Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

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I used a relatives old Rainbow SE last weekend to vacuum their home.   It seemed to do a good job, but it was extremely inefficient to use.   Moving the canister was like pulling a dead pig.  The pig tail connection for the power nozzle was easy to bump and disengage.  I would have had to switch to the other hose (non-electrical) to clean bare floors.  It took about twice as long to vacuum as it would have taken with an upright or more maneuverable canister.   It was difficult to empty the water receptacle.  On top of that the poles were held together by friction, and occasionally separated.  I guess Rainbow users develop a strategy to use their machines more efficiently over time, but it seemed like a pain in the butt to me. 

I suspect you could negotiate a discount on an older model Rainbow if you let them know that you know the new models are out.

Severus wrote:

Hi Severus,

There are some vacuums that seem to live on legend here.  Rainbow and Kirby being two examples.  There are machines that clean as well, filter as well for less money.  Also, by today's standards, even thisnewest Rainbow does not fit the times.  Maybe back ithe day when there were stay-at home moms, who could manage time for fiddling around with complex machinery.

What's more called for are vacuums that are good to go straight out of the broom closet and require no time consumng maintenance.  Considering economics, work requirements and even scheduled play-dates, the lives of people in general seemed way more involved than forty years ago.

I remain surprised, considering the cost of a Rainbow, that the company is still afloat.  I've been doing demos for a well-known brand of vacuum since the late spring and am surprised that customers scream over 299 bucks for a basic model. I've never seen spending on a vacuum as serious until after the first 500 bcks.  That there are annually enough people stil willing to shell out over $1,500 for a Rainbow and keep the company going  is really something in light of that.

I've seen teh new PN and all I give RAinbow credit for is originality.  At least they don't run to Wessel Werks for outsourced goods -- I hope.

Best,

Venson

Venson wrote:
Well said Venson - though I always assumed that the Kirby only had filtration built into the bags and nothing else?

As a part time struggling high school teacher who works on average more than the 12 days a day routine, when I come home the last thing I want to do is vacuum. Much as I enjoy doing it when I'm not on my feet all day, I just rely on my hopelessly small but rather convienient cordless hand vac. Gets the dirt I can see and then later on after Ive relaxed, a quick breeze around with something that just works with tools to hand.

Mark,

what is your opinion on the machine's suction compared to other e series models?

I read somewhere that there is an optional longer electric hose available for this machine. Would be nice if this machine had enough airflow to to handle a longer hose.

I think *it's" the same as the brushless 2 speed E series (which is what I own) and the suction on mine is great using the long 14 foot non-electric hose that I bought with mine.

But the electric hose that comes with this Rainbow is a foot longer than previous ones, but they do have an option to get the longer one.

I would think since they updated the PN, the longer hose would be fine

mark40511 wrote:

If I ever wanted to own one again I think I'd opt for an older rebuilt. I always did appreciate the curved wand for getting at stuff high and overhead on woodwork and shelving. I like too that they still provide a 14-inch bare floor option and the longer hose.

Best I can say is that the new machine appears to stylistically lean toward competing with Roboclean and Delphin, also high-priced but imported water-type canisters. (Don't know if they are proving to be real competition here.

A lot of the selling aspect seems to rest on word play. What to the rest of us is just a plain old HEPA filter is a HEPA Neutralizer to Rainbow. But I am really put off by Rainbow's website to-good-to-be-true claim: "This unique water filtration system captures 99.997% (by weight) of typical household dirt. Remaining microscopic particles are caught by our HEPA Neutralizer Filtration System. This two-stage filtration combination removes nearly 100% of dirt and contaminants."

However, Rainbow has impressed me in that its updated website now supplies manuals in PDF form for Rainbows new and older plus manuals for many of the options and add-ons. See the following link for the new cleaner's user guide.

http://rainbowsystem.com/uploads/manuals/Rainbow_e2_2011_R13999A-1_English_Non-Pro.pdf

What escapes me , considering the price, is why a real convenience like a cord winder installed on the motor unit still has not been built in.

Venson

Venson

About the too-good-to-be-true claim


Let me say this and I'm totally being honest. I've taken my hepa off several times over the past five plus years and inspected it on both sides and the thing is still freaking snow white and even still smells good..........I clean the separator and change the water about every 20 to 30 min's......before it gets too dirty........ I even took the hepa off and ran the machine without it to see if I could feel an increase in power and didn't.....(at least nothing noticeable). I keep thinking I should buy a new hepa for it but it's still like new..........I think that in of itself is pretty amazing, considering some of the dirt I've sucked up over those years. I still like my bagged Lux vacuum.......but I still wouldn't be without my Rainbow. I love it. I wish I could justify upgrading to the new one.........but I can't. What I have is still in fantastic condition, even though I've used it a lot. I wonder if this is just the case of me being to anal about changing the water and taking care of it that other folks may get tired of doing is why we see so many rainbows full of caked on dirt inside? Perhaps. I dunno

mark40511 wrote:

Hi Mark,

All vacuum cleaners fare better and perform better and longer in the hands of users who keep maintenance issues in the back of their minds.  Nothing works well if you don't take care of it.  However, a fairly large number of consumers in the market for the ultimate vacuum let sales people who are good at their work (and you have to be to unload goods at $1,400 or more a pop) put stars in their eyes but are sadly awakened by reality not long after buying when they find they are required to do more than just push a switch. 

