Vax 121 Boxed - Used 3 times

[parwaz786]

Michael has a point, and
All Dysons #i used were excellent, that included 9 DC01's, a DC02, a DC03, 4 Dc04's, a DC05, 6 Dc07's, a DC08, 3 DC14's, a DC25, a DC27 and a DC41, but the only CRAPPY one of these lot is the DC41, NEVEr would I pay over £30 for one, thats how much I hate it, its a joke!

My uncles DC27 was quite powerful, my DC14 is the one I would use for daily use, my neighbour has a dc33 and they love it, so does my uncle and his battered dc04 absolute

 

[beko1987]

HiLo, no bags apart from the cloth one, but I have a full genuine pack in the garage somewhere, will put it in the box when it goes into storage, as I don't intend to use it, want to keep it minty fresh!

Has anyone used a rapide head? Want to use it to shampoo but not use the brand new wash head, as it will be ruined with one use. Are the rapide tools any good? Never used one!

 

[sebo_fan]

Do you mean this "Rapide" floor head?

I bought one when the original full size clear one went on my Powa. This one is absolutely rubbish. For a start the feeder tube is designed to go to the underside - and ended up buying new tube from a garden centre to stretch it into the floor head - plus it seems to scratch carpets if that makes any sense - it puts the shampoo down fine but it is terrible at sucking up the dirt and excess water put down. It does have an interchangeable sole plate for hard floors but I was never impressed with it.

Vax have recently put out a "spin scrub" floor head for their most recent canisters.

 

[sebo_fan]

The Spin Scrub - shown here. Amazon UK sells it for £41, Vax selling it for £49-99

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vax-Genuine-Multi-Function-SpinScrub-Premium/dp/B00A881CEM

 

[hi-loswitch98]

These new rapide heads are designed for the newer Vax models which have a clip on the end of the washing tube - it won't fit on older models as you just push it in & as you can see from sebo_fans above, it has to have a clip to secure on the clip located on the undeside where the extension tube goes.

Don't waste money on one -- when you go car booting try & find another Vax with one in - I'll keep a look out for you. These new heads are ****.

 

[beko1987]

No its got a hole in the top for the solution tube. May see if I can borrow my nans wash head, failing that there's a whole Vax minus hose in awful condition but has the wash head! Seems a bit excessive though

 

[hi-loswitch98]

I would probably recommend the Vax 121 head from your nans - they tend to suck up moisture better. Going ti any carboots?

 

[beko1987]

Doubt it this weekend, unless there's one on in Peterborough this weekend!

 

[spiraclean]

Sam,

If the head you speak of is the black Ultra Rapide one as pictured below, it will work just fine with your 121. The Rapide 5130 I had years ago came with one of these, and that was a gravity fed machine too. Both this and the standard clear wash tool are fully interchangeable, although which one you like best is a matter of personal taste.

Back in the day, this tool was sold as an optional extra in much the same way as the turbobrush and AutoMop, enabling existing Vax owners to upgrade to the newer style wash head. The main selling points were that the Ultra Rapide had a double swivel neck, making it more manoeuvrable, and wheels to help it push more easily across the carpet. I seem to recall Comet having these on sale at the time for around £25, usually displayed with other consumables such as bags, filters, shampoo etc.

Personally I always thought the Ultra Rapide head was far better than the current style we have now. It was designed to work on both pumped and gravity fed machines, and being slightly narrower, concentrated the suction down into the carpet better. The new one is utter garbage, as is the SpinScrub head. This is why I would no longer consider Vax if I was in the market for a 3-in-1 canister.

 

[sebo_fan]

Oh I much prefer the original one our Powa had (like the 121/101). Didnt like the rapide one at all.

 

[hi-loswitch98]

Couldn't believe how much drier the carpet felt after being washed with the 101 & 121 compared to the 6131.

 

[spiraclean]

Yep, the original wash head was probably the best performing of all. I did find it backbreaking to use though, having to stoop in order to keep it at the correct angle against the carpet while also working against the suction of the machine. In those respects I found the Ultra Rapide much more comfortable to use.

The original wide wash tool was great for stairs though, so I bought one to compliment the UR head. Much quicker and easier than trying to clean a full flight with the dinky little upholstery wash tool.

Carpet dryness is an issue I noted with the current Vax canisters. The suction opening on today's wash head is quite large, whereas the original and the Ultra Rapide both had a thinner, narrower slot that concentrated the suction better. The old clear wash tool was also designed in such a way that it was virtually impossible to overwet the carpet, even if the user was negligent. Because it sealed itself down onto the carpet, and had suction slots fore and aft of the liquid supply, the solution kept circulating at all times and could not puddle underneath the head. It really was quite clever in how it enabled everyday members of the public, who had no training whatsoever, to wet clean their own carpets with very minimal risk of damage.

 

[sebo_fan]

Well said, Spira - I completely agree - it is a back wrenching exercise with that original floor head and as ours proved, despite Vax suggestion of spraying furniture polish onto the cuff of the collar, dirt would often find its way onto the metal pipe, thus causing the floor head to be a real bugg*r to remove!

Effectively knowing that the Vax uses 32mm fittings, couldn't an alternative tool from say, Goblin for shampooing be used, or even from Numatic, Hoover and others?

 

[spiraclean]

Getting the wash head stuck onto the extension tubes was something I struggled with too. Never seemed to be an issue with the Hoover Aquamaster or Electrolux Masterlux though, oddly enough. Usually I resorted to heating the parts under the hot tap, wrapping them in a dry cloth for extra grip and then pulling and twisting with all my might to separate them.

I'm not sure a traditional gravity fed Vax would work with any other shampoo tool other than their own. The solution is only under very slight pressure from the motor exhaust, other than that the suction is what really helps to draw the fluid through the system (via the carpet pile). Ditto the Hoover Aquamaster, which worked in almost exactly the same way. A pumped unit, on the other hand, would be a different matter. That would work just fine with any "spray" type extraction head, provided you could adapt the connections to suit. This is why I kept the tools and fittings from my dead Electrolux Masterlux - if another modern Vax comes along in the future, I'll throw the tools away and use the Lux ones in their place, which would result in a pretty decent shampooing setup.

 

[beko1987]

I have my name head for a week and it has the old Vax usual of a taped cuff as its cracked! Will get some pictures soon and then shampoo with it!

 

[beko1987]

differences

One of these heads has never been used. One has had over 20 years use, including much building work cleanup...

 

[alexhoovers94]

We had a Vax 121 and the suction was not much stronger than a Dyson DC02, it was really not a very good machine.

 

[beko1987]

Amy and Eva went out for the night...

From VAX 121

From VAX 121

From VAX 121



It was lovely to use! Worked really well on our carpet, although it is a bitch to push, had to hold the camera and poles, and the head did start to get stuck!

Contemplating moving the Aquajet on, putting this vax away in its box and getting a skanky old cheap one for carpet washing duties...

We shall see!

 

[beko1987]

After some more shampooing, and stripping and cleaning the turbo head, I packed the Vax away for now

 

[beko1987]

All boxed up. Got the brand new automop for a tenner delivered