Must be something in the (Rainbow) water...?

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So cool!

I didn't realize they had the 14 foot hoses with the older machines, but I do know one thing, they are GREAT! Glad you ordered one. You can literally park the rainbow and get everything high and low as far as dusting & you don't need to keep switching outlets as well. Did you put anything in the water for scent?
 
Must be something in he (Rainbow) water

Dear Fred,
What a beautiful job! It was great to see all the pictures of the guts.
As you remember I have the very same machine. I agree with Bud. My machine and power nozzle are very quiet.
When I did he Rainbow test and ONLY used my Rainbow SE for 1 year,I was SURE that the power nozzle wasn't doing much but at end the end I used my Kirby and Hoover Windtunnel and they pulled almost nothing from the thick carpet so I found the power nozzle was doing a better job than I thought. My power nozzle was also very easy to push on the thick carpets.
On the down side, I hated all the different pieces,hoses and the fact that the dolly did not lock on the machine. I never used the attachement holder or the dolly.
I think you will get about same reults with any Rexair but that new machine is worlds apart from the older SE in user features.
The trouble is once you get used to not having to dust anything and not storing the dirt and filth it is hard to go back.
The door storage rack and the fact that the new machine stores right back on the lock on dolly and ONE set of hoses and wands makes it much more user friendly.
I have been told by several Rexair experts that the SE was one of the bettter Rainbow models and I never had any problems with mine. I bought mine in fall of 1993.
Now, that Rainbow just does not look right in your house of beautiful Hoovers!
Thanks for sharing all the pictures.
Rob
 
How about an AquaMate to shampoo the carpet & squeegee & squeegee adaptor to wash the floors? I'll bet that'll be a COMPLETE Rainbow vac; no Rainbow SE is complete without an AquaMate.
 
That turned out absolutely beautiful! As of right now, I really do not have the confidence to do a tear down like that, so I applaud you on that! I do have one question, when you ordered the 10 foot electric hose, did the handle come attached? I would like to get one for my SE, but I would want it to have the trigger handle like my regular hose has.

Thanks and Congrats!
Chase
 
Chase -- The hose did not come with the handle attached. I had to swap the handle and all of the parts inside of the handle. I did order new handle halves, as the ones on the hose which came with the machine were cracked/broken.

The 12' hose without the handle attached was $94 bucks... vs. the one in the link above which is $146, complete with handle. It wasn't the easiest handle to swap over, but I've certainly encountered ones that are more difficult. I may buy all of the parts to put a trigger-handle on my hose, that seems like a smart idea.

I don't think I want to mess around with an Aqua Mate. I have a Hoover SteamVac that has suited me well for years. I don't want to have to hook something up to the sink and deal with that. I might get the squeegee eventually, but I have a Haan steamer that does an incredible job on the floors.

I did put a few drops of "clean air" into the tank, but didn't really smell it while I was using the vacuum. I probably should have used more. Next time.

The water was pretty black. I should have probably emptied and refilled halfway through. Next time.

I may replace some parts on the powerhead, motor included. It just doesn't sound very healthy. I'm also curious to try the aftermarket agitator with all bristles. I may also need to adjust the gasket on the bottom plate. The old one was dried out and crumbled when it went through the dishwasher. I had put some closed-cell foam back in its place, but might not have it seated exactly where it needs to be.

I may also at some point get the larger water basin. But that's low on the priority list. More stuff to store. I still haven't figured out where this one is going to live. All of those hoses and wants.. It's a lot to keep in one place. I need the hanger to mount on the back of a door.

The collection is getting pretty full -- I'm going to have to part way with some machines soon... Just not enough room for all of them!
 
Fred ,
First off nice work on the rainbow, you have given me the motivation to get one that has been sitting in my shop for ages out and rebuild it.

BTW we use a large Indesit dishwasher to wash all the body partsof the vacuums we work on , however we do use it on heat but I have fitted a new lower temp element into it as the original one got very hot, it never melted anything but would dryout the plastic, especially on lavender colour parts.

If you don't mind me asking what do you do for a living

Gareth
 
Therre Must Be Something in the (Rainbow) water

Fred,
I just checked the date on mine and it was 392.
Can you imagine that Tom was surpriesed when I bought that new Rainbow back in 1992!!!
I have the Aquamate for my SE that hooks up to the sink. I would not bother with one as mine is a real pain to hook up and use. Also, I never liked or messed with that stupid attachment holder and cord holder. That is just a personel preference.
I do love the squeegee. You need to find a door rack if you keep the SE.
It really simplifies all the storage.

I need to replace the foam seal on my power nozzle too. I did replace the origianl beater bar with the newer style all brush. It does a better job of grooming the carpet but I have tried both the brush and the beater bar and with the sand the beater bar seemed to work just as good.
If I could not get a HOover or my Kirby to pull dirt on my rugs after a year,the Rainbow was doing a good job.
There is not even a close comparison between the old power nozzle and the new design.
Now what ever you do DO NOT TRY THE NEW BLACK RAINBOW or you will want one.
You did a beautiful job.
Rob
 
Eurekastar

I don't think it's significant. I can speak for the 14 foot non electric hose as it wants to inhale everything in its path. I didn't bother buying the longer electric hose since I'm only getting carpets with that and not high places, but I guess the suction loss due to length would be minimal. I do know they also sell a 30 foot hose! Can you believe that? I mean, that's like a central vacuum hose!
 
Now what ever you do DO NOT TRY THE NEW BLACK RAINBOW or you

Too late, Rob!  I already want one.  But I'd order mine with the longer hose.  :-)


 


I'm really itching to get my e-Series up and running now... I need a powerhead and powerhead wand for that one.  It also could use a new set of regular wands and a bare floor tool.


 


I'm excited to use the SE again! 


 


To those of you who have one of these, how wet is the gasket supposed to get?  I feel like when I'm done, and empty the machine, that gasket is a little damp.  Not sopping wet, but damp enough.
 
There musdt be soemthing in the (Rainbow) water

Fred,
The gasket on my SE always is a little damp after use (not soaked)and has always been that way since it was new. I don't think this is the case with my "d" or the new machine.
 
I vacuumed tonight with a D4 and afterwards checked the gasket.  It was slightly wet on one side.  That made me curious so I latched an empty water basin onto the motor unit and did a visual inspection.  What I found was that the mouth of the water basin doesn't line up perfectly with the gasket.  There's just a little overhang and that's where the gasket was wet. 
 
The gasket on my SE is getting brittle & flaking off, so I'm going to need a new one soon. Even with a worn gasket, the SE still has full suction. :)
 
Used it again tonight... I needed to unwind after a long day at work.  I'm continually impressed with the constant airflow of this machine.  It's nothing I didn't know about (the fact that Rainbows have great airflow) -- I just haven't really ever used one over any regular length of time before.  It's quiet (which Robert appreciates), and just feels like a quality vacuum when you're using it. 


 


I put a bit more scent in it tonight (I got a 3 oz bottle of "Fresh Air" to try) -- so we could actually smell it this time.  ;-)


 


I took it upstairs, to vacuum the carpet.  I had adjusted the gasket on the bottom plate of the powerhead a bit.  It seems to groom the carpet a little better than the other day.  It's still has a little "rattle" to it, and is still a bit on the noisy side.  But I do think it's doing a better job of cleaning than I think it's doing.  That powerhead really does vibrate the floor.


 


Got Robert to snap a picture of me using it... (with proper Rainbow form, of course!  The machine behind me, hose held in my right hand, coming around my back and letting the tools do the work!)

hoovercelebrity++7-18-2012-23-07-9.jpg
 

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