I Must Be Dreaming....

[dysonman1]

Those handle halves are still under warranty. It was a problem the company knew about, so the redesigned handle halves come as an 'upgrade kit'. I can send them to you at no charge, under your warranty, with free shipping. You'll have to install them yourself - You should have no trouble doing so.

 

[vacman117]

That would be great! Should I call or email you?

 

[kenmore81]

Very Awesome find. There was a Riccar at a thrift store near me for only $25 but it was a late 90's/2000 model. I woulda grabbed it but i was short on cash and it had no attachments duct tape on the handle and was packed with smelly pet hair.

 

[suckolux]

Chase, again your luck is holding! And happy for you too

 

[dysonman1]

@Chase

Send me your complete name and address in a private message, or send to my email address (in my profile). I'll have the shipping department send you the replacement handle upgrade kit. I already have the serial number as well as the model number for the warranty report.

Don't forget, the Vacuum Cleaner Museum is open to the public six days per week, 9 to 5 (I only work 5 days per week though). You are free to call with any questions. The phone number is 573-265-0680. I'm prohibited from selling new vacuums to anyone who has not personally visited the Museum and signed the guest book - but I can help any Simplicity or Riccar owner with repair parts and service advice.

 

[camelotshadow]

Yeah...I have a 8955 Riccar!!!

I have one!!! Was thinking it was an 8950...It's had a special storage place in the bedroom. Took it out the other day for a drive...nice!!!!

Wow, I was happy when I found it in around 2013 & not sure where but either Good Will or Sal Army.
Its in VG cond. So it was current model in 2013? Mine is navy blue

Ser begins 9A so maybe 1st 2009? Guess they got rid of it after the 5 yr warranty.



I need cloth hepa bags?

Are Riccar hepa bags all cloth or are some paper.

I bought some gen simplicity & it says mirco liner catches up to .1 micron & thats' better than hepa...

Again I don't want to spend alot on bags but there is some dust inside the bag compartment.

Maybe should just save money on fixing the simplicity 7350,,,
I like the handle better as well as the wheels, switch & sole plate & color!
All around I think better made.

 

[camelotshadow]

Mini Spa & some polish

Revelation...its not dark blue its BLACK. All this time I thought it was blue...
I'm never really one to look anything over lightly so don't know how I missed it but its sat unused in the dark corner of the bedroom for years. Have to change that.

Going to wait to get hepa bags for it so I can take it for another spin.
Cleaned up the bag compartment & took off some scuffs & the yuck from the sole plate I thought was rust but it was some hard coating & came off with some effort.

Wow...looks much better but hard to see in pics as they are showing more scuffs
than I can see.

 

[panasonicvac]

Riccar sells both cloth and paper bags. The differences between the two is that the cloth bags are more expensive, they filter better, it helps breath better on airflow, and they can hold more dirt than paper bags.

On your serial number, it was made in the forth quarter of 2009.

What I like about the Simplicity 7 Series better than the Riccar 8 Series is that it has a better height adjuster (It does a better job if you vacuum underneath the bed), the bottom plate is easier to remove without having to get a screwdriver, and in my experience the carry handle is much more comfortable. What I like about the Riccar better is that the bottom plate is sealed in better than the Simplicity. Other than that, I always prefer the wheels on the Riccar better than the Simplicity in my own experience. Otherwise they are both excellent machines and I can't decide which one I like better between the two.

With you saying that the Simplicity is better made, both Riccar and Simplicity are made by the same company, and built with the same materials in case you weren't aware of that.

 

[camelotshadow]

I guess I should clarify as post was confusing. I like the features on the Riccar 8955 better than the Simpl 7350.

Simplicity handle cracked, plastic part that held a wheel screw broke, plate does not hold to bottom rear portion tight & has gaps, & the plastic that holds the rubber seal on the bag compartment fell off on one side (same riccar design).

