Riccar R-40 P2 Upright - good/bad?

[Ant_Tenna]

There is no advantage to tandem. It was a marketing gimmick invented by Tacony. The circuit boards in all of them were a huge problem. I know, I used to work at the factory for 10 years. I saw them throw a flaming radiance down the concrete stairs. I was standing right there. They hauled it outside and threw water on it. The Chinese motors that power the tandem air vacuums are garbage. Cheap to make. Constant broken fans in the direct air motor because the plastic they make the fan out of it so cheap. Again, ask me how I know. I guess the moral of the story is to never hire a vacuum cleaner collector to work in a vacuum cleaner factory, because he sees everything. The good, the bad, and the ugly. The engineers at the company were complete assholes.

I find it intriguing from an engineering aspect and would like to have at least one in my collection as a piece of vacuum history. But from all the test I've seen people do I don't find it to be a big enough jump in airflow/suction power to justify the complexity. A single motor clean air machine (especially with a twin motor) seems to get 80-90% of the power whilst being much more simple internally. For everyday use I'd rather use something like a 7850 or my R20UP or my Simplicity S38.

Hell my Simplicity S38 has almost as much air flow while getting far more water lift. It's a shame Tacony got rid of that body style of canister, they we're far better than their successor

 

[cheesewonton]

I find it intriguing from an engineering aspect and would like to have at least one in my collection as a piece of vacuum history. But from all the test I've seen people do I don't find it to be a big enough jump in airflow/suction power to justify the complexity. A single motor clean air machine (especially with a twin motor) seems to get 80-90% of the power whilst being much more simple internally. For everyday use I'd rather use something like a 7850 or my R20UP or my Simplicity S38.

Hell my Simplicity S38 has almost as much air flow while getting far more water lift. It's a shame Tacony got rid of that body style of canister, they we're far better than their successor

On Ametek's old website years ago you could pull up and read their many technical papers. The new site is different and I have not been able to figure out if they have them still and, if so, how to find them.
I recall one in particular paper comparing tandem air to a single through flow motor both drawing the maximum allowed 12 amps. Their paper claimed a lot of problems for tandem air especially for the downstream through flow motor that is breathing hot air from the direct air motor. Hot air is less dense so the through flow motor's efficiency was reduced. Also, getting a diet of already really hot air the through flow motor ran much too hot, reducing it's service life. There was no advantage in cleaning power for tandem air compared to a single full power through flow motor.

 

[cheesewonton]

It was called the Kenmore ultra vac. When I retired, I sold mine to a man in Utah. View attachment 169762Sears sold them in the catalog. But it was the fall and winter sale catalog, not the big book. It was on the back cover. Also, the Regina canister with the brush and beat upright for a power nozzle had a fan.

Ah, I did not know about the Regina. Something research.

 

[panasonicvac]

The only Tandem Air I'd have no problem with using is connecting a Volt power nozzle to a Riccar central vac. Personally, I'd rather just use a Riccar RPB-F nozzle and convert to a three brushroll instead of two so I can have a Radiance/Synergy style machine but with more power and no worries about breaking a fan. One of the vacuum shops I worked for before swore by the Tandem Air machines, they even claimed any can out clean a central vac. I don't agree. I mean I loved the older Tandem Air uprights like the Simplicity Synchronys, but I've simply used better. Even one of my old neighbors bought a Simplicity Synchrony but wasn't impressed with the suction so she came in the store one day asking about putting in a central vac just like her parents' house, my buddy then boss at the time tried to convince her that she already had a great vacuum and didn't needed it. Still unconvinced, he then recommended a Sanitaire Mighty Mite because it was WAY cheaper than putting in a central vac. Which honestly, why buy a Tandem Air upright when you can just simply buy a Sanitaire upright and a Sanitaire canister instead for alot less. That's what my other buddy at his old vacuum store recommended, he never cared about Tandem Air. Both of those not only make a great team but also have more power than any Tandem Air upright. But if it was up to me, I would've recommended her a central vac over both the Simplicity and Sanitaire combined in the first place.