Current canister vacuums

[fan-of-fans]

I remember back in the 1990s and prior, Hoover and Eureka both had several power nozzle and straight suction canisters available. Of course Kenmore did as well and there was always Electrolux. Bissell and Dirt Devil only had one or two small ones, about like they do now.

But what happened to all of the canisters that used to be offered? Hoover and Eureka only seem to have uprights in stores anymore. In fact, the only canister Eureka I see now is the little Power Mite. I see no Hoover canisters aside from the one that comes with the Hoover Platinum upright. Kenmore seems to be the only brand that has a full line of canister machines (aside from Miele).

My thought is maybe after the uprights with on-board tools became commonplace (especially the bagless ones) that canisters just lost popularity. Still, it seems odd to me that people with little to no carpet seem to buy uprights instead of canister machines. I guess I'm just a canister guy since that's what we had when I was growing up, plus to me they are quieter than most uprights. (But of course I like uprights as well).

 

[sebo_fan]

The last time I looked on the Hoover U.S site before they merged with TTi, I can remember seeing the Telios S3332(one of my favourite budget canisters here in the UK) as well as the Morphy Richards based Hoover Studio, in the U.S under the S1631 model number. Sadly I dont think either model did well in the U.S but then the Telios is by far more than a 15 year old design.

I do rather like the look of the Hoover Envy Hush. What a pity we have to put up with severely rubbish UK Hoover models compared to the brand in the U.S

 

[massagemiracle]

Funny that you bring this up, I was cruising thru Craigslist yesterday and there was a listing for a new Kenmore progressive, the husband had listed it because his wife refused to pull a vacuum around. He had to go buy her an upright.


Americans are lazy. I hear it all the time about how women hate to pull a vacuum around and would rather have an upright


instead.


I was in my friends vacuum store when an older lady from Germany came in wanting a new Miele Canister, she bought a new


quartz model. He tried to offer her a Miele S7 , she wouldn't even concider it. She went on to tell him that they would not even


sell that model in Germany, that it was made for Americans.


I also think that crappy design in some canisters is why they are going the way of the DoDo bird! I do like the Aniversary edition of the Hoover Canister. But my fave is always going to be the vintage vacuums. Can't beat them!

 

[danemodsandy]

The Opposing View:

I have never understood peoples' love of uprights.

A canister makes above-the-floor cleaning a breeze, and it gets under low furniture that uprights cannot. Filtration is better on many canisters, and bag changes? Change a Kirby bag, then change a Lux "C" bag in one of their canisters, and get back to me.

Me, I want my house CLEAN. And to me, that means having a vac capable of getting into every nook and cranny without undue hassle. I have never seen an upright that can give me that. If uprights are what some folks are used to, and they appreciate them, fine. But to say that an upright is more convenient somehow than a canister, I just can't see it.

I vacuum everything. I mean everything. I vacuum my TV, my lampshades, my curtains, my upholstery, my hard-surface floors, my picture frames, the pewter tea and coffee service that is in my living room, my blinds, the tops of door frames, the tops of window frames, the panels of doors, the top of the fridge, underneath the fridge, the coils of the fridge, all my books, my computer, my space heaters, my window air-conditioners, and the crumb tray for the toaster-oven. Everything. I vacuum my BASEMENT.

I know an upright can do above-the-floor cleaning, but I can have a quarter of the room cleaned while an upright owner is still fitting the adaptor for the hose.

I've never been able to understand why anyone thinks a canister is more trouble than an upright. If all vacuuming was huge swaths of carpeting, uprights would make a certain amount of sense, but it's not.

 

[sebo_fan]

Well, speaking as one that only has a Sebo K3 Premium, I can't stand the weight of the power head on the tubes and hose. I know you can take them off and that - and lets face it - most canisters come with interchangeable heads - but it is a bit of a nonsense having to do that each time you go from hard floor to carpet - I notice Bissell have bought out a hook up, flat down suction only floor head partition on their uprights and Bosch now claim they have an auto adjusting floor head that goes from hard floor to carpets automatically.

I still like uprights though = they have everything on board you need and those with brush stop functions are better and in some cases a lot more compact and lightweight. Downside is a short hose.

 

[tolivac]

I like BOTH types of vacuum cleaners equally well.each has their jobs.

 

[danemodsandy]

RS:

"I can't stand the weight of the power head on the tubes and hose."

I've heard this before from upright owners, and it mystifies me. How is the weight of a power head even comparable to the weight of an entire upright? If you want HEAVY, you could hardly do better than a Kirby, seems to me.

And what do you upright owners do for stairs? I have a Sidekick for my Luxes, which makes easy, short work of carpeted stairs, leaving them fluffed and groomed edge to edge, front to back, tread and riser. The Sidekick also makes short work of cat hair on upholstered furniture.

 

[powermate1970]

well.......

I have to agree with tolivac. I use both. Like Sandy, I vacuum EVERYTHING, but, running the risk of starting WW III, I'm going to add this. Lux's are for looks. Now I know that they are an american "classic", just like the hoover convertible. I own several of each, but if you want clean, there are MUCH BETTER chioces. As far as canisters go, Compact/tristar and the Royal metal tank vac's are a far better choice. I own and use both. Now, for the hardwood floor portion of our house, the kids use a kenmore canister, just for the simple fact that I'd "kill" them if they destroyed my tri star or my royal. I keep a couple of spare "whispertones" around here for the kids use. lol

 

[danemodsandy]

Bill:

I have a TriStar CXL, and I agree - it's a superb vacuum for making certain everything gets clean, and stays clean for a while, due to its four-stage filtration.

