Quote from Tri-Star_Vacman on 01/29/07 at 6:11pm:

 
A beater bar is not needed on a mini turbo/electric brush attachment, because of what is being cleaned. The area being cleaned is not thick like a house full of carpeting.  In most cases, the attachment is cleaning furniture.  This attachment does well w/o the beater bar feature.
 
The design of a mini brush attachment would have to be designed differently.  That is why I said I have a hard time believing the Tristar attachment has a beater bar.  The brushroll would have to be much larger in diameter than what is being used now.  That would take up more space, which means that the mini brush would need to be designed larger.  This would then accommodate a larger brushroll.  But it is not going to happen.
 
The mini brush attachments do fine for what they were intended for.  
 
The Rug Rat mini turbo brush actually vibrates the surface better than the HOOVER and many other mini brushes.  It uses a larger fan and larger brushroll.  The bristles are stiffer than others also.

Quote from Mike_W. on 01/21/07 at 2:29am:

 
Why do the mfr's put the turbine RIGHT IN THE DIRT PATH?  Someone should redesign these TB's b/c they'll soon be filling the landfills & junk yards if the vac mfrs continue to make these nozzles with the turbine in the dirt path.  How effective would a TB be if the turbine was to the side where the dirt can't touch the fan?  I think it'd be a BETTER design b/c there'd be MORE suction on the brush area, & the brush can spin faster than if the turbine is in the dirt path b/c the dirt won't lodge into the fan, reducing efficiency; + the TB would LAST LONGER = less problem cleaning out the tool (but still have 2 clean out the brush bearings)

So, then, I gather that the so-called turbo brush attachments are not so effective unless they are electrically powered.
 
Automobile carpeting is quite rugged, I have used a steel brush effectively in conjunction with the powerful shop vacuum.
On the carpeted steps, as the steps are economy sized(for poor people), vaccuming is not easy.
And the middle weight Optima 430 struggles with this task.
Their accessory "turbo brush"($22 or so) may help on the small steps, but, from what I read, I think not......

Is the Shop Vac TB made by HP Vacuflo b/c the Rug Rat & Shop Vac TB's look similar in design.  I'm going 2 make a custom brush roll for my Hoover brush (spiral shape) so it can produce a "beats-as-it-sweeps" cleaning action for the car, & I'd get it done faster instead of having to put pressure down on the nozzle on carpeted surfaces in the car.  Where can I get the stuff used to make the bristles to put on the "custom" roller or should I get brush strips?  Does anyone recommend this idea to soup up the "mini-mate"?

Quote from Tri-Star_Vacman on 03/01/07 at 6:07pm:

 
That's the #1 reason I have trouble with the ELECTRIC mini-mate b/c their brush bearings don't come apart to remove hair from the brush ends.  Most turbo nozzles have REMOVABLE bearings & NOT non-removable like their electric counterparts.  So I am now starting to collect Hoover turbo brushes b/c they have excellent rollers & easy to clean out; they can even beat electric ones (when used with powerful vacs like Tri-Star & shop vacs)