Neptune Aquafilter vacuum - a childhood find!

[turbo500]

Hi all,

So, a bit of backstory first.

Back in about 1998 (I think!) my godparents bought a water filtration vacuum from an in-home demonstrator. At the time, they had a Vax 2000 suction only cleaner and thick carpets. It was the first time I'd ever seen any kind of water filtration vacuum and my Dad (who loves a gimmick!) was very impressed. He got a demo from the same person and bought one. I think it was around £300 from what I remember.

My Dad soldiered on with it for a fair few years until he left it full of dirty water one week and when he went back to it, it had gone all gross and manky inside. So he threw it away and bought an Electrolux from the Co-Op.

I never knew anyone else who owned one and they've rarely cropped up on ebay. I don't think they ever really took off.

Anyway, fastforward to 2017 and I now own one!!! I'm so pleased!! It's not the same colour as the one we had (ours was green) but I remember the brochure that came with my Dad's had both this and the green model on the cover.

It was absolutely filthy when I got it and caked in dried on dust. I don't think whoever owned this ever really cleaned it properly, but after a strip down, new air filters and a whiz through the dishwasher for the seperator and tank, it's come up lovely. It came with all the tools and the user manual.

The dusting tools store in a little compartment on the back and it comes with 3 floor tools - combo hard floor/carpet tool, a huge air-driven turbobrush that's one of the best turbo brushes I've used and a wet pick up squeegee tool. Sorry US friends, no powernozzle.

I've just vacuumed the house and the water was FILTHY! Even after 2 vacuums this week with a Sebo and Electrolux Twin Turbo upright, I was still astounded at what it's pulled out of our carpets.

A full video demo will follow, but in the meantime, here is a snap!

 

[dysonman1]

Love the color. Does it use a separator like a Rainbow, or just a series of baffles to keep the water out of the motor?

 

[turbo500]

It seems to have a proper separator. The seperaor sits in the top of the tank with the the hose plugging into it. A wide air path then carries the dust and dirt into the water

 

[compactc9guy]

Interesting

Interesting never seen that would love to know more about it

 

[kirbyvertibles]

Isn't this also called the PIGG over here? It looks just like an odd water vacuum we have here based out of Texas called the PIGG (NOT to be confused with the Nss pig)

 

[kirbylux77]

Phillip - Yes, that's right. Both the PIGG & Neptune are manufactured by Zelmer in Poland.

Rob

 

[hoovermatic]

So the Neptune lives on as the Zelmer Aquawelt. Just looked at the spec and they have now improved on it by making it a carpet washer and a water filter vacuum, or if you prefer it can be used with filter bags instead of using the water filter. I knew the Neptune reminded me of something similar.

http://www.zelmer.com/for-home/vacu...um-cleaners/aquawelt-plus-zvc762sp-vc7920-0sp

 

[turbo500]

Thanks all, I was wondering who manufactured these so that's very handy to know.

I will be doing a full demo of it shortly, I promise, I've just been a little bit busy studying lately. Hoping to get something together this weekend.

 

[turbo500]

Just a bit of a taster of what's to come, here is what the Neptune pulled out of our mattress, which we normally vacuum monthly anyway.

 

[turbo500]

Video demo

http://https//youtu.be/D20XjwODXwI

 

[unconscious]

Hey guys!

Yeah, as a Pole I can sure agree these are made by Zelmer in Poland, or at least used to, since Zelmer moved it's factory from Rzeszów in the south of the country to China. My auntie had one of those - there was a lower end model with just the suction option (there's a blowing plug at the back as well) and a higher end one with a pump inside for washing. Actually, a couple of years ago they released yet another one in the same shape with an additional function of steam cleaning.

Either way, they're an utter fail. Zelmer isn't best when it comes to designing vacuums. I used these particular models multiple times and they're bulky, loud, prone to tipping over. Would constantly clog or blow water out the other side.. which isn't really that safe is it? They would constantly break and just usually end up hidden in a closed. There's LOADS of them on our polish version of eBay and they go super cheap. The water filtration is also a bit of a joke, it's like as if someone pushed a bagged vacuum to having a water filter. Filtration was very poor, it kept clogging and the cleaning process... don't get me started!

I'll post you some instruction manuals if you're interested guys!

 

[unconscious]

This is basically the same model. They were either called Zelmer Wodnik Duo (wet+dry vac hence duo) with one of the buttons masked just like on your model or Zelmer Wodnik Trio (wet + dry vac + shampoo hence trio) with an additional button to activate the pump and a hose that stores the pipe inside. Wodnik literally means Aquarius.

 

[unconscious]

[No message]



View attachment unconscious-2017051707041208918_2.jpg

 

[unconscious]

One yet difference - their water filters started off looking like the one you have - a simple pipe going down into the tank and a foam filter separating the water from air. Later on they decided to 'advance' them making them much more complex, or just - complicated and literally pointless. They used to advertise their 6 step cleaning system, which was - a very poor paper bag, a felt filter literally submerged in water, water, foam filter, another felt filter and carbon dust filter. Sounds fun for one use, but the bag would always end up getting wet (cause it's literally in the same tank as water) and it would be a horrible mess to clean.

 

[katie]

Where to find spare parts?

Hi, I found your conversation thread as I was searching the internet to find where I may be able to purchase spare parts for my dearly loved Neptune Aquafilter vacuum cleaner. I tried contacting the company Zelmer directly, however they told me that it was supplied to Australia by the former distributer of the former owner of the Zelmer company - shopvac. I contacted them, and again no luck. I purchased my unit in 2005, here in Australia, and it has been amazing. I just got a small crack in the hose, from general wear and tear, and it is letting in air, so the head is no longer spinning because its not receiving the full suction. I would so much love to hear there are spare parts still available for this vacuum - even if from overseas, so I can keep on enjoying my unit for another 15 years! Thankyou for any links to possible help, much appreciated.

 

[madman]

Shop-Vac just went out of business