Mark - Yes, that's right. No clutch = brushroll always running. Not really a issue when using tools since the brushroll gets raised off the ground enough so there's no damage to the carpet. The whole purpose of the clutch in this style of upright is that when you use the clutch, it takes the belt off the motor spindle pulley so the brushroll stops turning to clean bare floors. Don't confuse it with the "clutch" that the Dyson traditional wheeled uprights - like the DC07, DC14, and DC33 used - in the case of the Dyson's, not only does it allow you to shut off the brushroll, but it also acts as belt protection. The belts won't snap if something gets snagged in there - instead the clutch makes that ratchety sound and you stop and fix it.
Alex - I stand corrected on the Carpet Pro uprights. Guess what I saw on that supplier website and online must have been old leftover stock that simply hasn't been depleted yet. Funny thing is, I thought Carpet Pro WAS their commercial vacuum line, and Fuller Brush was the residential vacuum line! Fuller did have 1 or 2 commercial models, but not much.
As for the clear hoses on the Cirrus uprights, I agree with you, they look gross after dirt has built up in them after a few uses! And they look more in place on a $50 Bissell PowerForce from WalMart than a $500 upright. I think ESSCO must have been listening to their customer base and thought consumers would want it so they can see easily if their hose is clogged. As for the Bernina-style upright variants, agreed! I never have liked those uprights AT ALL! They look really cheaply built. And one BIG issue I have with the Prolux variant in particular is they put the pleated HEPA filter as the pre-motor filter - not the right place for it, that belongs on the exhaust!!! Pointless having it there if you have HEPA Cloth bags available to use. Get this - one vac shop guy on YouTube, House Of Vacuums - he won't even touch the Prolux uprights! He says there is too much difference between them and the others that he can't get parts for them. I would assume then that also applies to the Bernina and AirWay uprights then too. But certainly not a good thing if you have a vac shop brand upright that's supposed to be better quality, and here you have 1 vac shop saying they won't even look at them! That's gptta say something about the build quality of those machines. Also, go on Amazon and look at reviews for the Prolux uprights....they have a LOT of bad reviews, and the complaints made in them cite MAJOR issues, not just trivial stuff.
That's nice to know the Tacony commercial uprights have double stage motors, very impressive. Sounds like it's definitely better than the previous ESSCO built Cirrus commercial upright, and a better buy. I wouldn't agree with you though on the features of the Cirrus CR99 though - sure commercial users wouldn't want the variable speed and clutch for brushroll shutoff, and they would prefer the hall sensor and permanent belt, but residential users wouldn't - with the current style going towards hard floor and area rugs in homes, I think if a $500 upright didn't have that feature, it would most likely be a deal breaker to a lot of consumers. And no, I don't see how many would be so willing to have to whip out a hose, extend a wand, put a floor brush on and clean hard floors that way, I think most would say that method would be too awkward and inconvenient.
As for not discontinuing the Bernina style uprights in favour of the Cirrus style, I think ESSCO would have probably put a stop to that quick and not want their upright rebadged and just be another generic upright with a ton of names on it. Keep it as their own unique upright under their own name. Now, as for Tacony not making the residential Cirrus uprights, I still think it could happen. IF they were so willing to rebadge the Carpet Pro style under a ton of commercial upright names, I could totally see how they would sell themselves out to the residential market. And like I said above, this older style traditional upright is slowly but surely starting to grow out of favour with consumers as time passes on, I think ESSCO would do what they have to to make a good quality upright to sell, still make a decent profit, and I think consumers who were looking at it would still think it's a decent enough machine and acceptable enough to purchase if they were in the market for this style upright.
Have a great day Alex! Nice to know there's someone decent who works in the industry on here.
Rob
