CU Oct 06 vacuum cleaner reports

[tolivac]

CU has done their vacuum reviews again-this time they added a new test-how well the machines pick up cat hair-they don't try them with dog or long people hair.They liked the Kenmore "Progressive"Direct Drive upright.Next came the Electrolux "Oxygen Upright.
for canisters CU liked the Eletrolux "Oxygen" canister.then they again liked the Kenmore "Progressive canister.Their leat favorites for canisters-were the Rainbow E2,and the Airrider.The least favored uprights were the Dirt DevilD2 "Reaction" upright.Then the Eureka "Altima"

 

[convertible68]

Very interesting article...and they finally used REAL pet hair for their tests! I believe the last time they did a pet hair test was for stick/had vacuums in January 1999 I believe, and it was nylon strands to simulate pet hair.

I like the Electrolux Oxygen upright; cool styling. They also rated the Eureka Optima as "Not Recommended" because of dust emissions...oy. I was also hoping to see the new Constellation tested as well; perhaps in the next report?

 

[tolivac]

I wonder if CU will point out that many electrolux Oxygen canister vacs show up at "vacuum cleaner Hospitals" with the following epidemic ailments-Motors that self destruct like an airplane engine on a test stand,wands that break and connectors in the wands for the power nozzle that burn up.At the vac shop here called the "vacuum cleaner hospital" have seen some electrolux Oxygen machines for repeat visits-the same problems-blown up motors,broken wands and burnt connectors.
for hair-why doesn't CU go to dog groomers for dog hair clippings,then beauty and barber shops for people hair clippings to test with.The cat hair clippings is a start.But as we all know there is more types of "hair" out there than cat hair-Cat hair is sort of "sticky" though unlike people or dog ahir.

 

[dial-a-nap]

Good point on the hair, Rex. Long strands of hair - be they from an Afghan Hound or a brainless beauty queen are a challenge for many vacs, especially the brushroll/beater-bar. I've found gobs of hair wound around these and the pulleys/motor shafts, etc. CU doesn't seem to go the extra mile anymore either - they used to do durability testing/reviews of household appliances of all sorts but all of that is gone now in favor of the reader surveys which can be extremely flawed in scope and numbers...

 

[cirtcele]

It's so much fun

to compare a recent CU report with an older one. The reports in the Consumer Articles section go on for twelve pages! These days, vacuums only merit two pages of background and one or two for the Ratings table.

 

[convertible68]

And another thing I've noticed about recent CR tests is the lack of a "comments" section, summarizing each model with pros and cons. It separated the negative characteristics with "But:" in boldface. That was done away with sometime in the 90's.

 

[tolivac]

I too am put off by CU's shortened appliance reviews.I can remember at one time they would try just about ALL of the machines on the market at the time-same with other appliances-not just vacuums.I can even remember when CU even tested rifles and shotguns.Remember reading their reviews on them when I was a child-and interested in guns at the time-and still do-one of the other things I collect.also their photography tests were excellent-now like vacuums and other things-just fair to middelin.Anmd they don't seem to be as expert on the things they test either-"Communist Reports" as some call them.I reniewed my subsription to them.Its interesting-but don't take their reviews as gospel.The Electrolux(Eureka made ones) may test good-but CU doesn't mention ANYTHING about their durablilty or reliablilty.the Vacuum Cleaner Hospital here is a Eureka warraty repair station.Bill shows me the common problems with these machines and Eureka and the factory in Sweden DOES NOTHING to correct the flaws.And Bill has to have the parts-motors,wands,etc for the Electrolux Oxygen machines shipped from Sweden.The customer is without his vacuum for up to several weeks-One angry woman brought in her broken Electolux upright and commented it was the third time it was repaired.Bill suggested she take it back to Lowes(where she bought it) and demand a refund.She was able to do that and bought a Riccar upright from Bill instead.She liked the Riccar better-it would be a better machine.