Kenmore vacuums at other retailers

[fan-of-fans]

I was just watching a Walmart shopping video on YouTube and noticed there were Kenmore upright vacs being sold.

I'd heard Target has one of the canisters and I believe an upright, but I haven't seen or heard of Walmart having them in-store.

My local Walmart's vacuum selection is just one side of an aisle and is rather small, the Walmart in the video had the multi sided vacuum aisles. The one in the next town from me is like that, so I might have a look there soon.

Has anyone seen Kenmore vacuums in other stores in your area?

 

[fanofvacuums2]

I have only seen them at Target actually on the floor. They have a blue 600 Series canister and an Intuition upright as well. The rest of the retailers I have seen only sell them online. On top of uprights, I also noticed that Walmart recently started selling their own version of the 200 Series canister, which sometimes goes on sale for as low as $169, but consistently sits at $200 or a little under there. One has not appeared on the floor of my local Walmart, though I think where I live would be a good place to put one out there. It has a large retired and elderly population and they may buy one simply because they remember them being good back in the day.

 

[eurekaprince]

Question: are the Titan cleaners identical to the Kenmores? These Titans are sold at vacuum specialty stores only, I think.

Would be fun to see comparison photos if anyone has both! :-D

 

[fan-of-fans]

The Titan models use basically the same canister and integrated handle/attachment setup of the final Kenmore Progressive series (white/red/purple models) which Panasonic supplied. The Titan power nozzle is different though and looks like an updated of the older ones from the 1990s.

The Kenmore branded versions are all different as far as the body style and use specific designs. The Elite 700 and 800 models were designed by Panasonic, the 200, 400, 600 series are all Cleva-designed models.

You may notice that the versions sold at Walmart, Target, Home Depot and Lowes are the same model series as the ones sold by Sears, but the colors of each model sold at Sears is different than the ones sold at other retailers.

Attached is the former Kenmore Progressive in purple and the new Titan for comparison.

 

[suckolux]

I have a 400, nice machine

 

[fan-of-fans]

For some reason I've noticed most big box retailers don't sell canisters. Walmart here used to have two Eureka bagless canisters (one power nozzle, one straight suction). When Eureka kind of went away a few years ago they stopped selling them. I think they also sold a Bissell power nozzle canister for a bit as I saw one on clearance a while back.

But other than that they don't anymore, and Home Depot has none. Lowes used to sell one straight suction Bissell bagless but I don't know about now.

And Bed Bath and Beyond here doesn't sell Miele, so there are exactly 0 stores here that sell canisters since Kmart and Sears closed! Other than if you count the appliance store that sells Oreck canisters (or did as of a few years back).

I do agree, I think if Walmart sold a Kenmore canister it would probably sell well, especially with people possibly looking for one with Sears and Kmart being gone. I just think the price point that Walmart sells at is kind of low to get a power nozzle canister in. So people might think it's expensive compared to most of their vacuums being less than $100 or $150 at very most.

Hard to get a two motor machine in that price point. I do remember summer of 2012 Kenmore had the lime BOL power-mate canister for $99 which was crazy low and I bought one.

 

[panasonicvac]

Saw this at Target the other day.

 

[kirbylux77]

Here in Canada we can get the Kenmore 400 and 600 series powerteam canisters at Canadian Tire. Of course in different colours than the ones sold at Sears.

Rob

 

[mark40511]

how is it certified asthma and allergy friendly if these aren't even sealed HEPA? I know they have HEPA but unless the designed them to be sealed... I dunno. Did they change the bag compartment where it doesn't leak? For me it never was the bags themselves that leaked but the bag collar that didn't connect well and dirt would end up in the bag chamber...even with HEPA bags...Of course, this was years ago with my progressive....not sure about these new ones.

 

[suckolux]

Had issues with both of my previous Kenmore bag docks in the past. My 400 series is different, has had no leakage in 2 years, still same bag, so not a lot of use, but it seems to seal better to me.

