"Cleaning Effectiveness per Amp" What's your take?

[lovecanisters]

Hi

I worked for The Hoover Company starting in the mid 90's as a part-time sales associate/consultant/representative in my local Macy's store on Long Island, more a hobby than needing the money type of gig. I did it for about 6 years

I was always frustrated by this labeling/branding Hoover had back then...

Example: "Uses 7.2 Amps, cleaning effectiveness per amp 17.0"

Many customers would ask and I explained as best as I could given what Hoover trained me along with our DM at the time. Most customers would see the 16, 17, 18 or whatever number was represented on the cleaner...{recall some models as high as 22 for the power-drive models} and would automatically think the motor was 16 amps, 17 amps, etc....

Was anyone else baffled by this branding?

What did it really mean?

Energy efficient vacuums operating on low amps but cleaning effectiveness of a higher amp machine? Brush design/cleaner design better than the competitions 12 amp models?

I've read plenty about amps not measuring a vacuum's performance, but I have mixed feelings about that, especially if you compare the suction of a 7 amp machine and 12 amp machine...upright or canister...at least on Hoover Products.

 

[kenkart]

I judge!

this rating about as silly as Sears old thing about "Working " suction, to me it means nothing, a 8.3 amp Filter Queen has more sealed suction than just about any of the 11 or 12 amp machines, and the truth is it is airflow that cleans, and a open fan upright will move more air than anything, and that can be easily proven with a Baird airflow meter..." And I didn't just think this up, because im NOT an upright person, but the fact remains".

 

[henrydreyfuss]

Cleaning Effectiveness Per Amp..

Ah yes I remeber this very clearly from when I was a kid. Hoover used this system during the 'amp wars,' when amps on vacuums were slowly going up. It was decieving, because companies like Bissell had vacuums like the 'Power AMP,' that got the idea in consumer's minds that more amps meant more power (which is not necessarily the case). Hoover's system was just for their vacuums, and even though their vacs still used less electricity, it was a way to slap some high numbers on the base like everyone else. The higher the number the better the vac cleaned the carpeting.

For instance, a Hoover Elite with a 15.5 cleaning effectiveness rating probably only had one row of brushes on its brushroll. A Hoover Elite with a cleaning effectiveness rating of 18.0 had a double row brushroll, and may have had a higher amp motor that spun faster. The top of the line models (the Self-Propelled) had the highest cleaning effectiveness rating of 22.0, and it had the most powerful motor and the best brushroll.

Just amps don't tell the whole story. Some of the best cleaning new vacs today are considered energy efficient. The Riccar Supralite/Simplicity Freedom outclean most new 12 amp vacs, but only use 5.5 amps! When I worked at a vac shop I had people ask me constantly "how many amps does this one have?"

I'm sure it left a lot of consumers scratching their heads in confusion!

 

[eurekaprince]

I agree with you Corey - amps mean nothing if the rest of the vac is not designed well.

My 9 amp Electrolux UltraSilencer Green has more airflow through the hose than a 12 amp Metropolitan Professional canister and much more than the 12 amp Eureka SurfaceMax canister.

 

[twocvbloke]

It's just sales spiel, means absolutely nothing in the real world...

I mean, my 600 Watt (erm, I forget the Amps) Sanitaire ZC-880 will for example outclean a 2100 Watt Hoover PurePower (the joys of 240 Volts!!! not...), the watts or Amps are only relating to what the motor uses when running at peak power (clean filters, full airflow, etc.), it holds little value when comparing it to how well it'll pick up dust and dirt...

Unless that is, when you compare it to the same line of vacs, an 840 Watt Sanitaire S-677 would outclean my 600 Watt ZC-880, because the motor has more grunt to do the work, it works that little bit better...

So, yeah, it's a confusing business, but my advice, ignore the amps...

 

[henry200]

Amps schmamps I say.  A vacuum that causes all the lights in the neighborhood to dim when you turn it on is no guarantee that it will remove all the embedded dirt from you carpet.  Amps, horsepower, sealed suction, airflow, nozzle shape or anything else by itself is not an accurate measure of effectiveness.  There are lots of variables involved in how well a vacuum does it's job but that's way too complicated for the average consumer who just wants a quick answer. 

 

[pr-21]

Amps

Back when Eureka went from a 3.5 amp motor to a 6 amp motor, it made a very significant difference. Since then I have learned that it is airflow along with the design of the vacuum that makes for better cleaning. I was one of those that had to have the 6amp over the 3.5 amp. I had the 6 amp for 6 or 7 years. Great machine.


 


 


 


Bud Mattingly

 

[eurekaprince]

I think amps/watts are not as critical in uprights as they may be in canisters.

Most of us can attest to the fact that a "fan-first" classic upright with a 6 amp motor can deep clean carpets just as well as uprights with 12 amp motors. Much of the ability to deep clean carpets lies in the design of the brush roll and drive belt, the ability to regulate the height of the cleaning end of the vac, and the design of the air-flow channels and cavity near and around the brush roll.

By the way: Would someone verify that I am remembering my high school physics correctly? Wattage = amps x voltage? In other words: 1440 watts = 12amps x 120 volts? and 1440 watts = 6amps x 240 volts (for Europe)?

 

[twocvbloke]

Yep, generally Watts = Volts x Amps...

There are some that argue it doesn't, cos you have to add the Power Factor to it, but, but in reality, it does...

The higher the volts, the less amps needed to do the same job, but you get more arcing the higher you go...

 

[eurekaprince]

Thanks David!

You know, at some point Eureka sold an Imperial Line of vacs here in North America and the promotional labelling on the units used the wattage not the amperage of the motor. I think there was one classic F&G "Rugulator" upright that was labelled 780 watts or something like that....never quite understood the marketing strategy behind this labelling. Maybe it was a way for the parent company Electrolux to harmonize their production lines and make it easy to sell on both sides of the Atlantic (by just changing motors)....

Let me see if I can find an internet pic of one as an example.....oh here's one....hey I've never seen an Imperial version of the Eureka Precision....Model 2390....cool:

http://orangecounty.ebayclassifieds...perial-model-2390-upright-vacuum/?ad=11271607

 

[tolivac]

and for vacuum cleaner motors-both upright and canister-the Amp rating you see is when the motor is on a test stand in a laboratory-NOT in the vacuum.The motor often runs LESS current in the actual vacuum system.

 

[gmerkt]

Numbers posted on the fronts of many vacuums are just marketing fluff. As with anything else, many people want things stated in ways they can absorb simply. So, higher numbers mean better, they might think. So you see a line-up of Hoover vacs, with the cheaper end having a lower number and if that number increases going up the price ladder, it might lead to up-selling a customer. And then there are the customers who will always buy the cheapest, so the low number doesn't throw them off.

I had a line-up of used vacs that a lady was contemplating just two days ago. One of the first things she zeroed in on was the amperage. She saw two marked "12 amps" then asked what the Kirby G4 was. I looked on the tag and told her 7 amps. She was no longer interested in the Kirby. Yet, we all know that the suction of the Kirby isn't 42% less than a plasticky Eureka Altima. As stated several times above, it's a design package that defines efficiency, not just an electrical power rating.