Worn belt vs New belt

[panasonicvac]

This was something that happened to me one time and I was quite surprised from it. Back in 2011, I went up to my Neighbor's Ranch one time and I got a chance to clean inside the cabin. They had two vacuums, the main vacuum was a Panasonic MC-5995 which was like 15 years old or something, and the other one was a Simplicity Symmetry Deluxe that was only a few years old they never use anymore. I had to use the Simplicity because the Panasonic had a worn belt which I think it never got replaced before and the Simplicity had a good belt on it. The didn't like the carpets they had because it's similar to Mazda or Volkswagen carpets where it's very hard to vacuum up. I was using the Simplicity but I had to go over the carpet like 5 or 6 times because I can't get the little pebbles out of the surface. After taking a break from the Simplicity, I decided to use the Panasonic just for fun, and I was blown away by what a difference it made. It only took like 2 passes to get the surface dirt off the carpet and I ended up finishing the whole place with the Panasonic for half the time than what I was expecting to get it done with the Simplicity.

I always wondered how was that possible. I'm not saying the Panasonic was better (Both machines does have it's pros and cons) but I'm just curious if there are some carpets that only worn belts can do better than the New belts. What are your thoughts and opinions on this?

 

[sebo_fan]

Well...Panasonic did fit 2 belts in some of their uprights...And if it didn't have 2 belts, the sole plate could have been all metal which makes it easier to glide on a carpet than plastic as well perhaps being better on the pick up.[this post was last edited: 7/20/2016-19:00]

 

[panasonicvac]

The Panasonic only used a single belt and it had a plastic bottom plate with a wood brushroll.

 

[vacuumlad1650]

Flat stretch belts last far longer than round ones

 

[kirbysthebest]

Could also have been the brushroll design, or condition.  A worn brushroll with a new belt is still not going to clean as well as a new brushroll with a worn belt. 

 

[sebo_fan]

ANY worn belt isn't going to clean as good as a new one though and though flat ones can last longer than the round type, it really depends on other things such as air flow and suction press when the sole plate hits the carpet.

It could be the wooden brush roll. The one on my Panasonic was terrific.

 

[panasonicvac]

I did remember the brushroll was in good condition. I did told my Neighbor at that time that the belt needed to be replaced and that I can replace it for them so I did. I also have my buddy oil the bearings because the brushroll didn't spin that well like it should. Maybe it's not the belt after all, it's probably just the brushroll. No wonder why they don't use the Simplicity anymore. The Simplicity was mainly bought to replace the Panasonic as the main vacuum until they realized the Panasonic picks up better.

Here are the two vacuums in case you were wondering what the two vacuums looked liked (these aren't mine by the way).

 

[dysonman1]

The answer is the difference as to where the wheels are.

The Panasonic has wheels on the body of the cleaner, and the nozzle 'floats'. The Simplicity has wheels on the nozzle, with a floating middle wheel. Had you used a Riccar Vibrance instead, it would have cleaned rings around the Panasonic, as the Riccar also has wheels on the rear of the body with a floating nozzle as well as better suction and filtration than the Pana.

 

[floor-a-matic]

It also depends on the type of carpet you're vacing.

My Nissan Versa's carpeting is also hard to vacuum; the only vacuums that cleaned were the TriStar EXL with MiniStar or Rainbow SE with RainbowMate SE. The Wessel Werk HEB160, 1950s Royal metal hand vac or Lux SideKick wouldn't touch it; however they cleaned my Cadillac DeVille or Chevy Suburban nicely