Oreck

[vacmaster0000]

Hello, so I have a Oreck XL Pilot. The one that turns with the twist of the wrist. Anyways I love it. Today I vacuumed my house very very good and slow making sure not to miss a thing. I do this everyday, so you think I'm getting the most of the grit and dirt out? Also if I were to vacuum up wrappers, would it get stuck? And how many coins would it take to bust a fan? My oreck store says they rarely replace fans enless the people abused them on a daily basis, by sweeping up marbles and stuff. But they do replace a Lot of fan housings. They seem to bust easier than the fan apparently. So thats all I wanted to know. Thanks..!

 

[whirlsonicmore]

The Pilot is still fairly new. I haven't had any come to me yet. Guess they're still under warranty. The standard XL models get fans pretty often, mainly from wear though. Those tiny fans can slam through alot of stuff before a blade goes flying. Alot of times housings do indeed get cracked and spew dust.

Any piece of paper or plastic that's big/ long enough is more likely to get hung up and wrap around the fan. Doesn't do damage, but is annoying.

 

[vacmaster0000]

Yeaaaa!

Yeah the paper is annoying! Shredded paper gets swept up, no Problem. But wrappers and stuff! ANNOYING. Lol

 

[tolivac]

Again-with large peices of paper such as wrappers vs the Oreck fan-DON'T DO IT.The wrapper could rub against the fan and erode it.Maybe one wrapper on the floor may not hurt-but don't push your luck.and don't use the Oreck to pick up coins,screws,nails and such.they will surely break the fan and or fancase.Orecks are good-but you should be careful what you let it eat off your floor.and large amounts of sand and pebbles aren't good either.Listen to the sound of the machine carefully if you insist on picking up paper wrappers.If you hear a high pitched "WEEE--EEEEE" noise-stop the machine at once and clear the wrapper out.Paper clippings from a paper shredder shouldn't be problem.Just don't try to pick up mounds of them at once.May clog the bag fill tube.

 

[vinvac]

<span style="font-size: medium;">I don't have the Pilot but do have the XL21.  A daily driver for me.  My sister also has the XL21 and if it can stand up to her...it will stand up to anyone!</span>


 


<span style="font-size: medium;">Contrary to how many folks feel here, the Oreck in my opinion is a good vacuum.  Many feel that it is not a deep cleaner, but when I empty a bag, I am always surprised by the amount of grit and sand.  So, that tells me it is a good job.</span>


 


<span style="font-size: medium;">Paper will tend to clog the vacuum.  No doubt about that, but you are right, the fans rarely seem to break but the fan housings on the cheaper models do tend to crack and break.  I can't count the number of fan housings I have replaced for people.  I generally replace the fan when I do the repair, but only because the machine is apart, the fan is cheap, it might as well be replaced.</span>


 


<span style="font-size: medium;">Morgan</span>

 

[twocvbloke]

"so you think I'm getting the most of the grit and d

With an Oreck, no, they're basically just a motorised carpet sweeper, more for quick surface-litter pickup in my opinion, an Oreck just doesn't have the power to do the same work of a Kirby or Sanitaire, or even a Hoover Junior, the fan's too small the pipework is too narrow, the motor is tiny, it's just an expensive gimmick...

 

[kirbyloverdan]

Well David

I am sure you have not seen or used the Pilot or an XL21 or an Oreck Gold . These machines have a larger fan , larger pipes and stiffer brush roller for increased airflow + far better pick up.These new Orecks really clean very well. I own many of the newest Orecks (15) and think they are all very good machines and have improved compared to the older machines.

 

[henry200]

I second what kirbyloverdan has to say.  My impression of Orecks was that they were glorified electricbrooms; good for light pickups but nothing serious.  The newer models are dramatically better.  My mother has one and I think it's actually a bit too powerful.  Her's really grabs hold of the plush carpeting making it a little difficult to push.

 

[kirbyduh]

Even..

The older models weren't bad. My 3 year old commercial model has enough suction to lift up the side of our area rugs. My grandparents use their 5 year old MOL model to vacuum their deep pile carpet twice and sometimes just once a week. The carpet is as old as the vacuum and it gets a lot of traffic. There isn't a single worn down place!

 

[vac-o-matic]

I'm a part-time Oreck sales/service employee that sees several Orecks a week come in for tune-ups, most of them "free" that came with the purchase of the machine, or some people buy a service contract if they just want to keep theirs in top notch condition. I have to tell you, some of these machines come in weighing way more than their 8 or 9 lbs., with full bags. The weight of these bags tell me it getting more up than just dust and lint! Some of them require two hands to pull out the disposable bag. I always suggest if they want to fill, and overfill the bags, they use the Hepa odor-fighting bags as they have better airflow as the bags fill. In some cases when they come in with broken fan housings from picking up things too big or hard to pass through the fan, I tell them "it says Oreck on the front, not Toro!" I rarely replace the actual fan, they seem to hold up pretty well. A good brushroll is also very important in an Oreck, I tell people the brushroll does 80% of the work, and the suction the other 20%. If the belt and brushroll are in good shape, they serve their owners very well. What's funny is some people bring in a 4 or 5 yr. old machine for the first time, and say it isn't cleaning, and I turn it over to find a complete worn out brushroll and can tell the belt has been off for some time! It's amazing that some people never turn it over to check it out. Oh well, job security!

