Oreck XL 2600HH Trash Find

[schwinnapproved]

A friend of mine picked this up out of the trash for me yesturday. When I went over to his house to get it I noticed that the handle was all torn apart as if somebody was at one time attempting an electrical repair and then gave up and tossed it. The thing was thilthy and the bag was all dingy and brown from dirt and who knows what else. Now my friend who found me this happened to have the same model Oreck but the motor was shot so I grabbed it for parts.

After swapping the better handle and cord on it I fired it up. It sounded great! That right there is why I ended up spending a good 4 hours swapping parts and cleaning it up. I found out that the fan housing was cracked (a typical issue with these) and the brush roll, although newer, was nearly seized up. One cool thing though was that the motor was recently new, seemed much better of quality than the original parts vac motor. Did Oreck update and improve the motor design for these classic XL's? Even the commutator was still nice and shiny!

As you will be able to see in the pics, I was able to save this little guy from certain doom. I never had good luck with Oreck vacuums in the past and often would find myself repairing my 9100C left and right, motor gave out before 1st bag was full . So after that I kind of kept my distance. This 2600 is more of a second chance I guess. I'll give them another try. They are fun to use and are practically weightless, not to mention very manuverable and convinient.

With this one actually having a good running motor and a fresh bag, I am much more impressed with its overall cleaning than my old 3 AMP 9100 (when it ran). It actually does a great job grooming the carpets, even the ones that most of my machines struggle with.

Enjoy the pics...

 

[schwinnapproved]

The brush roll and undercarrige, belt storage is nice to have.

 

[schwinnapproved]

And here is the info... Note that it is a Remanufactured model. Not sure when that was done though.

 

[a1945]

Wow

Looks like it's in really good shape after all the swapping, brushroll looks soft though

 

[ohio_tuec]

"Remanufactured"

These were what Oreck calls "show models." They were vacuums that were returned during the 30-day trial, cleaned up, and sold at a lower price point. For all intents and purposes, it's like buying a new machine, only the show models have a 1 year warranty, and the original warranty on the XL-2600 was three years. The date code on the machine is 02129, meaning it was remanufactured on the 129th day of 2002. The XL-2600, first came out in 1998 (as the mid-range classic model) and was available new until 2001. The XL-3600 "40th Anniversary Edition" came out in 2002 to replace it. This was right in the period of time when Oreck had problems with defective fan housings so make sure yours isn't cracked. I'd say you got yourself a pretty nice find there ;-)

- Karl

 

[schwinnapproved]

Alex, the brush roll is soft but it is quite plush. Its very similar in texture to some of the ones used in Royal uprights and the original DD Hand Vac.

Karl, mine did have a cracked fan housing, luckily the one on my parts Oreck was still good.

I didn't realize that this model was that new. It looks quite similar in design and mechanics to my '93 Oreck that I used to have.

 

[joe22]

the brush is soft and was called the micro sweep, was said to be able to sweep sand of bare floors. that's part of the oreck mystique (sarcasm intended)

nice find ! ! ! congrats

 

[ohio_tuec]

Actually.....

The "microsweep" pertains to that rubber squeegee just behind the chrome strip on the bottom plate. It prevents sand and fine debris from being swept behind the cleaner on a bare floor. If this is a 2002 machine, it might even have the newer 24-bar motor. I'd have to see the commutator to say for sure....

 

[vinvac]

If you think it grooms the carpet well now, try removing the small front wheels...makes a big difference. The commercial model doesn't have those wheels.

I love my Oreck and believe that they do clean well. My XL21 is a great vacuum. I used to think they were not a deep cleaning vacuum, but my opinion is changing on that as well. When I replace a bag...there is a good amount of sand and grit. Grant it will never out clean a Sanitaire, a Royal or Kirby, but they do have thier place in the market.

Working on them is a true joy. Simple, easy, and quick. Hesco carries a replacement brush roll (I think a Cleavland Wood Products) that I think works better than the original Oreck. Seems to be a little stiffer.

My preference is a bagged machine and the new Oreck bags are awesome. Never see the dirt...just what I want. It seals itself shut as you remove it....a great design.

Price would be my only complaint.

Morgan