Product Reviews for Riccar 1700P |
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Riccar 1700P
Manufacturer: Riccar
Avg. Price: $575 |
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CountVacula
Joined: Dec 25, 2014
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I bought it mostly out of curiosity. These things were among the most expensive canister vacuums you could buy when new. I don't normally pay big bucks for vacuums, considering a high end Panasonic or Kenmore to be a much better value. Even good used ones tend to fetch upwards of $600 or more. But Riccar and Simplicity have their rabid partisans so when one came up cheap I bought it. It needed a good cleaning so I disassembled it completely. It says "Made in Korea" on the bottom and inside it looks a lot like a Samsung Quiet Jet canister. Good quality for the most part but the motor is not as well sealed as a Panasonic or Kenmore. There are some spots where dust leaks out of the motor housing, air that isn't first passing through the substantial looking HEPA exhaust filter. The hose material is light weight but easy to kink, a complaint I have with all of the European vacuums too. Thankfully the hose is about eight feet long where most canister vacuums today only give you six feet of hose and that often isn't enough. The attachments are much better than average and vastly better than those sold with Mieles. The power nozzle is good, a little buzzy but it cleans well. I did notice two long term problems though. The button lock to release the wand is a shallow plastic square that wears out and loosens with time. Also the back of the swivel neck is thin and develops a crack down the center of the rear face. Together these allow enough play in the wand to cause it to loose contact when you pull back on the power nozzle. Push forward and the nozzle spins, pull back and it goes dead. Bummer. There is a new neck with some ribbing that may delay the formation of the crack and I noticed the two pins in the electrical connection are twice as long as before. Riccar knows they had a problem and appears to have addressed it. $38 plus tax and shipping, and your labor to install it. Suction wise it is the most powerful vacuum I have tested at 96 inches of sealed suction (my previous champ was the Kenmore Elite at 90 inches) but airflow wise it is mid pack at about 6.0 on my BAIRD meter. By comparison the big Kenny pegs my BAIRD meter past the 10 mark, a Miele C3 Compact pulls 9.0 and an old Hoover Dimension 1000 from the late 1980s musters up 8.5 on my BAIRD meter. Airflow is what moves the dirt once agitation and suction free it from your floor or carpet so high airflow is maybe more important than high suction. Only use cloth HEPA dust bags with this machine. There are paper bags available that fit but they leak and will contaminate everything including the motor with dirt and hair.
Date Purchased: August 2019
Price Paid: $150
Recommend: No |
Pros:
Great suction. Pretty well built, effective power nozzle, longer than normal hose with all the off / on, power nozzle and motor speed controls on the hose handle. Long power cord too. Very nice attachments. Easy to use, doesn't make you bust a sweat and the long hose means you can just stand the machine on end to clean high shelves rather than have to carry the machine with one hand and clean with the other.
Cons:
It's still too expensive for what it is. Hose material is light weight but it kinks really easily. Power nozzle is buzzy and has a fragile neck that is prone to breaking from normal use. Ok airflow but nothing special. Motor housing has a few leaky spots so not all exhaust air gets filtered. With four swivel casters on the bottom it tends to crab sideways across the floor instead of following directly behind. |
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admin
Joined: Nov 29, 2004
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Purchased new from local vacuum store who also sells Miele (diamond dealer), and others. This is apparently same model as Simplicity (same manufacturer as Riccar).
Feature for feature, as good or better that the top-rated Miele Blue Moon (except filter bag slightly smaller), but I was able to get it for nearly $300 less (on sale I think.
Has a longer (3-year) basic warranty than the Miele (1 year) but 5-year on motor (Miele is 7 year on Blue Moon). The P in 1700P model number appears to designate the power head, as there is apparently also a 1700S model.
Riccar components appear to be better designed and of higher quality than Miele (although its hard to tell with the motor--highly rated on Miele).
Riccar HEPA filter is much cheaper to replace (about $30 vs. $60 for Miele). Bags are about the same ($17 for six).
Riccar comes with more attachements than Miele. Also I highly recommend getting the optional hand-held Turbo Brush #DLTB-R---great for stairs, upholstry, and tight places---seems even more powerful than the power head (but smaller--not practical for general carpet cleaning !
Went in looking to buy a Miele, bought the Riccar instead. Salesman and fellow reviewer were influential, but it was to me a better value than the Miele.
Question fellow reviewer's paid price ($499) --- must be a used price as the product retails over $1100.
-Moved from previous site by administrators.
Date Purchased:
Price Paid: $999
Recommend: Yes |
Pros:
Price (compared to Miele)
Number of Attachments included
Power
Quality
Ease of use
Very quiet
Filtration
Flexibility of attachments
Cons:
Price (unless compared to Miele)
Bag Size
Empty bag indicator light too sensitive
Owners manual could have more info. (minor) |
This message was modified Jul 23, 2007 by admin
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