Thread Number: 11161
Some Thoughts on Oreck Vacuums |
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Post# 120554 , Reply# 1   1/7/2011 at 22:48 (4,828 days old) by kirbyloverdan (Egg Harbor Twp . NJ aka HOOVERLOVERDAN ❤️)   |   | |
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I love the newest Orecks and have all of the newest Platnium Pilot , Silver ,Gold ,Platnium, and Element .Also a model sold at costco that looks like the Pilot. I also have all of the previous generations plus a 40th Anniversary . I really love the way oreck has improved their vacuums and the newer models are by far the best yet . I also heard the new Edge is a good vacuum as I think they used the Oreck Halo as a start to make the new edge . The halo is gone from Oreck and replaced by the Edge . I used to manage an Oreck floor care center and should have bought the store when I had the chance but I wasn`t to keen on the product and now they have really improved them . Oh well .
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Post# 120558 , Reply# 2   1/7/2011 at 23:19 (4,828 days old) by vacman117 (Chicago, IL)   |   | |
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many Orecks are some of them are very decent machines. The newest one I own is a 2008 Oreck XL Intellashield in black. I bought it brand new, unfortunately. It is definitely not worth the price, but it is actually a pretty good cleaner. I love using it in my kitchen and bathrooms because it can clean ALL of the rugs without tearing them or lifting them up! I also love the self sealing bags, the Helping Handle, the back pouch on the bag so you don't lose all of the information, and the LONG cord!
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Post# 120575 , Reply# 4   1/8/2011 at 07:13 (4,828 days old) by scvacuumguy (SC)   |   | |
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This is a nice little recipe for those of you competing with Oreck stores. In this area, customer service is little to none at our local stores. They charge outrageous prices for service/repair/parts/bags. They also recently have suffered a loss of business, resulting in a move from one shopping center to another.
The last thing a business wants to do is move locations- especially when people know your location like the back of their hand. I'm a pretty diplomatic guy and I do believe in euthanasia, so I recently designed some nice full page ads for our state newspaper. They advertise: FREE tune up, inspection, and service to all Oreck customers. Hopefully, this will help them demise sooner and go out with some dignity. If anyone is interested, email me- they are desperately trying to sell their stores. |
Post# 120576 , Reply# 5   1/8/2011 at 08:37 (4,828 days old) by vintagecanister ()   |   | |
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Oreck had been around that long! I'd love to see pic's or any other info. on models pre 1970. |
Post# 120659 , Reply# 10   1/8/2011 at 20:35 (4,827 days old) by djtaylor (Salt Lake City, Utah)   |   | |
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I worked in the Oreck Clean Home Stores in the Salt Lake Valley for three years. I have to say that they are not bad vacuums. They groom the carpet nicely. True, they are not deep cleaners but if you are looking for light and easy to use Oreck is good. From my point of view the prices for parts was not bad. Belts need to be changed twice as often as other vacuums. My big complaint was the customers. The worst customers I have EVER dealt with were Oreck owners. They complained about how much the vacuum cost to purchase, to fix and that they expected better performance. I have also worked in Kirby shops. Kirbys cost four times what an Oreck does, but Kirby owners didn't seem to mind the prices for parts and supplies. I never could understand why Oreck owners were so much nastier than Kirby owners.
I would like to have an XL21 Legend (the red one). XL21s were nice machines and because of several difference in design over the standard models they were better performers. Just my two cents. Justin |
Post# 120674 , Reply# 12   1/8/2011 at 21:38 (4,827 days old) by powertank ()   |   | |
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Oh, I forgot. I always laugh when I see the two speed Orecks- they just barely work on high- who thought low speed was a good idea? |
Post# 120720 , Reply# 16   1/9/2011 at 12:40 (4,827 days old) by vac-o-matic (Saint Louis, Mo.)   |   | |
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Charles, I have been biting my tongue on this thread, and most of you can probably figure out why. Rick |
Post# 120853 , Reply# 18   1/10/2011 at 15:47 (4,825 days old) by kloveland (Tulsa)   |   | |
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Just received a commercial Oreck from a fellow collector friend and I have to say the Oreck isn’t a bad vacuum cleaner. Granted, it may not deep clean as well as the others but it serves its purpose. Mine had a busted fan housing and the cord had been cut since it was found in the trash. Rewiring the cord was simple and I purchased a new fan housing. It was very straight forward to take apart and service.
