Rainbow E2 Black Teardown and Restoration

[reo580]

Hello Vacuumlanders.
Here are some albums of my current daily driver: my Rainbow E-2B. I got it for a pretty good deal.
I bought it sight unseen - I played some hardball to get a good deal. However, as the saying goes... It needed some work. Lol.
I used to be a vacuum cleaner repairman I did it full time, when people would ask me what's wrong with the Rainbow, I'd always say "The biggest problem with the rainbows are their owners."
I'm sure anyone here who is also a rainbow owner takes reasonable care of their Rainbow, i.e. Doesn't vacuum a 7000 sq foot house w/ 5 dogs on one 2qt pan of water w/o changing it, cleaning the separator, not switching from vacuuming to Aquamate and back to vacuuming w/o drying out the hose, etc. we know better.
My time repairing vacuum cleaners taught me that for some odd reason most John Q's don't take care of their rainbows.
Either they don't know how, or my favorite excuses " But I have kids!!" " But I have dogs, cats, reindeer etc" whatever - I never quite understood it. Never understood why someone would pay 2 grand for a rainbow and then let it go to rot and ruin.
They can be work. I won't argue that, but I've found the results to be well worth it.
But I digress, I bought my Rainbow from a "non collector" I guess.
This Rainbow was one of the worst I had ever seen. It was all funked up with god only knows what.
I gave this thing a proper teardown and a good scrubbing with Clorox outdoor bleach spray, Lysol disinfectant and Dawn detergent.
While I had it apart I thought of take some pictures of it: before, during and after. I also took some pictures of its "guts" for lack of a better word, for anyone who wanted to see what the E2B looks like torn down. Here are some albums... Enjoy
, Derek

 

[reo580]

some more photos

 

[reo580]

More photos

 

[reo580]

I took some "Beauty Shots" of the HEPA filter. The filter is Washable, I took one look at it and was like "the hell with it!" the filter went straight into the trash.
I cleaned this Rainbow out and it is as good as new. It is sitting on my side table happily humming in low speed, purifying the air.
I wound up replacing both fans, the roller brush, some attachments added a 4 qt water pan etc. Pretty much everything but the wiring got soaked in detergent and bleach before it got put back together.
I'll post some pics later of the Aquamate project.

 

[kirbysthebest]

Can't speak about new Rainbows

Since mine is 40 years old.  But in the last 40 years the number of times my Rainbow has broken, or required repairs is exactly  Zero, None.  It has always been a reliable machine.  


 


Luckily for the power nozzle, the Eureka sourced unit can be worked on by just about any shop so keeping it going was no chore either.   


 


My Kirby Omega has had one service in 40 years, My fault.  It ate a rock early in it's life while cleaning out the car.   I use shop vacs for the car now.   


 


 


 

 

[miskini]

Nice job. I would like to get a rainbow also. They never show up on Craigslist around here.

 

[floor-a-matic]

Its been barely two wks that I own the new Onyx; I just got it as a Xmas gift

I think mine is still like new; I change the water AFTER vacing EVERY ROOM (floor only) & then before dusting & above floor vacing; & after every 6 hrs in air cleaning mode

Mine has the side belt PN

Yours looks like the previous owner didn't change the water often enough or vacuumed non-wettable dirt (plaster dust, Love My Carpet or fireplace ash)

 

[stricklybojack]

.
Great work Derek. I love it when people take the time to document their vacuum rehabs.
I haven't had time to complete one in a while but have found the time to add a 1/2 dozen more vacs to the hoard!
The more recent Rainbows are fairly hard to find for me, at a decent price anyway, compared to peers like Kirby, and Filter Queen or Tristar.
Where did you find it? If you don't mind sharing, what is your total $ investment at this point, machine and parts? Thx

 

[floor-a-matic]

I mean doing ONLY the floor or carpet of just ONE room at a time then change water before starting the next room & change after that room, etc. After vacing the floor/carpet only, I vacuum the upholstery (change water after vacing ONE couch or mattress at a time) Next I change the water before dusting furnishings with the dusting brush & 14ft hose

I NEVER vacuum the whole house with just one filling of water on a 4qt basin like some do thinking that the larger basin can do everything at once

I am using the 4qt water basin for vacing; & the 2qt for air cleaning mode only

 

[floor-a-matic]

Did U get the RainJet or MiniJet yet?


