Looking for a Canister

[vacuumsalesman]

My friend will be moving soon and I told her I’d pick out her vacuum. Although she gave me no specifications about what her house will look like, I have decided for her that she will use a bagged canister vacuum. I am going to the flea market soon and I’d like to see what is cheap there as she is buying it second hand. I wanted her to get one that was possibly a Kenmore, like a progressive or intuition. But I thought I could check here in case you guys had any ideas for an 80s-90s canister vacuum with a power head that I should look for. Thanks

 

[oreck_xl]

There are definitely better choices out there besides a Kenmore canister. If it's '80's or '90's era Kenmore you'll either be getting a Whirlpool or Panasonic in drag, both of which companies no longer make vacuums, so if she needs a part it will most likely be not available. I'd suggest an Electrolux canister with a powernozzle. Parts are readily available and it's a fairly sturdy machine.

 

[dysonman1]

I was just at the antique store yesterday. They had several vacuums, but one really caught my eye. It was a 2016 Kenmore Canister with the variable speed motor control on the handle, the electric power mate jr. for furniture, it was clean and ran good. I tried it out. Even had a clean hepa filter and a set of bags with it. They wanted $99 and I was almost tempted to buy it. That's the kind of deal you should look for.

 

[human]

Just before my (now ex-) wife and I got married in 2002, I bought her a Kenmore Progressive canister and it was the worst POS I've ever used. Oh, it picked up fine but the plastic was flimsy as hell. When I left her and that vacuum cleaner behind a couple of years later, it was held together with cable ties. Definitely the worst $375 I ever spent!

Do your friend a favor and get her a metal Electrolux canister. They're built like tanks, easy to work on and parts are readily available. The best part is they frequently turn up dirt cheap at thrift shops. They can easily be found in good shape with a power nozzle for $20 or $30 and members often post here about picking them up for as little as $10 or $15, sometimes even less if they need a little work. I picked up a Diamond Jubilee in great shape for $10 a little over a year ago. It's definitely one of the best second hand vacuum cleaner values out there.

 

[fan-of-fans]

I've had several Kenmore canisters over the years and I think they are nice vacuums, especially compared to what's on the market today in most stores. If you could find a new one for $99, I think you'd be getting a great deal. I wouldn't buy one for much more than $150, but I'm not one that would spend much more than that for any vacuum. It's just the motors aren't what they used to be, but this is the case for most any dept store or big box vacuums.

Electrolux are good machines, too. I have a metal one and it's very nice, great attachments. It's on the loud side though, and heavy, but otherwise a nice machine.

If you can find one of the 80s or 90s Kenmore Whispertones with the variable speed control, they have a dual stage Ametek motor and are VERY good vacuums. But as noted above with Panasonic being out of the market, parts may be hard to get.

I did hear Panasonic was going to continue making parts, but haven't seen where this is happening or not.