I rate this vacuum 2 stars

[durango159]

Well I worked at the Bed & Breakfast today after being away for about a week. I really tried to go in positive, give the place a good cleaning and not be negative. Well the damn new Sebo Airbelt D4 proved today to just be practically USELESS for my needs their!!!! Thank god the Kenmore Intuition suction motor still works. I have to tie knots in the cord of the Kenmore since the cord reel stopper is broken, and I have 2 old wands with a large bare floor brush that I can use on it, since the telescoping wand set and powerhead are broken. But the Kenmore sucks well, the dusting brush is quite big which is great for cleaning the long hard wood steps, and I can use the powermate Jr. for upholstery.

I tried different heights and different suction levels with the Sebo, push it forward on a medium weave throw and area rugs and powerhead shuts off. Reset try again, several times, not worth it. Brush roll is clean, machine is about 1 month old. On low pile rug, try pushing it nice and slow so it will grab the lint off, man this power head needs baby steps!!! It is a slow picker upper. On tile I find the suction mediocre. The Sebo doesn't take universal sized tools and the dusting brush is microscopic so it can't be used to clean long steps. The bare floor brush I have attached to the Kenmore is about 3" wider than the Sebo and it still grabs dirt much faster.


It gets 2 stars-- only for wheeling around well and its long cord. The power nozzle on/off button is quite small and awful to use. Machine doesn't like to turn off. You have to have your foot or hand positioned a certain way otherwiste pushing you can push the button down, but it doesn't turn off. The cord rewind and on/off buttons aren't marked. Only controls at finger tips is variable speed, no headlight, heavy and bulky, small cleaning path, ultra tiny dusting brush. Very underpowered pathetic ET-1 power head. Can't handle any rug!! Hose and handle grip are separate pieces and electrical wire is separate, so it likes to disconnect itself VERY frequently. Manual height adjustment has little fluctuation between settings.

If you have a bad back, arthritis, hard time bending down, or like user friendly products then stay away from this one. I wish my client would have bought a $200 Panasonic, $500 Royal or expensive Riccar/ Simplicity than this $900 Sebo that is worthless. If Hoover had a bagged canister with manual height adjustment that would be wonderful!!! If the Kenmore or Dyson DC41 on the property dies I'll need a new vac for the place!! I used the DC41 to clean all the rugs today since the Sebo can't handle them.

 

[kirbyultimateg]

I am sorry Mr Shore!

 

[kirbykid]

Try a sanitaire professional series upright or a sanitaire canister.

 

[mieles7]

I think sebo has different types of brushrolls available for that power head. Maybe the vacuum just had the weakest brushroll available. Still sounds like a bad vacuum though.

 

[sebo_fan]

Sorry to hear you're having a bad time with the Sebo D4 but then again, you describe a situation which could be down to the user. The model is supposed to come with a large hard floor brush - of which you provide a pic of - it can be slid into the main park position on the back of the model - why use the smaller dusting brush (same design as the round one Miele supply) instead of the large hard floor brush for hard floor and tile??


 


You don't say whether the actual rug is stuck down onto the floor either. If rugs are not permanently bolted down like proper carpet, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">many</span> electric power nozzles will struggle to clean them without them being sucked up or cutting out the brush roll. Same with a suction only floor tool. Only way getting around that is to use a small mini turbo brush tool if you must, but have to stand on the rug at the same time for thread and stubborn dust removal.


 


I'm not entirely sure about the D4 Premium not being able to shut off either - surely by pressing the main round dial in, it should switch off. If not, then it could be a fault. Also, the buttons are logically designed to prevent decals being added - and thus rubbed off in general use over the years - the round button controls the switch on/off function and the rectangular button below it is the cord rewind - how could you get confused?? 

