Rexair-Rainbow E2 PN-12 Brush Roll with Gear Box, Side Belt

Rainbow built the E2 power nozzle in two belt layouts, and the brush roll is not shared between them. This is the assembly for the side-belt version of the PN-12 nozzle, part R15389C, supplied with the gear box already fitted to the roller.

Before ordering, take the current roller out and look at where the belt sits. On the side-belt layout the belt runs down one end of the brush chamber, while the center-belt version drives from the middle and takes a different roller entirely. Going by the nozzle name alone is the usual way people end up with the wrong part, since both versions are sold as E2 PN-12 components.

A brush roll reaches the end of its life in two separate ways, and either one on its own is enough. The bristles wear down until they skate across carpet fiber instead of combing it up, which shows as debris left behind on a pass that used to come up clean. Or the gearing binds, so the roller no longer turns freely by hand once it is out of the housing, usually after hair and thread have packed around the shaft ends and worked their way in. Check both while the nozzle is open, because a roller with good bristles and a stiff gear box is just as finished as one worn flat.

• Part: R15389C, side-belt brush roll with the gear box fitted
• Fits: Rainbow E2-PN power nozzle, side-belt layout
• Replace when: the bristles no longer reach into carpet, or the gear box binds when turned by hand
• Not interchangeable with: the center-belt roller for the same nozzle
• While it is apart: clear hair and thread from the shaft ends before the new roller goes in

The gearing is part of the roller rather than a unit you service on its own, so there is nothing here to adjust or lubricate. When the gear box goes stiff, the assembly is what gets replaced.