Thank you Deborah for clearing up a lot of questions!
LACMA bought a new Nilfisk 80 HEPA vacuum in 2002. We put on the
variable speed control. We were very disappointed in the fact that the
suction did not go very low.....compared with our older Rainbow water
vacuum with a custom suction control.
Since the Nilfisk instruction booklet listed only volts and watts, not
amps, I looked at the tag on the machine for more information. There I
discovered that the watts stamped on the machine did not match the
instruction booklet. So be sure to look at the machine itself.
My machine is 800 watts, the smaller motor. If your machine has a
'listed power' of 1100 or 1200 watts, then you have the larger motor.
When we are NOT vacuuming up hazardous materials, we prefer our Rainbow
water vacuum with a custom suction control. It is *so much quieter* than
the Nilfisk 80 with the 800 watt motor, the suction goes almost to
zero...and the wheels work better.
[As an aside, we also have Bose noise-cancelling headphones available in
the lab. They do help reduce noise when working on a vacuuming project
(expensive, though).]
Deborah, my next question is: what type of Variac controller (a trade
name for a variable transformer) did you get? From what I've read, they
are rated in hertz (Hz)? I think I want one.
So far, I can't see any reason to buy the newer Nilfisk 80 with its
larger 11amp motor unless I was planning to use it with a Variac. The
costumes and textiles in LACMA's collection are much too delicate for
this powerful vacuum.
We also have a set of the micro-vacuuming tools, which, when all of the
holes are opened up, can lower the suction a bit...
I called Nilfisk and spoke with Vince Dimento
([log in to unmask]).
I learned that Nilfisk 80s can have different motors; look at the
stamped tag on your machine. A 'GS' motor is 500 or 700 watts. A 'GM'
motor is 1100 watts. And a 'GSPJ' motor is 800 watts. Right now, only
the GM' motor with 1100 watts is made.
Also, I didn't realize that the variable speed controller is sold by
Nilfisk-advance only in the United States; it is not universal around
the world.
Deborah, my next question is: what type of Variac controller (a trade
name for a variable transformer) did you get? From what I've read, they
are rated in hertz (Hz)? I think I want one.
So far, I can't see any reason to buy the newer Nilfisk 80 with its
larger 11amp motor unless I was planning to use it with a Variac. The
costumes and textiles in LACMA's collection are much too delicate for
this powerful vacuum.
I'm starting to turn my attention to other companies that sell HEPA
filtering vacuums for different applications. Also, the Nilfisk
backvacuum does not have a speed controller. Does anyone have a favorite
vacuum cleaner for vacuuming dust from costume while on exhibition?
Catherine McLean
Senior Textile Conservator
Conservation Center
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Textile Conservators [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Deborah Bede
Sent: Friday, February 09, 2007 12:09 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: More on Nilfisks [faked-from]
Well, my three-year-old Nilfisk suddenly stopped working, right in the
middle of a big project of course. So I called Nilfisk and got some
good information. I talked to three people, all of whom were helpful.
But if you need to call them talk to Vince, he was very informative. He
told me that they changed from a 7 amp motor to an 11 amp, and then
found that the old speed controller was burning out the motor when used
at low speeds. So they found a new controller that would only allow you
go down to about 50% of full power. They are now using another new
controller that will go down further, to 25% or so. This is not as far
as the old controller (which was about 10%), and it's 25% of a bigger
motor so the suction will still be stronger than we're used to. It's
too bad they switched motors, but I guess most of their customers want
more suction. I guess it's only museum folks who use the speed
controller.
I found out that my machine has the old controller and the smaller
motor, which was a relief. I sent the top of the machine to Nilfisk for
repair, and I had it back just over a week later. Luckily, it was just
my power cord that was bad, they replaced it and did it under warranty.
In the meantime, I used my other HEPA vac with the Variac speed
controller that I mentioned in my previous post. It worked great,
pulling the motor down to almost nothing. I would definitely use this
in preference to a newer Nilfisk.
Deborah Bede
Stillwater Textile Conservation Studio, LLC
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