Thread Number: 30918  /  Tag: Recent Vacuum Cleaners from past 20 years
my review of the pro-team super coach and Perfect pb1001 backpack vacuums
[Down to Last]

Vacuumland's exclusive eBay Watch:
scroll >>> for more items --- [As an eBay Partner, eBay may compensate vacuumland.org if you make a purchase using any link to eBay on this page]
Post# 341786   1/22/2016 at 21:56 (2,988 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)        

Hey everyone. Welcome to my review of the Pro-team super coach and Perfect pb1001 backpack vacuums. I will post each review in a different message in this thread. Along the way, I would love to know the answers to a few questions. Let's start with the Pro-team super coach.
I had heard a lot about backpack vacuums and figured it would be neat to have a couple of them, and I could also use them to clean my apartment.
When I started doing research to see which backpack vacs were the best, Pro-team seemed to stand out. They make several models, and this actually brings me to my first question. Does anyone know what the differences are between them? There's the super coach, the quarter vac, the running vac, the megavac, and one called the linevaser. I think some of these also have a blower port, but the motor specs seem to be similar on all of them, I'm actually not sure what motor is used in pro-team backpacks, but I think it's made by Domel rather than ametek. The super coach seemed to be one of the most popular models and one of pro-team's top of the line models. They actually have a super coach pro out now as well I think, but not sure what the differences are from the regular super coach. After doing some research, it seemed that the super coach and Perfect backpacks were the best ones available, though I would love to know about other models that everyone likes.
I bought my backpack vacs from evacuumstore.com. The super coach comes in a few different configurations, I think the main difference is what kind of wand it includes. Some packages include a telescopic wand, others include two wands that hook together which is what mine was. Other than that, I think the tools that are included are the same. Besides the wands, the supercoach includes a wide floor tool that works on carpet and tile floors, a long crevice tool, an apoulstry nozzle and a dusting brush. It also includes a four foot long hose.
Speaking of the hose, the hose and tool size is 1.5 inches, which is slightly larger than the 1.25 inch size used by most other vacuums. I was hoping to be able to use my favorite floor nozzle, the Wessel Werk rd285 with these vacuums, and it turns out I had an adapter that fits the hose perfectly. Ridgid makes an adapter set for wet dry vac hoses for using different size attachments, and one of the adapters works great, here is the link to it on the home depot web site.
www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-3-Piec...
The hose has a 90 degrees elbow on one end and this goes in to the top of the vacuum. The hose swivels which does make moving it around much easier.
The vacuum itself is round, and it has the harness attached with the shoulder and waste straps. The power switch is attached to part of the waste belt.
As far as filtration, it has four filters which I think is a bit much. On pro-team's web site, the filter descriptions make it a bit difficult to tell what role each filter plays, so I will clarify them here. The intercept micro filter is the main bag, it's where most of what you vacuum up will go. This bag sits inside the cloth micro filter. The dome filter would be considered the motor filter, and there is also an exhaust filter on the bottom of the vacuum. To access the other filters, you twist the top lid to unlock it and it will remove easily. The dome filter sits on top of the motor, then the cloth micro filter is inserted, and the intercept filter bag goes inside of it. The vacuum came with paper bags. The perfect backpack, which I will review in the next message actually came with a couple of spare bags, and they are cloth instead of paper. Since both vacuums use the same size bags, I put one of the spare cloth bags in my super coach since they will usually work much better than paper bags. Once the filters are installed, you just need to put on the lid and turn it to lock it in place. Both of these backpacks use 10 quart bags, I think there may be a 6 quart version of the super coach as well but not sure.
Ok, let's talk about wearing the vacuum. This was my first time using a backpack, but I find it to be quite comfortable. The harness includes the shoulder straps, a strap that goes over your chest, and a strap that goes around your waste. The straps can be adjusted for different shoulder and waste sizes. Apparently, the back plate can also be adjusted for a taller or shorter person, but I could not figure out how to do this. Fortunately this was not needed, it was already in a position for someone of average heit. To wear the vacuum, first you put on the shoulder straps, just like wearing a back pack. Then you put the chest straps together and snap the clip in to place. Finally, you put the waste straps around you and snap that clip in to place, the clips are similar to a seatbelt. To release the clips, you press the two latches on each side of the clips, again, similar to removing a seatbelt.
