I don't think the bag change indicator is accurate

[mark40511]

Of all the bagged vacuums I've had that have a bag change indicator.....I don't understand how they work......For example, obviously, if you put your hand over the suction, the light pops on because you're blocking airflow......As the bag fills, more airflow gets blocked, but NOT ENOUGH for the indicator to come on. I literally can fill a bag way too full for my taste and the indicator doesn't even come CLOSE to lighting up. I mean, it seems like they are designed to only come on if 90% of the airflow is blocked.....do any of you keep using the bag until the indicator alerts you to change? If so, how full is the bag at that point? Maybe different brands are different. I have 2 bagged vacuums now. An Epic 6500 and a Cirrus CR-79.......Both are pretty much the same in terms of this......and the Kenmore canister I had was the same.

 

[eurekaprince]

I never depend on the bag full indicators. When the exhaust on any of my cleaners starts to smell a bit dusty, I open up the bag compartment or outer upright bag and visually check to see if it's time for a fresh bag.

 

[fan-of-fans]

I usually change the bags when they either begin to smell, as mentioned, or when the bag gets over 2/3 full. Sometimes I've let them get even fuller than that, but it's not really good as it can cause the motor to overheat.

And no, I have never seen the full bag indicator turn red (either mechanical or an actual light) unless there is a clog in the hose, or I put my hand over the hose.

In a way, I think the full bag indicator is just a bit of a "fluff" feature to sell the customer on a top of the line model (more profit for manufacturer). It's really more useful for showing that there is a clog somewhere.

 

[madman]

It's just a pressure switch calibrated to close at a specific pressure (or lack thereof).

I think besides it being a bell/whistle, its function is also probably to prevent the absolute morons out there from running the machine without ever changing the bag. Because let's be honest, you know there are people who probably don't even know there is a dirt receptacle at all.

 

[mark40511]

well

I know what you mean by that dusty smell......sort of a stale smell. But I can't go by that because I suck up a bit of activated charcoal every other time I vacuum...I also open and visibly look....and there's heavy dirt at the bottom, but the rest of the bag is still fluffy and feels unused. The airflow continues to be pretty good and in fact... every time, I've broken down and changed the bag when the airflow was still good just because it had been so long. For me it's just a guessing game. I wish those indicators worked better. Another thing I wonder about is what's the point of the HEPA filter if the bag chamber is spotless from the HEPA bag. If the bag chamber were dusty, I'd understand. I guess it's just for carbon.

 

[dysonman1]

The best full bag indicator I ever saw was not a pressure switch, but the automatic stop and open feature of the old Electrolux models (like the G or Super J). They worked, could be adjusted for the owners liking, and were fairly reliable.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Mark,

I always check the 'dotted line' on the Convertibles. "Change bag when dirt reaches this line". Never a problem.

 

[mark40511]

Yea

For those of you who vacuum your house daily - how often do you change the bag? I skip some days and some days I use my Rainbow so I average using my upright maybe 4 times a week, some weeks 5 times.....My house is 1300 Sq Ft (not huge) plus it's not very dirty...IWall to wall berber and hard floors in kitchen/baths plus dusting furniture, etc. I think the longest I've gone was maybe 5 months without changing a bag and even still once I had the bag out, it wasn't even half full.

My epic 6500. I wondered what the dial was supposed to do....I didn't know that it adjusted when the bag door opens. I've never had that happen so I must be changing the bag before it needs it. I only use that in the laundry room though.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

That's good.

Some parts of the house get vacuumed almost daily. I have 2 short haired cats. In the Summer, they do shed. It's like "chemo kitty" sometimes. The whole house has hardwood floors with Chinese rugs, except my room and that 'staircase'. Those are wall to wall. I use a canister for the bathrooms and kitchen, and the 2 staircases.
I will use several cleaners in a week, so, the bags don't always fill that fast. Sometimes, I'll check a few of them. I've been known to change 4 or 5 bags at a time. Rarely will I vacuum all 12 rooms at one time. It takes a while. And, some rooms don't get used at all. l
With so much construction that happened here, and more to happen soon, bags will get changed more. Hoover sometimes would include 12 bags w/ a purchase of a cleaner, a "year's supply", assuming you'd change the bag monthly.

 

[fanofvacuums2]

Honestly, I have never relied on any bag check indicators for my bagged machines with the exception of the Aerus/Electrolux canisters. It is easier for me just to feel if the bag is full. I have found that often, even with dirty filter indicators on bagless machines, that the bag is full or the filter is dirty beyond a reasonable amount by the time the indicator says to take action. This is not to generalize all machines to having the same issue as some are more accurate than others, but a lot of them are not.

