gmerkt
New member
I happened to be at Sears the other day, exchanging some broken Craftsman tools for replacements. Not being in any hurry, I decided to look at the new table saws and vacuum cleaners while there.
Their selection in the vacuum cleaner department of the Everett, WA store was impressive. These days, Sears sells not only their own house brand of Kenmore but also has other brands. Same deal in the tool department. You aren't limited to a Craftsman table saw; they can sell you a Ryobi or DeWalt, for example. I didn't count the number of vacuum cleaners they had on display, but it must've been 40 different models. Probably about eight or ten canisters and about 30 uprights. Maybe more. First, I looked at a Hoover Platinum Windtunnel, Model UH30010, which caught my eye because of it's interesting design. It was in silver and black, but it had a fabric bag. Not the older, flexible kind but a rather rigid bag that held it's own shape. It had a zipper that could be drawn down either side. Very moderne-ish styling. Very lightweight, BUT -- kinda cheaply made in China.
Next, another flashy pair of vacs caught my eye. These were LG brand, the "Kompressor" Model LuV200R (made in China) and the Model LuV400T (made in Korea). Very newish-looking, chrome on front, and the "Kompressor" name pretentiously drawn perhaps from the Mercedes-Benz models with the supercharger. Oh boy. So I opened a little hatch on the side of the red one (LuV200R) and it came off in my hand. It had been broken previously and you could see why -- the two mounting studs were of plastic about a quarter inch in diameter. And as I've wondered before, who knows if Chinese plastic is made to any formula or do they just mix it up batch by batch by the seat of their pants and based on what chemicals are available at the moment.
Present also were Dyson and of course Sears' own brand Kenmore, in Progressive, Innovation, and lesser models. There was a Hoover Windtunnel Self-Propelled in a blue color, and I wondered, "Are they still making these?" Then I looked at the serial number and saw that it was made in 2008!
Their selection in the vacuum cleaner department of the Everett, WA store was impressive. These days, Sears sells not only their own house brand of Kenmore but also has other brands. Same deal in the tool department. You aren't limited to a Craftsman table saw; they can sell you a Ryobi or DeWalt, for example. I didn't count the number of vacuum cleaners they had on display, but it must've been 40 different models. Probably about eight or ten canisters and about 30 uprights. Maybe more. First, I looked at a Hoover Platinum Windtunnel, Model UH30010, which caught my eye because of it's interesting design. It was in silver and black, but it had a fabric bag. Not the older, flexible kind but a rather rigid bag that held it's own shape. It had a zipper that could be drawn down either side. Very moderne-ish styling. Very lightweight, BUT -- kinda cheaply made in China.
Next, another flashy pair of vacs caught my eye. These were LG brand, the "Kompressor" Model LuV200R (made in China) and the Model LuV400T (made in Korea). Very newish-looking, chrome on front, and the "Kompressor" name pretentiously drawn perhaps from the Mercedes-Benz models with the supercharger. Oh boy. So I opened a little hatch on the side of the red one (LuV200R) and it came off in my hand. It had been broken previously and you could see why -- the two mounting studs were of plastic about a quarter inch in diameter. And as I've wondered before, who knows if Chinese plastic is made to any formula or do they just mix it up batch by batch by the seat of their pants and based on what chemicals are available at the moment.
Present also were Dyson and of course Sears' own brand Kenmore, in Progressive, Innovation, and lesser models. There was a Hoover Windtunnel Self-Propelled in a blue color, and I wondered, "Are they still making these?" Then I looked at the serial number and saw that it was made in 2008!
