Vacuums: Comparing Suction And Airflow

By Author: Claude Whitacre
Total Articles: 164
Comment this article

This critique is concerning vacuum cleaners, but it is accurate for any appliance what utilizes an electric motor.

You see vacuum cleaners marketed as having twelve amp motors. The truth is, this only means that the motor employs twelve amps of electricity. This amperage measurement does not tell you if the motor is of high quality or not. This doesn't tell you if the motor is durable, has lots of suction, or moves a good deal of air flow.

Your house is wired to receive a twelve amp appliance. So the most "electricity hungry" devices use that amount of electricity. Toasters, hair dryers, and heaters all use this much electricity.

Measuring amps in a vacuum cleaner is like measuring milage in a car. The milage doesn't tell you about the quality of the car, or its performance. It only tells you how much gas the motor needs to run.

Suction is about how vigorously the motor can take out air from a space.

Canister vacuum cleaners generally have more suction than upright vacuums, because the motors are designed differently. Most upright motors are designed to move air rapidly. The more ...
... rapidly the airflow, the more expensive the vacuum picks up the dirt. The more suction the vacuum has, the more mass it will pull if you seal the end of the nozzle.

Have you ever viewed a vacuum cleaner pick up a bowling ball? It reveals great suction, but no airflow. The airflow is what picks up the dirt.

Also at sea level, air pressure is fifteen pounds per square inch.

Given that suction is just a matter of reducing the amount of air in a space, the amount of suction a vacuum cleaner has is severely limited. No vacuum cleaner ever made could have more suction that fifteen ponds per square inch.

But the speed of the air? That can be amplified based on the area the air is traveling through, and the air pressure behind it. Airflow has no real high limit.

By way of example, a vacuum cleaner that has airflow of one hundred gallons of air per minute is going to do a brilliant job of moving the dirt off of your carpet, and into the bag or canister.

But the number of amps? It doesn't render to efficient airflow. The amount of suction? It also doesn't translate to airflow.

While shopping around for a vacuum, ask about the airflow speed and volume. This will tell you whether the vacuum will clean or not.

I hope this helps.
Vacuum expert Claude Whitacre owns The Sweeper Store in Wooster Ohio. The store serves the Wooster Ohio, Medina Ohio, Cleveland Ohio, Akron Ohio, Canton Ohio, Columbus Ohio, and Holmes county areas. You can watch review videos at http://www.sweeperstoreonline.com or read other articles at http://www.vacuumcleanerswoosterohio44691.com