What do you think about Oreck Vacuums?

[fantomtechguy]

Greetings!

So, I've been repairing vacuum cleaners for a long time. I mostly deal with Fantoms, but I do like other brands of vacuums too. I have come across a lot of Oreck vacuums and I personally do not like them. Here's why:

1. Orecks are all the same; each model is the same, the only difference is the shell and color.

2. The motor; Each Oreck I've taken apart has the exact motor. Which means they all preform the same.

3. Over priced; Orecks sell for over $300. The Oreck Elevate is $300, and is the cheapest model they currently sell. They sell multiple versions of the same vacuum for different prices. If you have the $300 motor inside the $800 version, it will be the exact same. The only difference is the color of the bag and base.

Well, that's my take on Orecks. What do you guys think about it?

 

[huskyvacs]

They are old folks vacuums, that's what I think of them. lol All my grandparents used Orecks, and "the Oreck man" himself was a pensioner. I been to senior homes before, and there was an Oreck somewhere around there, guaranteed. Also, Orecks are not expensive when you thrift them. I never paid over $15 for an Oreck.

They do the job and perform as they are supposed to for their targeted market demographic. I always liked how they groomed the pile carpet at my grandma's house.

 

[blackheart]

Oreck.

They do a respectable job. I once ran an oreck 4090 daily for a week then cut open it's bag. I have a fairly small living space, and it's just my cat and my myself.

While it's true that most of them are the same machine a few models, like the xl-21, gold, platinum, the elevate command (I think), and the elevate Conquer though use a 3.5 amp motor, instead of the standard 4. They have a more pleasant sound to them. Their fill tubes and fans are larger, the brushrolls are stiffer, and they have more airflow than the older style design

XL 4090 (old style) 50.35 CFM
XL-21 85.29 CFM

 

[luxkid1980]

Orecks are great. They aren't "old folks" vacuums; they're for everyone. They may be liked by seniors due to their low weight and helping hand handle, but they clean well, have large dust bags, and are super easy to repair. For an upright, they are great vacuums. I wouldn't pay full price for any vacuum; you can buy great used models for much less money.

Both of my Orecks were either refurbished or purchased from a thrift shop and have never once required any significant repairs, other than a brushroll or belt replacement. Just simple cleanups.

 

[hank]

I like orecks always have. The xl, people seem to always forget they were originally made for low pile carpet. The commercial industries loves them for this, they were never truly meant for home use though David sold them as such due to a ton of demand for them. They are also very reliable as long as they weren’t abused. The xl21 and it’s newer cousins rival the Tacony made supralite on cleaning performance And are better made.

 

[fantomtechguy]

Hank...

I will say, the XL21 is my favorite Oreck. I really like the design of it.

 

[human]

When my girlfriend and I first got together, she had a green and white Oreck XL. It hardly picked up anything from the standard 'realtor beige' carpet in her apartment. A few months later, two Kirbys came into my hands almost simultaneously--a Gsix that I rescued from a dumpster at my apartment complex and a Heritage 1 that my dad had bought at Goodwill but mom didn't like using because of its weight. The Heritage stayed at my apartment for maybe a month or two before my girlfriend asked to borrow it to deep clean her apartment and it's basically been there ever since.

Shortly after she "borrowed" it, I was at her apartment and noticed the Oreck was missing. When I asked her about it, she said she'd pitched it into the dumpster, so at that point, I realized I wasn't getting the Kirby back anytime soon; however, I did take it to my house to service it once after she'd been "borrowing" it for a couple of years. The brush roll was completely encased in hair, which leads me to believe that could have been a contributing factor in the Oreck's (non) performance as well. I never had the opportunity to properly check it out before she tossed it.

Right before Christmas, we were in a store and she started looking at the plasticrap vacuum cleaners on display and said she wanted to get one because it weighed less than the Kirby, which she now finds tiring to use. So maybe I'll eventually get the Heritage back. It's only been at her apartment since 2013.