To be fair both were inexpensive finds so not new & simplicity likely had a harder life & it is about 9 years older.

The Riccar 8955 wins with a solid handle, solid wheels in the frame, & a sole plate that screws tigher against the bottom as I don't mind grabbing a screwdriver to access the belt & those plastic tabs on the simpicity look like they could break too.

Serial # is 9A...2009 but isn;t A the 1st quarter?

Why.how so the regular Simplicity bags with microliner filter .1 micron?
I bought 12 bags as they were about $1 a bag. The Riccar hepa say they filter only .3 micron. It would appear Simplicity bags were better than Riccar Hepa.
I just read the RiccR REG Bags say .1 micron too so if I would have know that I wouldhave got the Riccar. Same co so quality should be same but I have the Reg Riccar for the 8000 8900 series in blue & I like them

 

[panasonicvac]

However with the straight solid handle on the Riccar, the foam or rubber grip would wear, tear, and fall off once a while. Also what I don't like about it is that the handle feels awkward on my palm, especially with the grip off. With the Simplicity looped handle, it feels really good on my palm. We always tell our customers to avoid carrying the vacuum on top of the handle every time we replace the looped handle grips on the Simplicity. In fact, since I'm planning on getting another Riccar 8955 but this time I'm buying one brand new, what I'm going to do is swap the entire handle out with a handle that has either the Simplicity looped handle grip or the straight plastic handle grip because again, I don't like the feel of the metal handle, It's a good quality handle but it's just not for me.

Also once every while I would see some wheel axles that would bend on the Carpet Pro and the Fuller Brush uprights which uses the same design as the Riccar but I've never seen anything that bent or broke on the Simplicity uprights that I've repaired before. Again the wheels actually do a better job vacuuming on the Simplicity and that's one of the main reasons why the shop that I worked for favored Simplicity over Riccar.

I've also never seen those plastic tabs that broke on the Simplicity bottom plates before, those plastic tabs are hold onto by screws.

Yes I meant to say first quarter of the year because that's what A means.

And again, both Riccar and Simplicity are made by the same company so both the paper bags and cloth bags are the same thing. And both paper and cloth bags do filter better than most bags on the market.

 

[myles_v]

Take a closer look at the bags. HEPA filters down to 0.3 microns at 99.97% efficiency. This means that 99.97% of particles larger than 0.3 microns are trapped by the filtration media. I'll guarantee you that the bags you have don't trap down to 0.1 microns at the same efficiency rating as HEPA.

It may filter down to 0.1 microns at 80% efficiency, meaning 80% of particles larger than 0.1 microns are trapped. But HEPA filters better than this.

Don't pay attention to things that tell you what micron level they filter down to without telling you what % it filters down to. You will not find a consumer vacuum (or probably any vacuum) that filters down to 0.1 or even 0.3 microns at full 100% efficiency. HEPA is the gold standard for home vacuums, ULPA is a level that's even better than HEPA, but you won't find a dustbag that filters down to that level. ULPA is still only 99.999% efficient.

 

[panasonicvac]

Exactly what myles said. Also since I should clarify from my previous post about the bags, I meant to say that the bags are made by the same company but both the paper and cloth bags don't filter .

 

[camelotshadow]

Don't like the wheel placement /attachment on Simplicity

I have the green Simplicity 7350 still but it's going to be canibalized for parts. It does not roll well as the plastic housing is broken at the screw that holds one wheel. It's really hard to push. It also just does not stand up in lock position.

Motor seems fine & sure it could be useful if one wanted to replace the bottom casing housing, the handle which is broken as I never replaced it because of the wheel issue I did not want to spend $ on it.

I love the 8955. I have two now & just ordered a 8900 which looks to be in excellent condition & I can use the cord & brush roller.

The 8900 does not have a 2 stage motor or the tools. Inside the bag compartment is really spacious & the vac is lighter. Hoping I will like the 8900 & if not it has parts for my 8955's.