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Yes I did NYCWriter

My most recent client has had 3 of those blue Kenmore Intuition canisters. I only use it at that house because the hose is standard size and its easier to use than the terrible Dyson DC41 and awful Sebo Airbelt D4 that she says. CAN'T STAND THE SEBO I'd have so much pleasure using it for target practice or putting it in the dumpster. But then I wouldn't able to use as a blockade, the next time I wash steps. Hmmmm, decisions, decisions, LOL!!! However I can only use 2 of her Kenmore Intuition vacuums on the hardfloors and upholstery. The connection to reconnect back into power nozzle has broken on 2 of her units. That entire power nozzle package with combo bare floor brush in MY OPINION IS HORRENDOUS!! Power nozzle is awkward to manuever and doesn't compare in cleaning to one of the other CenTec power nozzles. The bare floor brush is awful. Two diagonal measly strips of bristles is a joke and don't clean good.

I have no problem storing my canister. Powerheads can store on their ends standing up and most canisters have a park/ storage clip to slide on. Disconnect hose from wands while storing and I find my canisters are just as easy if not more so than uprights. The power nozzle wand is very thin and leaning up against a wall, a power nozzle vacuum wand won't be in your way at all. An upright with bulky bag compartment and taller floor nozzle is much more difficult.

I've put my Hoover PowerMax canister vacuums up against several other uprights and personally in my experience it outgrooms and outcleans them. In 1996, Consumer Reports rated my vacuum as cleaning "Very Good" and it rated another canister and some others as "Excellent." Through my business I have tried some of the units that CR rated better and I went out to my car to get my Hoover PowerMax canister to further deep clean all those homes and get the job done for real!! The other vacs weren't cutting the mustard!!! I change bag, clean filters, check belts and service all of my clients vacuums but still MUCH happier with performance of the Hoover. I've been hard pressed to find a vacuum that beats it!!! I think a vacuum that cleans as good would be the Simplicity Verve, Royal Lexon SR30020 and Riccar Tandem Air upright.
 
Here are three more recommendations for you:
Hoover WindTunnel Anniversary Edition bagged self propelled upright.
Hoover WindTunnel Anniversary Edition bagged non-self propelled upright.
Hoover WindTunnel Anniversary Edition bagged PN canister.
All three are rated very well by Consumer Reports.
 
Consumer Reports Ratings:
Hoover WindTunnel Anniversary Edition bagged self propelled upright:
Excellent in deep cleaning medium pile nylon plush carpeting/Excellent in cleaning hard floors/Excellent in suction/Excellent in filtration/Fair in noise.
Hoover WindTunnel Anniversary Edition bagged non-self propelled upright:
Excellent in deep cleaning medium pile nylon plush carpeting/Excellent in cleaning hard floors/Excellent in suction/Excellent in filtration/Fair in noise.
Hoover WindTunnel Anniversary Edition bagged PN canister:
Very Good in deep cleaning medium pile nylon plush carpeting/Excellent in cleaning hard floors/Very Good in suction/Excellent in filtration/Good in noise.
 
Rob - the Hoover canister you mentioned is indeed rated as a good performer by Consumer Reports, but they also gave it a "fair" in the "handling" category because, as it says: "Uncommon to canisters, the power head does not swivel, and the only handle control is for the rotating brush." I have also read on Vacuumland that the wheels are not great and that it bogs down on thick carpeting.

Though the famous Self-Propelled WindTunnel is a great upright and top-rated, Consumer Reports clearly states that it is relatively noisy and heavy. Matt will also hate using this Hoover upright for above the floor cleaning - there is no suction control, the hose is too short and the upholstery nozzle can damage fabrics.

If money is no option, he is better off with a Miele upright with a nice long 40 foot cord. The white "Cat and Dog" upright is his best bet, because it actually performs better on bare floors ("Excellent") for some reason than the other Miele uprights (only "Very Good"). It seems that it achieves this because it does not have a lot of electronic controls adjusting and monitoring the motor and the filters, and it does not use the Miele Hepa filter. It looks like the Miele Hepa filter can actually reduce air flow, so if you buy a Miele upright with the cheaper filters (the Active Air Clean Filter), you get the same level of excellent filtration but increased airflow for bare floor cleaning and above the floor cleaning.

Other than that, he can get a great Miele Callisto canister too. But he's going to need an extension cord because the cord is really short (21 feet).
 
