RAINBOW VACUUM MODELS

Here at Great Vacs we frequently get asked what differences exist between some of the Rainbow Vacuum models. We're also frequently asked which model is best, so we decided to make this page to provide answers to those specific questions. This is not a technical page about Rainbow Vacuums. To get that information, you will need to contact the Rainbow Company.

Disclaimer

All information we have provided is third party information. The information contained herein is what we have learned over the years from repairing and rebuilding Rainbow Vacuums. All information and statements are merely our opinions. This document does not contain any official or technical information on Rainbow Vacuums. For that information you need to contact the Rainbow company (Rexair) or your local distributors. We are not a Rainbow distributor nor are we associated in any way with the Rainbow Vacuum company. This information is provided to make you aware of some of the features of the vacuum, not to provide technical or official information. We don't claim to include all information in this document, but if you have knowledge or information that would enhance this document, please let us know and we would be glad to include it.

Rainbow Vacuum Model Differences

Model	Power (CFM)	Filtration	Hose Style	Shampooer Style	GreatVacs Warranty
D4 Model	72 Cubic Feet per Minute	Water Filtration	Comes With 2 Non Electric Hoses - Powerhead Plugs Into Canister	Only Works with Aquamate 1 Shampooer or the Prolux Storm (Click here to see)	5 Years on Both Motors Fans & Bearings
SE Model	72 Cubic Feet per Minute	Water Filtration	Comes With 1 Electric Hose - 1 Non Electric Wet Hose	Only Works With Aquamate 1 Shampooer or the Prolux Storm (Click here to see)	5 Years on Both Motors Fans & Bearings
SE/PN2 Model	72 Cubic Feet per Minute	Water Filtration	Comes With 1 Electric Hose with Trigger -1 Non Electric Wet Hose	Only Works With Aquamate 1 Shampooer or the Prolux Storm(Click here to see)	5 Years on Both Motors Fans & Bearings
E Series Model	80 Cubic Feet per Minute	Water & Hepa Filtration	Comes With 1 Electric Hose - 1 Non Electric Wet Hose	Only Works With Aquamate 1 & 2 Shampooer, or the Prolux Storm(Click here to see)	5 Years on Both Motors Fans & Bearings
E2 Gold 2 Speed Model	80+ Cubic Feet per Minute	Water & Washable Hepa Filtration	Comes With 1 Electric Hose - 1 Non Electric Wet Hose	Only Works With Aquamate 1, 2 & 3 Shampooer, or the Prolux Storm (Click here to see)	5 Years on Both Motors Fans & Bearings
E2 Blue 2 Speed Model	80+ Cubic Feet per Minute	Water & Washable Hepa Filtration	Comes With 1 Electric Hose - 1 Non Electric Wet Hose	Only Works With Aquamate 1, 2 & 3 Shampooer, or the Prolux Storm (Click here to see)	5 Years on Both Motors Fans & Bearings
E2 Black 2 Speed Model	80+ Cubic Feet per Minute	Water & Washable Hepa Filtration	Comes With 1 Electric Hose Used For Both Wet and Dry Pick Up	Only Works With Aquamate 3 Shampooer	5 Years on Both MotorsFans & Bearings
SRX 4 Speed Model	80+ Cubic Feet per Minute	Water & Washable Hepa Filtration	Comes With 1 Electric Hose Used For Both Wet and Dry Pick Up	Only Works With Aquamate 3 Shampooer	5 Years on Both MotorsFans & Bearings

