NEW Vorwerk Kobold VK200

[madaboutsebo]

Vorwerk have launched the next generation of it's Kobold the VK200.

Complete new design ethos for the Kobold. Certainly a complete change from the out going VK150.

New features:
New PN EB400 used for vacuuming only this time of both carpets and hard floors using a sonic sensor to detect flooring. New style brush bar that has brushes and rubber blades.
New attachments for the Polsterboy used to message in the Lavenia powder into the mattress, the other for deep vacuuming of the mattress and to vacuum away the Lavenia powder
New head to distribute the Kobosan powder and brush into the carpet (then using the PN EB400!to vacuum away
A rating
Motor wattage range from 50 watts to 700 watts (includes the four settings as before including automatic setting)
Larger bag (so I'm told!)
Dovina fragrance chip is placed into a holder next to the motor exhaust air
New LED bag filter light status, displays green then turns to amber as bag fills up
New LED display on EB400 to show floor type (carpet or hard floor mode)
Fully adjustable telescopic handle this time

The electric hose and small accessories and the duo-clean head remain unchanged. The hard floor head has been updated but same principle as the previous version.

The canister the Tiger has had an update to include the new accessories and heads and the new LED bag filter light status the model has been named the VT300.

Some pictures of the VK200.....

 

[sebo_fan]

Thank you for posting this. The VK200 is absolutely lush!

 

[madaboutsebo]

Your welcome, thank you. It sure is, loving the design and new features and accessories.

I believe it's the official UK launch today (21st June) so hopefully see the UK website etc.. get updated at some point!

 

[delaneymeegan]

 


 


 


Interesting.


 


It looks like a  baking soda type powder.

 

[vacerator]

Or,

A powder similar to "Capture"?

 

[sebo_fan]

I have no idea what Capture is but basically Kobosan powder is pretty similar to a lot of other dry cleaning powders on the market, same as SEBO's Duo P carpet powder.

 

[madaboutsebo]

Sebo_fan is right similar to other dry powders on the market.

It's very soft and not gritty, damp with a fresh but not over powering fragrance. Not to damp you can't walk on it once you brush it into the carpet. Bit like snow!!!! Leave it after brushing in fir a minimum of 30 minutes then vacuum up. It does make the pile soft and springy again. I'm told it sort of protects to from dust mites and sort of re-soiling!

The new Kobold Vorwerk UK website is now live as the official UK launch was today. Although looks like the UK version of the VK200 doesn't come with the separate hard floor tool as the new EB400 PN can vacuum both carpet and hard floors! Might be available separate at some point but not on website yet! They have also launched the window vacuum VG100 and the new version of the robot vacuum VR200 new products to Kobold UK but have been available in Europe for over a year or so now!

https://kobold.vorwerk.co.uk/home/

 

[spiraclean]

Some nice improvements there, I like the auto sensing power nozzle, and the placement of the secondary handle seems as though it would be better balanced than previously. Noticed they've gone back to a separate dry cleaning head, but at least it applies the powder for you now.

Kobosan is pretty good stuff. It has a finer texture than Dyson Zorb or Sebo Duo P, so it sinks down into the carpet much more easily, and is less apt to scatter everywhere in the process. I used to use it a couple of times a year, and it really does do a grand job even on traffic lanes. You wouldn't think it would clean particularly well, but wet extraction cleaning later only ever yielded clear water in the recovery tank. The spot remover Vorwerk make for spills never failed me once either.

 

[madaboutsebo]

Sure are, I'm loving the new design ethos Vorwerk have taken with the new generation Kobold. The new power nozzle looks great. I'm told it turns the brush bar off when it detects hard floors! I'm assuming if that's the case the rubber blades on the brush bar must be for carpet cleaning along with the brushes!
Although I like the 2 integrated handles in the VK150 they can be a bit unbalanced! They have which it's great it grooms it into the carpet too! New mattress cleaning too!

Same weight as VK150 of 3kg without anything attached, I thought it was heavier but it's not. Bigger bag which was addressed from previous models like the VK140/150 being too small! And lower watt motor 700 watts (50 watts to 700 watts). A rating too.

Kobosan is great stuff plus the spot cleaner as you say the Kobotex is great too.

 

[eurekaprince]

Love these Vorwerk multifunction vacuums.

Two comments:

1. Amazed that it uses a bottom fill bag - you'd think that one could get better airflow with a top-fill bag. Strange for such a premium expensive machine.
2. It would not take much to add LED lights to the powerhead or a spotlight shining down from the main body - if Miele can offer it, why not Vorwerk?

 

[spiraclean]

According to the manual (link below, page 101), the roller brush slows down to 800 RPM on hard floors, similar to the Soft function on the previous power nozzle. In addition, a rear sealing flap swings down to prevent debris kick-back. Controlled automatically via a sensor, however you do have the option of manually toggling between hard floor and carpet modes instead if preferred, by means of a small pushbutton on the handgrip.

Eurekaprince - a Vorwerk fills in much the same way as a Sebo, only turned upside down. As dust enters the bag it is compacted to the side(s) by the incoming airflow, leaving a clear path ahead of the opening. The inverted bag, and lack of onboard hose, means the air path is unusually short and straight for a clean air upright.

