My Vacuum Tests 1980-2012 Models

[wyaple]

Hopefully, this post (my first) will generate much interest. I have a small collection of vacs and have recently had blast restoring 2 Kirby's and my golden oldie, a 1980 Electrolux Olympia One. I have some test equipment and ran some tests on 4 machines, ranging from the aforementioned 1980 Electrolux to a 2012 Hoover Tempo Widepath. All machines were restored/upgraded to full HEPA capability. Well, as much as possible anyway.

What is so striking is the motor efficiency. The Kirby's win by the proverbial mile, and the Hoover is the least efficient. Also, high grade HEPA bags have better airflow than paper...gee, what a surprise!

 

[constellation86]

Welcome to Vacuumland. It looks like you put in a lot of work! What test equipment did you use?
Nicholas

 

[wyaple]

Baird meter (hose and body suction), Baird Power tester (rug plate suction) and a lab grade current meter.

The 2012 blue Hoover Tempo Widepath is rated at and has a giant "12" indicating the current draw, yet only uses 9.7 Amps. The Heritage II Legend is the efficiency king, using only 4.4 Amps when the nozzle only is attached.

Bill

http://https//www.facebook.com/BairdMeterInc

 

[vacuumlover]

Interesting read.

 

[human]

Interesting comparison, considering I have a similar collection of vacuums, except for the Hoover. I have a 1969 Electrolux 1205, a 1983 Kirby Heritage 1HD, and three G-series Kirbys (a G5 and two G sixes). I'm assuming my Electrolux would score a little weaker than yours but my Kirbys would likely be pretty similar to your two corresponding models.

 

[djub85]

Yeah the 1205 would score worse than an Olympia One. I'd be curious to see how a new Aerus Legacy/Classic would compare to the Olympia. The salesmen always claim that the new ones are so much stronger than the old ones. But only a test like this would be able to quantify it.

 

[wyaple]

I have updated my chart to finally include how much airflow is reduced in the 1980 Electrolux Olympia One when a 1/2 full HEPA bag is used. You'll see that the Baird meter drops to 5.0 from 8.5, which is about a 41% drop. Yes, I retested with an empty HEPA bag an upped the reading from the first chart from an 8.0 to an 8.5.

So what does this drop mean? Well, when a vacuum must pull air through a bag rather than push air into a bag, you lose suction fairly quickly as the bag fills up. The Kirby loses suction as the bag fills up as well, but much less due to the bag being much larger. I can remember using this Electrolux 30 years ago and noticing that at the point just before the bag needed replacing and the full bag light went on, suction was almost non-existent. Then after replacing the bag, full power was restored and I thought I had a brand new vacuum again.

Anyways, enjoy!

Bill

 

[wyaple]

Updated Chart to Reflect a 1997 Rainbow SE

I recently restored a 1997 Rainbow SE with a PN2. I was amazed that the airflow was so low, so I tested multiple times over several days and got the same results. Although the motor in the "power plant" is rated at 9.8 Amps, I discovered that this is only the peak turn on current. The motor uses 8.2 Amps without water in the bowl and further reduces to 7.8 Amps with the basin filled to the correct level. I'm going to do some PN2 motor tweaking to see if anything changes/improves and I'll post back any changes.

This bumps my "arsenal" to 7 vacs so far (two aren't listed or tested here). I've always wanted a rainbow and can't wait to put it into regular use.

Bill

 

[kenkart]

Re Baird

The Baird is a airflow meter, not a suction meter, any Electrolux has at least twice the sealed suction of a Kirby..

 

[charleskirby66]

Wyaple

THANK YOU!


 


This is an amazing bank of knowledge!  I feel that my love of Kirby is now completely validated by your findings. 

 

[wyaple]

Tweaked the Rainbow a little and

Managed slightly better numbers. Airflow has been improved both from body (no hose) and hose by 0.5 (Baird scale).