sudsmaster
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2006
- Messages
- 124
Just picked up a Dirt Devil Reaction D2 dual cyclone vacuum cleaner at Target.
Initial impressions:
1) Great suction. Almost too much suction (can you ever have too much suction?). I didn't notice that it diminished after vacuuming two rooms.
2) No wrapping around of pet hair on the "air directors", which is a problem with every other bagless vac I've tried. It simply balled up in the cyclonic chambers, like it's supposed to.
3) A bit quieter than the Eureka bagless vacs I've tried. Coult be quieter still.
4) Kind of hard to push on hard floors. Don't know why, the wheels are huge. I suspect they don't have much in the way of bearings, though. Still, not a big deal.
5) Did I say lots of suction? Enough to suck up throw rugs if you're not careful. Unlike the Eurekas, which don't seem to care much where you put the height selector, this vac is fairly sensitive to the height setting. I had to back it off on throw rugs or they'd lift up and stop the brush roll.
6) Brush roll is a bit too agressive for my tastes, but I suppose that will moderate a bit as the brushes "break in". There is no beater bar, per se, but the brushes are mounted on slight rises in the roll, so I guess that's the beater portion. The vac tended to skip a bit when pulling back on an expensive thick densely woven carved Chinese wool carpet. Raising the height solved that but then the vac didn't get various lint type dirt off the carpet. Again, wear on the brushes will probably resolve this issue.
7) Bottom emptying very efficient - almost too efficient. The doors fly open quickly and can cause a dust cloud if you're not careful Normally I empty my bagless vacs into a garbage bag lined covered waste bin in the kitchen. The dual chambers are a bit big for this manuver, but I think I'll be able to "master" it in time. And I could always empty them outside into the garbage bin (into a bag of some sort, probably) if it's a problem. On the plus side, the bins hold substantially more than the Eureka chamber(s).
8) According to the manual the HEPA filter and pre-filter should be checked every time the bins are emptied. I checked it after the first room and while there was a light dust on the pre-filter, it didn't seem to be clogging it in any way. Mental note: might want to buy a second prefilter and HEPA filter, so while one is drying (takes 24 hours to dry if washed) I could use the other. Still, the dust chambers seem to retain more dirt than the Eurekas, so the D2 prefilter shouldn't get as dirty as quickly at the ones in the Eurekas did.
9) The turbo bush roll attachment was a pleasant surprise. Unlike one I tried with the Eureka, this thing really rocks, and was good for getting at corners and pet hair on cat scrathers/furniture. It may be the greater suction of the D2, or it might be a better turbo power design.
10) When I bought this for $160, I figured I was getting "the poor man's Dyson". While the Dyson seems to have some advantages (automatic height adjustment, more cyclonic chambers, etc) I figure this one is pretty close to being what I expected. It's enough of an improvment over the Eureka bagless that I will be retiring that machine. Besides, the D2 is such a pretty metallic red.
Initial impressions:
1) Great suction. Almost too much suction (can you ever have too much suction?). I didn't notice that it diminished after vacuuming two rooms.
2) No wrapping around of pet hair on the "air directors", which is a problem with every other bagless vac I've tried. It simply balled up in the cyclonic chambers, like it's supposed to.
3) A bit quieter than the Eureka bagless vacs I've tried. Coult be quieter still.
4) Kind of hard to push on hard floors. Don't know why, the wheels are huge. I suspect they don't have much in the way of bearings, though. Still, not a big deal.
5) Did I say lots of suction? Enough to suck up throw rugs if you're not careful. Unlike the Eurekas, which don't seem to care much where you put the height selector, this vac is fairly sensitive to the height setting. I had to back it off on throw rugs or they'd lift up and stop the brush roll.
6) Brush roll is a bit too agressive for my tastes, but I suppose that will moderate a bit as the brushes "break in". There is no beater bar, per se, but the brushes are mounted on slight rises in the roll, so I guess that's the beater portion. The vac tended to skip a bit when pulling back on an expensive thick densely woven carved Chinese wool carpet. Raising the height solved that but then the vac didn't get various lint type dirt off the carpet. Again, wear on the brushes will probably resolve this issue.
7) Bottom emptying very efficient - almost too efficient. The doors fly open quickly and can cause a dust cloud if you're not careful Normally I empty my bagless vacs into a garbage bag lined covered waste bin in the kitchen. The dual chambers are a bit big for this manuver, but I think I'll be able to "master" it in time. And I could always empty them outside into the garbage bin (into a bag of some sort, probably) if it's a problem. On the plus side, the bins hold substantially more than the Eureka chamber(s).
8) According to the manual the HEPA filter and pre-filter should be checked every time the bins are emptied. I checked it after the first room and while there was a light dust on the pre-filter, it didn't seem to be clogging it in any way. Mental note: might want to buy a second prefilter and HEPA filter, so while one is drying (takes 24 hours to dry if washed) I could use the other. Still, the dust chambers seem to retain more dirt than the Eurekas, so the D2 prefilter shouldn't get as dirty as quickly at the ones in the Eurekas did.
9) The turbo bush roll attachment was a pleasant surprise. Unlike one I tried with the Eureka, this thing really rocks, and was good for getting at corners and pet hair on cat scrathers/furniture. It may be the greater suction of the D2, or it might be a better turbo power design.
10) When I bought this for $160, I figured I was getting "the poor man's Dyson". While the Dyson seems to have some advantages (automatic height adjustment, more cyclonic chambers, etc) I figure this one is pretty close to being what I expected. It's enough of an improvment over the Eureka bagless that I will be retiring that machine. Besides, the D2 is such a pretty metallic red.
