Rainbow D2 question

[jfalberti]

Hello everyone,


 


When I was in the hospital last year, I bought this Rainbow model D2 off eBay.  Now, I've had D2s before, one with a power nozzle and one straight suction, and they had grounded plugs.  This D2 has what appears to be a new cord, and it isn't grounded.  From what I understand the older machines were grounded because they were not double insulated.  Newer machines are so no more grounding.  My question is this.  Is it safe to use this machine as is, or should I get a proper grounded cord and replace the one that is on it?


 


Any thoughts or opinions are greatly appreciated.


 


Joe

 

[eurekastar]

That's a beautiful D2!  I would think that, since that model is almost all metal, it would be especially important to have a ground wire attached to the motor.  I've never owned one, but is the water pan molded plastic or metal?  Thanks!

 

[jfalberti]

Thanks Bill,

The machine is all metal and the water pan is plastic.  It is a beautiful machine,.  I was looking for a D2 when I found it, and it was so nice and 99% complete, I splurged and bought it.  Only thing missing I think is the spray gun.  I was going to bring it to the convention this year, but things haven't worked out so I can't attend. :-(


 


Joe

 

[henry200]

The earlier models were not grounded, as all previous Rexairs.  If there's no PN outlet but there's a grounded cord then the cord is a replacement.  I'm not sure at what point UL must have decided they had to be grounded.  My mom's, (sans PN) purchased around 1972-ish wasn't grounded, nor the one I bought (with PN) a few years later after college.

 

[eurekastar]

I'm going out on a limb here:  But I'm guessing that the motor set up on a D2 is the same as a D3 since they use the same motor.  If that's the case, then one place where a short can occur is in the area of one particular bushing through which most of the wiring passes.  If the D2 has that same kind of set up, I'm guessing that the wiring would be passing through metal (if the bushing fails).  Another potential hazard would be inside the switch cover.  The D3 has a paper insulator inside it.  If the insulator in a D2 fails or is missing and a wire shorts out against the metal housing, I would think that grounding would be pretty important.  I haven't worked on a D2 or seen one with my own eyes (only a few photos), so I don't know any of this for sure. 

 

[eurekastar]

And while I'm thinking about it...

It seems like the primary area for insulation failure would be where the cord enters the vacuum.  I've seen numerous pictures on Ebay where the cord was separating from the strain relief/grommet.