The vacuum includes a short pigtail cord with a three prong plug, along with a 50 foot extension cord. There is a holder that the end of the cord loops through, I think this is to help reduce the stress on the cord.
Ok, moving on to the wand and tools. There are two wands, and each one actually has a curve at the end. The wands hook together using a button lock. Once it's together, the wand set is a few feet long, this is longer than typical wands. To attach a tool to the wand, you loosen the nut at the end of the wand, insert the tool and tighten the nut. I'm not sure what advantage, if any the nut provides. It does keep the tool from coming off, but friction fit connections will work fine as long as the sizes of the connectors are correct.
Before I bought the backpacks, I read some reviews on Amazon. One concern several users had was that the floor tool could scratch bare floors. After seeing the tool, I can understand this concern. The floor tool has a thin brush along the bottom, and on the other side, it does have some plastic points that could scratch certain types of floors. The tool does not have any wheels. I tried it briefly and it seemed to clean well, though again, I still think the wessel werk rd285 is by far the best nozzle for cleaning hard wood floors. I have not tried the other tools in the package yet, though I am sure they would work fine.
There is no way to add a power nozzle to this vacuum, so you have the cleaning ability of a straight suction canister. This will work great for hard floors as well as dusting and cleaning furniture, but cleaning carpets will be a problem. Even though the floor tool that is included can be used on carpet, and other carpet tools could be used, you are limited to straight suction. While this will remove whatever is on the surface, in order to completely clean carpets, you need a spinning brush. One option would be to use a turbine nozzle such as the turbocat zoom or one of the other carpet turbine nozzles, this vacuum definitely has enough power to spin those at a good speed, but these nozzles are much louder and will not clean as well as an electric power nozzle. They also tend to get clogged very frequently since everything goes through the turbine. I do think the ability to support an electric power nozzle is something pro-team should consider adding.
So, what about power and noise level? The vacuum is fairly quiet. I'm not sure if it's a one or two stage motor, but it doesn't have that high pitch sound that some vacuums such as the Dysons have. It's not quite as quiet as the Riccar Prima or Electrolux Ultra one canisters, but you could still hold a conversation without yelling. Also, I don't really notice the exhaust, it blows out the bottom, also the vacuum never felt hot or even warm while I was wearing it. As far as power, I'm not sure what the motor specs are, but one way to test a vacuum's power is to see how fast it can spin a turbine brush. This doesn't necessarily indicate how well a vacuum will clean, power is only one of several factors, the cleaning tool also makes a big difference. However, comparing how fast a turbine spins between vacuums does provide a good comparison. I also have perfect pitch, so I always find this test interesting. I use the rug rat tool for this test. The results are very good. The super coach is able to spin the brush a bit faster than several of the canister vacuums I have, such as the Aerus classic, Miele C1 Olympus, and the Sebo airbelt D1. It's not quite as fast as the Perfect Power Team canister or the Electrolux Ultra one though. This vacuum is not lacking at all when it comes to suction power.
So, would I recommend this vacuum if you are looking for a good backpack vacuum? In most cases, yes. I know these vacuums are mainly used in commercial settings, but they work quite well for cleaning your living environment as well. The vacuum is comfortable to wear, I did not have any issues with discomfort, or the vacuum knocking in to things. Granted, I don't have a lot of clutter in my apartment and that could make a difference. This vacuum will work best if you are cleaning hard floors or furniture. While you could use it on carpets, you will probably not get very good results since this vacuum cannot support an electric power nozzle. I suppose you could purchase a 35 foot power nozzle cord and connect that to an electric power nozzle, and then attach that to the end of the wand, but that's probably more trouble than it's worth. If you are willing to deal with poor cleaning performance on carpets, or don't have carpets you need to vacuum, this backpack vacuum is a great choice.


