Electrolux Guardian Ultra & Platinum - Multiple Qs

[clifford]

I've been reading as much as I can on the Aerus Guardian Ultra & Aerus Guardian Platinum vacuums. I found both on craigslist and will soon go check them out to make a final decision.

The Ultra, from pictures, looks in great condition, however I haven't gotten the seller on the phone to gauge why it's being sold. The Platinum has been well used by a family of 5 with a mountain dog (lots of hair) and the hose is kinked because one of the kids stepped on it -- They are selling it because they need a commercial vacuum for their daily cleaning.

I need a good machine with lots of suction for hardwood floors only. Both are selling for $300. I'm leaning towards the Ultra because it looks like it's in better condition.

My question on the Ultra:

-Did this unit ever come with a black cord/plug? I think this may be a repair / refurb, but unsure.
-Should I be cautious if coming across a unit that has been refurbished?
-Does it have the rotating hose at one end? I know the Platinum has it at both.
-What are the distinct differences between the three Ultras that have been made (Without logo, black lettering, grey lettering).
-I've read some accounts of bags ripping on the Ultra, is this something to be concerned about?

My questions on the Platinum:

-Because it's been heavily used, should there be any concern for motor burn out or other elements that could fail?
-How much should i pay for a new hose, considering this one is beat up?

Thanks in advance!
Clifford

 

[pr-21]

I had an Ultra and....

They did not come with a black cord. If I remember it was light gray. The hose swivels at the handle, but has the same connection to the canister, as the plastic bodied canister. No problems with kinking even though it only swiveled at the handle.

My only problem with the Ultra was it did not have a better suction relief on the handle. The larger motor caused the side kick to bog down on my upholstery. I never had a bag break in it or leak. Just a note, I think Aerus has a real bag problem at this time and I have sent them bags from my Guardian Platinum, I am so frustrated with Aerus at this point I have it stored in my attached garage. I am also buying NOS bags off of Ebay until they correct this, however you will have to get the Guardian Platinum bags from Aerus. Currently have a stash of Sure Thing and Germgrabber Bags for style C. They are 4 ply, while Aerus's are two ply now that state they are better than the 4ply. Bull&&&&. The Ultra has a thermal light, Bag Light, No Bag Light, and Full Bag Light. It will shut off when the bag is full.

As for the Guardian Platinum,


Things I don't like. (I got one of the first from someone who reads our forum. Nice Guy to deal with) Anyway, as I said the bags leak, the power nozzle leaves black marks on my white woodwork, Aerus designed a scent chamber on the side, which was one of my reasons to buy. Talked to Aerus many times and finally they just told me, they had no intention of importing them from Europe, where the first design originated. Aerus people at the home office seem to not care about customer service and were just plain rude. After that I stuck it back in the box and stored it in my garage. I will trade it in if I ever buy another Aerus....

One more thing, when the bag is full the indicator light comes on, but the Guardian Platinum does not shut the motor off.......Also the power nozzle keeps on running even if you turn off the cleaner. I understand that later models have the power nozzle problem running when the machine is turned off has been fixed. I also believe it came with a 15 year warranty....


That is my two cents.....


PR-21

 

[MieLux]

Some meandering thoughts...

Clifford,

Just watch out for those hoses...

The Ultra - I'll bet the cord is an aftermarket replacement - color seems wrong. I wouldnt worry about refurb Ultra provided that you can contact the seller and use your judgement.

The Platinum - It may have been that the dog was a bit much for the Platinum in terms of its smallish bag hence the "need for commercial". I'm not sold on the Platinum at all for many practical reasons - that wand and handle spell trouble for me.

Which brings me to my gripe with respect to these top o' the line models..

Both of these units use wands and hoses that I dislike the most on Aerus. I prefer the classic edition wand and especially love that classic pistol grip. It lasts with everyday use and its not going to break the bank to replace it. The newer "everything on the handle" is best for those that take care of their vacs. It looks great but as a daily driver wait a while and don't be surprised if you have to pay 300+ for a hose...

