Are Prolux canister vacuums reliable?

[magnolia]

We need a new vacuum cleaner for our church. For a long time we had an old Filter Queen. When it died back in January, someone replaced it with some kind of Bissell bagless upright. It just doesn't work well at all for getting between the seating and tight areas. And of course it doesn't work at all on hard surfaces.

When looking at replacement canister options, it seems options are limited. The Kenmore canisters just don't look like they would hold up well. The Sebo would be great but very costly. I found the Prolux Phantom canister that got some good reviews. It's middle of the line as far as price goes. It'll be a little over $400 with tax. I'd be willing to pay that myself and donate it to the church if it's a reliable product. Can anyone tell me how well Prolux vacuums hold up?

 

[cheesewonton]

A Kenmore will last longer than the Prolux. Prolux canisters are made by Qingdao Creation Industry & Commerce Co Ltd. Same company makes the Simplicity Scout, Airway Quiet Kleen and Agilus, Cirrus VC439 and it's Johnny Vac twin and the VAPamore (CRAPamore) MR500 Vento. I have the VAPamore Vento. Canister is ok, not as much suction or airflow as Kenmore but ok. No furniture guard though so I ended up having to buy some Vacubumpers to protect my base boards and door jams from battle scars. The hose and wands are surprisingly nice but the power nozzle is where it all falls apart for me. It cleans well but you can't tip the wand back very far before it pops a wheelie. You end up using the wand on an angle kind of crabbing it around or you hold the wand a lot more upright than I am comfortable with. Rubber stretch belt too. Close but no cigar.

For the money a Kenmore 400 Series would be a better choice. Much more power, still uses standard attachments so you can buy a spare set of button lock wands or a non-electric telescopic wand and put your favorite parquet floor brush on it. If you find you don't like the Kenmore attachments there are thousands of standard attachments from older vacuums and for central vacuums that fit. Kenmore has a nice Pet Powermate available for their standard wands and it is a great attachment for cleaning pet hair off furniture and cat towers. If you always use genuine Kenmore Style Q synthetic dust bags, toss the foam pre motor filter and replace it with a Kenmore brand CF-1 filter and change filters regularly they last a long time. The power nozzle that comes with the 200 and 400 Series has an endless supply of replacement parts available. That basic power nozzle has been in production a quarter century with different upper covers but the same innards. Cen-Tec, Sears Parts Direct and Titan all sell versions of that power nozzle and have parts available at reasonable prices. I have no idea if you can get service parts for anything Prolux sells.

The Kenmore 600 is also very nice. I would say stay away from the BC4030 because Kenmore is not offering even a replacement brush roll for that new anti tangle power nozzle. Stick with the purple 81614 or blue BC4026. Same power nozzle sold with the 200 and 400 series but with a different neck for the larger wands on the 600. No problems finding parts like brush rolls, belts or replacement drive motors. The 600 is nicer in many ways but some don't like the big wands. 400 or 600 would get the job done for you.

A professionally serviced used Electrolux 6500 SR / Aerus Legacy would not be a bad choice either and would probably be the last vacuum you would ever need to buy.

 

[magnolia]

A Kenmore will last longer than the Prolux. Prolux canisters are made by Qingdao Creation Industry & Commerce Co Ltd. Same company makes the Simplicity Scout, Airway Quiet Kleen and Agilus, Cirrus VC439 and it's Johnny Vac twin and the VAPamore (CRAPamore) MR500 Vento. I have the VAPamore Vento. Canister is ok, not as much suction or airflow as Kenmore but ok. No furniture guard though so I ended up having to buy some Vacubumpers to protect my base boards and door jams from battle scars. The hose and wands are surprisingly nice but the power nozzle is where it all falls apart for me. It cleans well but you can't tip the wand back very far before it pops a wheelie. You end up using the wand on an angle kind of crabbing it around or you hold the wand a lot more upright than I am comfortable with. Rubber stretch belt too. Close but no cigar.