Post# 341789 , Reply# 1   1/22/2016 at 23:21 (2,988 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)        
Perfect pb1001 review

Ok, now for the Perfect pb1001. Besides the review, I will also compare it to the Super Coach. Unlike the Super Coach which is round, the Perfect backpack has ridges in its shape, kind of like a hexegon. It's about the same size, and the harness is similar. The straps are somewhat different though. The perfect vacuum has slightly thicker shoulder straps. I don't think this makes much difference, but it is something I noticed. Also, there is no strap that goes around your chest, but it does have the strap that goes around your waste. I don't find the lack of a chest strap to be a problem, both vacuums are very comfortable and stable when wearing them.
The filtration includes the bag, which again goes inside of a cloth filter. This vacuum also has a motor filter, but I don't think it's removable, if anyone knows for sure about this, I would love to know. There is also an exhaust filter on the bottom of the vacuum, just like on the super coach.
I want to talk about the hose that comes with the Perfect backpack. It's a stretch hose, that is, it can stretch out and extend a bit from it's regular length. Perhaps it's just a personal preference, but, I really don't like this hose at all. The main reason is, when cleaning something such as furniture, if you cut off the suction by pressing the nozzle to a surface, the hose starts to tense up and pull back towards the vacuum. I find this annoying, and I'm going to purchase a backpack vacuum hose from centec systems to replace the stretch hose, I don't like the stretch hose at all. It does seem that with backpack vacuums, there are some standards that all the companies follow. The hoses are interchangeable, and at least with these two brands, so are the bags. Actually, wet dry vacs are that way as well. The wet dry vac hoses I have will work in my vacmaster, ridgid and shop vac models. I'd be curious to know what others think about the stretch hoses.
The wands that come with the Perfect backpack are very similar to the Super Coach wands, they hook together the same way. As far as included tools, it comes with a carpet tool, a hard floor tool with a typical thick brush, a crevice tool, dusting brush, and something called a paddle tool which I have not figured out the purpose for yet. Since the hard floor tool that comes with this backpack has a thicker brush, it is probably less likely to scratch floors the way the pro-team floor tool could.
The Perfect backpack offers a major advantage if you need to clean carpets. It can support an electric power nozzle. The way it does this is interesting. The hose is not electric, however, on the switch box that is attached to the waste belt is the typical power nozzle outlet, the two prong female connector. I'm not sure if they were thinking of a particular power nozzle when they made this design, or just decided to provide the connector, and the user could connect whatever power nozzle they wanted. So, in order to use a power nozzle, you would need one that has a cord on the nozzle itself, rather than a power nozzle that was designed to use a direct connect wand. The power nozzles that I am aware of that have this design are the ones made by Lindhaus, and I think Riccar makes a universal power nozzle as well. As far as I know, power heads such as the Wessel Werk ebk 360 only work with direct connect wands, there is not a model that has a cord attached, though I'm wondering if it would be possible to manually rewire a power nozzle and attach a cord to it. Also, I don't think any of the Centec Systems power heads have a cord on the nozzle itself, they all get their power through a connection in the wand. Again, it would be interesting to see if any of those power nozzles could be rewired and a cord attached to them. So, to use a power nozzle with this vacuum, you would attach it to the end of a wand, and connect the power nozzle cord to the outlet on the switch box. There is no separate switch for the power nozzle, whenever the vacuum is on, anything connected to the power nozzle connector will be on as well. This is a nice feature, and I definitely think it's something pro-team should add to their backpacks as well.
Just as with the Super Coach, the hose connects to the top of the vacuum, and the lid is removed the same way. This vacuum also includes a 50 foot extension cord along with a similar cord holder as what the super coach has.
Ok, moving on to the power and noise level. The perfect backpack has slightly more of both compared to the super coach. I'm not sure what motor this vacuum uses, but it sounds almost exactly as the motor that is used in the current Aerus classic canister. Same pitch, and a similar noise level. As far as suction power, I did the same test using the rug rat turbine hand tool. It spins a bit faster than with the Super Coach, it spins as fast as with the Perfect Power Team and Electrolux Ultra One, and this speed is very close to how fast most central vacuums can spin that brush. The Perfect backpack definitely has plenty of suction power, and may be the most powerful backpack available. Again, it uses a 1.5 inch diameter hose, I think that's the standard size for all backpacks, but adapters are available if you want to use 1.25 attachments.
So, would I recommend the Perfect backpack? Yes, definitely! It's a great backpack vacuum for sure. The only thing I don't like about it is the stretch hose that it includes, but that is easily replaced with a standard crush proof hose. The cloth bags seem to be very good quality, and the tools that are included seem like they are decent. And if you need to clean carpets, this vacuum will support an electric power nozzle.
So, which one is better, the Pro-team super coach or the Perfect Backpack? They are both very good vacuums, both will do a great job of cleaning. They are powerful, comfortable to wear and seem to be made well. However, for some things, one may be a better choice. If you need to clean carpets, get the Perfect vacuum since it can support an electric power nozzle. Since the super coach can't do this, it will never be able to clean carpets as well. Also, if you want the most suction power, the Perfect vacuum wins in that category. On the other hand, the Pro-team super coach does have a few advantages as well. If noise level is a high priority for you, the pro-team is slightly quieter. It has slightly less suction, according to the turbine brush test, but not enough to affect cleaning performance. Also, the super coach is $100 to $150 cheaper than the Perfect vacuum, so if you're on a tighter budget, the super coach may be the way to go. I like the hose that comes with the super coach much better, since it's not a stretch hose, it does not jerk towards the vacuum when suction is reduced. However, the stretch hose that comes with the Perfect vacuum can easily be replaced with a different one. In the end, both of these backpacks are great vacuums, I'm glad I got both of them, and I hope everyone enjoyed the reviews.