[this post was last edited: 11/30/2012-16:07]

 

[durango159]

Hello SeboFan,

Yes, I use the bare floor brush for tile floors and hardwoods and it does hook into the back of the machine. It is probably about 10" wide is my guess right now since the machine is at my clients property and not here. The bare floor brush that I can fit on the Kenmore right now is 13." However for hardwood steps I prefer using a dusting brush instead of bare floor brush. It ensures I get the most suction for corners, around banister legs, and on the trim without changing attachments. I've never used a Miele dusting brush so I can't compare that. I can compare it to Hoover canister dusting brushes either the rectangular design used on Dimension and PowerMax series or Windtunnel, the elongated style as with on the Anniversary Windtunnel and very similar style for Riccars, and the large rectangular dusting brushed found on Kenmores. Any of which would do a terrific job on steps and better suit my needs.

All of the rugs in this house are area rugs, some large say 6'x 4', 10'x 6',etc. Some others are about 4'x 3'. The largest is about 15' x 10', it is a newer style plush long weave that is again is not attached to the floor. Sadly so far the only vacs to handle this rug well are the Dysons. Regardless of that, if I were take most any vacuum, start at the front move it forward then lift off at the end on a normal throw or area rug and do forward strokes only so as to not suck up the area rug, other vacuums do the job, the Sebo D4 shuts off the powerhead and it doesn't even seem jammed.

Other vacuums I have tried on these rugs that have worked successfully include: Dyson DC41 upright, Dyson DC25 upright, Hoover PowerMax Supreme Canister S3530, Riccar 1700P canister, Hoover Decade 80 upright U4159, & Kenmore lime green canister equipped with CenTec CT20DXQD power nozzle.

I have been cleaning houses for 18 years and using vacuums for longer than that. I love canister vacuums with power nozzles. This Sebo canister does not fit, in my opinion, in my book of a good cleaning canister vac that is user friendly.

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

I can certainly understand how that would be frustrating! One thing I don't like is the triagular shaped dusting brush, it just doesn't get close enough to the edges... round would be much better.

I got mad at my Sebo tonight too (actually a Windsor Sensor S12, but still Sebo)... I spent the day cleaning the vacant apartment of a friend who moved 3 hours away so he doesn't have to make another trip back and can still get his deposit... I needed an upright with on board tools, so I brought the Sebo... Halfway through the cleaning, the bag full/clog light flashed and the machine shut off. I'd only used the machine twice since I changed the bag, so I knew it wasn't full. I opened up the door and found that the bag had separated from the plastic collar and the dirt was going straight into the HEPA filter which was cutting off air flow! And, it was a genuine Sebo bag that had only been used twice! I was so mad! I had to go all the way back to my apartment (luckily, he lived in the same complex, but still to have to stop the cleaning flow, it was annoying)! I dug for bags and found them and had to vacuum the filter off with another machine (used the Kenmore Direct Drive)... the Sebo worked well on the bare floors (despite the no brushroll off feature) and to clean the window sills and drawers, but I wasn't impressed with the grooming abilities on medium pile carpet. I'd have done better to bring the Self Propelled Windtunnel... and at least it would have had brushroll off and 2 extension wands for extra reach... lesson learned!

I always have problems with bags bursting, whether it's the Miele Plus canister, Eureka Smart Vac, or now the Windsor/Sebo!

 

[sebo_fan]

Well, if the power nozzles you've used on other brands don't get jammed, then clearly that's a design bonus. In the UK I've yet to find a power nozzle that can clean a "mobile" rug that isn't bolted to the floor. It would make sense, design wise that if a powered brush roll is moving against something that isn't fixed, it would surely get moved along with it, or jam the brush. Don't forget there's the brush roll on/off foot switch on the ET-1 that allows you to switch the brush roll off. 


 


Bobby -  As for the triangular brush, well it's a love/loathe scenario. I find the triangular size helpful - especially for straight edge corners and dust gets picked up more than the clogged action on the Miele round brush. However if you are finding that bags are going on the X as well as other brands, what on earth are you picking up?? 


 


I got a surprise last night with my old X1 Automatic. I have replaced the main suction hose on the machine and went about cleaning as usual. Then I spotted a heap of cat hair and took the mini turbo brush to clean up the pet air. Normally I know that the bag light shines red whenever the turbo brush is added as the older X1 doesn't have that function to accept it. However, it worked for a few good hours - but then I'm using a synthetic dust bag now and not the paper ones.