	D3 Rainbow: Cubic Feet Per Minute of Air Moved: 67. The D3 rainbow is a good work horse Rainbow Vacuum. For the price, you can't go wrong. If you want more convenience though, you might want to check out the newer models. It comes with a standard hose with the power cord on the outside of the hose. It does not have a pump style hose. As with all Rainbows, the D3 Rainbow Vacuum has a separate tool hose with standard Rainbow tools. Due to it's age we have discontinued the D3 model from our store
	D4 Rainbow: Cubic Feet Per Minute of Air Moved: 72. With the D4 Rainbow Vacuum they changed quite a bit regarding the look and design. They also added more power. The powerhead power cord is still on the outside of the main hose and would plug into the canister rather than the hose handle. 2 non electric hoses are still included with this model as well. They also changed the design and look of the standard tools. They changed the look of the tool dolly and made quite a few engineering changes as well (i.e. motor, fan, water separator, separator nut, gaskets, etc).
	SE Rainbow. Cubic Feet Per Minute of Air Moved: 72. The main change between the SE and the D4 is the main hose, which will now be electric. They put the cord internally on the main hose which allowed the powerhead to be plugged into the hose handle rather than the canister. They changed the colors slightly and added a slightly different look to the wheel dolly. Performance wise the SE would be identical to the D4.
	SE PE Rainbow. Cubic Feet Per Minute of Air Moved: 72. The SE PE (also known as the SE PN2), which stands for SE Performance Edition. A couple of changes were made, but most of them were not performance changes. The first change made with the SE PE Rainbow Vacuum was putting a trigger on the pump handle. The trigger has to be squeezed in order for the powerhead to run. This is a great feature for not only convenience. but also for safety. For example, if you were vacuuming and you accidentally caught a sock or some carpet string you just let go of the trigger and the powerhead would stop. The second change made was to the powerhead. They changed from the traditional rectangular shaped head and made it a more modern design. The head was not quite as wide as previous models, but seemed to have more vacuuming power. Access to the belt and brush roll was also made more convenient since you no longer had to disassemble the head to gain access.
	E Series Rainbow. Cubic Feet Per Minute of Air Moved: 80. Usually when a new model comes out they only make a few changes. With the E series, they completely went back to the drawing board. We were really impressed with all the changes they made to the E2 Series Rainbow Vacuum. About the only thing that looks similar to the previous model is part of the hose, the main wand and the head. Some of the changes are: more power, the color, design and look of the E Series, look of the tools, wheel dolly now locks in place so the dolly won't fall off, added a safety switch, changed the water separator, the water bowl, the hose connections, and added a Hepa Filter. So what do these changes really mean? Well, with more power it is going to vacuum better. With the Hepa Filtration it is going to filter better, with the safety switch it is now safer, and with the design change it looked a lot cooler and much more modern. In our business, when we see a new model come out it usually only takes a year or so for the price to dramatically drop. This has not been true with the E series. The selling price has stayed within a hundred dollars over the last 6 years. We have never seen another model stay close to that. There is a lot of demand for them. Because of the demand, though, they are still outside the price range of some people. Otherwise, we still recommend a lot of the previous models because they are still great affordable vacuums.
	E2 Gold 2 Speed Rainbow. The main difference between the E2 Gold 2 Speed Rainbow Vacuum and the E Series is the main motor. They actually look very similar and have similar performance. The E2 Gold 2 Speed Rainbow Vacuum uses a brushless motor and has a 2 speed switch. With the 2 speed, it allows you to use the vacuum as a home air filter that runs quietly and then the second speed is for normal vacuuming. Personally, if I had a vacuum that was that expensive, I would be worried about putting extra hours on it, and go buy an air filter machine (you can get nice ones for around 100 dollars). With the new motor it also has a little more airflow (I don't know how much more).
	E2 Blue/Silver 2 Speed Rainbow. The only difference between the E2 Blue 2 Speed Rainbow Vacuum and the E2 Gold 2 Speed Series is the E2 Blue is newer and quieter. They did this by adding extra foam insulation around the motor which cut down the motor noise. Just like the Gold model the E2 Blue 2 Speed Rainbow Vacuum uses the same brushless motor and also has the 2 speed switch. This allows you to use this model as both an air purifier and a vacuum. As with the Gold in our opinion it would make more sense to get a separate air purifier for this job rather than putting extra hours onto the motor.
	E2 Black 2 Speed Rainbow. The main difference between the E2 Black 2 Speed Rainbow Vacuum and the other E2 2 Speed models is the powerhead. The powerhead was completely redesigned with powered edge brushes and a no cord direct connect design. This helps with getting the edges of your carpet clean even when your against the wall. LED lights were also added to the water bowl area and on the head. The hose was slightly changed with an added trigger lock which allows you to lock the trigger instead of having to hold it. A 2 piece direct connect main wand was also added which is how the head gets power. The E2 Black 2 Speed Rainbow Vacuum still uses the same brushless motor and still has a 2 speed switch.
	SRX 4 Speed Rainbow. Rainbow once again went back to the drawing board for the release of the SRX model. The overall look was redesigned slightly and an all new 4 speed brushless motor style only found in the SRX was thrown in. The powerhead was also slightly redesigned to enhance performance, added stainless steel brush roll, quick release wand connection and true edge to edge cleaning capabilities. The hose now has a magnetic quick release connection and 30% more airflow than previous models.
	Optional Rainbow Accessories. With all the Rainbow Vacuums there are optional items you can buy. There is the Aquamate shampooer that will fit all the Rainbow models that come with a tool hose. New Comfort Humidifier for cleaning the air around you. Ridz-Odor for getting rid of odors and stopping them at the source and the Rainbowmate powered upholstery tool. The Rainbowmates will only work on models SE or newer. There is one made for the SE Rainbow Vacuum and one made for the E Series Rainbow Vacuum. There is the handheld shampooer for upholstery, etc., and the squeegee tool.

