Best Value New Vacuum Curently Out There

[stricklybojack]

I'm talking about the real world (or web with shipping costs included if aplicable) prices not the often much higher MSRP. I understand prices change daily & see no need to link to an item or even name the store. Love the hunt with used vacs & have quickly (2 years, but only active in the winter) built an out-sized collection. But I want to talk about a different version of the hunt...new, quality, capable vacs found to be purchased at the highest overall life-long cleaning utility value for dollar spent.
Such a search got me started vac collecting a couple of years ago & i became the proud owner of a 'new in the box' Royal 1030z, from an Ebay liquidator, for $135 delivered with tax. Yes it is loud & made outside of this country, but to me a great value deep cleaner built to last vastly longer than the Dirt Devil plasti-vac it replaced, & love i the orange. The standard Sanitaire commercial was a very close second for me at that time btw.
Skipping ahead to this year, but keeping the comercial idea in mind, i steered an English born Canadian friend "looking for a tag-along vac" to a restaurant supply store in Vancouver where she became (in a sense appropriately) the proud owner of a 'Numatic Henry' for just north of $400 CAD before tax. The folks to the north pay up for their vacs compared to us in the lower 48 it seems. The Miele in consideration came in at over double the Numatic while most comparable vacs at Sears were also at or above the $400 mark. The Henry is durable, quiet with high suction, & and a powered brushroll wasn't desired (which looks to me to be a weaker point for Numatics).
Lastly i'll mention i just ordered a new Hoover Light & Clean off the web for $90 delivered with tax from a discount store. I was given an Oreck XL21 which i quickly refurbed with a new brushroll, belt & a thorough cleaning before gifting to my mother. However after one use i am now firmly in the 'lighter is better' camp (depending on the job to be done of course), & not surprisingly (with the help of this forum actually) found the Hoover for less than a 'C note' to be just the ticket for my new vac.
I understand paying more at a local vacuum specialist has it pluses for many & therefore can represent a greater value (ease of warranty repairs etc.) overall just at a higher price point...but to keep the 'apples to apples' comps easy lets just consider the straight up price/quality bargins to be found in the market place right now.
My first & likely longest post ...sorry for any spelling errors as i use an ipad which lack spell check.

 

[sebo_fan]

The problem is there is no such thing as a "best value new vacuum cleaner out there," anymore because the customer's expectations and wants are endless. The costs per country as you have already noted are different too.

Whereas the U.S and Canada are forced to pay high premium on German vacuums, the UK don't have it so bad, yet they are quite expensive to BUY but cheaper than the U.S.

When people ask me on other forums what the best model is, then I give them a summary of each brand and each model they request. Usually it's Dyson or Vax if they are going down the bag-less route and for bagged vacuums, it's Sebo every time with Miele, Electrolux or Panasonic taking a second slot.

There's never been the "ultimate vacuum" because buyers and owners are different, they'll choose something that they've either researched or been recommended to try - and they'll also turn a blind eye to any minimal downsides against the main function.

 

[eurekaprince]

I have to say, that the best value for an upright right now is the Hoover Tempo Widepath. It deep cleans carpets with excellence, is not too noisy and is relatively lighweight and easy to manoeuver. I don't vouch for its longevity as it is all plastic - but if you don't abuse it, this $100 vac should provide many good years of great service. But remember: it's only good for carpets - nothing else.

If you want a headlight and a dust-bag indicator and a more convenient switch, you can go with the slightly more expensive Hoover WindTunnel U5491900, which is pretty much the same machine for double the cost of the Tempo....

http://hoover.com/products/details/u5491900/anniversary-windtunnel-bagged-upright/

 

[stricklybojack]

Really meant to say, "best vacuum deal out there"...

Sometimes new vacs can be had for scads less than MSRP which changes the whole value scenario. I can pick up a new Shark Navigator from a local liquidator for $50...hum that might be an interesting way to spend $50 on a new vac...at the TV price, to me, not so much.

 

[sebo_fan]

The best budget upright vacuum I ever had when I was a student was the LG bagged vacuum, LG VU5545NBS, also went under the VUP545N in the mid 90's to early 2000's in blue that Woolworths sold for a long time and VU245NB. There were three models in the UK, silver Slimax model (that once got a Which Best Buy award), my burgundy one and the blue one. I think they were in the U.S too under the Dirt Devil/Royal brand with a metal straight/bent pole handle compared to the plastic looped one we had. I have never seen an upright vacuum since then that gives you a flap down door at the back where you can hide two drive belts. A great idea. Plus it offered great suction, good dust bags, HEPA filter as standard, and was probably one of the lightest uprights on the market. Also super easy to change the drive belt - one latch on the base unlocked the floor plate.

The only other alternative that's good these days is the Chinese built Electrolux Powerlite uprights - but even at that their biggest flaw is the hose at the back which is too short unless you buy an extension hose or look for the rare black Stairmaster upright. It's pretty similar to the LG on feel, but lacks the flap at the back and its worse for feeling flimsy/ plasticky.

However the Powerlite is also supremely lightweight and not half as noisy as Hoover's Purepower bagged uprights.

 

[stricklybojack]

Bissell PowerForce bagged upright

12 lbs, $40 at the big box store...on board tools, microfilter bags available online, sleak black plastic.
Oreck Forever Edge like vac at 1/10th the cost! I'm interested...

http://www.bissell.com/powerforce-vacuum/

 

[sebo_fan]

I really like that Bissell - its a pity that Bissell in the UK refuse to sell it. All they do is the bagless version. The previous Bissell was sold as a Proaction, Argos model that not many people know was a Bissell in disguise.