 


Once U use a Rainbow, its hard to go back to a ordinary vacuum that uses bags/filters


 


Ever since I got a SE, my Compacts & Luxes have been restricted to quick use status

 

[reo580]

Hi Kirbysthebest, The Chrome domes are pretty good machines. They are remarkably quiet when they are well maintained. How long have you had your Omega? Did you get it new?

Thanks Miskini. They do come up on CL from time to time, but they go quick. Hope you find one. It took me a while for me to find this one.

Thank you Stricklybojack, I wish I could have done some vids of it, but that would have been too hard- having only one hand free to repair while the other holds the camera-lol.
To answer your question, I think I have about a grand and some change into it. Which will keep growing as I accumulate more and more accessories- haha.

 

[kirbysthebest]

Omega

Yes, it was bought new 5/30/1975. 


 

 

[reo580]

Hi Floor-a-matic,

How did you manage to score a brand new Onyx as an Xmas gift??
That's one hell of a present! I'm jealous.

As far as the HEPA on mine went- God only knows what the prior owner vacuumed up in it. As far as I'm concerned, pets and vacuums shouldn't mix. I think that many years ago someone in a marketing department circa 1920 ish, got the idea to remove the letter S from the word PEST and call them PET instead. But I digress.. that's my $0.02

It was quite a job to get my Rainbow up to my standards of clean, lots of soaking, bleaching, cleaning and elbow grease. I threw the HEPA out and bought a new one- I wasn't even going to bother with that.

No I don't have the Rainjet, Mini Jet or Supermop...Yet.
I bought a 4 qt pan, a new hard, blue bristle brush-roller (say that 3 times fast) new attachments to replace a couple that were missing and a few other odds and ends. I just ordered the 14' electric hose and a second set of fans. I have the Aqua-mate, but I haven't used it yet other than a quick test after I took it apart and cleaned it. I have a feeling that I will be adding to my Rainbow cleaning arsenal over the next year. I really want to get the Rainbow storage rack. I wish I could order new Rainbow Boxes for it.

How are you liking your new OYNX? How does the red light by the hose work? Is it a Pilot light (like on the d4- E2 series Powernozzles)? or is it for diagnostics?

Would like to see some photos of your Rainbow - bet we all would.

I am going to change out the fans in mine (again) I think I'm going to make a video of it when I do.

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Ugh, that's beautiful - congratulations on scoring such a neat machine. Nice restoration as well. I do that with any machine I bring home and want to put into use - I have enough awaiting restoration that I could retire tomorrow and never run out of things to work on. LOL

I've been wanting a new Rainbow for the past few years now - just soooo expensive; the timing is never right to consider it affordable.

I did buy a D4C-SE a few summers ago and totally rebuilt it. It satisfies the Rainbow itch when I feel like using one, for now. LOL. I've only ever used one of the e2 machines for a brief period of time at another collector's house - and that was just a one speed.  Here's the thread for the D4C rebuild:  http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?17494


 


I also found an e2 one speed at an estate sale for $15 a few years ago - but have had trouble finding a cheap powernozzle/wand and accessories.  I just may pull that out of the attic and work on that as one of my next projects, perhaps bite the bullet and buy some of the things needed to rebuild it.   Here's that thread: http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?16610


 


Why are you going to replace the fans a second time, if I may ask?

 

[reo580]

@ kirbysthebest:

Did/ does it have the Armadillo bag?
The Omega is my favorite Kirby.

Must have been a beautiful machine when it was just out of the box.
Did you get your Rainbow new as well?
Did you have to go through a demonstration? to get them?

 

[kirbysthebest]

reo580

No my Omega has the Classic type bag w/the Omega badge.  It was new, did not go through the demo.  We went into Wichita Kirby told them what we wanted,  they brought it out.  Paid $150 for it from my house cleaning money.  I took it home unboxed and assembled myself.


 


The Rainbow we had had a demo, as my sister had responded to an ad for "Earn $200 an hour" which was for the local Rainbow distributor.  At that time it was Wendell Houser an stand up, honest man.  My sister never sold any other than to her husband.  About a year later I decided I wanted one, again from my house cleaning money.  (I cleaned neighbor's houses from the time I was 11). 


