Rainbow E2 and Tristar CXL airflow tests.

[blackheart]

Bill's been waiting for this one. I can honestly say I'm disappointed. I couldn't get the anemometer fully sealed to the machine's inlet so that figure could be a little higher. The filter should be in great shape as it was replaced not long after receiving it and it's been used pretty little since then. Well *shrugs* I guess it is what it is.

 

[blackheart]

Tristar CXL

This has always been one of my favorite canisters, it's so simple and yet so powerful. The hose comes from a Patriot and the wand is just a telescopic I modded to work with it, so it's not all genuine parts here. Every figure, aside from the nozzle, was pretty good. I could actually hear air leaks when it was on the box even switched to the shag mode which seems to be it's most powerful setting the max i could get out of it was 66.27

 

[wyaple]

So for several thousand dollars new, the Rainbow E2

gives you about the same performance (nozzle CFM and water lift) as a typical Chinese made inexpensive bag-less vacuum. Shocking! That being said it still is a very cool machine (I want one) and I'm very happy that the PN does about 21 CFM more than my 1997 D4C SE PE nozzle musters. So what the customer is really paying for here is the ability to use water rather than bags or bins to capture the dirt.

For comparison purposes, my 2013 Hoover Windtunnel 2 HC Pet does:
52 nozzle CFM and 76" of lift at the hose and a CFM density of 2.04.

Top notch work Devin! Keep 'em coming!

Bill

 

[rainbowguy2016]

Rainbow e2

So basically id would be better off not buying a newer Rainbow? Maybe i should just buy a new Kirby instead?

 

[blackheart]

Keep in mind

That airflow is only part of effective carpet cleaning. The rainbow's newer style PN i feel does a nice job. I do dislike all the dead space on the underside but eh it does a good job. If you want one get one. I honestly don't care for mine too much, i spent about 650 on it a few years ago, but since it's unique it has a place in my collection.

 

[durango159]

I'd like to see a comparison of a current model TriStar to this CXL TriStar!! They don't make TriStars as good anymore. I wonder how the current Rainbow would compare to a current model TriStar.

 

[tolivac]

These measurements could explain why you see so many Rainbows in the Kirby Trade in piles!The TriStar does do better!Like that older orig TriStar Compact design over the new 'Lux design.

 

[compactc9guy]

Compact/Tristar IEC for the win

I'm not surprise the Tristar CXL canister vacuum cleaner did better whit its Ameteck two stage twin fan motor, my Compact Electra C9 out performs every vacuum i had so far and ,i had plenty 10 or 13, in all from day one .The Compact Tristar whit its open bag design of the bag chamber out performs the Rainbow .Due to the dirt and air being separated ,the motor is never pulling air trough mountains of dirt ,like a conventional bag system so never loose suction and air flow so glad i have my Compact C9.

 

[tekjunkie28]

So... very interesting. What your paying for with the rainbow is a brushless motor and computer control of that. NOT cheap but it will last years and years. Also no bags so the suction in constant and the fact that it can mop and shampoo my carpets. That being said I think that as the ultimate cleaning arsenal a rainbow is a much just for filtration and maneuverability purposes. I still would like to have a Kirby or some other upright for real deep cleaning but I must say the rainbow does a really good job even with those numbers.

What I really want to see is CFM at the nozzle with a half full bag since thats one of the selling points of a Rainbow.

 

[n0oxy]

water filtration machines and newer tristars

Interestingly, the current water filtration machines are about 40 years behind a lot of the other machines that are available, at least as far as raw cleaning power goes. One way you can compare the actual power of a vacuum is to connect a turbine brush and see how fast the vacuum is able to spin it. While mhy Sirena is able to spin a turbo brush slightly faster than my Rainbow E2 black, both machines spin it about as fast as an Electrolux 1205 or Compact C6. I think the motors in these machines simply do not spin as fast as other current vacuums, this could be because they have a separator, not sure. The main reason that Rainbows are so expensive new is because they are sold door to door, so everyone needs to get a portion of the sale. The Sirena, although it has some differences, cleans just as well as a rainbow, but since it's sold on line or through vacuum stores, it's about a third of the price. Remember that as long as it has enough power to remove the dirt from the surface, it is doing its job, but if having the most suction and airflow is your top priority, I would say a water filtration machine is not for you, you will be disappointed with the results. That said, I enjoy both of my water filtration vacuums and think they clean very well.
Regarding the Tristar machines, I have a Miracle Mate and I'm pretty sure it uses the same motor as the Tristar CXL, I've also heard that this motor is used in the Metropolitan machine which I also have. My Miracle Mate is very powerful, so I would think the Tristar CXL would be as well. I think Aerus ruined Tristar when they purchased them. The quality is not as good, they no longer use the two stage motor, and the hose end and electrical connection are nonstandard now. Interestingly, the bags made for the Miracle Mate are closed bags, but I use the Tristar bags with mine since they are open, and an open bag will provide better airflow, at least in theory.
Mike

 

[blackheart]

Rainbows can lose their effectiveness too now that they have a hepa filter. Things especially non wettable materials can make it past the water bath and get into the filter. I will agree though despite it's numbers it does a respectable job. I found it to outperform a filter queen 75th an an electrolux guardian 9000. Both of which had higher baird readings.

Mike-
The turbine test relies on pressure/suction. I don't feel that's an effective way to measure performance. High pressure low flow machines like dyson will perform well on that test, but when it comes to both airflow testing and sand removal they do horribly.
Regarding Miracle mate and tristar. the miracle mate didn't pull as high of numbers on the baird guage when i had one. i recall getting a 4.5 using tristar bags. I never really understood why it seems to have a powerful motor to it. I kind of attributed it to the smaller cloth bag (i think it was smaller) giving less surface to pull air through, and the after filters. It's still a nice machine just very heavy

 

[tolivac]

I have two MM vacuums-they are nice-BUT their cords are just TOO short!Like the LONGER cord on the TriStar.

 

[n0oxy]

miracle mate

Yes, it's a good machine, but probably not worth what they are charging for them brand new, I got mine used from Great Vacs. Interesting that the Dyson would be able to spin a turbine fast but does not clean well, to clean well, you need a decent amount of both suction and airflow. Having too much of one and not enough of the other will compromise cleaning performance.
Mike

 

[troopersam]

Just a thought, but I’ve always kind of figured that water vacs were deliberately limited in terms of airflow simply because if they would pull the water right through the fans, separator or no, if the airflow was sufficiently high.