 

[countryguy]

I got my Platinum a year ago. The power nozzle does shut off when the vac is turned off. The warranty is for 15 years. The bag although it seems small, it does hold a lot of dirt. I've had a bag in the machine for 6 months, vacuum weekly, have 2 cats that shed and although the bag is almost full, it still has lots of suction. I keep waiting to see the bag light come on. The vac does not shut off when the bag is full - only the light is supposed to come on. As for the scent chamber...I bought some scented laundry beads. I just pour a few onto a kleenex, wrap them tightly and stuff that into the scent chamber. Works great.

Gary

 

[kirbylux77]

MieLux

The black cord on the Ultra is NOT an aftermarket replacement, it is genuine Aerus replacement. I know this for a fact as I bought a spare cordreel for my Grand Marquise, & the dealer specifically told me the cord would be black & asked if I was ok with that. Also, it does seem like they are putting black cords on Aerus vacuums nowadays....I have yet to see a recent model Aerus that has a cord of gray or any other color.

Clifford, if I was in your position, I would go for the Guardian Platinum. It sounds like the machine just needs a good thorough cleaning, & for the hose you could probably unkink it yourself at home if you are handy with tools. I have successfully unkinked a couple of Filter Queen hoses, so trust me it can be done pretty easily. Plus, the Platinum is much newer & has MUCH MORE power & features than the Ultra had. The Ultra was merely a 2100 with a fancy top, HEPA filter & new-style plastic wands & hose added. I think Aerus should be ashamed of themselves trying to foist that off as a true replacement for the original Guardian, & they finally redeemed themselves with the Platinum. Also, please note the HEPA filter system on the Platinum is much better than on the Ultra, since it has 2 HEPA filters, & when you compare the quality of the filter paper on the Ultra, it is not nearly as good. This is because they slapped a HEPA filter onto an existing old design not meant to accomodate one, so they had to compromise the quality of the filter or else it couldn't be a sealed system & would leak everywhere.

As for the plastic wands, don't worry about them. The same design has been used by Aerus now for nearly 2 decades, with a minor redesign in the early 2000's when the first Aerus-made Tristar EXL came out. Usually the only thing that ever goes wrong with the wands is occasionally one of the plastic clips will need replacement, & those are very inexpensive & easy to do yourself. Also, the hoses for the Platinum & Ultra only have the switch for the PN on the handle, not speed controls, so there should be no worry about costly hose replacements as MieLux thinks. I think he is referring to the original Guardian when he mentions this.

Now, about the Aerus Home Solutions bags....apparently the problem has been fixed? At least that's what has been said on this forum recently in the past few months. I ordered some bags from a local dealer in Brampton, Ontario, & he told me when I had an issue with the bags, had a couple of bags that the sealing strip at the back of the bag broke. The dealer in Brampton says that Aerus is changing suppliers & dealers will be receiving new bags made in the USA in October. He told me that Aerus is actually going to start making their own bags again, instead of outsourcing to Home Care Industries....he said that Home Care Industries had "ripped them off" by making the bags in China, & Aerus had ended their agreement with them. This to me makes logical sense, since there was discussion recently here about Home Care Industries suddenly shutting down for a few months, closing down a factory, & then suddenly reappearing, & now I do believe it was said that they have to deal directly with vac shops now? Think it was said that the vac shop distribution companies won't even deal with them anymore.

Clifford, I honestly wouldn't worry about the bags, other members have reported they had no issues, & even if the paper bags for the Platinum do turn out to be an issue for you, then you could always order bags from Godfrey's in Australia for the Sauber Intelligence, since they use HEPA cloth bags. That machine, the canister is 100% identical, just runs on 220 Volts & has a different hose, wand, PN & tools, but the actual canister itself is the same, including the bags & filters. Except the bags are made of HEPA cloth, though.

Rob

 

[pr-21]

Aerus does have......

The new cloth type bags available now. I checked their website after reading some of the replies.


PR-21

 

[kirbyloverdan]

Thank You Bud

I just ordered them I was almost out You can't order the paper bags any more .

I still have yet to have any leaks since they sent me the improved bags but I am glad to never hear again that Some ones bags are leaking . My Hepa Filter is still Snow White just like day one I was given
3 sets of Filters for my machine from my Aerus guy plus Aerus sent me a set when they sent me the improved bags .