 

[lux14]

Okay I have an interesting story. I was house sitting for my neighbors and discovered that they had an Oreck. I turned the vacuum over to see if I could determine the model and it's age. I realized that the brushroll was completely worn down. I mean worn. No brisels what so ever. I have to tell you that I have NEVER seen this on a newer machine. The vac is probably at least 10 years old. Nothing all brisels gone! But anyway I can't amagine how my neighbors are cleaning their home. The are vacuuming with a spinning brush roll that is not touching the carpet and I have to believe don't know it. The belt will last forever so there is no reason to flip over the bottom so I am thinking they will never know they have a non working brush roll. Crazy! These machines are like a stick power nozzle to me. Could the airflow still be cleaning the carpets??? I like Orecks are great for low traffic areas and quick pic ups.

 

[kirby519]

I have used them.

Wouldn't have one of those over rated, over priced power nozzles with a bag attached. Nothing about it impressed me. In fact I found it to be even more of a struggle to push on certain carpets than my beloved 30 year old Kirby. The only thing going for it is the fully tufted brush roll that moves the nap on a plush carpet.

 

[kenkart]

Orecks

Are a great quick pick up vacuum, but they are NOT a heavy duty upright, a 3 or so inch fan can not move the same amount of air as a big Kirby fan or Eureka or Hoover fan, it just is not possible.

 

[luxkid1980]

@lux14: It wouldn't surprise me if a majority of folks (who are not vacuum fanatics) treat their machines like anything else, very little maintenance if any, or until an issue occurs. I know people who hardly ever change the oil in their car and never think about their transmission or differential fluid. If they don't take care of a high dollar item, I doubt they would bother to flip the vacuum over to check out the brushroll.

I tried a Kirby once, but it was too big and bulky and wouldn't fit under any of my kitchen chairs and was a bit awkward to move around. Also, I didn't have enough carpet in the house to make it worthwhile.

 

[josh]

I've rebuilt 3 Orecks recently. A commercial model, a curved headlight model, and an XL21. I liked that they were simple to work on, and I see the appeal of their light weight. I did find the regular models to be noisy and not clean the greatest, but thought the XL21 was good. A lot quieter and cleaned a lot better.

 

[lux14]

Thnaks Lux kid for the comment. I would think my neighbor would notice that the nap is not getting groomed. Although she has low nap rugs. I would notice if a brush roll was completely gone on a machine without flipping it over as you would not hear the bristles agitating the rug or for that matter anything agitating the rug.

Just baffles me!

 

[s2_82]

I dont have experience with any Orecks, but I do have a Simplicity Freedom S10S and I think it does a fine job all around. It's supposed to be 40% more powerful than an Oreck as it does have a larger fan and motor.

 

[vinvac]

I own a XL21 and love it. Some think they don't deep clean but I tend to disagree. I think they clean well and like most have stated here they are so easy to work on.

I have no experience with the Tacony Supralite products, but realize the prize is equally as high as the Oreck. I believe they have a larger fan and perhaps a better brushroll. However consumer reports did not rate them as well as the Oreck.

Remember Hoover, Eureka, Royal, Kirby and many others relied on a 3 amp motor for many years. If you disconnect the belt on an Oreck, remove the brush roll and place your hand over the air chamber you will find the air movement as strong as any Hoover and possibly Eureka. Perhaps not Kirby or Royal...but again, what makes a good vacuum is air flow and a good brush roll, Oreck has it all.

The new Sainitaire line with the 7 amp is almost to strong, it seals to the carpet way to quickly. Kirby is still only using a 7 amp motor and will out clean most 12 amp machines on the market.

 

[kirby519]

What happened to the Oreck model that had the ultra violent light to rid carpets of dust mites? I haven't seen or heard of them in quite a few years. Did anyone buy one and was it effective?

 

[fantomtechguy]

kirby519

The vacuum you're referring to is the Oreck Halo. I thought it was a pretty good machine, but the Halo Vacuum was bought by Oreck. I have the early edition before they were sold to Oreck.

 

[kirby519]

FantomTechGuy

That is what I was thinking of. Thought it was originally an Oreck machine. I haven't seen any advertising for the Halo in a long time. Any Idea what happened? I don't know of anyone that has one. (That is that I personally know)

 

[kirbysthebest]

The Halo

If I remember correctly, the halo was frought with lawsuits; it didn't work as advertised. The contact time needed to kill dust mites etc. Was far !inter than most people would spend with the vacuum.