I Re-Stripped My Sanitaire

[human]

So I've never been particularly impressed with my Sanitaire SC686's ability to clean Persian rugs and after due consideration, decided the brush roll might be in need of new strips, even though they didn't look too bad to my untrained eye.

So I ordered two pairs of strips, which came in today. The bristles are noticeably stiffer and maybe 3mm longer than the ones I took out. One thing I don't understand is why they sell the strips in pairs—one long and one short—when you really need two of each. Installing them was more of a challenge than I expected. The strips were slightly wider than the channels into which they fit on the brush roll and putting them in required a bit of trimming from the widest part of the strips' plastic base, along with copious amounts of silicone spray. I also learned along way that because the strips are straight and the channels follow a somewhat spiral path, you have to twist them hard in a clockwise direction to get them to go. Each of the four strips was a little easier than the one before it, so I must have been improving my technique along the way.

Once I got everything buttoned up, I moved some chairs out of the way and vacuumed the Persian rug in my dining room. The improvement in performance was like night and day. Still, after running for two, maybe three minutes, there was an unmistakable odor of overheated rubber, presumably from the belt, so while it's definitely much better, it's still not perfect.

 

[lesinutah]

Height

I noticed if you adjust the height turn off the machine. If you make sure you adjust the height that smell goes away.
It could be me but the belt slips because of the adjustment while on.
It could help I just thought I'd throw it out there.
Les

 

[jo]

I’ve done this before

While the old brush strips were certainly cleaning and hitting the rug, they do indeed get worn as I noticed once I changed the ones on someone’s Eureka many years ago for her to tune up her machine for her. They get smoothed over and flex over too easily. One time I reversed the belt and made the brush roll run in reverse, that fluffed things up quite a bit, but it also made the vacuum have a weird sensation when pushing and pulling, hard to push forward, but glided right back!

Make sure the bearings aren’t binding in the roller, mine did that on a Hoover comvertible, once it warmed up they began to seize. They were cost,y to replace so I traded it in on an Electrolux Silverado the guy had used in the shop I was at so I never experienced actually replacing any.

Jon

 

[luxlife]

If the brush strips are the same size, you can invert/move them to another position on the steel brushroll and get a 2nd life out of them. I’ve done this before on Sanitaire uprights.

 

[kirbyklekter]

Edgar,

Any chance that the belt got twisted the wrong way when you put it back on? It happens. Makes the roller spin in the opposite direction.That probably wouldn't cause you to smell rubber though. The longer bristles might necessitate a higher height setting. Something is creating a drag on the roller causing the belt to heat up is what I suspect.

 

[gregvacs28]

It sounds like the new resistance is causing belt slippage.  Maybe time to replace the belt if it's giving a burning smell.


 


New brushes can def. breath new life into a power nozzle or upright.  If you can replace the beater bar with one that has twice the brushes than the original it will really make a difference.

 

[gregvacs28]

duplicate

 

[human]

The machine has always produced that hot rubber odor ever since I got it last fall. I'm pretty sure I've got the belt on the right way as the side of the belt running closest to the upper shell is lined up with the guide molded into the shell. The bearings might be an issue. I gave them a shot of silicone when I put the brush roll back together but I probably ought to grease them.

Comparing the old brush strips to the new, the old ones' bristles are slightly shorter, noticeably softer and more splayed out, sort of like an old toothbrush, compared with a new one. Without the new ones for comparison, they seemed fine. Also, something doesn't feel right about the height adjustment. Even on a Persian rug, I have to keep the height on "High" or "Shag" to keep from snapping the belt. I guess it's a good thing I have a generous supply of belts.

 

[kirbyklekter]

This might be a stretch but,

how worn is the belt pulley? I ask because on a couple older vacuums that I took to a shop for repairs I couldn't do, I was told my pulleys were worn thin. They were actually kinds of sharp on the outer rim, and in the other, the inner groove had worn so thin it wouldn't take much force to snap it in half! I know that on motor pulleys, like adjustable width pulleys often used in HVAC blowers etc. that the lower the belt rides in the pulley,from adjusting the pulley width, it increases the RPM and changes the amp draw too. Over my head for sure but just curious if a worn pulley could play into what you are experiencing. On some cleaners the rollers I will check by holding the ends and spinning the roller on something like my leg just to get it spinning to check for dragging, like hair in the bearing. Also some rollers you can twist the ends tighter, and if you turn them in too much the roller stops spinning, the tighter you tighten the ends. I've had to loosen the ends just a turn or two to stop the roller from rattling in it's holder.Hope that makes since.A rescue vac I picked up had the roller so tight I'm sure it was burning through belts like nobody's business! The belt was melted on the pulley.

 

[suckolux]

I agree Bill about the drive hub maybe worn, it's older. Questioning if the height adjuster cam is working right too. Just my 2 cents