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for the wool area rugs, if you are looking at a miele canister, the 217-3 powernozzle has a very soft roller brush. i dont know how soft/stiff the 228 or 236 powernozzles are, i never used one. as others said, sebo offers soft brush rolls for their uprights and canister powernozzles.

if you like uprights, like others pointed out here, a direct air vacuum is best for carpets, and clean air are good for attachments and above floor cleaning. if you want the best of both worlds, take a test drive of a riccar/simplicity tandem air. and, in my opinion, you can buy the brilliance/synchrony model with onboard tools for less than a radiance/synergy, with the same cleaning ability.
 
CTSooner

There's a few great choices for you.

Attached is a link to a used on eBay Eureka World vac canister. A decent vacuum with on board tools. No mini power head included. I always prefer using a decent upholstery nozzle on steps so it gets edge to edge with out the need for a crevice tool. This canister has a decent upholstery nozzle with aggressive bristles on it for that work.

If you want a powered hand tool. The Royal Lexon SR30020 is a great machine. Most sites online have them for $500-600. But I've also seen them go on sale or eBay for about $350. It comes with an turbine air powered mini power head nozzle, which on this vacuum works quite well.

A Panasonic MCCG902 canister is also a great choice. It hits the market and can be found at less than $200. It's better than the current Sears Kenmore lineup and a PowerMate Jr. electric power head can easily be bought on eBay, your local vacuum store or else where online very easily and be a fit.

No matter what machine you get, I would leave your electric power nozzle permanently attached to its original set of wands and get a separate set of wands for the bare floor brush work. In the end it is easier for switching between the different tools and will extend the life of power nozzle electric wiring. Wands are a universal size for all the units I just mentioned. It would be a simple to go online and find wands to fit!!!


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Eureka-6891...160914106182?pt=US_Vacuum&hash=item25773a6746
 
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Ebay listing

Here is a Royal Lexon SR30020 on eBay for $450, free shipping, brand new. The only thing is that it states no returns by seller. If you buy through Paypal, they will help you should anything be wrong with your purchase and you'll get remimbursement.

Assuming vac comes brand new, and is fine, any problems with it would be taken care of through your nearest vacuum cleaner repair shop. Make sure they are an authorized Royal dealer for warranty work.

I would advise if possible going to your local vacuum shop to see what refurb and new canister units they have on display. Try the Hoover Windtunnel bagged Anniversary edition, Panasonic power head canister, Royal Lexon SR30020, and Riccar Pristine and see what you like.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Royal-Lexon...251183874188?pt=US_Vacuum&hash=item3a7bb9c08c
 
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OH MY GOSH!!!

This canister would be perfect for either of you I think. Terrific machines. Riccar and Simplicity are both U.S.A made companies owned by Tacony. Terrific units. Need to find another auction for 2 of these.

Starting bid is $1.00. See what it goes to by the end of the 7 day auction.

Continue to search eBay for Simplicity Canister, Riccar Canister, Hoover Canister, Eureka canister. If you see something you like, post it on here and we'll give quick input!!!

There's a Simplicity Verve on eBay brand new at $475.00 http://www.ebay.com/itm/VACUUM-CLEANER-/281041314636?pt=US_Vacuum&hash=item416f5e234c


Here's a link to the Panasonic MCCG902 canister that many of us have mentioned. Listed at great price from an excellent dealer with free shipping. http://www.vcdiscounter.com/mccg902.html

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Simplicity-...110996041335?pt=US_Vacuum&hash=item19d7e12e77
 
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It seems to me that it would be difficult for canister vacs (even with a power nozzle) to deep-clean plush rugs as well as uprights, based on the simple physics that there's simply not as much weight pushing down on the beater brushes. The canisters I've tried out in the past have felt so light that it feels like the brushes would just skip along the surface of the rug without really doing anything.

Am I wrong?
 
Wow are you guys awesome. I've drilled it down to three or four choices and will now head to sites and ebay to see what I can get. Seems like the Riccar Verve may be the best choice if I can get it under 5 bills and the Panny could be the best 'buy' and still get a good machine. I guess I don't need the small power head for the steps too. I'd have no problem saving money if I can get away with it. The Royal also seems like a good choice.

I'm going to head out to a local store who sells many of these and see what they have for refurbished units as I may be able to get much more than I expect to get new.

thanks.
 
Thanks, kirbyloverdan.

