So, I was at st. Louis's yearly home and garden show, and of course I wanted to check out the vacuum exhibitors that were there, Aerus was there, along with Beam and a Vacuflo dealer.
I was somewhat interested in one of the vacuflo models, the maxum 7, it's there top of the line 120 volt bagged model. He actually had one there, and I probably could have gotten a good price on it, but it was lacking one feature that was a deal breaker for me. Since my central vacuum units are in an apartment, I don't use pipes in the walls or wires. Most central vacuum units have a switch on them to turn the unit on and off without using the wires, but this one didn't. I actually have one unit that does not have this, the vacumaid SR 800, and the wires dangling from it are a real pain, after dealing with that, I decided I would not get any other units unloess they had a manual switch on them. Also, he didn't even have a hose with him so I could test the suction, that's kind of unprepared. If you want to sell a product, you need to be prepared to show it off. Also, I think he was giving incorrect information to people. He was basically telling them that while electric power heads were available, they mainly promoted the air driven nozzles. I think this is totally opposite of how carpet cleaning nozzles should be suggested. The main disadvantage of an electric power nozzle is the extra cost for the nozzle and the electric hose, but after that, there is nothing but advantages. Electric nozzles are quieter, and they don't rob your vacuum of air flow to spin the turbine. With turbine nozzles, everything you vacuum goes through the turbine, so they are much more prone to clog. I did actually tell one person that electric nozzles are actually better, and I really think that's the case.
At the beam booth, they had several of their power units, and the new alliance series is quite interesting, it's very quiet, and there are buttons on the hose to do things like change motor speed. What concerns me about these units is that with the extra features comes circuit boards that may go out, and of course you need special hoses for the new features to work. I did try out one of their new power nozzles and ended up vacuuming all of the carpet in the booth, kind of fun.
Now on to the Aerus booth. I know the Guardian Platinum has been mentioned on here, and this was the first time I got to see one. It's a very nice vacuum, they were selling them for $1300, is that a good price? Apparently this vacuum is actually made by the European electrolux company, the company that Aerus sold the Electrolux name back to. It was a very quiet vacuum, there were a couple things I didn't like about it though. First, the hose end is nonstandard, although the person there said that there was an adapter to allow you to use standard attachments. The second thing was the power nozzle connection. Most electric hoses have a standard two prong female outlet where the wand connector, or an electric cord can go. This allows you to use other power nozzles than what is included if you wish. With the Guardian, it looked like the connector was actually inside the hose end some place. This would make it impossible to use universal power heads with this vacuum such as the Sebo or Lindhaus models. While I was tempted to get one, I chose not to, also because I also have an Aerus classic which they were selling there for $700. So, for those who have the guardian platinum, do you think it's a good vacuum? Is it worth the price? Is it better than a top of the line Sebo, Tacony or Miele canister?
I was somewhat interested in one of the vacuflo models, the maxum 7, it's there top of the line 120 volt bagged model. He actually had one there, and I probably could have gotten a good price on it, but it was lacking one feature that was a deal breaker for me. Since my central vacuum units are in an apartment, I don't use pipes in the walls or wires. Most central vacuum units have a switch on them to turn the unit on and off without using the wires, but this one didn't. I actually have one unit that does not have this, the vacumaid SR 800, and the wires dangling from it are a real pain, after dealing with that, I decided I would not get any other units unloess they had a manual switch on them. Also, he didn't even have a hose with him so I could test the suction, that's kind of unprepared. If you want to sell a product, you need to be prepared to show it off. Also, I think he was giving incorrect information to people. He was basically telling them that while electric power heads were available, they mainly promoted the air driven nozzles. I think this is totally opposite of how carpet cleaning nozzles should be suggested. The main disadvantage of an electric power nozzle is the extra cost for the nozzle and the electric hose, but after that, there is nothing but advantages. Electric nozzles are quieter, and they don't rob your vacuum of air flow to spin the turbine. With turbine nozzles, everything you vacuum goes through the turbine, so they are much more prone to clog. I did actually tell one person that electric nozzles are actually better, and I really think that's the case.
At the beam booth, they had several of their power units, and the new alliance series is quite interesting, it's very quiet, and there are buttons on the hose to do things like change motor speed. What concerns me about these units is that with the extra features comes circuit boards that may go out, and of course you need special hoses for the new features to work. I did try out one of their new power nozzles and ended up vacuuming all of the carpet in the booth, kind of fun.
Now on to the Aerus booth. I know the Guardian Platinum has been mentioned on here, and this was the first time I got to see one. It's a very nice vacuum, they were selling them for $1300, is that a good price? Apparently this vacuum is actually made by the European electrolux company, the company that Aerus sold the Electrolux name back to. It was a very quiet vacuum, there were a couple things I didn't like about it though. First, the hose end is nonstandard, although the person there said that there was an adapter to allow you to use standard attachments. The second thing was the power nozzle connection. Most electric hoses have a standard two prong female outlet where the wand connector, or an electric cord can go. This allows you to use other power nozzles than what is included if you wish. With the Guardian, it looked like the connector was actually inside the hose end some place. This would make it impossible to use universal power heads with this vacuum such as the Sebo or Lindhaus models. While I was tempted to get one, I chose not to, also because I also have an Aerus classic which they were selling there for $700. So, for those who have the guardian platinum, do you think it's a good vacuum? Is it worth the price? Is it better than a top of the line Sebo, Tacony or Miele canister?
