3D face Henry's

[vintagerepairer]

A much needed improvement

A very interesting statement indeed. I must stress I have no feelings either way as to the value of the docking system. What I think is that were it necessary to have such a feature in order to penetrate the domestic market then it would have been introduced long ago. I think this is an opportunity to add an extra feature which other cleaners have, but also to ensure that only their own floor tool is purchased as a replacement part, as no other will have the grooves in which to attach the clip.

I will interested to know how stable the whole ensemble is once it is clipped to the cleaner. I can also see those clips getting lost too.

 

[turbo500]

Benny, it was just my opinion that the docking system was a much needed improvement. All complaints I've heard of Henry's in domestic situations have been related to how much of a pain in the bum they are to store

 

[vintagerepairer]

Opinion

I know that's what it was. And as I said, I was interested to hear it.

 

[parwaz786]

Half of the brands you see today need to focus on tool storage, Dyson like to make their vacs look tidy.

 

[vintagerepairer]

Tidy

For years people who bought cylinder cleaners (and indeed uprights for that matter) simply accepted that the hoses needed to be stored in addition to the cleaner. I don't recall it being that much of a big deal, although some manufacturers like Hoover did include cardboard storage boxes which were useful. It has only been relatively recently that emphasis has been made on a cylinder which includes provision to store the hoses, but it has come at a cost, in as much as a decent, practical set of tools and hoses is unlikely to store easily on a cleaner, so the tools are often smaller, hoses shorter, and so on.

 

[rutger]

The lack of a facility to park the pipe/ hose was the main reason that when my mother needed a new vacuum for her tiny 1 bedroom bungalow with limited storage (meaning tidiness is important) I didn't get her a Henry. Instead we went the Miele route (which she is happy with), however if this feature had been fitted then i'd have got her a Henry.
Cheers
Dave

 

[compamac]

I don't get it

What is the point of the 3D face? I am in USA but still even though I don't own a Henry I still don't get it

 

[vintagerepairer]

3D

Judging by the way it appears to be made, I would not rule out cost-cutting. As it stands, the previous way would likely involve machine-printing the face onto the tub, which is a relatively bulky part (especially on larger models), whereas now the faces may well be manufactured elsewhere, and certainly separately. Whilst the new faces still have to be printed, it will be easier to do as a separate, much smaller parts. The part is either clipped on when the cleaner is assembled at the factory, or done so by the user when unpacking the cleaner.

Failing that, Numatic must think that the 3D face is more attractive to consumers. There are only three reasons for anything to change; safety, consumer-appeal, or cost. We can rule out the first, which leaves only the second & third.

 

[spiraclean]

The 3D face looks OK to me. Not much of an actual benefit to the consumer, but it doesn't diminish usability either. I reckon Benny hit it on the nail though, in that it was probably an exercise in simplifying manufacture. As it stands they currently supply some tubs printed, others plain, depending on which range the model belongs to. This way they could use the same tub for both, only supplying the clip-on face for those that are specced to include it.

The wand parking feature is a nice addition. It would, however, have been nice to see them include storage pegs for the small tools somewhere on the cleaner, either on the top hat or between the rear wheels. Maybe that will come at a later date with the next revision. Numatic tend to make small improvements over time, rather than drastically redesigning their product frequently, and it's not as though sales are suffering as a result.

 

[jord123]

I have the new one the dock is flimsy and cheep you dont even get a shopping bag with them now
You used to get one hepaflow in the vacuum and 4 separate in the box now you get one in the vacumm and 3 in the box

 

[hi-loswitch98]

Qualtex have a vacuum...

That is very Henry-esque except it is single speed, with a 1000w twin turbine motor & 15l bag capacity, plus 10m cord.

As you can also see there is a bracket for tool storage.

I have tried one, they're good & quiet & give just the right amount of suction, not too high or low unlike Henry's these days.

Numatic did take Qualtex to court over this but Qualtex won & are producing these:

 

[vintagerepairer]

Slight correction

Great cleaner, but Qualtex actually lost. They had to change many aspects in order to manufacture this machine. This is the second attempt at the cleaner they hoped to make. The original was a faceless replica of a 1997 Henry design.

http://www.wragge.com/analysis_6067.asp#.Ua0alpxt3ZA

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2010/1237.html

 

[hi-loswitch98]

Except 1997 Henry's had an 850w motor, my 1999 Henry has a 850w motor, & they upgraded to 1000w in 2000. Oh we'll, they lost, but they still are good vacuums at somewhat a third less price. My school uses them

 

[vintagerepairer]

Price will always win with basic commercial equipment like this, as theft & abuse of it are two of the main reasons for replacements being needed. Once broken down, the cleaning contractor has to know how to get it repaired. Many contractors can afford to buy in bulk so as to get stock quite cheaply. It's simply not worth buying high-quality equipment for mass-commercial use; to that end, a Henry is actually now a very expensive cleaner for a larger cleaning company to be buying on a large-scale.

The beauty of the Qualtex cleaner is that not only is it cheaper, but the stocks of used Numatic hoses and parts which a good deal of commercial cleaning companies are likely to have hanging about can still be used with the Qualtex models. Buying into an entirely new fleet of cleaners for large cleaning companies is a major deal for them as historically it means different bags, different hoses, often different tools as some are 35mm. The Qualtex cleaner ticks a good deal of boxes.

 

[jmurray01]

I am very disappointed in Numatic for deviating from their classic design which has been a great seller for decades and (to my knowledge) showed no signs of deteriorating. As such, this update was (as Benny said) to save money and for that I am a little sad.

Numatics are a brand we could be proud of - they were made in the UK with good quality materials, they lasted for years and years without breaking down and were popular in households as well as in commercial settings.

This latest design change - I fear - heralds a new (and cheaper) era for Numatic.

I pray I'm wrong.

 

[hi-loswitch98]

To be honest if I wanted a Henry I'd go for an older version, any before 2003 are great as the foot switch they began putting on broke if used with a foot. The rocker switches were best & the 850w Motor / 1000w Motor on later models were the best for giving good airflow.

 

[dysondestijl]

Wow I didn't know about the Qualtex-Numatic court battle!

 

[hi-loswitch98]

DDS

Oh yes happened about 2 years ago. We started selling them when Qualtex rep came to my dads business, & have sold loads. Everyone prefers them to Henry.

 

[vintagerepairer]

On the decline

If a 3D face is a cost-cutting exercise, hats off to Numatic for making a cut which did not eat into the build quality.

The quality of the hose on the Qualtex is not that of the Numatic, but in every other way it is a perfectly good cheaper alternative.

 

[anthony]

henry

i work for leeds city council and we use hundreds of these little work horses some of them are quite old there are even a fiew of the early metal ones with the Numatic logo . These machines are used and abused every day and i mean abused i have seen some of them absolutely full to bursting with people still using them [i dread to think what there homes are like]when they go wrong they are usually thrown away i once had a new one brought to my place of work it was to replace a faulty old one after a fiew weeks it simply stopped working a replacement arived the next day when asking what to do with the three week old faulty one i was told to bin it i brought it home and after checking it over i found a break in the flex right near the plug i cut the moulded plug off fitted a new one and away it went as for the face i love to see it on upsidedown it looks great