 

[henry200]

worn out brush roll and broken belt

I've seen that myself.  One church where I worked had an Oreck on the lower level for cleaning classrooms, rehearsal rooms etc.  I pulled it out once when I was rearranging the choir room and could tell before I even turned it on that it wasn't going to do a good job.  It spewed clouds of dust into the air the second I turned it on.  The bag was so choked with dust it had blown off the mounting on the fill tube.  I went on to discover that the brushroll, or what was left of it wasn't turning because the belt was stretched and splitting.  I quickly put the thing away and grabbed the Sanitaire from upstairs.  (another story)  A day or two later, there was the custodian, merrily vacuuming away with that Oreck, totally oblivious to its condition!

 

[vinvac]

Remember, Amps don't clean....air flow and good brushing action clean the carpet. Any of the Orecks would have the same air flow most of the older Hoover, Eureka, Kirby, Royal vacuums had, most of the Orecks have an excellent brushroll...so you have both peices of what makes a vacuum clean well.

I would love to be able to put a Sani-emptor on a Royal vacuum...I think the air flow would be amazing.

Morgan

 

[vacman117]

I think the Oreck is a great vacuum. I have quite a few of them, but my favorite is my 2008 two speed one. It is all black and has the LED lights, but it is not the XL21, I think it is one step lower than that. Model 4120 I think. But anyways, it really sticks to all of my carpet and rugs when I use it, and you can hear it getting deep down into the carpet and pulling up all the grit. My older models, not as much, but they still get the job done.

 

[thermokid]

I am a reformed Oreck customer...

I use to think that Orecks were glorified electric carpet sweepers. But now I have a Oreck XL21. I'll just have to say that is the best Oreck I have ever owned. It is a lot quieter and a lot more powerfull then the older Oreck models. I use it as my daily driver for quick pickups, but I still use my Kirby Diamond Edition or Electrolux Gaurdian to do the deep down cleaning..... Dan

 

[sleepdoc]

XL21

Like some of you, I used to think that Oreck couldn't make anything worth using. I changed my mind when I used an XL21, which I promptly bought from Rick. I don't think there's any substitute for using one of those vacuums if one's mind is made up that no Oreck is effctive. Unfortunately, I don't care for the feel and the bag assembly on the new Pilot. I had one and gave it away. I prefer the 21, but the Pilot is functionally the same vacuum.

 

[fanonthefloor]

Orecks are ok ours is 9 years old and it grooms the carpet nicely but it doesnt deep clean which isnt a problem because i can use another vacuum to deep clean.

 

[trebor]

Deeper and deeper...

Only a carpet with pile deeper than 3/4 of an inch cannot be adequately cleaned by an Oreck XL21, or Pilot. Not sure about the Oreck Edge, because it is the most powerful upright Oreck has ever made, but quite new to the market, and Oreck does not seem to be pushing it.

An older Hoover, a Sanitaire, a Royal metal upright, or a Kirby is capable of lifting the carpet and giving it a thorough shaking. Vibrating a carpet that is flat on the floor will removed deeply embedded sand and dirt also, but only with very powerful suction and airflow behind the agitation. Lifting the carpet makes the sweeping action more effective, and lesser suction can pull the dirt into the bag because of the higher volume of airflow.

No matter how effective a power nozzle canister, or a clean fan upright may be, it is due largely to tweaking the design and boosting the motor power.

Before we went nuts over filtering every last particle our vacuums inhale, a 3 amp motor with positive agitation, a good belt and brush roll was sufficient to dig the deepest dirt out of carpets with pile 1" deep or less.

Clean air/direct air is one major distinction in vacuum design. In my view we need to acknowledge another distinction when talking about carpet cleaning: positive agitation wherein the carpet is picked up and held by the suction of the machine while it is vibrated, or passive agitation, where the carpet is agitated while lying flat on the floor and NOT picked up by the suction of the vacuum cleaner.

To my knowledge, no one has ever invented an effective quick changeover to attachment use for an upright employing positive agitation, actually sucking up and holding the carpet off the floor while it is being cleaned.

So whether or not an Oreck, or any other vacuum cleaner deep cleans is dependent on a number of factors:

Is the carpet glued down? How dirty is it? Is the vacuum at peak efficiency? How thick is the carpet? Does it really need to be cleaned with a positive agitation upright to get all the dirt?

You can test all you want, but a positive agitation upright with a cloth bag will remove more heavy sand and dirt more quickly than any other arrangement. It is the simplest, most energy efficient design.

 

[kirby519]

My Heritage II can pick up a cut to fit carpet or installed carpet over a pad and vibrate it very well. That was the idea behind the kirbys triple cushion vibration. Obviously not glue down carpets.