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Vacuum facts


Posted by reality check on November 7th, 2005 02:24 PM
In reply to Rainbow?filter Queen by Unregistered-another noone on October 15th, 2005 12:24 PM [Go to top of thread]

2 of 2 people found this post helpful

I've been reading all of these comments about Rainbows, filter Queens's, etc...
...and it amazes me how many people apparently failed physics class in high-school! What dows farting in a bathtub or sucking through a straw have to do with vacuuming floors?!? NOTHING! Whether a vacuum is an upright or a canister has nothing to do with it's suction power. It has to do with the air flow, how well the air path is sealed, how powerful the motor/fan assembly is, and the method of filtration. The reason the Rainbow is not like "Farting in a bathtub" is because when you pass gas, the bubbles rise to the top and burst. ...In a Rainbow, on the other hand, the volume of air entering the reservoir causes the water to agitate violently. This has a triple purpose: 1. It increases the amount of time the incoming air has in contact with the water, 2. It reduces the size of the airbubbles, and 3. anybody who knows anything about meteorology knows that when water and air mix and move against each other they exhange static charges...static electricity attracts dust, thereby increasing the filtration ability of the water. There have already been several (very accurate) explanations about how filters work, so I won't go into detail, except to say to simply listen to a bag vacuum the next time you change the bag. As soon as you turn the machine on, the motor has a low pitch and the suction is high. After vacuuming for several minutes, the sound takes on a higher pitch. ...This isn't because it switches to a higher gear, it is because there is a heavy load on the motor, caused, of course, by a clogged bag/filter. (Heavy motor load = short motor life)The straw analogy doesn't work, unless you never change the water, or are trying to vacuum up spilled cement.
In short, if uprights are so much better than canister vacs, shy are all shop-vacs canisters? Those things can suck up nails! And if Bags and Filters are better than water filtration, why do they clog so easily and let so much dust get away?
Go back to high-school kids. I own a bag vac, so I'm not being biased here, just stating basic science.

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