Consumer Reports Ratings:
Kirby Diamond Edition/Sentria/Sentria II:
Excellent in deep cleaning medium pile nylon plush carpeting/Excellent in cleaning hard floors/Excellent in suction/Excellent in filtration/Fair in noise.
Oreck XL21/Platinum/Forever Series Gold:
Very Good in deep cleaning medium pile nylon plush carpeting/Excellent in cleaning hard floors/Fair in suction/Excellent in filtration/Good in noise.
Oreck Graphite:
Good in deep cleaning medium pile nylon plush carpeting/Excellent in cleaning hard floors/Poor in suction/Excellent in filtration/Fair in noise.
 
Show me the thread link PLEASE!!!

EurekaPrince, can you show me the thread link where the Hoover PowerMax power nozzle canister "bogged" down on thick carpet. A PowerMax head along with most all other vacuums on the market will not do well on the new Frieze style carpets with the long yarn like 3" long strands. The only vacuum that seems to be able to handle this, yet still do a bad job on it is the Dyson DC41.

Otherwise I have used Hoover PowerMax heads on EXTREMELY dense thick plush carpeting and they do great. Some old style shag rugs, they can be hard to push, but if you reduce the suction with suction regulator, they're fine again.

I've been using them for 15 years, since September 1997!! Yes Hoover PowerMax canisters are now discontinued, wish they weren't. There is no swivel on the power nozzle connector but in some ways that makes it easier to use, because many power nozzles that do have swivels on wands and or at power nozzle neck have a high tendency to swivel NEARLY ALL THE TIME, when you don't want them to, examples would be on several Panasonic and Kenmore wand systems along with Eureka wand systems.

Some models had variable speed control and on/off for entire system: PowerMax Ultra models: S3611, S3620, Windtunnel Ultra S3655, S3661, TurboPower 7500 S3649. Some models only on/off switch for suction unit and agitator S3609. Some units only on/off on handle for agitator: PowerMax S3603, S3603-040, S3610, S3614, S3613, Windunnels: S3630, S3639, S3641, S3646, S3646-090. These are only models from 1997 to about 2005, there are several earlier models in early 1990's as well.
 
Hey Rob!

It's not the WindTunnel power nozzle that has trouble with thick carpets. It's the small wheels on the canister itself that seem to be problematic - someone on Vacuumland who owns one indeed brought this up - it seems to not be easily movable on some kinds of carpets, or in the transition up from bare floor to carpet. Maybe the wheels are too small, or maybe they are set to deep into the canister body. Not sure. :-)

EP Brian
 
A Word About Consumer Reports

NYCWRITER,

If I were in your shoes contemplating a new vacuum purchase, the last thing I would look to or worry about is what Consumer Reports thinks. The individuals here are experts and the nice thing is each of us has experience with lots of different equipment. CR testing yields inconsistent and flawed results to those of us who have worked around many of the machines they recently tested. The main problem with CR is they are not experts in this field. I have forgotten more about vacuums than most of the engineers at Consumer Reports will ever know.

For example, the Sebo Felix ranked near the top of the upright ratings where the Sebo canisters rated at the bottom of their respective categories. The problem here is the nozzles for the canisters and the Felix are the same ET-1 and ET-2. Guess what? The performance is the same on all three vacuums, save for the fact the D4 and K3 have more power and airflow. The same with the Lux Legacy and Guardian Ultra. Here the vacuums, aside from cosmetics are EXACTLY the same. Same components, Johnson Electric brushless vacuum motor, Johnson power nozzle motor, same base and double helix brush roller and they get two different ratings. The Simplicity Moxie/S36 has significantly more water life than the top rated canister (my last one had about 115 inches vs about 100 on my last Miele Vortex or Sears) so you can see what I mean.

For years CR has had a hair across their backside for Rainbow and Filter Queen. Significantly better vacuums than most of their top pics. Several of their picks are maint. and durability nightmares and a search of the internet will further reinforce this. Their orange Electrolux Eureka Oxygen top pick a few years back is so miserable to work on most shops here charge well over $100.00 just to look at it. When all is said and done, it is cheaper to replace it with a new Miele than repair it when it breaks.

The biggest issue with their testing is recommendations of vacuums they say filter well that actually don't when measured with a laser particle counter. This becomes a serious issue for the severe asthmatic that buys a poorly sealed unit they say filters well for $500.00 that actually makes them even sicker than they already are. In lots of cases those individuals needed a Lux, Miele, Sebo or better yet a Filter Queen due to the fact it filters three times finer than HEPA and any other vacuum on the market.

