Efbe Schott VU-3R / Upright

[sebo_fan]

Just wondering if anyone has one of these upright vacuums? They appear to be a bit of a bargain online but have re-useable washable dust bags as standard as opposed to paper bags. £33 to £48 online which is largely unheard of for a "new" bagged upright.

Also link to Amazon UK shows a similar model at £80.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Classic-Sty...d=1367616366&sr=1-249&keywords=upright+vacuum

 

[sebo_fan]

Other pics

 

[tolivac]

Kind of a neat vacuum-the metal floor shoe and metal handle!But the plastic brushroll seems out of place with the quality metal shoe.A metal brushroll with replaceable strips would have been super nice!

 

[dysondestijl]

That brushroll looks terribl, but the machine looks kinda small and cute

 

[turbo500]

These look so much like the old Panasonic Jetflo's. Replaceable HEPA bags are available on the Efbe Schott website.

 

[sebo_fan]

I saw that Chris - but I have a feeling someone told me they can be difficult to push because of the tiny flush roller wheels seen at either side in that photo I supplied. It is difficult to see how it can be used for hard floors with a metal sole plate like that despite the two settings on the floor head and there doesn't appear to be an adjuster shown on the base where the adjustment mechanism is placed. Perhaps it switches the brush roll off, I don't know.

 

[ultraperformer]

There's quiet some gap on both sides of the brush roll it must surely be very poor at edge cleaning?

 

[rolls_rapide]

I have also seen it in dark green (British Racing Green colour), in a "Coopers" Garden & Home Catalogue. I think it fell out of the Saturday paper around January - February time.

I considered buying one, but the Dyson-style of brushroll put me off it. It seemed too cheaply assembled. I managed to find the User Manual online, and thought it was a rubbish machine.

 

[vintagerepairer]

I know someone who has one of these. It is very small but very tall and incredibly lightweight to carry. It is also unbelievable easy to push around. It does not stand a chance of cleaning anywhere near to the edges but then that is obvious from the pictures.

The hard-floor setting does something I have never ever seen before on an upright; it raises and lowers a row of static bristles, just like on the floor tool of a cylinder. The roller continues to move at all times.

The cleaner is of outstandingly poor quality, but for what they sell for one can't expect much else. The person I know who has one is elderly and the cleaner is well looked after. Her only complaint is that the bags fill very quickly as that roller brush is rather firm and does do a first-class job of sweeping carpets.

 

[piano_god]

This machine was sold in North America as the Dust Care "Evolution Lite". Its design was based off the early Panasonic "baby" JetFlo upright.

It's a poor quality machine and is best avoided...

 

[vintagerepairer]

Best Avoided

For what it sells for in the UK, I think it is very good value for money. It won't take the abuse which a more full-sized cleaner will, but it is an excellent choice in my view for an older person like myself.

 

[vintagerepairer]

I just did an online calculation and can tell you that in the UK this cleaner sells for around 100 of your US dollars. It's a cheap cleaner here, how does this compare to the USA?

 

[sebo_fan]

Thank you for all that info!

By some of the reviews that appear online, it seems to do better in a caravan. Its small size definitely justifies the use of it in a small bedsit or caravan. Pity it has poor performance though. If it was better designed, it could be a cylinder vacuum with a removable PN head and handle with Miele style suction tube/handle spine.

I can now see those bristles for hard floors. That's a neat idea.

 

[piano_god]

It sold through independent vacuum stores for approximately $150.00, but I believe it's now discontinued.

At that price in our market, there are better lightweight choices available at the same price point or less...

 

[ultraperformer]

Hard floor bristles

Hoover had those on their infamous "The One" upright however long ago that was launched?

 

[vintagerepairer]

The One

Thank you for this. I never saw a Hoover One, other than on television commercials. My understanding is that the cleaner was hopeless.

 

[vintagerepairer]

Poor Performance

The only thing I can fault this cleaner for on performance is it's in ability to clean to the edge as an upright machine. However, this is off set by the fact that the small cleaning head can slide in & out of gaps which a good deal of uprights would never manage. It does of course have a hose which one can use for edges. As a sweeper vacuum cleaner, this cleaner is superb.

 

[rolls_rapide]

According to the Which? magazine...

The Hoover "The One" only excelled in one respect: that its suction hose was capable of reaching up the staircase.

Everything else about it was rubbish.

 

[maryclaire]

BETTER THAN YOU'D THINK

I actually own one of these sweet little vacuum cleaners and absolutely LOVE IT. I also own a classic DysonDC07 Animal but prefer to use my Efbe-Schott on a day to day basis as it's so light and whizzes around with great ease. I've had no real difficulty picking up close to the skirting boards suprisingly enough, but also find the easy access nozzle and speedy method of connection makes it effortless to just whip out the hose as well. It's amazing on my hard kitchen floor where it is perfectly suited because of it's petite dimensions & manoeverability. I have a vintage 50's gas cooker which stands on 'legs' and my Efbe can nip underneath with no problems at all. Where I find this little vacuum cleaner excels is in it's abilty to be taken up and down stairs with absolute ease. I'm an asthmatic and struggle with the Dyson's weight, but can actually use the Efbe with it's hose attachment to clean the stairs as I go up..It's really that light. It also stores away so readily taking up a fration of the space my Dyson does and is very quick to reach for and plug in because of it's size.
It does a lovely job cleaning up each morning and seems to have very good suction either with the beater on for carpets or off on my floorboards. I also like to be able to vacuum my many rugs and it is especially good at this because it is so compact and yet powerful enough to do a good job. My Dyson would devour the whole rug unless I used an attachment... but oh that's such a pain.
I bought mine from Fenwicks in Newcastle so saw it first hand before paying £49.99 and I've owned it for over 3 years now and would recommend it to anyone wanting a small nippy traditional style upright. It just has the one nozzle attachment but I have managed to get by with that as I use my Dyson for high areas, curtains upholstery etc but not much else frankly. It also uses fleece style bags which are actually disposable and can be bought directly from Efbe-Schott (11.99 for 6) They are reasonably big for the size of machine and last a decent length of time compared to some other small cylinder vacs. I have been able to empty them when I'd run out of bags and reused the existing bag a several times, but I'm not sure about them being washable as I've not attempted that. NB the Efbe Schott site also sells replacement Hepa fiters for 6.99 which are simple to access & fit (fan belt also 6.99 if ever required)
I've purchased another of these vacuum cleaners for my elderly mum who loves here, and one for a friend, but actually got them both for very little money on eBay. They were 'as new' and cost about £30, but in any case they are great value at a maximum of 59.99 direct from Efbe-Schott or elsewhere online. Don't pay more than that! In summary it's a super little machine which I find a really efficient, fanastic to store easily and just a delight to use. I actually enjoy whizzing it around and can do my 2 bedroomed house in minutes. That said.. I fancy a quick vacuum around now. I do hope this helps