Cut-and-Paste Budget Bagless Vacuum Design

[niclonnic]

Here's a trend that I've just discovered in the budget vacuum sector.

I'm not sure how this came to be, but a particular form factor of bagless vacuum has been standardized across a few brands. Here are the details:

• Compact, lightweight form factor (7.7-8.4 lbs.)
• Short hose and 25-foot power cord
• Detachable handle that doubles as an extension wand
• Single-cyclonic dust bin with an intake that spirals into the primary separator
• Washable filter is located within the top of the dust bin
• Two attachments (dusting brush and crevice tool)
• Cost is in the $40-70 range

After some research, I have stumbled across a total of FOUR identical models sold under different brands, all of which use this "cut-and-paste" design. However, the color scheme differs depending on the brand. Here they are with links:

• Bissell PowerForce Compact 2112
• Eureka AirSpeed Compact NEU100
• Amazon Basics Bagless Upright
• Mainstays Bagless Upright

I find this to be kind of fascinating. How is this design cut and pasted across a few different brands? Is there a centralized factory in a particular country that essentially rebadges this design across the aforementioned companies? I'd love to know more about this matter.

 

[cheesewonton]

Here's a trend that I've just discovered in the budget vacuum sector.

I'm not sure how this came to be, but a particular form factor of bagless vacuum has been standardized across a few brands. Here are the details:

• Compact, lightweight form factor (7.7-8.4 lbs.)
• Short hose and 25-foot power cord
• Detachable handle that doubles as an extension wand
• Single-cyclonic dust bin with an intake that spirals into the primary separator
• Washable filter is located within the top of the dust bin
• Two attachments (dusting brush and crevice tool)
• Cost is in the $40-70 range

After some research, I have stumbled across a total of FOUR identical models sold under different brands, all of which use this "cut-and-paste" design. However, the color scheme differs depending on the brand. Here they are with links:

• Bissell PowerForce Compact 2112
• Eureka AirSpeed Compact NEU100
• Amazon Basics Bagless Upright
• Mainstays Bagless Upright

I find this to be kind of fascinating. How is this design cut and pasted across a few different brands? Is there a centralized factory in a particular country that essentially rebadges this design across the aforementioned companies? I'd love to know more about this matter.

If you look on Alibaba you will discover dozens of companies in China making roughly similar vacuums. They make what sells and that particular layout is popular right now. Not just here but all over Asia. The Japanese companies make similar vacuums in Japan and China, depending on the company, for their home market because that's what their Japanese customers want.

 

[huskyvacs]

These are what you call loss leaders. They are designed cheaply to be sold cheaply to get people in the door looking to buy a new vacuum, and then when it wears out that person will then come back to that store and say "well maybe I should try another more expensive vacuum" and then they hook you.

Vacuum companies will also sell off retired molds to the secondary manufacture market to do whatever with, which is how you see 20-30 year old vacuum designs popping up in the current year.

 

[Absolute Rainbow]

@Vacuum Facts, do you hate what's discussed in this thread?

 

[centralsweeper63]

What do you mean?

 

[cheesewonton]

These are what you call loss leaders. They are designed cheaply to be sold cheaply to get people in the door looking to buy a new vacuum, and then when it wears out that person will then come back to that store and say "well maybe I should try another more expensive vacuum" and then they hook you.

Vacuum companies will also sell off retired molds to the secondary manufacture market to do whatever with, which is how you see 20-30 year old vacuum designs popping up in the current year.

Note sure if they are loss leaders. They are what people want. Even my vac shop owner friend who sells Sebo, Sanitaire, Oreck and Cirrus had to throw in the towel and start selling a couple of cordless Simplicity models including a stick vac. And those customers aren't going to pony up for a Sebo later. They don't want to spend that kind of money.

 

[huskyvacs]

Note sure if they are loss leaders. They are what people want. Even my vac shop owner friend who sells Sebo, Sanitaire, Oreck and Cirrus had to throw in the towel and start selling a couple of cordless Simplicity models including a stick vac. And those customers aren't going to pony up for a Sebo later. They don't want to spend that kind of money.

That's a independent shop, not a big box retail store. Different customer base. Next up from a $49.99 Bissel at retail would be the Hoover Windtunnel at x2 the price, or a Shark at x3 the price.

 

[rlsellman21]

Note sure if they are loss leaders. They are what people want. Even my vac shop owner friend who sells Sebo, Sanitaire, Oreck and Cirrus had to throw in the towel and start selling a couple of cordless Simplicity models including a stick vac. And those customers aren't going to pony up for a Sebo later. They don't want to spend that kind of money.

But they'd rather spend hundreds of dollars over the years on cheap ass crap vacuums.

 

[vac14012]

I've seen this trend as well. If you go to WalMart they're filled with them. I don't understand why none of these budget bagless vacuums have good cyclones. The filters get dirty within minutes of use, so they're basically useless.

We have one of these in our house. It's a Eureka brand and is exactly as described in the OP. It has a terrible single wimpy cyclone, the filters get clogged of dust within minutes and emptying it is disgusting. It does have a cord rewind though which I guess is kinda fancy for a budget item.


I'm tempted to buy an older Dyson bin assembly (particularly a DC17 which has one of their best Cyclone designs) and retrofitting it into the Eureka.

 

[niclonnic]

I've seen this trend as well. If you go to WalMart they're filled with them. I don't understand why none of these budget bagless vacuums have good cyclones. The filters get dirty within minutes of use, so they're basically useless.

