a hassle for me. If it works for you, then cool. Regarding the Rainbow with the carbon brush issue, it was still pretty new, and a vacuum that expensive shouldn't be having major issues so soon.

 

[panasonicvac]

Regarding central vacs

There are lots of reasons of why I would take a central vacuum anyday over a Rainbow. Yes all the dirt goes out of the house and into the unit in the garage but they are also simpler to use, quieter, and they are usually more powerful. There are certain models that would have two suction motors instead of one that are over twice as powerful compare to Rainbow, you could even have two users vacuuming with it at once. There are also other cool features that a central vacuum has that the Rainbow doesn't such as the vacpan, the Wally flex, and the Vroom for example. Plus I don't need to maintain the vacuum everytime that I would use use it, I could just empty it like twice a year and call it good. And usually there are units that offer one of the best guarantee's in the industry, Vacuflo for example has a limited lifetime warranty.

 

[electroluxxxx]

If the rainbow had carbon brushes it would almost be 20 years old considering the last rainbow to have carbons was 2003. The e series single speed machine was prone to issues hence the 6 year run. Rexair used 2 styles of motor in that machine and to be honest one was definitely better than the other.

 

[tomdawg]

I bought one!

I vacuumed my floors 3 different times with my Miele before the rainbow rep came.
The Guy was really nice and respectful
He even Complimented the Miele saying its a high end vacuum.
I vacuumed my living room with the rainbow and i picked up so much sand out of my carpet.. I could not believe it. my carpet even looks and feels like new now!
thanks guys for the tips and talks about the vacuum

Tom

 

[vexorgtr]

CENTRAL VACUUM stuff.

I'm a Central vac user who sold my Rainbows in the conversion. I have a LOT of opinions on Central vacuums, and I'll share the things I think are most essential.

I prefer motor/power units that are ALL about the power/air watts, and have essentially one function... SUCK. Any power unit with fancy digital control panels, and "luxurious" electronic controls are NOT welcome here.

I insist on having a STANDARD style/size inlet, so I can use whatever kind of hose I want.... and I want a STANDARD style hose so I can fit whatever tools I want on it.

I'd vent it outside and skip the HEPA filtration.

I find the BOTTOM mounted dirt pails annoying. I had a bagged unit, and putting the dirt pail back on was a pain... Now that I switched to a top-loader, it's 100% easier.

I'd rather just throw out a full dirt bag than have to mess with any sort of bagless system.

It's my opinion that the air plumbing should be done much like water plumbing... with the "rolls down hill" mentality in play. This helps prevent clogs, and you aren't fighting against gravity, allowing you to suck up heavier debris. In our computer shop, there's lots of screws and stuff that get sucked up, and I want them to end up in the tank and not fluttering in the hose.

The tools for a CV are amazing, allowing you to clean high and low... and with the standard tool size, you have tons of options.

My favorite power units are the ones from Lindsay Mfg... showing up as brands like VacuMaid, Imperiium, & Valet. They meet all the things I like and don't like.. the power units are simple, powerful, and reliable.

Sorry if this is too much, but once someone said Central Vacuum, it flipped my mental switch.

 

[mark40511]

when my house was being built in 2004

I came SOOOOOO close to putting in a central vacuum....... but this was back when I knew next to nothing about vacuums. I was one of those people that just use them didn't think much about it. I regret not doing it. But with this 12-foot extension hose I can connect to practically ANY vacuum including rainbow.....I kind of feel like I'm using a central vacuum because I can get EVERYWHERE up and down in the house.

https://www.amazon.com/Maresh-Produ...laoCI&pd_rd_wg=OHiTV&pf_rd_p=5c5ea0d7-2437-4d

 

[vexorgtr]

I fell into Central Vacuum Ownership

The home I own was purchased because it's zoned on residential/commercial land, and there was a store built on site. I moved here because of the store. The place happened to have a 1970's era Nutone CV... No parts for it were here. One day I decided to see if I could make it work... The motor ran OK... Being broke from just buying the place, I sold some stuff to buy a hose and tools. Although it had no electric at the inlets, with Turbo tools it was more convenient than anything else I had....

After about 5-6 years, the motor's bearing started whining... so I bought the bigger CV300 Imperium power unit I have today... then I put electric in by the inlets and got power tools. Central vacuum can whup as much butt as Chuck Norris.

 

[rivstg1]

Kirbsythebest: great ideas, I agree completely.

Panasonicvac & vexorgtr: what would it cost( roughly) to install a quality central vac in a 3 story house that's already built( basement/1st level/2nd level)?
I would imagine that the combined pricing of the vac and extensive installation might be a sizable deterrent against a central vac unless one was in the building phase of a home?

Pus. I've never found dumping the dirty water basin a big deal... Sometimes down the toilet ( never a backup clogging in my 20 years with am E series, E2. Black, or D4 SEe.Or, is dump it outside and eventually hand gather the dried fuzz intomthe trash next time I ran across it . no big deal

 

[n0oxy]

rainbow water and central vacuum

Hope you enjoy your new rainbow. Actually though, no vacuum will remove everything out of a carpet each time, so this does not mean that the Rainbow is cleaning better than your Miele, had you vacuumed again with your Miele you probably would have gotten a similar result.
When I use my water vacs, I also just dump it down the toilet, I live in a second floor apartment and don't really want to carry the machine down two flights of stairs and outside. I've never had a problem.
Central vacuums are awesome. I have 8 central vacuum units around my apartment, I just connect the hose directly to them, no pipes, it's awesome. I actually use those more than anything else since in order to use a canister, I would have to dig the hose out, I have all of my hoses in a tote, much quicker to just pull out the central vacuum hose. I store all of my nonelectric attachments in another tote and have all of my electric power nozzles under my bed. Since all of my central vacuum units are next to an outlet, using an electric nozzle is never a problem, my central vacuum hose has a pigtail cord on it. I'm also not a fan of nonstandard hoses, I want to be able to use any attachment.
Mike

 

[vexorgtr]

There's some great information on retro-fitting a central vacuum on a few of the vendor's web sites. I have a good amount of practice working in closed walls from wiring computer networks (I'm a technician). For a retro-fit, install you inlets close to electric outlets for the easiest set up. If your basement is NOT finished, then you're in a good way to install the power unit there, and vent it outside.

Usually, everything you need for a CV300 based system would cost under $1500 in parts, unless your home is enormous.

 

[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.