Post# 341803 , Reply# 2   1/23/2016 at 09:06 (2,987 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)        
another brand of backpack vacuum that looks interesting

Has anyone heard of a company called powr-flite? They seem to mainly make commercial floor cleaners, but their line of backpack vacuums looks interesting.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO n0oxy's LINK


Post# 341826 , Reply# 3   1/23/2016 at 20:48 (2,987 days old) by kirby519 (Wisconsin)        

Yes I have hear of Powr-flite I like their floor machines for the most part and carpet cleaning equipment. I'm not a huge fan of some of their upright vacuums.

Post# 341869 , Reply# 4   1/23/2016 at 23:25 (2,987 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)        
powr-flite back packs

I'm thinking of picking up one of their backpack vacuums, probably the comfort pro, just the standard version, not the premium since it includes a stretch hose and, as I said in a previous post, I don't like those. The premium version does have an interesting feature though, you can enable a feature that will blow cool air towards you while you vacuum, an interesting idea. The motor specs are decent, CFM is 130 and the water lift is 110.

Post# 341915 , Reply# 5   1/24/2016 at 15:20 (2,986 days old) by Kirbysthebest (Midwest)        

Sounds like you have a couple of fun vacs.  

Great reviews btw.


Post# 341977 , Reply# 6   1/25/2016 at 13:43 (2,985 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)        
extension cords

I'm actually going to get some shorter extension cords for the backpacks. I just don't need 50 feet, and they tangle very easily. Going to give the long cords to a few of my coworkers, and get shorter cords, probably around 20 or 25 feet.

Post# 342080 , Reply# 7   1/26/2016 at 19:36 (2,984 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)        
another backpack adapter for standard attachments

Hey everyone, here is another adapter that will allow you to use standard attachments with the 1.5 inch backpack hoses. This one is more expensive than the one I mentioned in my review, but it includes more. It doesn't just go on to the hose cuff, you actually remove the cuff at the end of the hose, and screw this on to the hose in its place. It has a gas pump style swivel handle along with a suction relief valve and a button lock end. Personally I prefer the pistol grip, but still, it's a really nice adapter, I actually ordered another one for my other backpack, will just keep the ridgid adapter in the closet for now.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO n0oxy's LINK


Post# 342095 , Reply# 8   1/27/2016 at 00:41 (2,984 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)        

If the vacuum orig has 1.5 like to keep it that way-otherwise you can choke off the CFM of the machine-making it slightly less effective.