We have one of these in our house. It's a Eureka brand and is exactly as described in the OP. It has a terrible single wimpy cyclone, the filters get clogged of dust within minutes and emptying it is disgusting. It does have a cord rewind though which I guess is kinda fancy for a budget item.


I'm tempted to buy an older Dyson bin assembly (particularly a DC17 which has one of their best Cyclone designs) and retrofitting it into the Eureka.

These cheap, single-cyclonic designs are baffling to me as well. I believe this tricks the end-user into thinking that their vacuum is dying faster, leading to an early disposal of it. But to be fair, I remember when every bagless vacuum in the early to mid-2000s was filter-based. I agree, cleaning out these filters is a disgusting affair.

Another thing about these cut-and-paste bagless vacuums? They all have the same motor: a rather high-pitched, 6-amp one. I didn't know that some of them have a cord rewind.

Oh, and I'm not so sure about retrofitting an older Dyson bin into a cheap vacuum like yours. The DC17, while having a nice cyclone design, is notorious for having its shroud clog with fine dust as the bin gets full. I know because I have an Animal variant. Cleaning the shroud is just as messy as cleaning the filter on these budget bagless machines. I tend to get dust all over the garage floor while doing this.

 

[centralsweeper63]

They are made like that for planned obselecence.

 

[vac14012]

These cheap, single-cyclonic designs are baffling to me as well. I believe this tricks the end-user into thinking that their vacuum is dying faster, leading to an early disposal of it. But to be fair, I remember when every bagless vacuum in the early to mid-2000s was filter-based. I agree, cleaning out these filters is a disgusting affair.

Another thing about these cut-and-paste bagless vacuums? They all have the same motor: a rather high-pitched, 6-amp one. I didn't know that some of them have a cord rewind.

Oh, and I'm not so sure about retrofitting an older Dyson bin into a cheap vacuum like yours. The DC17, while having a nice cyclone design, is notorious for having its shroud clog with fine dust as the bin gets full. I know because I have an Animal variant. Cleaning the shroud is just as messy as cleaning the filter on these budget bagless machines. I tend to get dust all over the garage floor while doing this.

I think that only happens on the DC17 if the seal is pushed upwards with the bin flap.

 

[rlsellman21]

The cheap ass cyclone design is basically a copy of Shark's design. It's total complete shit. I don't understand why they don't use dual cyclonic separation in their vacuums. That's far superior to Shark's shit design.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Because that means machines last longer and the CEO makes less money.

 

[huskyvacs]

The only two budget vacuums I will personally recommend that are 10/10 and give you excellent performance for the price point are.....


[for bagless people] the 2021 eureka NEU182A PowerSpeed Bagless. It is insanely good at getting fine grit and dirt out of the carpet and does a really good job at fluffing the nap.



[for bagged people] the 2016 Bissel Powerforce 1739 Bagged. It is a very good vacuum and at the time it originally came out was one of the very few bagged uprights on the market still, and the only bagged upright under $100. It is just a good all-around performer and the Febreze bags work very well in it and disperse the fragrance at a good rate that makes the room smell fresh.




I will also recommend highly the 2015 Eureka Brushroll Clean with SuctionSeal AS3401A. It cost more than $50, but was still under $100. I think mine at the time I got it in 2016 was about $75 or $80. It has excellent suction through the hose, great floor pickup and grabs the nap well, and the brushroll cutter is exceptionally handy when you have pets or long haired people. I used it nearly nonstop in 2016/2017 when doing house cleaning and it performs splendidly. The only annoying thing is the cord reel can be a bit finicky or annoying, and if the hose grabs onto something, it will instantly jump when the suction is choked off and the vacuum can fall over.

 

[centralsweeper63]

In NZ the Bissell Powerforce Helix is $350 on Bissell's website. Crazy.

 

[centralsweeper63]

A lot of these machines will have different bearings or brush lengths I suspect. Theylook the same but are different internally.

 

[huskyvacs]

A lot of these machines will have different bearings or brush lengths I suspect. Theylook the same but are different internally.

Yeah they all recycle the same mold with minimal tooling to save on development cost. They just make the parts fit the vacuum shell and presto, new product.

 

[cheesewonton]

I've seen this trend as well. If you go to WalMart they're filled with them. I don't understand why none of these budget bagless vacuums have good cyclones. The filters get dirty within minutes of use, so they're basically useless.

We have one of these in our house. It's a Eureka brand and is exactly as described in the OP. It has a terrible single wimpy cyclone, the filters get clogged of dust within minutes and emptying it is disgusting. It does have a cord rewind though which I guess is kinda fancy for a budget item.


I'm tempted to buy an older Dyson bin assembly (particularly a DC17 which has one of their best Cyclone designs) and retrofitting it into the Eureka.

Why not buy a new or factory refurbished Workhorse? You know it. It used to be called the Amway Cleartrak. New ones are still being built and the company also sells as-new factory refurbished ones. That brand is always forgotten but it might be the best made and most durable bagless vacuum ever made.

 

[centralsweeper63]

I agree about the workhorse/amway machines. I had 2 and now I have one that needs a filter tray. I will order parts eventually.

 

[rlsellman21]

Why not buy a new or factory refurbished Workhorse? You know it. It used to be called the Amway Cleartrak. New ones are still being built and the company also sells as-new factory refurbished ones. That brand is always forgotten but it might be the best made and most durable bagless vacuum ever made.

I definitely want to buy one lol