As for headlights, I can only assume the reason for their omission would be purely a matter of regional tastes and preferences. On the rare occasions we see modern vacuums with headlights in Europe, nine times out of ten they either originate from the USA (Kirby, Oreck, Shark) or were designed with export to the USA in mind (Miele S7). It's not really a feature we look for nowadays, much less expect.

http://https//kobold.vorwerk.co.uk/...ion_Manuals/Web_GA_23748-00_VK200_EN_0316.pdf

 

[henrydreyfuss]

I find Vorwerk vacuums very interesting. They've always been versatile, and progressive in their design. This new power nozzle has me worried. Here's a picture of the brushroll from their website. The suction inlet is so narrow! With it that narrow, I can't imagine the brushes protruding far enough to really agitate carpeting. The flooring self-adjustment system looks great (along with the cleaner's overall beautifully-simple aesthetic), but I can't imagine this deep-cleaning rugs.

 

[sebo_fan]

There are five suction power settings on this new Vorwerk. As you can see from the screenshot shown (and taken from the user manual) you'll see that the brush roll is one piece compared to the twin brushes on past models. The thin strip might have been done because of EU testing regulations because the Vorwerk VK200 gets A rating for both hard floor and carpet cleaning.

I doubt that the A rating would apply if the VK200 can't agitate and clean deep down.

 

[madaboutsebo]

Ooo that's great to know spiraclean thanks for finding that info out, not read through the UK manual yet! Hence the rubber blades on the brush bar!

The bottom fill bag is very effective even on the low settings. The airflow through the machine is great with this setup and as spiraclean says makes for a short straight air path. Vorwerk has always used the bottom fill bag design.

Henrydreyfuss it had me thinking the new EB400 PN when I first saw it and especially the small brush bar and opening. I've been told this new PN gives a deeper, gentler but effective clean. I'm hoping the brushes still groom as good as the VK150 EB370! Will see when I get a demo of it. Mind you the EB370 inlet behind the brush bar on the VK150 is very thin but I've never had blockage issues might be due to the airflow! Do like the new PN though and the overall design of the new VK200.

 

[madaboutsebo]

I was thinking that sebo_fan to meet new EU regs the thin opening on the sole plate. Very true it must deep clean a the 4 A ratings it has.

The new design ethos is to simplify the design to make it even more user friendly and for maintenance too.

 

[eurekaprince]

Regarding the bottom fill bag design: I still don't think this works as well as a top-fill bag. Not all dirt can compact to the sides. Larger dirt particles such as sand, gravel, cereal, salt, rice and even paper clips will always fall back to the door of the bag when the motor is shut off. And these get blown back into the bag every single time the vac is turned on. This can't be good for the bag and certainly may cause the self-sealing door not to close completely when being replaced. I don't think the increased cleaning effectiveness of a shorter dirt path outweighs the benefits of a cleaner airflow path provided by top fill bags. I think Vorwerk is the only bagged vacuum that still has this old bottom fill design.

Unless there is some sleeve creating a top fill configuration inside the bad that I don't know about?

 

[marks_here]

I still enjoy using my VK 130

 

[madaboutsebo]

Great to here that Marks_here, your VK130 looks great.

EurekaPrince, I see where your coming from. I was a bit skepitic when I first got my VK150 but I have to say the bottom fill bag works well for Vorwerk with the design they use on their vacuums. Vorwerk seem to like this setup and continue to use it. I must admit the bag doesn't compacted the dust and dirt quite as much as my SEBO Felix bag does but it still fills up very well. Never had issues with larger debris falling out the bag the large debris mixes with the small and fine dust and dirt.

The VK140/150 has a spring loaded flap on the bag so does the new VK200 bags. As for the VK140/150 when the vacuum is powered on the trap door opens there is a very small thin metal rod that makes sure the trap door opens and stays open whilst the vacuum is on. When you power it off you can hear the trap door close, the metal rod relaxes to allow this. I've had occasional pet hair caught on this rod that occasional stops the trap door from fully closing but that tends to happen when the bag is almost full. Not sure as yet how the VK200 bag works probably similar principle, has the same sort of trap door but looks bigger this time, bags are bigger too.

 

[sebo_fan]

Not all dirt compacts to the side in a top fill bag either and you haven’t mention the electrostatic properties that most dust bags have these days - dirt won’t fall down automatically to the bottom in a Vorwerk because the electrostatic layers in the bag prevent dirt and dust from moving that much until the motor is switched on.

In any regard I recall the top fill Oreck bags in our old Oreck XL never filled up to the sides but rather sat in the middle and seldom filled up to the claimed 13 litre capacity. Other modern uprights I’ve owned that have had top fill bags seldom fill to the sides, too.

The Vorwerk design sees the motor on the bottom and the bag on top with a filter in between. I think the design has been reversed in the new VK200 where the bag sits at the bottom and the motor at the top.

In any event, on my VK130/VK131, there is a spring loaded mechanism that keeps the bag locked into the round box that sits on top as well as a small feeder sleeve that has a rubber door that opens up the bag at the dust entrance when suction air is pushed through. The rubber door closes as soon as the motor air rushes and pushes dirt into the bag. This door also closes over the bag which of course seals the bag and prevents anything falling out when the motor is switched off. When the bin is swung over on its side, the bottom fill bag naturally becomes the top where dirt can fall to the base of the bag. But by then, the dust bag will probably require to be changed.