Bissell Pet Hair Eraser - Aussie Style...

[streakers]

G'day all,

Well, Craig and I have been assisting as much as we can a friend who's suffering from terminal cancer. At the last minute, her 'carer' has decided that finally they will allow her a new kitchen, carpet and have the inside of the apartment painted... Luckily we're in a position of being able to assist with the packing etc as our friend is not in any condition to do so...

Yesterday we popped in to pack some more boxes up and do a general clean and tidy up... I had been using the vacuum on and off all day - only for short bursts at a time. So I'm in the hallway and working my way into a bedroom when all of a sudden there's smoke everywhere! LOL The 30 or so year old volta I think was cactus! This thing produced enough smoke to fill the entire house... (oddly enough it didn't sound any different and continued to run??) So - we switched it off, I felt horribly guilty, promised I'd buy her a new vac and then proceeded to bin the old one...

So today brings the hunt for a new vacuum for her... So we visited a bunch of the local electrical retailers to find that upright vacuums here in Queensland are somewhat of a rarity... Odd I thought considering people surely still have plush carpets!?!?! Seems everyone is buying these nasty cheap vacs with air driven turbo nozzles - and I note that most of the bristles on these nozzles are as soft as feathers????

Anyhow - so after much stuffing about - we decided on a Bissell Pet Hair Eraser - RRP of $309.00 and I think we got about $50 off - because we're so cute... LOL

 

[streakers]

Back of Box

No 1 in North America - apparently...

 

[streakers]

All the bits and pieces...

Certainly very easy to assemble with only one screw required to hold that monster handle in place...

 

[streakers]

Front of machine

Close-up...

Noe this silly contraption in front of the brush-bar... One of the silliest things I've seen on a new vac yet! What were they thinking...

 

[streakers]

Underside of said silly thing...

I'm not really sure what the advantage is - considering there's a revolving brush bar with quite stiff bristles about an inch behind it...?? Is this someone at Bissell just trying to justify their existence?? I don't get it...

'You can however flip it up and over onto the top of the brush bar so it's out of the way - it just looks like such an afterthought though...

 

[streakers]

Silly thing down and ready for action...

Crazy though - as it keeps the brush bar further away from the edge of furniture if coming at it from head-on...

 

[streakers]

An attempt HEPA filtration...

Very poorly sealed for it to be effective... But then I guess the average housewife just sees 'HEPA' and she's sold...

 

[streakers]

Dust Cup...

Twin cyclone apparently... Seems to work quite effectively... I'm surprised given I have never ever used a Bissell before... Note the little filter drawer below the bin...

 

[streakers]

Foam Filter...

Shall be interesting to see how often this little one needs to be cleaned...

 

[streakers]

Turbo Brush...

Wish the bristles on this one were as stiff as the big one...

 

[streakers]

Brush Roll...

Nice and stiff - and grooms really quite well...

 

[streakers]

Ratings Plate...

Well fancy that - 'Made in China'... Anyone surprised??

 

[streakers]

And then of course

After a quick whip around the two dirtiest rugs in the house and not to mention that we've not vacuumed in probably two weeks... Lots of traffic from the doggies as well... Impressed...

But not as impressive as the Kirby with the stiffer brush roll...!

 

[streakers]

Overall though...

For what it is - and the price bracket - it's not a bad machine... Our friend who sees these as purely an appliance will not be fussed either way - but I didn't really want to spend money on complete rubbish... I think the Bissell will serve it's purpose well - and also keep the cat hair at bay...

Anyone else have much experience with Bissell? I know there's been some talk on here sporadically about them... but I never really paid too much attention as I've not been familiar with them... I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts and experiences...

There's a link below to the Aussie youtube vid - ordinary - but shows him in action...

Would really loved to have gotten my hands on a complete Hoover Convertible for her instead - but these are becoming quite rare I believe now - especially in half decent condition with tools... But alas - I think we shall name him 'Bruce'... Bruce the Bissell...

 

[diabeticdoode]

Nice machine! Bissell is my favorite. Most people on here hate them, but from my experience, they are excellent vacuums for their price point. I have a Powergroom bagless, similar to your model here, but it doesn't have that goofy pet hair thing on the front. Other than a burned out headlight, that has been a really great machine. I recently just bought a Powerforce bagged, and much to my surprise I like this one more than the Powergroom! I guess bagged really does make a difference. There's virtually no dust. That's one thing that does bug me with Bissell bagless models, the dust gets stuck to the bottom of the top cyclone, and if you remove the dirt cup too fast, dust get everywhere, and after a while the entire machine gets covered. Bleck. But another awesome thing I've found with Bissell is their customer service. Even though a majority of their machines are relatively cheap, they honor the warranty like no other. AND they actually stand behind their products! They actually sent me a replacement HEPA door for the Powergroom, even though it was my fault, and a new headlight for it as well. They are excellent excellent people in my opinion. What's your overall take on your new machine so far?

 

[jmurray01]

The "silly" flap in front of the brush roll is a lint strip which catches pet hair.

Most cylinder vacuums have them on the floor tool for this reason.

 

[kirbyultimateg]

Good choice Streakers!
This vacuum is about $150 in the USA. Ellen gave these away on her tv show several years ago.
Consumer Reports in November 2012 rated the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser very good in deep cleaning medium pile nylon plush carpeting and rated good in hard floor cleaning and rated good in suction. It has no switch to shut off the beater bar when cleaning hard floors.
Just remember to change the belts and change the filters 4 times a year. This should last about 5 years or so.

 

[kirbyultimateg]

What do you think of Dyson and Euro Pro Shark?
Have you tried the Pet Owner's brushroll in your Kirby Sentria? It has stiff long bristles that are spaced apart.
Have you tried the Kirby Pet Owner's carpet shampoo?

 

[streakers]

Oh - I totally understand the purpose

of the said silly hair catching strip (lint strip) - I just for the life of me can't understand why they'd even bother, given that it's an upright with a revolving brush. The extra strip is totally redundant...

Given the amount of use Bruce will get Rob, I don't think that changing the filters 4 times a year is ever going to happen... And to be honest - if our friend was to miraculously recover - Bruce will no doubt last her many many years! LOL

We looked at the Dysons, and I've owned two Dysons previously - and unfortunately for them - I'd not purchased another Dyson again. I'm not a fan and really for what we needed for our friend - anything that we get is essentially overkill. So I wasn't really wanting to spend the money knowing that it will end up at some estate sale for $5.00.

I don't use my Kirby for shampooing and haven't used the shampoo - however the brushroll I just installed a couple of weeks ago I don't believe is a pet owners one but moreso a commercial one?? I'm not entirely sure - but the bristles aren't spread out like the pet owners ones... However they are extremely stiff compared to the brush roll that came with it.

You guys would probably know more than me in that regard... However I did get a free service and polish last night from Kirby Australia which makes me very happy - 'Sylvia' the Sentria is looking rather shiny today! Kirby Rep also showed me the new Sentrai II - must say that it's a totally different colour scheme when you see it in person... Not a huge fan of the colour of the bag, but time will tell! Seems they've only been in Australia for a couple of weeks - and she said that many people are trading up for the new model...

She mentioned something about the new Sentria II being more powerful... Anyone able to clear that up for me?