Thread Number: 17533
Central Vacuum Power nozzle suggestions
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Post# 189451   7/11/2012 at 01:42 (4,278 days old) by Durango159 (State College, PA)        

durango159's profile picture
Hi,

I am looking for suggestions for our Central Vacuum. Our house was built brandnew in 2004 with a Nutone dual fan high powered central vacuum system. With it we purchased two Nutone CK350 attachment sets. They had the 30' thick rubber electric CH520 hose with gas pump style handle and 3 way switch for suction, and power nozzle control. It also had the Nutone CT600 powerhead, which is CenTec's CT14DX. Both hoses are now in the trash. Shorted out, stopped working the vacuum system. One of the power nozzles was trashed. The other is on its last legs, it keeps skipping on belts, pedal release doesn't work. I have it hiding in the basement, so I don't see it, cause I HATE that power nozzle, yet I LOVE VACUUMS!!

We would prefer to get a 35' crushproof style electric hose that has 3 way switch. I've heard Plastiflex is the best but there's also CenTec, Beam and some others. The real issue is power head. The second floor is wall-wall carpet, the first floor has a master bedroom and dining room wall/wall carpet. The wall/wall carpet we have is a dense medium thick pile. I say dense as she picked out one that would not show many footprints or vacuum marks. She doesn't like vacuum marks, I do. So I want a power head that is capable of grooming and putting some visible marks on it. There are also about 15 small very lightweight rugs, that do vacuum well, as long as they don't get sucked in. The rest of the first floor is all tile. So I would like a bare floor brush too-- not really an issue as I can buy one separate or borrow from one of the canisters but if included is nice. I don't like the combo floor/ carpet tool--Nutone CT150B tool that came with current unit.

I like powernozzles with agitator all the way up on both sides, headlight, doesn't have to be super quiet but not obnoxious. I really like automatic height, however the Nutone Central is very very powerful and an automatic height adjust power nozzle might not fair well with that. Especially for the throw rugs?? I love Hoover power nozzle motors they just sound terrific, purring along over the carpet. Definitely worried about Hoovers older style Windtunnel nozzle with the suction of the central though. It will probably make the nozzle dig in too much and greatly reduce agitation.
Here's the gripes-
Cen-Tec nozzles-- I can't stand that on their most popular ones the Quiet Drive models or Deluxe with removable bare floor tool, there is no suction duct reaching the other side of the agitator under the belt cavity. Yes that little 3/4" area with brush does kick up hair and dirt and goes airborne or trapped in the powerhead there cause NO SUCTION reaches it. Also can't stand there motor overload sensor that never shuts down. Also heard that those powerheads have strong durable motors but the belts are too narrow for good power transfer, so they don't perform well. I said I HATE the CT14DX!!!!!!
The Centec CT12DXL might not be bad, its belt is in the middle, agitator goes edge to edge. Not sure how well these deep clean though. The CenTec Aggressor which is the same one as my Riccar 1700 has, I think would do better if Centec didn't ruin it with the new metal replaceable brush strip agitator. My feeling is that the previous Riccar made wood chevron roller was better. Also the air channel for the agitator seems narrow. I feel the whole agitator opening should be wider for better deep cleaning.
Same tgripe for Nutone CT700 nozzle. The Nutone CT700 is lightweight, has some nice features, agitator looks good, but very narrow opening for the brush. Also I have been able to test this nozzle anywhere, so I have no idea how it really sounds or performs and can't find anything else like it on the market. Anyone have experience with these?

Now I like the Hoover PowerMax nozzle, older Hoover Windtunnel is ok, I'd prefer the new one, which is seen on the Royal Lexon SR20, Hoover Platinum canister and 2 of their other bagless cyclonic canisters. Attaching photo below.

The 2 Wessel Werk nozzles are completely open on the bottom, no plastic support bars which I think would be helpful in preventing area rugs from being sucked in. Otherwise I know these nozzles are said to be durable. Deep cleaning I believe is suppose to be good too.

Beam powerheads are up and down. I've heard the classic- their cheapest- the version that replaced the Eureka World Vac style may be ok, but probably not a great deep cleaner. The Rugmaster may also be good. The Solaire has motor issues I've heard, and Q powerhead- as seen on "new electrolux" canisters is supposed to have severe repairs of various plastic parts going bad, circuit boards etc.