 

[mark40511]

Hmmm. I wonder what they changed with the bag collar? Looking at pictures the design looks similar to the way it has always looked. I really did like these vacuums aside from two things...The bag collar issue I had which can be solved with tape..and the connections to the wands would ultimately short out after a while...

 

[fan-of-fans]

I saw on the FB groups that some Walmart locations are selling the Kenmore blue Power Mate canister in the physical stores. I went to the two near me today but they didn't have them.

 

[kirbylux77]

Mark, the Kenmore and Titan canisters ARE HEPA Sealed vacuums. The Kenmore 600 Series and Titan canisters use the EF11 HEPA filter, and the Kenmore 700 and 800 Series use the EF9 HEPA filter. And the Kenmore 600 Series bagless canister uses the EF9 HEPA filter. Both these filters are encased in plastic, not cardboard like the EF1 and EF2 HEPA filters used previously by Panasonic. In addition, the motor is sealed to the plastic housing it sits in, and the holes where the wiring goes into the motor housing are sealed up with glue. All of the air goes through the HEPA filter, unlike the previous generation of Kenmores.

The Kenmore 200 and 400 series canisters use the EF2 HEPA filter that is in a cardboard frame. But, the filter sits in a plastic box built into the filter cover, and would not allow the filter to move around and remain rigidly in place. Combined with the foam seal on the filter, it should be fairly well sealed, if not fully sealed.

As for the issues with the bags and wands, the issue with the bags leaking around the collar can be easily fixed. Simply save a bag collar from a bag you are throwing out, and put it on top of the bag collar of the new bag when mounting the bag into the bag holder. This wedges the bag collar tightly in the bag holder, doesn't allow it to move, and combined with the foam seal on the bag holder the bag collar makes contact with, stops any dust leakage and makes the HEPA Cloth bag take all the dirt and dust. The issue with the wands shorting out was solved with the new oversize wand design that Panasonic brought out just before the sale to Cleva.

I personally own a Kenmore 700 Ultra Plush canister and a Titan canister I bought off Ebay. Very nice machines, you would really like them if you try another one Mark.

Rob

 

[jo]

Sears is gone

So not sure even why the Kenmore brand still exists. It was a Sears exclusive thing forever. Obviously someone somewhere decided that the Kenmore name following (which are just rebranded other manufacturers appliances) would be a good thing to keep and sell to other merchants but who is managing it if sears is completely gone? Perhaps the appliance manufacturers that made the appliances for Kenmore decided to market the Kenmore brand name to these other retailers.

I don’t know but any Kenmore vacuum I’ve ever had and fixed up hasn’t been as nice as the Electrolux in ease of use so I never invested in buying a brand new one. I’ve had four Kenmore canisters both around or under 10 years old I got as discards or at thrift stores. The discards needed a repair and the thrift store models one had a bad motor and the other is an early bagless where the dust bin filter clogs very quickly. Three were Panasonic made models and the one with the dust bin is an LG made one that now has a ripped hose and it cannot be repaired or replaced as all parts are discontinued. I have tape covering the rip but I’ll send it off to Goodwill soon.

Personally Aerus should jump in on the “lack of canisters” market but honestly with all the convertible stick vacs out now they really are easier to use than either an upright or a canister so a lot of people are changing to those now with both corded and cordless options available.

Jon

 

[fan-of-fans]

Sears isn't technically gone quite yet, but nearly so. I am not sure how, but I'm suspecting that Cleva somehow has rights to use the Kenmore name, as the ones sold through retailers other than Sears/Kmart (namely QVC, HSN, Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, and Target) do not mention anything about Sears Holdings on the packaging, and the colors, models appear to be different than the ones sold in Sears stores.

I'm not aware of any other Kenmore products being sold through other retailers, so I am guessing Kenmore Floor Care is a line that Cleva wants to spin off from Sears. Or, it could be that Sears Holdings simply wants to sell the Kenmore Floor Care products through other retailers to boost their sales numbers.