Your situation doesn't seem to fit the usual scenario.   You have more than one full-sized vacuum so, correct me if I'm wrong, it's likely you vacuum more than once a week.  With the frequent water changes made for your Rainbow (not at all anal when the manufacturer recommends it) I'd think you'd should have a cleaner running machine.  Hoverver, I'd still be curious to see the machines inner workings.

As for too good to be true . . .

Of the older brands I've seen only Filter Queen appeared to live up to claims even before the brouhaha about filtration.  By removing the metal cones on the models I had I found no fine dust beyond them or their secondary filters.  There were carbon emissions from the motor but I think most of that got caught in the muffler ring though then -- not now -- made of very heavy batting.  I checked out Rexairs and Rainbows I've had and found residual dust beyond the "spider" which the separator is seated on. Nonetheless, what both companies may depend on is that most owners of either brand won't bother to look.

The first thing I was taught about doing good work was that it meant not only being thorough but being efficient so that you could finish quickly and get on to the next thing.  That still applies -- no time for dawdling, no time for fuss that can be avoided.  Traditionally vacuums were made to be attractive for use by women who worked in the home all day, not men.  (About the only thing done for "working women" was designing typewriter keyboards to suit the reach of their smaller hands and fingers.)  However things have changed greatly and the best use of one's time -- man or woman's -- is now a near essential.  Due to bulk, weight and the regimen necessary to keep one worth having, Rainbow does not fit the modern day bill.  I'm not saying that them that wants 'em shouldn't have them but that I find it awfully strange the way eBay and Craig's List are full of people trying to recoup on their investment in not only beat-up but near new Rainbows.

Hi Venson

When I bought mine in July 2006, In the manual, it stated that the separator was self cleaning. Initially I just took the separator off when done and rinsed it really well after rinsing the basin and just placing them on a towel to dry outside the closet by where I store my Rainbow. The separator has some kind of material where (unlike the Pre E series) nothing sticks to it. I remember my grandmas d3 separator needed to be visibly cleaned. At any rate.......I took a clean toothbrush and cleaned the small fins of the separator and the toothbrush to my horror was dirty.......Even though Rexair stated that it was self-cleaning.......It really still needed to be cleaned, and at FIRST, I wasn't doing that. Now I just clean it every time after I use it.

For some reason, for a short time when the Gold 2 speed's were sold, they didn't include a brush and called the separator self cleaning.........then they added the brush back...........It must have been at the time I got mine I got one of the (short production runs) where they didn't include the brush and changed the wording in the manual.........

If I clean the separator after every use, there is no dirt at all on the white toothbrush.

I can see inside my machine when taking the hepa filter off........and there is an ever so slight amount of white haze (which is probably dust).........but it's ever so slight and not even worthy of taking apart and cleaning.......

I suspect that had I cleaned the fins each time, this wouldn't have happened.......But even with that, the inside of the machine still smells fantastic and whatever slight amount of dirt that did escape didn't seem to be enough to even clog the hepa filter. Since then, underneath the area where the separator goes, you can see the fan area on the shaft, which had a slight film on it and I wiped that off (perhaps three years ago) .......It's the only part of the fan that you can actually wipe off without taking the machine apart........Since I wiped that off, and have cleaned the fins of the separator each time, that visible area of the fan (near the shaft) has no film on it at all.........So keeping those fins of the separator clean I think are KEY to keeping the fans clean (as well as keeping the water changed)

Do you know how to take an E 2 Gold speed apart and clean the inside?

"Do you know how to take an E 2 Gold speed apart and clean the inside?"

Hi Mark,

I have never taken apart one of the new Rainbows and don't advise any one who isn't "handy" to try it.

However, IF you are mechanically inclined with a reasonable understanding of electrical dos and don'ts its more an issue of common sense.  You put it back together in exact reverse of how you took it apart.  Thus, take very careful note of what you do, step by step, in dismantling the machine AND do not use undue force to get anything apart.  That said, since you've never done this before, try assembling and disassembling an old not much needed canister machine of any type to get yout feet wet and to hone your knowledge and skills.

Very old models of the brand (RexAir Models B and C) were difficult to totally disassemble and put together again but I had little problem getting the "chrome dome" Ds and later models apart and back together again. 

If you decide to give it a go, the best of luck.  However, I do not advise that anyone without a good idea of what they are about should set out to repair or clean any electrical appliance in areas beyond those that are easily accessible.  If such matters are improperly handled, you may be in line for damage to your appliance requiring professional repair, reduced performance and/or electrical shock.

Best,

Venson