 

[sebo_fan]

Found a U.S site just now who sell Numatic, although the bodies seem to read "Nacecare."



http://www.etpetersen.com/vacs/comvac/numati.htm

 

[stricklybojack]

Nacecare

is the Canadian based, North American distributor of Numatic products. If you search the internet there are a few vendors in the states on the web selling Henrys & probably far more janitorial supply houses, without a web presense, but nontheless are selling Numatic gear. i would like to know how the optional Numatic power nozzle (on the Henry at least) compares to the (usual) competition & if it's even available stateside. (see link)

http://www.numatic.co.uk/mobile/products4.aspx?id=23&r=4&sr=1

 

[Sanifan]

Value - doesn't necessarily mean lowest price, but that whatever you are getting gives you the most bang for the buck.

I think for a good straight carpet-only cleaner it's hard to beat a Sanitaire. The SC688 has the same specs, and I would think the same or similar performance, as the chrome topped SC888 that's an industry standard. The SC688 is a much better value for home use, however, as the grey plastic top is offered at a lower price point. With care it should give many years of great Sanitaire performance.

For above floor cleaning I like the Sanitaire Mighty-Mite canister. You can find it at most places for around $100 or less. Simple design, great suction and airflow, light, goes on a shoulder strap for portability, Hepa filter capable. The only downside is that it is loud. Just a plastic shell to contain the noise. I use ear protectors when I fire mine up. Also, it's a utility vacuum so it's not deluxe looking and you get no status points like you do with a Miele. The best value I can think of for an above floor cleaner.

I have not used one, but the guy who owns my local independent vacuum shop showed me a used Hoover Tempo Widepath (the sky blue one) and told me it was the best vacuum cleaner currently made. He fired it up for me, had me feel the hose suction, and let me vacuum the test carpet with it. He said it was inexpensive, but sometimes they just get it right. High praise, as there were Mieles, Tristars, Sanitaire commercial units, Kirbys, vintage Electroluxes, and a slew of other good vacs sitting around the shop. Outside of his testimonial, I've read a lot of high praise for the Tempo Widepath online. Given it's very reasonable selling price, this may be a great value in a new vac.

http://www.sanitairevac.com/commercial/products/cri_approved/sc688.jsp

 

[sebo_fan]

Thanks for letting me know about Nacecare.

True, value doesn't mean the lowest price, but in the UK of late, I've noticed a lot of brands are limiting "more modern features," or "convenient features" at higher prices. Vax (TTI) are famous for this. On the one hand they offer similar suction design to Dyson's older Dual Cyclone with plastic shroud filters (similar to Hoover Windtunnel Bagless/Cyclonic et al) yet the first rung of vacuums have to make do with the old paper pleated cones that have to be brushed or washed - and suction fails quicker with the paper pleated cones than the plastic shrouds.

Sadly, the Sanitaire models are very few and far between in the UK - they are metal based, heavy and still seen as commercially based because they lack an on-board tool and hose system. We also don't have the Mighty Mite vacuums anymore. I think they were briefly around early 1980's but they didn't stay long and neither did the fantastic Electrolux mini upright I had, both available in cordless and corded design with a scrappable filter/cassette - I believe the U.S has them under the Eureka tag, the 443B and associated colours - SupaLite or something along those lines..

Instead now, the UK have tons of China made vacuums and people buy the cheapest because of their throwaway factor. It's only when they have been let down by several cheap brands do they suddenly realise buying quality can last longer.
Even our own design, Hoover Purepower bagged upright is around 20 odd years old, noisy, poorly built but a better match to their Dustmanager/bagless counterparts. It's a pity Hoover UK/Europe don't build their vacuums with a little bit more quality - their current "Airvolution" suction tech is similar to TTI-Mach/Air/Whatever suction design, but the prices are a lot cheaper at cost.

I've found quite a few bargain value vacuums that just do what they suggest - the best little one I quite like is a Panasonic bagged vacuum, the Panasonic MCCG383

 

[billybud21]

Brand, brand, give me a brand ...

Ok, I know we all have our brand preferences. The best vacuum that you can find lightly used, sometime new, cheaper than a WalMart Dyson, is the Aerus Lux Classic. I bought mine, new, five years ago for a little over three hundred dollars on Ebay, when the MSRP was something like a thousand dollars. Yes, it probably fell off the back of a truck somewhere, but it arrived in the correct, original packaging, right down to the packing material and manual. There are some very nice used models on Ebay as I write for around the same price I paid.

With that said, this is one helluva vacuum. Five years of solid, almost daily use of the vacuum and no problems other than the dog chewing through the electrical cord. Great suction, OK filtration, not HEPA, but the bag chamber is sealed and there's a motor after filter. Strong durable motor, tough case, even though it is plastic. Easy to source bags at reasonable prices. Very user friendly, however, the best part is that it is very, very easy to work on yourself and parts are plentiful and relatively cheap since the unit has been in production since around 1989 in different guises.

So for my money, the Aerus Lux Classic is the best vacuum on the market today.

 

[sebo_fan]

I know I like my brands - but my brands are expensive. I research a lot of models that are available in the UK and will go with what looks like and feels like good value, even if its a brand that I have never really dabbled with.

My latest purchase is the Black and Decker Autoselect FSM1600 steam mop. Over the month and a half ownership I've had two passing through my hands. The handle continually breaks and the swivel doesn't go in the direction I want to. Money refunded, having bought B&D products in the past, I was very disappointed. Not exactly a vacuum cleaner, but a similar appliance all the same.