One final note. I am not sure what type of carpet quality you have. If you have VERY expensive carpeting, my choice for a machine would be a little softer roller such as the Kirby, Lux, Filter Queen or Rainbow. The reason being test results done with an electron microscope on carpet fibers cleaned with a stiff roller like some of CR's Hoovers and a Lux Omniflo over a period of several years. The wear caused to the ends of the fibers by the stiff bristles is dramatic and is very evident looking at the carpeting, especially the traffic areas. Sebo offers a softer roller and the Miele 236 and 228 are good too. Again if you follow my advice above and vacuum regularly with one of the machines I suggested earlier, each will deep clean your carpets well. Generally a stiffer roller cleans better but there is an opportunity cost associated with it. There is no sense in buying carpet by the yard and throwing it away by the pound.

Also weightlifters and former truck drivers in the Teamsters don't need a 32 pound vacuum to have really clean carpeting. Twenty Two years driving heavy trucks for H.P. Hood Inc. and Alliant Foodservice in Boston taught me to work smarter not harder and Dunkin' Donuts come 12 to a box.

Brian
 
First post and brand new here

Hi. I"m a member of many other forums that I join to learn more about products before purchasing. I've become a woodworking building many nice projects and now have a full workshop. I have always cooked and now own three hand made Japanese knives and sharpening stones for them. I have been an audiophile since I was 13 and now I'm also a videophile (feel free to contact if you need info). I am 53 and came down with MS 6.5 years ago and am disabled. I am a retired Naval officer and was a headhunter for 11 years before getting sick.My wife wants the Oreck I've hated for years now, for her office. That means I get to buy a new one for the house. We have a 2500sf home with mostly wood and tile floors, but we have an area rug in the bedroom that the bed sits on and we have a three large rooms upstairs that are normal carpet. I have an Oreck floor cleaner also that is a B to work and I hate it. I've only used it twice and am going to sell it. I will need to get a smaller or easier cleaner as I have three Yorkies who all like to 'soil' the carpet when I am not looking.

I've read this thread and this is what I take out of it. I need a canister as it will be better and easier for the hard floors and with a good powerhead I can do the carpets. I also will need a power tool for the carpeted stairs. I wish I had enough money to get some of the higher end units, but I'm willing to buy reconditioned in order to get more for my money.

There is much confusion because you all are looking for individual things (it's the same thing with knives, wood and audio too).

Nothing against those of you who like CR, but I've had many problems with them in the past. For me, I get more info from experts who work on things rather than a magazine that tries things for 5 minutes each and make recommendations. I know it's more than that, but I'd rather hear what you guys would recommend I do. I will go to two local stores tomorrow to get their thoughts as well as to see what they have used too. It Royal worth it? Should I just get a Hoover? What is the price range for a very good canister? Do I need to go to 600 or so?

Help please. So much to learn :) Thanks for listening.
 
I myself love my Kirby G4. And after using my Grandma's Kenmore Progressive Canister, I wouldn't mind having one of those either. It's pretty quiet compared to my Kirby even, it cleans great and grooms wonderfully. But then my Kirby does too but the Kenmore costs much much less lol. I want to try the Shark Navigators, you should look into those as well! Low cost and I've seen many good reviews on them.
 
Should I be looking for used on the ones you all have talked about? I've seen some of the Shark's in Target and Kohl's. Are those the ones you are talking about or do they have an upper line that is better built?

My ex bought a Royal last year with the carpet cleaner as part of it etc...She paid 1100 from someone who came to her home. Are these Royals similar? Do they have different units that are better from their door to door folks or can I get the same unit for less at the local vacuum store?

320 for a Panny is in a great price range. What would I be missing out on compared to the Simplicity or Riccar (which is better)?
 
I just saw the Panny at Amazon for only 177 delivered. can you get a small powerhead for the stairs for that model?
 
I also have asked govacuum.com about the Royal that is reburbed for only 474 as that seems like a great value and in my price range if it's in like new condition. Thoughts?
 
nycwriter,
As a general rule of thumb, Bagged dirty air uprights offer the best deep carpet cleaning performance. These outclean bagged clean air uprights and bagged PN canisters.
As a general rule of thumb, Bagged clean air uprights and bagged PN canisters offer the best above floor attachment cleaning performance. These outclean bagged dirty air uprights.
 
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
 
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
 
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
 
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.
 

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