Dan

 

[pr-21]

Your welcome Dan

I think I will order a pack as well and get mine back out of storage. Shame to not use it when they have the bags like the European models. If I learned anything from this, I should have waited until some improvements were made.....before buying since this was a brand new to the USA model.....



PR-21
Bud

 

[kirbylux77]

Bud

Thanks for letting us know that Aerus has introduced the HEPA Cloth bags for the Guardian Platinum. I was thinking of buying one, but the bag problems that have been reported & the fact it still used a paper bag was what held me back. I think I might have to purchase an early Christmas gift though

Rob

 

[clifford]

A lot of thinking and $300 later, I decided to go with the Guardian Ultra.

The Platinum was really beat up, dented, dusty, and heavily used by a family of 5 + a mountain dog. The Ultra was in excellent condition and the owner didn't know what she had. She knew she liked her kenmore better because all the attachments fit on the vacuum, so the Ultra needed to go. lol

Through some more investigation, I've gotten some answers to questions asked above.

As far as I know, there were three iterations of the Guardian Ultra:
1st - No lettering
2nd - large dark lettering / center of bumper on canister
3rd - smaller light lettering / towards back & above wheel on canister

The first two iterations had a grey cord. The third did in fact come with a black cord.

The power nozzle on the 3rd iteration also has LED lights.

The only thing I don't like about this vacuum is the wand. I have 100% hardwood floors in a small apartment. The wand is bulky and cumbersome.

This may sound silly, but does the Classic hose fit onto the Ultra Canister? I'm tempted to buy a new Classic hose and wand.

Thanks for all your help!
-Clifford

 

[kirbylux77]

Clifford, yes the Aerus Classic hose will fit on your Guardian Ultra. However, unless you buy a new wand set & powernozzle, you would not be able to use your powernozzle that came with your Guardian Ultra, even if you changed the PN neck. Why don't you try buying a set of metal wands & using the attachment adapter with it? That would save you the expense of a second hose, & also wouldn't have to have that second hose take up storage space.

Rob

 

[countryguy]

I believe the hose connection is common to all of the models, new and old with that type of connection so the Classic hose should fit.

Gary

 

[clifford]

Rob,

The same attachment adaptor used for the brush?

 

[kirbylux77]

Yes, the attachment adaptor is what I was referring to, Clifford. It should be long enough that it would work with a set of slotted steel wands.

Rob

 

[clifford]

Thanks, Rob! I'll swing by the vac store and pick up the wands today. I still may end up buying a whole new hose because the top handle on the Ultra hose is gigantic. Overall, i want something lighter and smaller...and since i only paid $300 for this vacuum, I've got some money to burn to make it exactly what I want.

 

[countryguy]

Bag Door Close

To all Guardian Platinum owners....does the bag door close WITHOUT a bag in place? My manual states that the door will NOT close however on my machine the door does close without a bag in place. I'm wondering what/how the setup is for the mechanism which is supposed to prevent the door from closing?

Thanks,
Gary

 

[kirbyloverdan]

Gary

FOR THE SECOND TIME THE BAG CHAMBER DOOR WILL NOT CLOSE WITH OUT A BAG IN PLACE !!!

Take it to Aerus and have it looked at .

Dan

 

[jayelux]

Owner's Manual Issue

My Guardian Platinum does indeed allow the door to shut without a bag, but it will not run. I checked two different printings of the manual, and they are both incorrect.
Love the machine. A bit disappointed with the Aerus parts of it--the heavy and clunky hose handle, the attachments that fall off the wand, the continued reliance on an adapter to use the combo upholstery/dusting brush tool, the heavy wands.... I do think they made some good improvement to the power nozzle, but it screams relative to the quiet vacuum. I wonder whether the Sauber hose, power nozzle, etc would compare.
Oh, just had to change my first bag that was barely used because of the amount of dirt on the filter under it. It is the bag with the seam, and it appears a small hole was poked into it by the red filter guard under it.
Jay

 

[jayelux]

I am so wrong.

The Guardian Platinum will indeed close and even RUN without a bag. It will not run without the filter under the bag. Sorry for passing on bad info.
Jay