 


I called Mr. Houser, and he had a trade/rebuilt model he sold me for $165.  A few years later I wanted to add the power nozzle, again Mr. Houser had one that was from a trade he sold me for $15. 


 


Like I said the Rainbow has never had a problem.  The power nozzle over the years has had a cracked hose etc that was easily repaired.   Now the distribulator that was originally in the power nozzle is a hard one to find.  I was able to find another on ebay from a salvaged Power head. 


 


I would use the Rainbow when I cleaned houses, and the neighbors always said how much they enjoyed coming home to a fresh smelling house. 

 

[reo580]

Hi Fred,

I saw your restoration of your D4SE post.
That is a beautiful restoration. I got the idea of putting vacuum parts in the dishwasher from that post. I redid a 2001 E Series Single Speed using that technique (I'll post the photos of that when I find them).

With your E-Series, I'd recommend upgrading your wands and hose end to stainless steel. I did that with my other rainbow. The old chrome plated steel wands get nasty if any liquids are sucked up in them. Stainless wands are easier to clean and are more forgiving.

The E-Series power nozzles come up on eBay fairly often, personally I'd put a Wessel-Werk PN on a Single Speed E-Series. I think that would be an ideal cleaning combination.

As far as the fans go on my Onyx E-2, Here's the Reader's Digest version: I ordered several replacement parts for my Rainbow and I ordered a set of fans. I made a note asking them to pack the fans carefully because it takes nothing for the delicate aluminum fans to get bent - which causes them to get out of balance. My experiences with canister vacuum fans is when they get out of balance, there is nothing that can be done to get them right again- I throw them out and start over with a new set.

Here's what happened when I got the fans... the people I ordered them from did take extra care in packing them. They sandwiched them in between several layers of cardboard and wrapped them up in shrink wrap. When I unwrapped the fans I noticed that they had scratches on them - shelf wear. They are better than the fouled up fans that were in my Rainbow before, but they have that harmonic HMMMMMMMMMMM sound that unbalanced fans make. One of my pet peeves.

I think that the people I bought them from went above and beyond to make sure the fans were carefully packed. However, it takes next to nothing to bend those aluminum fans. I think that a combination of shelf wear and the pressure from the shrink wrap bent them.

I didn't want to return them because I think they tried their best to pack them carefully. So I called a dealer and explained fan situation and ordered another set of fans and I ordered the 14' hose. To be honest, I think the fans on my model are almost paper thin. They are very similar to Lamb fans. I hate them both equally. So delicate they almost have to be handled like a Faberge egg.

I should have it running the way I want it to by the end of the week. I am really picky and have a sharp ear for sounds. One of my "isms" I guess.

 

[floor-a-matic]

I think the red lite is a diagnostic lite?


 


I just used the RainJet for washing windows; now I'll never use Windex spray bottle & a rag or paper towel again.  When I cleaned windows the old fashioned way, I heated the Windex with hot water for extra grease cutting power


 


btw I also acquired a blue E2 from my late dad, he bought it new in 2010; it reeks like cigarettes!  The HEPA filter was already removed; I have yet to clean it out

 

[mark40511]

@ reo580

You're awesome...haha

God that looked terrible before you got your hands on it, and that's the latest generation bow!! Lucky! My gold 2 speed was bought in 2006 and I've changed the hepa ONCE! I tore it apart after five years and it had very little dirt on it, and then I saw that hepa....My God, and those fans and that separator...There is NO way I would be brave enough to take mine apart, so I've always been a respectful rainbow owner with only ME using it the way it is supposed to be used, and over the years I've read on forums how the rainbows are filthy machines from vac store owners that post......yes, they are filthy because of the people using them, that's why they are IN THE VAC SHOP to begin with - so of course they are gonna be filthy, so they conclude rainbows leak dust dirt and cake onto fans and hepa but this is only the case if you treat your machine like crap...

I mean, I've even used my rainbow a lot to suck the bin out of my shark vacuum that I use for quick run through's - you can't get much dirtier than sucking a bagless bag bin full of crap into a rainbow.....and yet, the separator remained clean, but I wash it anyway - the dirt collects very slowly on that separator if you keep the water changed.....the separator still needs to be cleaned though. I'm overkill when it comes to cleaning mine, I clean it every single time I use my Rainbow.