Oreck XL Commercial repair

[niclonnic]

Hey guys, I was doing volunteer work at a community center. While vacuuming with their Oreck XL, I vacuumed up a small, folded piece of paper (it was a receipt I think). All of a sudden, I heard a weird noise and then shut off the vacuum. I knew that the scrap of paper had clogged the Oreck!

So I unplugged it, and went through the following steps to fix it:
1. Flipped the vacuum over with the bottom facing up
2. Used a Phillips screwdriver to remove 5 screws on the bottom
3. Lifted off the bottom plate
4. Removed 1 screw on the side and removed the belt access cover
5. Removed the brush roll and belt
6. Looked inside the intake, and couldn't find anything
7. Unhooked the outer bag, then twisted the locking collars and pulled out the tube; couldn't find anything

After all that disassembly, I looked into the fan housing, and sure enough, the scrap of paper was stuck in there! So then I put everything back together, and the Oreck worked great again!

This was the first time I've taken apart an Oreck XL, and I was surprised at how simple the inside layout was. There's a motor, brush roll and belt, plus an intake tube where the dirt travels through the fan. However, there is no sound insulating material. The rest is hollow plastic.

Overall, I enjoy using the Oreck XL. It's very lightweight and has a large capacity bag, but also disappointing in a few ways as it's LOUD and has a soft brush roll and narrow dirt tube.

This repair was relatively simple. The dirt tube was a struggle to remove, though. It took 10-15 minutes.

I didn't take any pictures, but I attached a page from the manual showing how to remove a blockage.

 

[daknx1994]

Oreck's are one of the easiest machines to work on. However yes they are screamers. The only thing that I do not like about Oreck's in commercial settings is the brushrolls are soft and wear so quickly due to the soft bristles. A lot of people use them on hard floors, and that is good but it wears them down so quickly. I can't tell you how many people are like "I just replaced that brushroll a year ago!" I wish Oreck would come out with a steel brushroll so you could replace the brush strips and be able to chose whether you want soft or more aggressive ones. That would make the units a little more suitable for commercial use.

 

[blackheart]

brushroll

the 2 speed xl i had came with a very soft white brushroll. I picked up a replacement from the shop, which was most likely a cwp, and it was stiffer than the original. The new brushroll increased the power of the agitation and you could see smaller particles bouncing near the front of the machine.

 

[niclonnic]

I agree

The Oreck XL is certainly one of the easier vacuums I've had to work on. I don't use it on hard floors to avoid wearing down the brush roll. I only use the Oreck on carpet.

As for agitation, I find that despite the soft brush roll, the Oreck really does have good agitation! When I use it on the entry mats, which are a thicker pile, surface particles dance around in front of the machine.

 

[sebo_fan]

The agitation from the Oreck is down to the bushy bristles.

 

[suckolux]

that and they seem to almost be held up by the brushroll too, good pressure on it.