Recommendations. If you're thinking about buying another plastic upright or canister from a superstore that's only going to last a few years, we suggest you buy a D4 or SE Rainbow vacuum instead. They're about the same price, does a better job vacuuming, has much, much better filtration and will also last much longer. If you can afford it, we would suggest going with the SE model.

If you are on a budget, but want a good all-around vacuum, we suggest the D4 model. Of all the Rainbow models, it is one of our highest sellers since you can still get a great vacuum for a lower price.

If you like convenience and safety, we would recommend the SE PN2 Rainbow Vacuum. It has some of the features a newer model does, but doesn't cost as much and still cleans and filters very well.

If you have really bad allergies, we recommend the E series or any of the 2 Speed Rainbow Vacuums since they have the added HEPA filter. However, we've had plenty of allergy sufferers who've said the previous models have really helped them as well. The E/E2 series do have a little more suction power as well, but if they're out of your budget, as we mentioned before the older models still work very well, have great suction and will still have excellent filtration even without the extra HEPA filter.

As you can tell, there are some differences between the D4 to SE PN2, but the biggest difference is age and color. In our opinion, age is not a big factor in a Rainbow because they last so long, especially if it's been rebuilt by a professional. We hope this information was helpful to you and that it will answer your questions about the differences between Rainbow models. If you still have any questions, you can email us at service@greatvacs.com or visit us at www.greatvacs.com

Rainbow Vacuum Models

I absolutely love the vacuum cleaner customer service. You need to do some work on how you serve people the vacuum is wonderful just fix customer service.

New Prolux phantom user

I bought this vacuum and it is everything I wanted.Lightweight and good suction.It is also quieter than my old vacuum with better suction.The weight of it is nicely balanced with a nice handle in the front that is designed into the frame of the vacuum.It is extremely easy to carry up the stairs.It gets good suction even on hardwood floors.The crevice tool works great for getting dirt sucked up in frame boards on the bottom side of the walls near the floor.I like all the attachment tools,for they are very useful.Well made vacuum for the money.Bargain at that price,because in a big box store a customer can’t get a vacuum as nice as the prolux phantom upright bagged vacuum cleaner in the two hundred dollar price range.

Works like a champ!

Hi all - happy to submit my review of my recently purcased Prolux Tritan. This is a demo model, so I didnt expect much to start, but I was very pleasantly surprised to find a powerful and efficient vacuum at a great price. To be fair there were a few more scratches on the body work than I expected, but I like to think of it as “pre-loved”. Bottom line: works great, quiter than expected, and does a great job on the dog hair - which I can certainly supply. Try to pick up a demo model if you can - after all, it's a vacuum, not a Porsche so what's wrong with a few battle scars? Charles Thompson

My favorite vacuum

This is my second prolux, it has never let me down and I’m pretty tough on a vacuum. I also love the fact that it is American made.

Maybe a good vacuum, not sure yet. Problems from day 1

While I appreciated the initial guidance from customer service in helping me choose the right model, the overall experience has been frustrating due to extremely slow response times. It’s 2025, and the turnaround time for support has been slower than what one might expect even from traditional mail.

Nearly a week ago, I received an email from your CEO inviting feedback on my experience. I responded with details about the issues I’ve encountered, but I have yet to receive any reply.

One of the main problems is the cord connecting the vacuum to the power wand—it’s far too short. This is a known concern, as many customers have noted in reviews, yet no solution has been implemented. I had to purchase a longer replacement cord myself through eBay just to make the unit functional.

Additionally, I’ve already returned the EBK 350 power head due to persistent LED flickering. The lights do not stay consistently on, and I confirmed this issue using both cords.

So far, this has been a disappointing experience. At this point, I understand why many customers opt for Shark or Dyson.

GreatVacs

RAINBOW VACUUM MODELS

+VACUUM CLEANER GUIDES

+VACUUM MODEL DIFFERENCES

+VACUUM USE & MANUALS

+REPAIR & TROUBLE SHOOTING

+VACUUM HISTORY

VACUUM FINDER

BEST VACUUM

POPULAR COLLECTIONS

Links

Information

Help

POPULAR COLLECTIONS

Links

Information

Help

GreatVacs

Let customers speak for us