I have had fun using it, aside from the noise. The brush roll grooms the carpet well and it seems to do well on my kitchen floor. My grandfather enjoyed using his Oreck before he passed, the Oreck was easier for him to maneuver, they had been using a Classic III. My grandparent’s on my father’s side purchased a XL 21 about a year ago and have had no complaints. For the elderly the Oreck is great!!! It beats not vacuuming at all, which tends to happen. Attached is a link to a interview with David Oreck on Youtube. Also guys remember that the factory was destroyed in Katrina. So please be nice to Mr. Oreck! CLICK HERE TO GO TO kloveland's LINK This post was last edited 01/10/2011 at 16:34 |
Post# 120863 , Reply# 19   1/10/2011 at 17:06 (4,825 days old) by mieles7 (TX)   |   | |
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Post# 120870 , Reply# 20   1/10/2011 at 19:31 (4,825 days old) by kloveland (Tulsa)   |   | |
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After looking through some of the archives, I read that some Oreck motors did not use ball-bearings? Is it true that the current 4 amp motors will burn out after a couple of years? If so, that’s a shame. Really like using the vacuum, and I know it's not a deep cleaner by the fan and motor size.
It just confuses me when manufacturers skimp on quality, on very important details (such as the motor)... |
Post# 120871 , Reply# 21   1/10/2011 at 19:44 (4,825 days old) by powertank ()   |   | |
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Actually, those darn motors seem to last forever. They're Ametek, and the ball bearings last a long time. I'm no Oreck expert, but I've never seen a recent one without ball bearings. |
Post# 120875 , Reply# 22   1/10/2011 at 20:01 (4,825 days old) by cleaningbuff (Quincy, IL)   |   | |
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Post# 120876 , Reply# 23   1/10/2011 at 20:02 (4,825 days old) by kloveland (Tulsa)   |   | |
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Thanks Peter,
Good to know, from reading this forum I thought the larger low amp motors lasted longer than the small high amp motors. While the Oreck motor has lower amps, it's still small. It is difficult to get the story straight sometimes, because so many of us have different opinions. Which makes it difficult to distinguish fact from opinion, it’s enough to make my hard spin. LOL |
Post# 120895 , Reply# 24   1/10/2011 at 21:38 (4,825 days old) by djtaylor (Salt Lake City, Utah)   |   | |
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Kenny,
I was an Oreck Service Manager for three and a half years and I did see many Orecks with bearing problems. It seems to me that even though Oreck motors are low amps they are high speed. The modern vacuum bearing has more,but smaller metal balls. At high speed they heat up very fast and seem to ware out faster. 5 to 7 years seems to be the life expectancy for the new Oreck motors, though the amount of usage has a lot to do with service life. I've had machines less than six months old come back for warranty replacement of the motors, but I have also seen Orecks that were beaten to death by rough owners but the motor was still usable. But to your concern, yes 5 to 7 years of normal service is about normal for most of the Orecks I have worked on. Since the replacement motor is not too pricy I would suggest that you use your Oreck till the motor goes and then replace the motor. Hope this helps. Justin |
Post# 120915 , Reply# 25   1/11/2011 at 01:41 (4,825 days old) by bimmer740 (Long Island, New York)   |   | |
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5 to 7 years, thats it? I had two Oreck XL uprights about 5 or 6 years about that I purchased new, one for me and one for my grandmothers house. I liked them both, they were light weight, easy to use, groomed the carpet well, good filtration with easy to change bags, and great for quick clean ups. The belts are pretty easy to change and the cost of belts and bags was not that bad. Im very surprised that the life of the motor is only 5 to 7 years. It would seem like Oreck would loose a lot of money replacing motors, as I believe the warranty on my units was for 10 years. For a vacuum in that price range, they should certainly last longer than that. I would really like to try the new Pilot, its an interesting machine and its Orecks first machine with a steerable handle. Ive only heard great things about the XL21, and several members of this forum have them, so I can only imagine that the Pilot is an even better machine. One has to appriciate Orecks for what they are and can not compare them to a machine like a Kirby, they are in two completely different classes and target totally different consumer needs.
