Sanitare

[chan55]

I did a lot of research and found that a sanitare upright is what I need for my thick carpet.
It’s a sc888 with disposable bags. I read mostly great reviews,
But a few bad ones. I don’t need a hose as I have an old filter queen that will outlive me.it arrives Monday.
Did I make the right choice?

 

[tseg]

You likely made a good choice. Immense airflow with this vac, hopefully not too much on setting 6 if your carpet is real thick. As I’ve said before, this vac is a one trick pony, and that trick is to vacuum carpet. If that is all you’ll do with it it likely will be perfect.

 

[blackheart]

Sanitaire

They're fantastic for carpet cleaning. Do let us know how it copes with your carpeting. Hopefully it doesn't clamp down too hard.

 

[jo]

Unfortunately

They are belt hogs. You’ll be changing belts frequently. I had the Eureka commercial version…nearly identical. It would actually lift my carpet up the suction power and airflow was so good. I sold mine at a garage sale as I got it free. One of the better quality vacs I should have kept but I was moving from a house with carpet to one with no carpet so it would have no use. I received it with a missing handle grip and a busted paper bag inside the fabric bag which was full of dirt, a burned out headlight, a broken belt and a missing handle screw….just about everything that could go wrong with it was wrong with it but it hard very little use on it! Fixed it all up for less than 10 bucks and washed the bag and it was like new! A lady bought it for her housecleaning business from me!

Jon

 

[human]

Definitely a Good Choice...

You can't kill those machines. They're kind of like an AK-47 in that they're based on a dead simple design that's stood the test of time. They're both durable and super easy to repair for minimal down time.

Replacement parts are also plentiful and dirt cheap, especially in quantity. I needed to replace a cord hook on the first one I got, an SC686, and it was cheaper to buy three pairs than to buy just the one I needed. That turned out to be a good move because the next one I got, an S645, also needed a hook but it was not an issue as I already had several on hand.

 

[panasonicvac]

I think you made a good choice. Personally, they wouldn't be my first option to get. My first choice would be a Bissell BG101H for 50 cents more. Why? Because they use a metal motor whereas the Sanitaire, it uses a plastic motor. From my experience, the plastic motors do not last nearly as long compare to the metal motors. It was a shame that Sanitaire moved away from metal to plastic motors. Not to mention that the Bissell still sounds like an old school Eureka F&G vacuum.

 

[jo]

I wonder if….

All of these are all made by one company and then sold to various companies…Eureka, Sanitaite, Bissell, etc. with some small changes in equipment but basically the same thing. Either that or everyone is copying the classic design if the patents have run out.

Jon

 

[panasonicvac]

The Bissell is a copy of the Sanitaire, they're not made by the same company. Even though Bissell owns the Sanitaire brand, someone else is also making vacuums for Bissell.

 

[superocd]

I'm of the opinion...

that if you don't want to splurge for a Kirby, a Sanitaire is the next best bet for effective and thorough carpet cleaning *and* a machine that's 1) currently sold and 2) has wide and inexpensive parts availability. Combined with excellent agitation and well over 130 CFM of airflow, which is what a vacuum needs (most are 50-75 CFM), it's great that you skipped dept store vacs and went with the Sanitaire.

I have a couple of examples of both (along with a couple Hoover Convertibles, Royals and pre-Generation Kirbys, but those aren't available anymore and parts are getting hard to find, especially for Royal) and they're neck and neck in cleaning performance. Can't get any better, and that includes my wife's $500 Dyson which has so-so agitation and a tad over 50 CFM. If someone asks me for a recommendation, it's always Sanitaire or Kirby.

 

[mjhoshaw]

Thanks for this thread!

Good evening all,


 


I have been in the market for a '60s Hoover Convertible, and I have been watching eBay listings, but after reading this thread I just now purchased a Sanitaire 688B. The 2000 hour motor life made me say "here we go", and I look forward to the outstanding job it will do on my rugs. I love the sound of the old Hoover uprights, but I'm now out of the market for one. I was planning to use it as a DD, but this changes things.


 


I worked for the Federal government, and I saw cleaning contractors come and go. Most used Sanitaire uprights. That "remembery" gave me the confidence to buy a Sanitaire now. I love my Electroluxes and my Miele canister, but the huge bag capacity counts for a lot when one has four cats as we do.


 


Joel


 


 


 

 

[tolivac]

I am also a Gov't guy and at the transmitter plant-the small amount of carpet here-The cleaning contractor needed a new vacuum-recommended the Good Ole Sanitaire-this was several years ago-vac still in use!He tried a clean air Sanitaire with the hose-and that machine has disappeared to be replaced with the old Saniaire-before it was screaming banshee Orecks.The cleaner guy so liked the Sanitaire over that yelling,screaming banshee Oreck!

 

[chan55]

Sanitare

I posted an update regarding my new sanitare, but no one seems to have seen it. So, here goes. I cleaned my high traffic area and it got almost all the dirt out. It vibrated the ground in dirt that my Hoover wind tunnel has left behind for the last 3 years. It is much easier to navigate then my wt which had power drive. I don’t need a hose as I have an old filter queen for those jobs. The only thing I’m not crazy about is the cord. It weighs more than the vacuum. It’s a really good cord, but hard to wind up. I detached it and stored it on a shelf. I don’t think the plastic hooks would last long with all that weight. Love the way it looks and feels. Good choice, thanks for all the advice.

 

[human]

Sanitaire Cords...

Chan55 wrote: I don’t think the plastic hooks would last long with all that weight

I reply: Yeah, that's likely why both of my Sanitaires, an SC686 (red commerical series) from the late '70s/early '80s and an S649 (blue professional) from 2012, came to me with broken cord hooks. Fortunately, you can buy them in bulk online for very little.

The 50-foot cord on my SC686 is indeed a monster. Not only because of the length but because it's a three-lead cord, which would be a third heavier than a two-lead cord of the same length. It's essentially a heavy duty drop cord.

My S649 came to me with not only a broken cord hook but a badly chewed up cord, which I ended up replacing. I upgraded it from a standard 30-foot cord to a 40-foot and replaced the original hooks with larger ones for the commercial model. The larger hooks were a bit of overkill but at least they match.

 

[kirbyklekter]

Love those Sanitaires!

I have about 5 Sanitaires and I favor the SC888 red commercial version of this breed the most. Same great 7 amp motor as many others, I just like the way it rolls. Bigger wheels, wider and a different stance. It's easy to get to the fan, you don't have to pull the motor out to get to the fan if you need to replace it.

Same situation with regards to the cord hook being broken, in my case missing. Went to my vacuum guru in town and he tossed me a bag of heavy duty black hooks and said now get out of here I'm busy! That was 20 yrs. ago and they are goin strong. They are designed for just wrapping the heavy cord around the top hook only, which a lot of commercial users like as it makes for a quick wrap. 50 feet is a lot of cord to wrap around both top and bottom hooks.

I bumped up your thread over in vintage about F&G conversions and you have a bite already hopefully more to come! Billy

 

[gottahaveahoove]

I was visiting a very good, but very ill friend the other

day. Another mutual friend and I 'cleaned' her house. I had to use her metal Sanitaire (blue bag). See what we do for our friends? I think the belt was burning. Wasn't a good time to ask her where the new ones were. I never ran one of those before.

 

[jo]

If you visit your friend again…

Maybe just order a belt or two on line and just change it next time you are there. One less thing for her during her illness and hope your friend gets better. Nice of you to clean for her…Im sure she appreciates you.

Jon