But I *did* say I'm open to a canister that can clearly outperform an upright. It would have to SO outperform an upright to make up for the bulk and clumsiness of maneuvering it around my relatively small apartment.
 
I should say, however, that one of my biggest New York fears is that while I'm sweeping with a canister vacuum in my small apartment, I trip over the darm thing, fall backwards, split my head open on the sharp edge of my dining room table, and die one of those tragic New York deaths, with no one knowing anything happened until someone calls the super after hearing the vacuum still running 28 hours later ...
 
That Simplicity Moxie looks like it could be a great buy if I could get it for around 499 or so, lol. Do high end units go for that type of price on Ebay? Will I be missing something if I can get this unit for under 500? I can go paypal if needed (I won't buy anyother way on ebay.
 
We weren't all born eBay supersellers, you know. We all started somewhere. No one drops out of the womb with a 100% positive feedback on 8,000 sales.
 
NYC Writer, I would disagree

I strongly disagree with your statement of " simply not as much weight pushing down on the beater brushes." Uprights are heavier than canisters, but the weight on them is positioned so it pushes the the the rear of the motor base actually pulling the front of the hood further off the floor. If we were in a situation of no wheels and no springs on the bases your analogy would be more correct, but you'd still notice the front of the head lifting off the floor quite a bit.

Now when you put wheels and springs into place on various machines and you figure in length of bristle then it changes everything. All of these machines are so controlled that weight doesn't do much anymore. If the height setting is wrong or machine is just poorly designed then the head acually doesn't hug the carpet too well. As example you had thought about Sebo. Many of those machines use a computer chip to electronically adjust the height of the machine. Many of us have found this feature to be flawed as we feel it never adjusts properly and does not go down low enough. The Hoover Decade line uprights from years ago were great on a variety of carpets. But if you had a very low profile indoor/outdoor rug some of those didn't get low enough to seal well with the carpet and do a good job.

Now on a canister vacuum many of those power heads do not have a manual height adjustment and they are positioned that when on the rug, they automatically adjust. The vacuum suctions is further able to pull the lighterweight cleaning head further into the carpet pile and really give a deep clean. Some examples of nozzles that do a great job at this would be the Eureka Express, Hoover Windtunnel and Electrolux heads.

CenTec is a manufacturer that designs canister vacuum power nozzles for many different central and canister vacuums on the market to include all current Panasonic and Kenmores. While good cleaners and powerful they are not perfect. If you took one of these power heads and put it on flat table, you would see that the height adjuster systems actually has the unit skewed. It does not sit level and is higher on one side than the other. The brushes on these are also short cut, Bissell agtitators tend to also be short cut. So again these actually clean good, but for those of us that want a deeper clean, like myself I would not be using one of these machines for the thorough deep down vacuuming of my rugs!! Hence I have NOT recommended any Panasonics or Kenmores to you!!

Now if you do the above test with a Hoover Windtunnel head, it actually looks like there is a slight gap in the front which allows for airflow to get in and airflow is what moves the dirt into the suction stream towards the bag. The nozzle is completely level with the surface of the table and units agitator brushes are bent down into the surface of the table. Most Hoover agitators have slightly longer bristles helping the cleaner really dig deep down into the pile. Hoover cleaners are still some of the best on the marker for deep cleaning due to their design. Hoover's problem is that they have skimped on some quality aspects lately and shifting most production to China. I do recommend Hoover to you for their cleaning but since your budget is unlimited we've posted higher end vacs with greater durability while still cleaning well.

One reason that canisters do so well is because of their central mounted air duct. Most vacuums on the market today are called "Clean Air Design" This means that the dirt goes to the bag before going through fan. The task is accomplished by dirt being sucked out of housing by a separate hose that attaches to ONE SIDE of the nozzle. This is the problem. Upright vacuums are plagued by this factor of the airway only set to one side, so cleaning effectiveness is not even across the base, and the far end doesn't get cleaned well. In a canister the air path is in the center so the suction is even across the entire agtitator cavity base. Many canister vacuum suction motors are larger than on an upright so they're capable of more CFM's and overall power, thereby despite the suction motor being further from away, the higher power compromises and allows them to perform extremely well in deep cleaning carpet. This same principle is why a household central vacuum system that uses an electric power nozzle is one of the absolute best ways to thoroughly deep clean a carpet!!

Again I'll say that I'd put some power head canisters up against the best uprights. It doesn't matter which vacuum you use in a test, the vacuum cleaner that use last after a series of other vacs will still find some dirt, assuming it is good a unit.