For the money a Kenmore 400 Series would be a better choice. Much more power, still uses standard attachments so you can buy a spare set of button lock wands or a non-electric telescopic wand and put your favorite parquet floor brush on it. If you find you don't like the Kenmore attachments there are thousands of standard attachments from older vacuums and for central vacuums that fit. Kenmore has a nice Pet Powermate available for their standard wands and it is a great attachment for cleaning pet hair off furniture and cat towers. If you always use genuine Kenmore Style Q synthetic dust bags, toss the foam pre motor filter and replace it with a Kenmore brand CF-1 filter and change filters regularly they last a long time. The power nozzle that comes with the 200 and 400 Series has an endless supply of replacement parts available. That basic power nozzle has been in production a quarter century with different upper covers but the same innards. Cen-Tec, Sears Parts Direct and Titan all sell versions of that power nozzle and have parts available at reasonable prices. I have no idea if you can get service parts for anything Prolux sells.

The Kenmore 600 is also very nice. I would say stay away from the BC4030 because Kenmore is not offering even a replacement brush roll for that new anti tangle power nozzle. Stick with the purple 81614 or blue BC4026. Same power nozzle sold with the 200 and 400 series but with a different neck for the larger wands on the 600. No problems finding parts like brush rolls, belts or replacement drive motors. The 600 is nicer in many ways but some don't like the big wands. 400 or 600 would get the job done for you.

A professionally serviced used Electrolux 6500 SR / Aerus Legacy would not be a bad choice either and would probably be the last vacuum you would ever need to buy.

Thanks. I hadn't considered a used Electrolux. That may be a good option.

 

[cheesewonton]

Thanks. I hadn't considered a used Electrolux. That may be a good option.

If you go that route there is one thing to ask the vacuum shop or whomever refurbished it. Ask if the motor is original or a replacement. If it is a replacement and you are looking at one of the older two stage motor models, you have to make sure the replacement is the Electromotor 6500-298. This is a drop in replacement motor from the same factory that made the original Electrolux motors. After Joe Urso bought Electrolux he sold the motor factory to the employees there and that became Electromotor LLC. Here is the rub. They also sell a less expensive replacement motor that is popular in vac shops precisely because it is cheaper. It is also a lot less powerful than what came in the vacuum. That motor is 6500-293. It it cheaper because it uses a simpler flat fan design instead of the tapered conical fans on the original motor and on 6500-298. So you have to ask. If it's the original motor fine. If it has 6500-298 that is even better because it is much more powerful and really wakes those old Electrolux canisters up. But any other motor I would give a pass and especially if the shop used 6500-293.

I really like the old 6500 SR. It's a well made, durable piece of equipment and is easy to use. A complete one with a good hose and all the attachments including a Sidekick for cleaning upholstery ( it is pretty much the same as the Kenmore Pet Powermate, electric motor driven instead of air driven like a little hand held power nozzle ) you can clean anything and not break a sweat. Aerus sells a synthetic microfiber HEPA Style C dust bag for them now, and the are four ply where all the aftermarket synthetic Style C bags from Clean Obsessed, Perfect and VAC USA are three ply. If you buy direct from the Aerus on-line store the price per bag is lower than the three ply aftermarket bags. Be careful though. Some dealers charge a lot more than the Aerus on-line store does. I like to support the local dealer but money is money and our local dealer is greedy to beat the band. Aerus also sells an activated charcoal pre-motor filter for them that is well worth using. One of the all time great vacuum cleaners.

 

[beagledad]

If you go that route there is one thing to ask the vacuum shop or whomever refurbished it. Ask if the motor is original or a replacement. If it is a replacement and you are looking at one of the older two stage motor models, you have to make sure the replacement is the Electromotor 6500-298. This is a drop in replacement motor from the same factory that made the original Electrolux motors.

Will the Electromotor 6500-298 fit in the Electrolux 1521 (Diamond Jubilee)? I need to replace the motor but wasn't sure which would be the best match.

 

[cheesewonton]

Will the Electromotor 6500-298 fit in the Electrolux 1521 (Diamond Jubilee)? I need to replace the motor but wasn't sure which would be the best match.

Nope. It is a replacement for the 1521s but not the earlier steel body Luxes unless you have a custom adapter plate and some kind of tube to connect the fan housing to the bag chamber. 6500-298 is not as long as the older motors. 1521s have deeper bag chambers so there is only a small gap between the fan housing and bag chamber that is filled with a rubber seal.