On a slightly different note, one of my favorite bag indicators was on some of the old Panasonic Jet-Flo models. Certain models featured a "full bag alarm" that made quite a unique sound when the air path was restricted enough.

 

[jo]

On the Electrolux/Aerus machines

I will concur that their “check bag” automatic control system is by far the best system I have ever experienced. It monitors the suction provided by the motor before the bag and also the suction after the bag at the hose inlet on the canister models. The entire system is user “tweakable” so if you want the machine to operate At peak efficiency all the time you can set it to activate when only a small amount of suction loss occurs due to dust and dirt in the bag, or if you prefer to pack the bag full, you can set it on the opposing end of the adjustment…either 7, 6,5,or 4 depending on the model…..however setting the dial on one of these high numbers causes motor strain and allows the machine to run at less cleaning efficiency which is not recommended but exists to temporarily complete a cleaning job of a fine powdery dust that would quickly clog a bag causing the automatic shutoff to trigger and shut the machine off.


Anyway, it is a fabulous system and if anyone loves to use it…I recommend setting the dial on 1 after inserting a fresh bag…then when it pops open, check the dirt in the bag and if not enough, turn the dial to the next number and reinsert the bag and continue cleaning and so on until the bag is filled to the users liking. If the same type of dirt is regularly vacuumed then the setting that was found to have the amount of dirt in the bag to the users liking can be noted and kept.

Personally, I’ve found that for hard floors less suction is needed to thoroughly clean the floors so I can use a higher suction loss toleration setting on my Electrolux (a higher number) but for thorough carpet cleaning I prefer to use the machine at a maximum suction amount so I will set the dial to a lower number to insure it will stop if suction loss occurs due to dirt clogging the bag..and I can change the bag to maintain the high suction amount I would like to maintain for thorough deep carpet cleaning.

If people have shedding pets, often the bag will fill completely full but likely won’t activate a full bag indicator or shut off feature because pet hair is extremely coarse and will allow air to flow through it, and therefore is less apt to block off enough of the suction that is required to activate the indicator.

Perhaps you have shedding pets?

 

[mark40511]

Lux bag check

I don't use my Epic 6500 for whole house cleaning (I have in the past) but not anymore.....I don't like the PN.. A long time ago, I bought a huge box of 100 bag on Ebay for like $39. The 4 ply paper bags.....these bags are really good as there is ever hardly any dust in the bag chamber. They are not HEPA bags (good) but they are the best paper bags I've ever used.. I don't know if it's the bags or the design of the chamber or what, but even the bags being paper, there's hardly any dust at all in the bag chamber. The Lux bag design is my FAVORITE. It's idiot proof and that rubber gasket keeps everything in. Plus, you can't run the vacuum with no bag. I bought it used / refurbished on Ebay years ago. Everything on it still works. I keep electrical tape where the hose connects to the body because there's always been an on/off hiss when pulling it along causing a loss of airflow.....It does wonders because that hiss will cause a small loss of airflow...I also don't have to take the hose off to change the bag...I'm not sure if it's because I'm sure the hose is generic or what.....but it's not a super tight fit so the tape REALLY helps.

 

[huskyvacs]

I have seen in Hoover Windtunnels and Panasonic uprights that the bag check piston thingy can get clogged or have fine dust nest in it, and it stops up the indicator from being able to slide around.

 

[fan-of-fans]

I've had that happen on a canister as well.

Also I wanted to note that I received a Hoover Celebrity with an absolutely packed full bag, and you know those long Type H bags hold a lot of dust and despite the entire length of it being chock full, the check bag light still didn't come on. I can get it to turn on with an empty bag if I turn it on high and block the hose with my hand, but a full bag itself wouldn't trigger it.

 

[mark40511]

A packed full bag? I've heard of some doing that but I've never actually seen that and definitely haven't done it. It makes you wonder how that's even possible as there's nowhere for air to go to be able to keep picking up dirt. And the indicator still didn't come on? Sad. Yeah, blocking the hose with hand is the only way mine will come on.....and it's a light...not one of those physical indicators...I guess to summarize: Bag indicators pretty much don't work UNLESS they are Aerus/Electrolux.

 

[mjhoshaw]

Let me add my take based on Miele

I have shedding animals and a Miele S5280 that has surprised me on several occasions, with suction not dropping off until the dirt (mostly fur and carpet fuzz) started to back up into the hose. Even then the bag change indicator wasn't fully red. After that happened twice, I took to checking the bag after every use, and if it's approaching full, out it goes.