Rob Shore, you are very welcome for the information! I hope the bags work well for you. And yes, I do agree with you about the bagged Eureka Maxima....I have owned & used both the bagged & bagless versions of it. Having said that, I do think the bagged version is MUCH better than the bagless version. I was given the bagged one by a neighbor who abused it, & it needed a good cleaning very badly....I even had to blow out the motor, as the fan was CAKED in dust from not being used with a bag. What I found with mine is that you could fill the bag up quite a fair bit before it lost enough power to clean well. BUT the bags aren't that big, & fill up quickly. And they literally just stuffed a bag into the dirt cup of the bagless model, put a new top on it, & put it on store shelves....a half-ass design in my opinion!
Cole: The BOL Kenmore canisters, like the one Rob Shore has, use the Sip Cinderson motor, & they have used since at least 2008/2009. I bought a BOL Kenmore as a parts machine, as I have an older Whispertone from 2001 that uses the Ametek motor, & I wanted it for the base. In my opinion, the Sip Cinderson motors are just as bad as the Panasonic motors, they come into the local repair shop all the time around 3 to 5 years old with dead motors. In the spring of this year, a local cleaning lady brought in the exact same canister, it just had a cheaper hose & handle than Cole's has....it was only 1 1/2 years old & already had a dead motor! She replaced it with a Riccar. I don't know what it is, but it seems housekeepers love these cheap Kenmore's, along with Filter Queen, Aerus & TriStar canisters.
There are 2 canisters on the market in this price range that are SUPERIOR to this Kenmore, & are far more worthy of purchasing. The first one would be the Dirt Devil Jaguar II canister....at Canadian Tire here in Canada, it sells for $199 dollars & goes on sale 1/2 price all the time for $99 dollars.
PROS: 1. Bags are a reasonable price, can be found online easily, & are a good size & hold a fair bit of dirt before needing to be changed. 2. It has a variable speed control & a bleeder valve on the hose for suction control, & check bag indicator. 3. Has TONS of power....this Dirt Devil is just as powerful as the Kenmore canisters & really cleans carpeting well. 3. This vacuum has a really good quality HEPA filter....very large with plenty of surface area & good quality paper used....& it is a Sealed HEPA System too, absolutely NO leaks, air only comes out of the filter. HEPA filters are very reasonable cost, only $20 dollars each & require replacement only once a year.
CONS: 1. The Powerhead is cheaply made....this is the Dust Care PB11 powerhead with a different cover & flat belt. The plastic screwholes break easily, & the powerhead motors have a short life....usually only 2 to 3 years. 2. The hose isn't very flexible, & is very prone to failing electrically. The only good part about it is that the hose is only $35 dollars to replace. Now, having said all that, the powerhead can be replaced with a Eureka Express when it dies....just put the metal tube into the Eureka's neck & wire it up. Also, if you save the end from the hose, you can buy & fit an adapter into it that will allow a Plastiflex crushproof hose to be fitted & used. If you can get one of these Dirt Devils for cheap & do the fixes, it will last MUCH longer than the Kenmore canisters & clean & filter better. The earlier version of this vacuum was the same as the Royal Lexon S17, which is still sold in vac shops & on Ebay now.
The other canister that I REALLY like & recommend to everyone is the Shark Professional canister vacuum. This sells in Canadian Tire for $260 dollars, but goes on sale all the time for 1/2 price at $130 dollars. This vacuum is REALLY GOOD!! As far as I'm concerned, it's literally a Chinese Miele for a fraction of the price a Miele sells for.
PROS: 1. Power!! This vacuum has TONS of airflow & waterlift through the hose....it has the same 100" Waterlift that Miele & Riccar/Simplicity canisters have. While the Dirt Devil & Kenmore canisters are good, the Shark literally leaves them in the dust! 2. HEPA bags- the Shark uses HEPA bags that are the same size as the Miele FJM bags & will hold a LOT of dirt before needing to be changed. The bags are also inexpensive to buy....a 3-pack of Shark bags are only $10 dollars at Canadian Tire, & Totalvac.com has them in bulk, too. I believe Amazon.com may carry them too. 3. The Shark puts out very little dust emissions with the HEPA bags & exhaust HEPA filter. 4. It has both a variable speed control & a bleeder valve on the hose for suction control. 5. It has a direct-connect telescopic wand for the powerhead, to adjust to the user & no electrical connections to make by hand. 6. It also has a VERY aggressive powerhead....works very well on even plush carpeting, has a height adjustment, quick-release PN neck to use your wand without having to bend down. 7. The powerhead can also clean bare floors very well without leaving dirt behind it, as there is a squeegee strip built-in behind the brushroll. 8. Has a bag change indicator. 9. A Turbobrush can also be purchased from Shark for it, or a Miele Turbobrush can be used as well....Due to the 100" waterlift, the Shark works very efficiently with a Turbobrush to clean hair off surfaces or to clean stairs. 10. Repair parts, such as hoses & wands, are very inexpensive compared to Miele....$23 to replace the hose, $40 for the wand, & $50 for a new powerhead. 11. The Zenon light on the Shark's powerhead is REALLY BRIGHT....one of the best out there, it illuminates everything!
CONS: 1. Unlike Miele, the Shark has no bag closure system built-in, so of course there's a small chance of dust leakage back into the air when changing bags.
2. Although it is a Sealed System, & the HEPA filter has plenty of surface area, the Shark's filter material isn't good....the paper feels like cardboard when you feel it with your finger. One has to wonder how much it would capture of the little bit the HEPA bags don't catch. 3. The plastic used is good quality ABS plastic, BUT it has a poor paint job....you can see the black plastic showing thru the red paint when looking at it from the side. 4. The upholstery tool is OK, but could be better....it tends to stick to couches when used, so airflow through the tool isn't good, due to it's design. 5. The dusting brush uses short nylon bristles, which don't clog the middle of the tool while in use & trap dust, but although they aren't too rough, some people may prefer to replace it with a horsehair dusting brush. The dusting & upholstery tools from a Miele will fit onto a Shark Professional if desired....they both use 1 3/8" diameter hoses. 6. Although they include a rug/floor tool with the Shark, there is no separate bare floor brush, so you have to purchase one from them or find one online. There is however generic tool caddys & tools as well available for vacuums using 1 3/8" diameter tools.
7. The powerhead's neck is prone to cracking & breaking on the Shark, & like other makes, the telescopic wand can fail electrically after a long time. 8. The powerhead uses a flat belt that must be changed, unlike a cogged belt like Miele powerheads have.
I tell anyone I know that wants a new canister vacuum to try the Shark first & see if they like it. In the unlikely event they find the exhaust emissions a problem, they can always return the Shark for the Dirt Devil. Due to the issues with the pn neck & wand, I recommend to anyone that buys the Shark to buy a 2nd telescopic wand to use with attachments & leave the one for the powerhead on there & not use the quick release, that way the pn neck won't break & they also have a spare wand for when the first one breaks down. The only reason I don't recommend the Dirt Devil first is that although the Powerhead can be replaced, the Eureka costs $120, & although the hose can be replaced with a Plastiflex hose, you would have to do that yourself & have some handyman skills. Either one of these canister vacuums is SUPERIOR to the Kenmore canisters, & you should be able to get 7 to 8 years lifespan if taken care of.
Rob
I bought some to use in an older 1990's Kenmore canister, & they worked great. There is also a EnviroCare Technologies generic version of the C-18 bag as well. Below is the Amazon.com link to the genuine Panasonic bags, & Amazon also sells the EnviroCare bags too. They are asking only $9.75 for 4 Panasonic bags, so that is a good price & would certainly be worth trying.
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