Aerus is probably out of our price range. Also I think the Aerus would be too wide too and I don't think its available with crushproof hose. We don't want another heavy thick rubber/ vinyl style. What is the cleaning path on those?

Sebo and Stealth/ Lindhaus are also probably out of price range. And what is with the Sebo motors, they sound so wierd. It sounds underpowered and just weird, doesn't sound like a powerhead motor. I probably wouldn't like the agitator with not being up on the one side on the Sebo.

The Dust Care power nozzle all over eBay in black, white, or Grey with toe operated on/off, I tried in a vacuum store new out of the box. It was very squeaky and bulky. Didn't seem too powerful either even though thinkvacuums.com rates it highly.

There is a Smart Power nozzle as found on the Oreck Quest Pro canister. That looks nice, but can't find it in a kit, so its probably too expensive once its in a kit. Does anyone know the history of that. I swear the outer cover design looks like a merge between Hoover's Quadraflex Powermatic and Windtunnel. Either it was designed by Hoover, or one of Hoover's previous designers now works for Oreck. Does anyone know for sure?

Ok please send and reply with thoughts, opinions, experiences, durability, etc. Anybody have feedback of do the support bars found on many plastic bottomed agitator plates actually keep area rugs out or am I just imagining this?

Attaching photo of the newer version Hoover Windtunnel head. These to me look good but can't find it for central. Anyone have any ideas for that?

THANKS VERY MUCH!!
Rob


Post# 189455 , Reply# 1   7/11/2012 at 01:52 (4,278 days old) by beerad (Beautiful Vancouver BC)        
Eureka

sweep and groom power nozzel.

Post# 189458 , Reply# 2   7/11/2012 at 02:25 (4,278 days old) by goadie12 ()        

Yes I have to agree with beerad they are an awesome power nozzel I also like the SEBO power nozzel, I have also heard nothing but good things about the wessel werk powerheads thanks. Zach

Post# 189473 , Reply# 3   7/11/2012 at 07:41 (4,277 days old) by Durango159 (State College, PA)        

durango159's profile picture
The Sweep n Groom looks to be the same as the Beam Rugmaster or is the Sweep n Groom better? The agitator design looks the same. The Rugmaster has a headlight. Are they both Eureka made.

Post# 189572 , Reply# 4   7/11/2012 at 19:06 (4,277 days old) by floor-a-matic (somewhere)        

Eureka Express or Wessel Werk EBK340 or EBK360.

Post# 189583 , Reply# 5   7/11/2012 at 22:18 (4,277 days old) by vacu-finder ()        

The Beam/Eureka style powerheads are ok, I changed belts on them quite often as they use the wide flat belt. The heads last a long time as long as you service them often. Remove the brush roll, clean and re lubrictae the shaft and bearings.

The Oreck nozzle is another good one, very durable. True enough the Wessel head and Sebo are great heads.
Don't get the hoover. Here is the Kicker if you buy a Beam head you can find a good used one online for $50.00. The motors are worth over $50.00 alone.


Post# 189586 , Reply# 6   7/11/2012 at 22:36 (4,277 days old) by IL-Kirby-Fan ()        
Kirby

Get a nice G Series Kirby and a piece of rubber hose. Put the Kirby hose on the exhaust port in place of the bag and use the rubber hose to connect the end of the Kirby hose to the end of the Central Vac hose and use them in tandem with each other. It works very well and I sold a lot of Kirbys that way!

Post# 189590 , Reply# 7   7/11/2012 at 22:56 (4,277 days old) by vacu-finder ()        

Heya IL-Kirby-Fan that sounds incredible. Please post a photo of that. It is so very true the Kirby has a hundred uses.

Post# 189598 , Reply# 8   7/12/2012 at 01:55 (4,277 days old) by beerad (Beautiful Vancouver BC)        
yes please

post a pic of that Kirby/ central vac idea.

Post# 189602 , Reply# 9   7/12/2012 at 03:04 (4,277 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)        

Interesting "Monster vac"The Kirby used as a "powernozzle" with a central vacuum.Yes,show pictures.Might be interesting to try this with the NSS M1 pig.