The drawback to the TriStar is that it's a pain to store in the house I'm in, which is very tiny, with insufficient closet floor space available. It would have to have its hose removed each and every time I put it away, and that is a real hassle, because of the pigtail at the canister end of the hose. My Luxes are capable of being stored on end, much more "doable" in this space.

 

[Sanifan]

Lux...

I have limited experience with Electrolux tanks, but my impression is that they are fine bare floor and above floor cleaners. Still no firm opinion on the PN on carpet, but it seems many of my uprights clean carpet better.

As Sandy points out, they are a joy to store, being able to stand on end. Still, you have the canister and PN taking up floor space whereas an upright just has a single footprint. The Classic and older model Electroluxes do have a hanging loop on the PN wand, however, which is a nice touch.

I do like my Ultralux a lot on bare floor. No complaints about performance, there.

I find it puzzling that the Tristar CXL is regarded so much higher than a lot of other canister (though I do agree they are fantastic). Puzzled because other canisters, like the Electroluxes, use the same basic formula, and sometimes even the same motor. Yet the CXL is regarded as an undisputed classic. I guess the difference is the details, the execution of the various elements, and the PN.

 

[danemodsandy]

Khoi:

The difference between a Lux and a TriStar is the four-stage filtration found in the TriStar, vs. the one-stage filtration found in the Lux. The TriStar filters through a paper bag, a cloth liner bag, a motor pre-filter and an afterfilter. The Lux depends entirely upon its single paper bag; there is not even an afterfilter (I'm speaking strictly about vintage Luxes and TriStars, not current machines, which have different filtration than the vintage machines did).

The classic Lux "C" bag is a very good one, even in its standard, non-HEPA iteration. But one filter cannot filter as much as four can, with the result that Luxes, like many other vacs, lets enough dust blow back into the room that you begin to see dust again a short time after vacuuming.

With my Luxes, the reappearance of dust occurs within half an hour. With the TriStar, it's much longer - several hours.

A TriStar CXL was worth every bloomin' nickel it cost, both in terms of cleaning ability, and durability. And the suction of Compacts and TriStars was always phenomenal. Lux did not catch up on suction until the Diamond Jubilee, and then it was with a motor that worked harder, but didn't last as long.

 

[powermate1970]

Sandy

You hit it right on the head. Personally, for suction, my royal 4750 is better, but it only has 3 stages of filter. The royal has a hayden powerhead, which is better than most. My tri star powerhead is close, only because I have a couple of NOS VG I's and I've got one in it. I've never had a lux powerhead that has impressed me, and I've had PN 1-4 and a couple of later models too. Don't even get me started on the "braided" SHORT hose! lol

 

[danemodsandy]

Bill:

I will freely admit that Lux PN's were never the best. I've had them all from the PN-1 through the PN-5. The earlier ones are better about deep cleaning and grooming, but unless exquisitely well-maintained (new brushroll, bearings and belt at least every two years, as well as frequent cleaning and lubing), they're extremely noisy. The PN-5's "floating" design is not the best groomer, and I don't like its deep-cleaning ability, either. We won't even get into the PN-5's well-known tendency to break the screw mounts on its bottom plate. The Lux PN's I like best are the PN-2 and PN-4, because of their polished cast-aluminum shells, which don't crack or break, and don't have any paint to get scuffed and scarred. A little polish from time to time, and they look new forever.

The best PN's I've ever had were on later Kenmores, the Powermates with the little step-on pedal to adjust the brushroll for carpet pile height. Those things can really "bite" deep if adjusted properly. The last one I had, I used frequently on a very long-pile, very shaggy rya rug; it was capable of leaving the pile not only clean, but looking like it had just been raked.

The PN on the CXL is pretty good, though not quite the equal of the Kenmores. A TriStar PN will need a new swivel neck from time to time; they wear and get "floppy." It's only an annoyance, but I likes me a perfect machine.

 

[danemodsandy]

P.S., Bill;

There is a sure cure for the irritating short braided hose on Luxes - replace it with a new, genuine Aerus vinyl hose. BIG difference in convenience, and usually in suction, too - most vintage braided Lux hoses are leaking at least a bit by now. The vinyl hose is more flexible, and it's longer.

I also like it that the genuine Aerus hose swivels and has the same suction control as the original hose. There are some very decent aftermarket hoses out there, but I like original parts if possible, and the manufacturer's replacement part if an original is NLA.

 

[danemodsandy]

Oops!

In my post above, I referred to the PN-4 as having a polished aluminum shell like the PN-2.

As any Lux aficionado knows, there were PN-4s with painted aluminum shells, as well as the polished aluminum version.

I do NOT want Aeoliandave getting on to me (ducks and runs)!

 

[powermate1970]

LMAO!!!

but remember, the PN-4 had 3 versions that I know of. aluminum, brown, and gold. I'm kinda keeping an eye out for a PN-4B (I think) Anyway, the brown one. lol I do have a really nice "olympia" that I wouldn't mind putting together. Do you know anybody looking for an electrolux CB? I've been trying to get this "beast" out of the basement and gone for 2 years! lol

 

[danemodsandy]

Bill:

I'd normally be itching to get that CB from you! Sadly, I'm going through a job transition right now, so until things firm back up a bit, I have to be good.

I remember you offered that machine around here several weeks ago. I thought for SURE someone was going to snatch it up!

 

[powermate1970]

Sandy

if you want it, its here. I see you are in waterloo. Thats not all that far. I get up to the JD plant to deliver every now and again. The company I work for is working at the foundry.

 

[Sanifan]

Rotomatic...

Any thoughts on using a Rotomatic PN with a CXL? I understand they are a very good PN. Any thoughts about using an adapter or modding it for friction fit?

Lol, I actually have one. Just haven't had time to mate it to the Tristar.