cuffs054
If I was you, I wouldn't bother repairing your vacuum if it's already a few years old. Like I said to you in the other thread, just unplug the hose from the canister & that will solve your problem, just use it like that till your vacuum dies. By the time you invest money in the circuit board, if it's over 5 years old you'll likely only get another year or two before it dies completely & needs replacement. The motors in the Kenmore/Panasonic canisters are very problematic & have a short lifespan, you're lucky to get 5 or 6 years out of one of those motors. If you remove the prefilter & look at your motor, if there's a white plastic guard around the fan opening of your motor, that is one of the problematic motors used in recent years.
When your vacuum dies, or if you insist on replacing it now, I would look at getting the Perfect C101 canister vacuum. It's a copy of the metal bodied Electrolux canister vacuums, but with a super-charged Mexican made Ametek double stage motor that pulls 120" waterlift, a LOT more than your Kenmore. It's literally just like having a portable central vac! They also sell a 30 foot non-electric hose kit for it so you can do stairs & leave the canister at the bottom, or any other application where having a super long hose would be handy. The vacuum can use regular Electrolux style C paper bags, or you can purchase HEPA cloth bags for great filtration & longer lasting performance between bag changes. The only downsides is the price is a bit steep....expect to pay about $900 for it....but you're getting a proven design that's going to last you at least 15-20 years before any problems arise, & Perfect Products gives a 5 year warranty on the vacuum, which is longer than most. As they say "You get what you pay for". Plus they don't have the Automatic Control bag change system that Electrolux was famous for; since Aerus still uses this feature on their vacuums & holds a patent on it, Perfect can't copy it & use it on theirs. If you do decide to buy the Perfect, be sure you buy it from a regular vac shop or you buy it directly from Perfect Products....if you buy it from a online Internet retailer, Perfect Products won't honor the warranty, & you will have to rely on any warranty the retailer gives you.
Another option is to purchase a used Electrolux canister thru your local classified ads, a local vac shop or Ebay. The best models to look at would be the Automatic G, Model L, 1205, Golden J, Super J, Olympia One & Silverado models. Electrolux used to manufacture their own motors before changing their name to Aerus & they sold the motor manufacturing division, which is still in existence to this day & called Electro Motor, based in Tennesee. These models used the motors that Electrolux was famous for....literally bullet proof! Very hard to kill one of these old motors! The Marquise, Grand Marquise & Ultralux models, as well as all the plastic bodied canisters, would also be worth looking at, but after 1985, motor quality started to decline....still very good, but not quite as good as before, plus the carbon brushes can't be changed in the newer style motor either, whereas all models before the Diamond Jubilee you could change the carbon brushes. If the motor has a black plastic top that houses the top bearing & carbon brush holders, that's the motor the carbon brushes can't be changed on. Models I would avoid would be the late Silverado that came with the L shaped PN5 & the Diamond Jubilee....Electrolux had introduced a motor with these models that proved VERY problematic & a lot of them had to be replaced prematurely under warranty. They had resolved the motor problems with the introduction of the Marquise, though. I would also avoid the Rennaissance & Guardian....the Rennaissance had a hose with touch controls that can break easily & require replacement, which was fixed with the Guardian by using toggle switches on the hose. Also, the Rennaissance & Guardian used the VM3 single stage motor, which while good was not one of their better designs & has a shorter lifespan than their other motors. If you do buy a Automatic G, Model L, 1205, Golden J, Super J, Olympia One or Silverado, I would suggest having the carbon brushes replaced in the motor, they can be found on Ebay & do it yourself at home. By now, the motor would be old enough where there wouldn't be much length left on the carbon brushes & would need replacing soon anyways. Also, if it has the cloth hose, I would replace it with a new vinyl hose....by now, the cloth hose would be very leaky & not provide good suction/airflow, plus the aftermarket hoses have a on/off switch for the PN, which is nice to have. And although the original power nozzles would clean well (provided the brushroll is adjusted properly & in good condition), I would also suggest buying the Perfect L-shaped power nozzle to use with your Electrolux....the L-shaped PN does seem to groom the carpet a bit better than their previous designs. Having said that, buying the Perfect power nozzle or a new Aerus power nozzle would be preferable over a used Electrolux power nozzle, as Aerus introduced a new chevron-style roller for the L-shaped PN that has a extra turn of bristles & has slightly better grooming than the previous design; Perfect also uses this brushroll in their PN. Expect to pay between $150-$200 for Perfect PN, that seems to be what most online retailers are asking.
Rob