Post# 189645 , Reply# 10   7/12/2012 at 10:51 (4,276 days old) by IL-Kirby-Fan ()        
OK

I will have to take a photo to post.

Post# 189667 , Reply# 11   7/12/2012 at 16:37 (4,276 days old) by IL-Kirby-Fan ()        
OK...

So I was pretty busy today at work and didn't have time to run to the hardware store to get the real stuff I normally use for this set up but I did do a mock set up and took pictures that I can post and describe what I normally do to hook the Kirby to a central vac. I am sure it will be helpful.

Post# 189668 , Reply# 12   7/12/2012 at 16:38 (4,276 days old) by IL-Kirby-Fan ()        
P.S.

I have also hooked Kirbys to Filter Queens before in the same set up just for fun. I tried with a Rainbow once but that tends to blow water into the Rainbow motor and start fires, so stay away from doing that, lol.

Post# 189763 , Reply# 13   7/13/2012 at 10:55 (4,275 days old) by IL-Kirby-Fan ()        
Pictures

Ok, so the photos show a Kirby G6 with the hose attached to the exhaust port. I cable-tie the hose to the bag hanger with a little slack. Now the photo of the hoses put together I have it mocked up with an empty toilet paper roll and cable ties but for this I buy black rubber hose about 8 or 9 inches long and buy the clamps that you tighten with a screw driver to couple the hose ends...but the photos give you an idea...

Post# 189764 , Reply# 14   7/13/2012 at 10:56 (4,275 days old) by IL-Kirby-Fan ()        
2nd...

here is the 2nd photo...

Post# 189765 , Reply# 15   7/13/2012 at 10:59 (4,275 days old) by IL-Kirby-Fan ()        
I should add...

That when I do this for someone I get a 50' cord to put on the Kirby and I wrap the cord around the length of the hose. Usually the 50 foot cord is long enough to go the lenght of the Kirby hose and the 30' central vac hose and I just leave a couple feet of the Kirby cord loose at the end in case the outlet isn't right next to the hook up for the central vac hose in the wall.

Post# 189769 , Reply# 16   7/13/2012 at 11:29 (4,275 days old) by trebor ()        
I did this for my brother and SIL...

but I used their Royal upright. Absolutely an incredible carpet cleaning/grooming machine.


Post# 189853 , Reply# 17   7/14/2012 at 02:22 (4,275 days old) by beerad (Beautiful Vancouver BC)        
wow!!

If there is any possibility of making a video of this set up working.. I would love to see it. I think your Kirby central vac is a fabulous , effective, idea!

Post# 189862 , Reply# 18   7/14/2012 at 06:46 (4,274 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)        

I tried the experiment with my NSS M1 "pig" seemed to work well!Could feel lots of stuff in the paper NSS bag.Will try some more-was able to just jam the Kirby and NSS hoses together without any adaptors.Don't have a central vacuum.The Kirby makes a good fan forced powernozzle!MONSTER VAC!!

Post# 190133 , Reply# 19   7/16/2012 at 02:06 (4,273 days old) by Durango159 (State College, PA)        
Power nozzles

durango159's profile picture
Thank you all for your ideas on this subject. The Kirby is an extremely creative, neat idea and quite interesting and would be very powerful. While we do have 2 Kirby G4's, however I did discuss this with my Mother in law who would be using this and she is in her 60's. She would rather have a lighter weight power nozzle to use with the central vac instead of a heavy Kirby. A regular power head, allows for cleaning under more furniture and beds and is light for carrying up and down stairs. She also wants to be able to disconnect the central vac hose from power head easily for quick attachment use on chairs, stairs, along baseboards and then very quickly back to deep cleaning carpets.

There are several options of power nozzles for central vacuums and I posted this thread seeking help in trying to find one that will clean well, be durable and not empty the wallet at the same time. We are most likely trying to find a kit which would include crushproof style electric hose, power head, wands and maybe barefloor brush. Other tools aren't needed but we'll have to take if included in a kit.

If anyone has any further central vacuum power nozzle options for this post, we greatly appreciate and welcome them.