Now since you have been hesitant towards a terrific canister option I have heavily recommended the Riccar/ Simplicity Tandem Air uprights for you as well in posts, and here is a youtube video of why!!!!

 
CTSooner, I'd be ok with it.

The seller is allowing a 7 day return window. They allow Paypal. You are protected by eBay and Paypal for all purchases!! They're a new seller. Gotta start somewhere.
 
NYCWriter, I agree with Durango... I think airflow, agitation, and brush design have more to do with cleaning than weight. I'm clumsy, and I had an accident with my Electrolux Diamond Juibilee canister once and fell into the folding closet doors, but I didn't trip over the machine exactly... I went to turn it off and lost my balance standing on only one foot :o) If I'd been using something with a finger tip switch, it never would have happened!

Dan, at first I wondered why people kept suggesting canisters when the OP said he'd prefer an upright, but if you will go back and read what he actually wrote, you will see that he never specifically excluded canisters, he just preferred uprights... I almost made a post similar to yours (but I wasn't going to be quite as nasty), but I re-read the original posters comments first :o)
 
I think now we're being silly!!

I've never tripped over a canister vac in my life. I've been using them for over 18 years. I always reverse my way out of a room with them, so I'm leaving foot prints on freshly vacuumed rug. I have more trouble, manuevering an upright around something, having it get stuck from its bulkiness and tripping cause of it.

A power nozzle on a canister is such a joy to use. It's low profile design gets under beds, coffee tables and is so easy manuever. They will make cleaning every Square inch of your home easy and most importantly doable, along with thorough. If you had steps you'd appreciate them even more!!! The long, non stretch hoses make attachment use a breeze. Stretch hoses on an upright can be nightmare as when the vacuum is turned on, the machine sucks the hose in, so end up with very little cleaning range or the bulky upright unit falling on you or delicate furniture in your apartment and breaking something. Canister hose handles are more comfortable and will make thorough bare floor cleaning easier and more thorough. There's just so many options along with TERRIFIC cleaning performance on a canister vac, I can't see how it would be bad. For greater maneuverability get a Miele model their swivel wheels allow the unit to maneuver much better than the Riccar suction units. But I like the Riccars cleaning performance better.

Or there's the Royal

durango159++1-2-2013-11-02-35.jpg
 
I have a bid of 202 on the Simplicity Moxie. You guys buy ebay all the time so I appreciate your feedback. I doubt I'll get this one so Im' out to a few stores locally to see what they have in rehab, used etc... I'm assuming that any used Royal, Kirby or older Elextrolux would be a good buy too so I'm open to what they want to tell me. I now wish I had just put central vac into the townhouse when we built it as it was an option. I wasn't thinking.
 
Video of Royal Lexon SR30020

Here's a nice video of the Royal Lexon SR30020 canister vacuum that I like. It shows great performance pit up of screws, pet hair, sand and rice.

 
Rob,

I’m sorry but I disagree with what you said about Kirby not being able to groom carpets well. This past weekend I used my G5 to vacuum before I shampooed my aunt’s Frieze carpeting. The G5 worked wonders. Bill Ivins sent it to me and he installed the newer style agitator which has stiffer bristles than the previous design.

I do agree with you on using canister vacuums for general cleaning. The low profile design makes it easy to clean under furniture and the attachments are easily accessible to the user. We all have our own preferences and learning from others is what makes our club great! I've learned so much over the past three years.

NYC Writer - Hope we made it easier for you and didn't confuse you.[this post was last edited: 1/2/2013-13:33]

kloveland++1-2-2013-12-59-56.jpg
 
kloveland ...

No you haven't confused me -- you've actually all made helpful contributions. I really really love the Kirby (I used a 1950's vintage one -- of course it wasn't exactly "vintage" at the time! -- when I was a child, helping my grandfather clean our church on Saturdays (he was the custodian) -- and my Grandma had her own new(ish) Kirby from the '70s). If it just weren't such a production to switch to the attachments. I'm very spoiled with my Fantom. This is how I sweep: push the upright around ... see a dust bunny under something ... hit the button, free the wand, suck that sucker up ... and continue sweeping without missing a beat. I use the wand as I go along; 15 years of working in television has given me far too much of an attention deficit to *remember* to go back with the attachments later.

However, you've made me serously reconsider a canister. I'd never considered how wonderful it would be to get a power nozzle under virtually every piece of furniture without having to move it all out of place.

What I really need is a townhouse. *sigh*
 

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