Electrolux 500 Series Bags Question

[jmurray01]

My question is, because they are open bottomed and use a slider, does this mean Electrolux recommended you re-used the bag ?

I never would re-use one, but it has always been something I've wondered!

 

[kirbymodel2c]

Hi,

Hi, Yep they said you could if you wanted re-use the bag but only ONCE.
Although you would get some customers re-using it continuously till they fell to bits.
The 400 and 600 series Electroluxs had re-usable bags to at first but they got phased out at some point as well as the 500 series so you could only use them once.

James)

 

[vintagerepairer]

I wouldn't say recommended as such, not in the same way they might recommend you change the filter, but certainly it was mentioned that the bag could be emptied once and re-used. That is to say the bag could be used twice in total. In reality I found some people only used a reusable bag once, whereas others reused a single bag many times over. I don't just mean on a 500 cleaner, I mean any reusable bag. It all comes down to a changing attitude towards paper bags. Hoover were one of the first to use a paper bag and almost all of their cleaners with paper bags could only be used with such, unlike many other brands and models where the paper bag, if available, was entirely optional. Some people say that the use of a paper bag was considered to be somewhat decadent.

As time progressed, more and more cleaners came with paper bags only, and then towards the end of the 1970's the fashion for being able to reuse a dust bag was becoming more popular, having always been able to do so on most Hoover cleaners already. It was during the early 1990's that the bag slides & reusable dust bags went out of fashion, as manufacturers wanted people to throw away a full bag as they said it was more hygienic and made the cleaner work more efficiently.

 

[jmurray01]

Thank you for the replies.

I presumed that was how it went but wasn't 100% sure.

For the general consumer, who doesn't care about a Vacuum Cleaner lasting years and years, using a bag twice would be considered good economy, so I can see why manufacturers did it.

For me personally though, when the bag gets half full, CHANGE IT.

 

[sebo_fan]

Yes but for some people, especially elderly people, a reusable dust bag with a slider minimises hassle, JM. However, don't forget that current bags you get that are washable, reusable fabric bags still have the slider in place, obviously being able to be used time and time again.

I didn't like the bags for the Z500 to be honest. I thought the reuseable ones with the sliders never really did much use. Even the standard bags clogged dirt at the top of the entrance and seldom fell to the bottom. I think it may have been improved later on with higher powered Z500s though.

 

[jmurray01]

I'm afraid to admit, that the 502S had the same problem as the original 500 with dirt sticking to the neck of the bag, so I find I have to open up the bag door every few weeks and prod it away with my finger to keep it from clogging the hole.

I haven't actually had a problem with the bags themselves, they are actually the easiest to fit out of any upright I find, because you just drop it in and push it down slightly until it clips into place.

The seal is also very good - I barely see any dust on the pre-motor filters.

 

[sebo_fan]

I think that was probably one the best things about the Z500 filters. They don't tend to get dirty - unless the owner hasn't put back the screw bit properly on older models. The screw kept in place was a bit of a nonsense IMHO - I don't know if Electrolux improved it at all, and the Sebo Felix mirrors the same kind of filter that covers over the motor with just a drop down click-to-lock function and has a handy pull up handle when taking the filter out.

 

[jmurray01]

I suppose Lux could have used a clip to hold it in place, but I've never had a problem with the screw.

Since the bags are quite big they only need replaced every 4-5 months, so removing a screw twice a year doesn't bother me.

 

[sebo_fan]

Yes that's all very well for you, but again considering other consumers and owners, removing a screw to remove a filter isn't a good design element. It was not alone on Electrolux - my old Servis vented tumble dryer from the 1970's had a pesky 2 cross head removal screws just to remove the filter at the BACK of the drum as opposed to the more modern types that have a lift filter at the front. I kept that Servis for the best part of 20 years despite the screw removal because it was so efficient and quiet.

 

[jmurray01]

Now THAT would annoy me, having to remove a screw after every use of the tumble dryer to get rid of the lint.

My Bendix 7414 has a simple push in and turn system for locking the lint and coarse filter in place.

 

[vintagerepairer]

There is one point which is being overlooked here, at that is the fact some if not all Electrolux 500 and Twin Turbo instructions make no reference to the screw-down filter. The first the customer got to know about it was if one was included in the new packet. You had the choice of buying a full set or just the top filter. The bottom filter was there mainly to ensure solid debris did not penetrate the motor when removing the top filter for replacement, or if the cleaner had been used without a top filter at all. The top filter was designed to hold the dust etc but of course a good deal of dust did get to the 2nd filter, given the number of years of service these cleaners often gave. So eventually the 2nd filter would need changing.

As well as this, it is highly likely that the 2nd filter was not mentioned in order that performance would eventually deteriorate, so that the user may begin to consider changing the machine for a new one. The rear filter of the automatic 330 and 345 never gets a mention in the book of words either.

 

[jmurray01]

So some people used them with just the electrostatic filter but not the screw in one ?

 

[vintagerepairer]

No, I never said that. The screw down filter was present on all the cleaners. Some, if not all, instruction books make no reference to the fact that it is there. In the same way they don't mention many things which they didn't want to trouble the consumer with. So, unless a new screw down filter was included when the user bought a new set of filters, they would have no reason at all to know that the thing under the filter with a screw in the middle was in fact another filter.

It was my theory that Electrolux did not want the customer to know it was there. The main reason for it was to stop soild debris falling into the motor from the top filter, when the top filter was being removed, or indeed if the cleaner was being used without a top filter altogether.

 

[jmurray01]

But I don't understand, the electrostatic filter is fitted BENEATH the screw in filter, isn't it ?

Perhaps my memory is betraying me.

 

[vintagerepairer]

No, it sits on top. You take out the dust bag and in the bottom there is a loose fitting white filter. Take that out and underneath is a plastic framed filter with a screw in the middle.

 

[jmurray01]

I see, thanks for explaining and refreshing my memory!

I do need to replace my second filter soon though as it is getting pretty clogged, despite my efforts to clean it last time I changed the bag.