Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

First off, long time no post ladies and gents, so wanted to say I hope everyone is having a great summer. I came across a brand new in box Big Power SE canister vacuum complete with all wet/dry attachments and Big Bat powerhead the other day for quite a steal. Does anyone know anything about these? I know they are similar to Rainbows and Hylas except they use baffles instead of a separator and two filter rings, one foam and one HEPA or Micro depending on your preference. The rating is 950w at 8A. Anyone have any insight... good, bad, ugly?

First off.. sorry for being late posting back to here. I did indeed purchase one of the Big Power vacs that was being offered for $400 on a certain auction website. Upon receiving it I found a broken piece and ended up ultimately returning it to the seller. The quality just was not there. Also I was not happy with the lack of a secondary filtration system. Water just is not going to get everything, even with an electrostatic ozone generator inside. Great idea, but the construction was mediocre. I found a great deal on a Thermax AF2 from a distributor who was going out of business. Brand spanking new! I will post a review when I get a chance.

Perhaps, look into the Thermax AF2 and Roboclean, they are guaranteed to be built to a higher standard. Well, at least the Thermax is, I've been using their commercial steam cleaners for well over a decade and the quality is impressive. I've seen used ones for offer on eBay and Craigslist in the $500 range recently

I'll have to see what its like when I get it, but mine is a BP08, so it may be a little different. As for serious use, I still feel the Rainbow is the best. I also really only care to use separator style water filter vacuums, the baffle ones tend to be harder to clean and something like moving it too quick and splash the water around too much, or tip it over the water goes into the motor, with a separator type, the water stays out of the motor as long as the machine is on.

The one you ordered is the same as the one I returned. It is a BP09... the box is mislabeled. I spoke to Big Power USA about the vacuum after I received it and some things didn't add up. Send me a private message and I'll fill you in...

lazaruspup wrote:

Please post on here if you can, we would all like to be educated if you don't mind :] Haha

This is "new" Big Power.  New mainly to a gussied up power nozzle (above the floor attachment set is generic)  and the badge ot the top of the cleaner.  Does not use a spinning separator to deflect water droplets as many water-type vacs do but filtering medium and internal baffles instead.

Some selling claims are a little off the one, as one of the site claims it can capture HIV. The HIV virus does not survive when exposed to air and is not an airborne.

Here  are some Big Power links:

http://www.cleansweepsvacshop.com/store/the-big-power-store.html

http://www.bigpower1.com/

Venson

Venson, That actually is not the newest. If you search Google... look for the Big Power BP09 or it might be the BP UV Delux in the European market. The newest one drops the filters and eschews them for the separator and the electrostatic generator on the inside. The baffles are minimized and the machine is very small, akin to a little larger Filter Queen maybe... The power nozzle is the same but in chrome and the attachments are a rubberized vinyl material. It is quite the machine. The primary reason I returned mine was there was a recall on the BP09 after is was first imported because they were prone to electrical failure very early on. The Big Power rep I spoke to said some machines lasted days, some months but at some point, the electronics were highly prone to failure because Big Power failed to take into account the highly irregular AC current here. The electronics were built to withstand a perfect 125 volts, but US standards allow for a big fluctuation. They offered to swap the board out but said they couldn't guarantee anything as the importation of the BP09 had stopped and the BP08 was now again the US machine being distributed until a more permanent fix could be found. Very interesting stuff if you ask me.

lazaruspup wrote:

Hi Lazaruspup,

I don't even know how companies like Big Power are managing to survive in this current economy state side.  I have yet to meet anyone locally who's ever bought one.  If you see or hear of even Rainbow around here, it's only once every three or four blue moons.  In any event . .

Sorry, but were I to go back to water-type vacuums again, I'd probably look at Rainbow, Delphin or Roboclean, maybe even Hyla.  Some have after-filters now.  Clean up is a little simpler too. As well, where my bagged vacuum might allow me use it and pop it back in the closet without a moment's thought, I'd really feel like a bad Boy Scout if I didn't thoroughly wash a water-type vac before putting it away.  By the way, I was more or less the same when it came to bagless vacs.  I like the straight from the store look and found the only way to maintain it was to roll up my sleeves and wash out the dust collection bin, etc. 

The baffle system is just not attractive to me.  Too much potential for gathering clinging, wet stuff like pet fur.  Separators fling off the larger part of what hits them leaving it in the water pan to dumped and flushed away.  However, cleaning a separator and water basin after each use came to be ritual enough for me and soon led to my last Rainbow's retirement along with the two Rexair Bs I plan to make into table lamps.

I'm learning to "simplify" and I am happy that I've found a good vac that let's me do good work with little fuss.  I've really lightened up.

Venson