I am curious as to whether the Beam Rugmaster and Sweep N Groom are essentially the same unit and the only difference is a headlight?
Thank you very much and happy vacuuming!

Thank you very much!!


Post# 193552 , Reply# 20   8/6/2012 at 16:14 (4,251 days old) by centralvacuguru ()        
Why not Stealth?

As the US distributor of Stealth, I believe you should consider the product. This brush has proven to be bullet-proof with a life-time warranty on the belt. We even gave away $100 to the first person to break a belt on it and it took 14 years to happen! You will especially appreciate the roller which reduces thread and hair build-up with its aggressive 360 degree convergent bristle pattern.
Check it out at www.builtinvacuum.com...


Post# 193652 , Reply# 21   8/6/2012 at 22:57 (4,251 days old) by vintagekitchen ()        
Oreck?

She mentioned preferring something lightweight, and the oreck bag tube is a dream for this project from what I have read online, the wand from the central vac should fit perfect. Then you would just need to switch the cord to a regular power nozzle cord so it could plug into the electric hose instead of a wall outlet. Someone on the site did this to creat a powerhead for their miracle mate.

From what I understand this was the original powerhead for rainbow in the 60's, but was only offered if the customer had deep shag carpet, or had an electrolux with powerhead.

Here is a link to the thread about making an Oreck into a power nozzle.





CLICK HERE TO GO TO vintagekitchen's LINK


Post# 193666 , Reply# 22   8/7/2012 at 01:10 (4,251 days old) by Durango159 (State College, PA)        

durango159's profile picture
Orecks in the household haven't impressed us. I service a commercial one at a restaurant I worked for. When I took off the nozzle cover, several of the recessed plastic housings for screws were broken. Very unimpressed with fan.

I've had severe allergy problems using all 3 of the 3 Oreck lightweight uprights that I've ever tried to use.

Now the new Oreck power nozzle found on the Quest Pro canister of theirs, that looks impressive and I wouldn't mind that on a Central vac.

Centralvacguru-- how many brush rows are on the Stealth, is that 1 or 2. Be nice if the Stealth had a headlight. I really like a headlight so I can see better under a bed and some darker areas of our house.


Post# 193811 , Reply# 23   8/7/2012 at 23:17 (4,250 days old) by wwh ()        
+1 for Stealth

Rob - I second centralvacuguru's Stealth recommendation. I got the Stealth kit (PN, hose, bare floor tools and attachments) with my MD system earlier this year, and it's fantastic. It works well on my very thick carpet -- great grooming. It's reasonably quiet, and it's pretty easy to push as long as the height isn't set too low. It also cleans very close to the edge on the narrow end.

The MD hoses are Plastiflex (I think).

Which model Nutone power unit do you have?

--
Port Matilda, eh? Love that Clem's BBQ.

- Bill


Post# 193825 , Reply# 24   8/8/2012 at 00:46 (4,250 days old) by Durango159 (State College, PA)        

durango159's profile picture
I'll have to check out our Nutone suction unit, not sure which.

Clem's BBQ closed about 3 months ago. We're very upset. They moved from Port Matilda to State College and he closed the State College store. We heard he was planning to open another location but haven't seen or heard anything since he closed. The Perkins Pancakes next to Clem's closed as well. Very sad not to have a Perkins or IHOP in this area!


Post# 193848 , Reply# 25   8/8/2012 at 08:31 (4,249 days old) by SBakerde (Millsboro, DE )        
Love the stealth!

I have used the Stealth nozzle for a few years and I do Love it! I also sell them, hehe. I am very impressed with the performance and the durability of it ( you wouldn't believe how rough the cleaning lady is on this central vac). I will add the wessell nozzle is a very close second. It is aggressive and durable. The one brush design of the stealth is great if you have long people or pet hair to vacuum up, I have noticed it doesn't collect nearly as much hair around the roller as the old nozzles did.

Yes the MD hoses are Plastiflex, they make most of the modern central vac hoses now. Though CenTec does have their own, and some brands such as Electrolux and Hayden have their own proprietary designs.

Yes, the rug master and sweep n groom are the same nozzle. Both Eureka made. Eureka and Beam and subsidiaries of Ab Electrolux.



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