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Post# 120936 , Reply# 26   1/11/2011 at 07:38 (4,825 days old) by vintagecanister ()   |   | |
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What year was that 4000 made? I've never that before..... Nice! |
Post# 120943 , Reply# 27   1/11/2011 at 09:13 (4,825 days old) by kirbymodel2c (Nottingham, England)   |   | |
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Post# 120955 , Reply# 29   1/11/2011 at 12:41 (4,825 days old) by cleaningbuff (Quincy, IL)   |   | |
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Post# 121197 , Reply# 31   1/13/2011 at 17:17 (4,822 days old) by electroluxtank ()   |   | |
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Notice being a good salesman the expiration of the 10 year tax holiday is left out! CLICK HERE TO GO TO electroluxtank's LINK |
Post# 121579 , Reply# 35   1/16/2011 at 10:41 (4,820 days old) by vac_whisperer ()   |   | |
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I did some looking last night, and it turns out to be an XL2600. Still need help identifying model. Best regards, VW Happy Sunday! |
Post# 352390 , Reply# 36   5/18/2016 at 23:01 (2,870 days old) by Vintagevaclover (Athens, GA)   |   | |
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Post# 352539 , Reply# 37   5/21/2016 at 01:30 (2,868 days old) by Durango159 (State College, PA)   |   | |
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Honestly most Orecks have about the same guts inside and function the same!! They all have a small fan chamber and soft bristled brush roll. The motors aren't powerful enough to handle any sort of slightly firmer brush roll. Yours is a single speed with foot pedal access on/off switch, which is an older style. Some Orecks are dual speed with the lower speed being lower than that found on the single speed series and it's even less powerful of a machine.
Orecks are best for commercial grade carpet. They still really do only ok on that. Filtration is poor on an Oreck because the bag clips for the paper bag and also the seal for the bag cloth bag to the handle is poor. Be careful if you take that unit apart. I've seen some Oreck housings basically fall apart-- as the compartments for the screws can basically just break off with such ease in hood removal! |
Post# 352881 , Reply# 38   5/27/2016 at 22:46 (2,861 days old) by Vintagevaclover (Athens, GA)   |   | |
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For what it is anyway, I know it's not a deep-cleaner by any means but it's good for quick clean ups in between and great for pet hair. I did take the bottom off to replace the brushroll but it doesn't seem old or brittle at in fact it's in Like New Condition pretty much, it literally looks like it was used maybe 5 times then put in the closet.
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Post# 352885 , Reply# 39   5/28/2016 at 00:53 (2,861 days old) by sebo_fan (Scotland, UK, member AKA ukvacfan, & Nar2)   |   | |
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"it's good for quick clean ups in between and great for pet hair."
I agree. That's about as much as I used to use my old Oreck XL for. I'd still prefer one of these vacs to the plentiful cheap bagless uprights on the market, today. I dont mind living without a hose or on board tools. The problem with Oreck is that IMHO they are too over priced for what you get. |
Post# 352888 , Reply# 40   5/28/2016 at 02:37 (2,861 days old) by Vintagevaclover (Athens, GA)   |   | |
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I like having a hose and tool but they don't have to be onboard, that's what canisters are for lol. I would most definitely prefer this to any of bagless plastivac junk they make today. And yes, for what they are, they're slightly overpriced, it a very "bare-bones" simple machine, but it does an pretty decent job and grooms the carpet well.
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Post# 352930 , Reply# 41   5/29/2016 at 05:40 (2,860 days old) by sebo_fan (Scotland, UK, member AKA ukvacfan, & Nar2)   |   | |
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I have a separate tool kit with my old Vorwerk VK130. There are plenty of tools but the whole process it takes to dismantle said vacuum off the floor head, attach shoulder strap to carry format, attach suction tube on the bottom, attach tube and then the choice of tool - well that takes me far longer than it does to plug in a cylinder/canister vac and away I go.
Or a cordless dust buster with a long crevice tool - provided that I know there's enough power for me to clean up what I want cleaned up. |
Post# 353032 , Reply# 42   5/31/2016 at 00:05 (2,858 days old) by Vintagevaclover (Athens, GA)   |   | |
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