Post# 345700 , Reply# 9   2/28/2016 at 13:59 (2,951 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)        
my review of the powr-flite comfort pro premium backpack

Hey everyone, I got another backpack vacuum and thought I would post it in the same thread as my other two backpacks since I will be making some comparisons. The one I got is the powr-flite comfort pro premium. I was actually looking at backpack videos on youtube and discovered this, I had never heard of this company, but apparently they are part of Tacony which also makes the Riccar and Simplicity brands. Here is the youtube video that got me interested in this vacuum.



I got the 10 quart premium version, though I'm not sure I actually use any of the extra premium features. The main differences are, the premium comes with a stretch hose, as I stated in my previous review of the Perfect backpack, I prefer a regular hose. It also comes with a hands free tool set that goes in to the waste belt, and it has a feature that is supposed to direct hot air away from you and replace it with cool air. There is a switch on the unit that enables this, but I didn't notice any difference, and when this is enabled, it decreases the suction slightly.
The harness on this backpack is by far the best I have used, much better than the other two backpacks I have. The harness was designed by a company named Deuter which I had not heard of, but apparently they specialize in making hiking equipment. The straps are very good quality, and unlike the other two backpacks I have, the pro-team super coach and Perfect PB1001, you don't have to worry about the strap buckles coming off if you move them too far. The straps are harder to adjust on this model, but in a way that's a good thing, because it means that once they are adjusted, they will stay in place. You can also adjust the height of the harness without any tools. The vacuum is very comfortable to wear, it transfers most of the weight to your hips.
I prefer to use my collection of standard attachments with my vacuums, but I did give the tools that came with this vacuum a try. It includes a hard floor brush, a carpet brush, one attachment that I'm not sure what it is, I think a paddle tool, an apolstry nozzle, a crevice tool, and a dusting brush. Interestingly, many of the tools seem to use a 1.25 connection rather than a 1.5 size, although the wand and hose are typical of backpacks and use the 1.5 inch size. When using the wand that came with the vacuum and the floor brush, I actually had a hard time getting the brush to lay flat on the floor for some reason. The wand actually has a curve on the top of it, not sure if that was related to this. Since I don't like stretch hoses, I replaced it with a standard backpack hose, and got an adapter that allows the 1.5 hose to use 1.25 attachments.
I don't like the cord design on this vacuum as much as my other two backpacks. The other two use a pig tail cord and you connect whatever length of extension cord you need, I actually use a 25 foot cord on my other two models. With this backpack, the 50 foot cord is held in by two screws and cannot be changed. For cleaning my apartment, 50 feet is a bit much. Unfortunately, there is no hook up for a power nozzle with this vacuum, I'm actually surprised that so few backpack models include this, regardless of what carpet tool is included, it will never clean as good as a spinning brush.
Out of the three backpacks I have, this one is the quietest, and the power is similar to the Pro-team super coach, at least based on how fast it spins a turbo brush.
The vacuum is oval shaped, and can use either closed or open style bags, the vacuum includes two closed style bags.
So, would I suggest this vacuum? If you're ok with a 50 foot cord and don't need a power nozzle, yes, definitely. It's quiet, has cleaning power comparable to other backpacks, and probably has the best harness you will find in a vacuum like this.



Forum Index:       Other Forums:                      



Comes to the Rescue!

Woops, Time to Check the Bag!!!
Either you need to change your vacuum bag or you forgot to LOG-IN?

Discuss-O-MAT Log-In



New Members
Click Here To Sign Up.



                     


automaticwasher.org home
Discuss-o-Mat Forums
Vintage Brochures, Service and Owners Manuals
Fun Vintage Washer Ephemera
See It Wash!
Video Downloads
Audio Downloads
Picture of the Day
Patent of the Day
Photos of our Collections
The Old Aberdeen Farm
Vintage Service Manuals
Vintage washer/dryer/dishwasher to sell?
Technical/service questions?
Looking for Parts?
Website related questions?
Digital Millennium Copyright Act Policy
Our Privacy Policy