My New Daily Driver….

[danorob1]

Hello All,

I was looking for a new canister vacuum that was bagless, and had a full size power nozzle…

The Dyson was out since they only have a turbo brush - The dirt devils, and Eureka Vacuums all either had filters in the bins, or seemed like cheaply made vacs… The Hoover Windtunnel Air had the smallest hose diameter I have ever seen, and the tiny power nozzle barely cleaned the rug...

I was looking on the Wal-Mart Website and found a Electrolux/Eurekalux on clearance from $499.00 to $199.99… I did some research the the majority of the reviews for this model, and all the similar models, and they were all fairly high… So I figured for $199.00 and free shipping, I could not go wrong…

Is is an Electrolux UltraActive Canister EL4305AZ - The AZ means it came with the Electric Hand Brush for the furniture and stairs…. First the build quality is excellent - It seems to be built like a tank - No extra flash on any of the plastic, parts are all snug fitting, and look like they were made to go together…

And Quiet - The canister is soft start, as is the power nozzle or hand tool when connected - It has to be one of the most quiet power nozzles I have ever used… Suction feels very good at the hose end… Love the electronic suction control, and I am a sucker for the LEDS on the power nozzle, and the LED power nozzle Headlights…

I never thought I could like a EurekaLux, but this thing seems like it will do a good job - And it had been quite a while since I have had a canister I actually liked…

Sebo, Miele, Aerus, and Lindhause - Had multiples of each, and always found something about them I did not like… And With Two RagDoll Cats, and A maltese dog, I got sick of changing bags every week or two because they started to smell…

Here are a few pictures…
Dan

 

[uksausage]

Quite envious

We have had the same model in the UK but as usual no power nozzle which I feel is a great shame
I think if the company's started to introduce power nozzles slowly they might be a bit more popular nowadays with everyone having different floor coverings, they might think a cylinder is what they need but if it came with a powerhead it would also clean the carpets deeper than the the suction alone I do wish we had more powerhead cylinders here
Some of the Vax models have the connection on the vacuum for a power hose for a power nozzle but dont supply them here but the same models in Australia have the powerhead as standard
So unfair lol

 

[super-sweeper]

Not that easy on the eyes, plus bagless....but to each their own! 

 


Have fun with it, I'll stick to my Duo-Power! 

 

[DesertTortoise]

Ah, now I know! I just bought a horsehair hard floor brush just like the one in the photo thinking it would work with my Electrolux Epic 8000 but alas it didn't fit the wand. Now I know which Electrolux wand it fits. Very nice floor brush.

Give us an update after you have used it a while. I have two huskies and have to vacuum daily, including the patio, to stay half way ahead of the hair. If I use HEPA bags there is no smell. Not true of paper bags.

I looks like you have some sort of convertible tool on the handle that is both a crevice tool and dusting brush? Or are they separate tools that fit into each other on the handle? Is the gizmo on the carpet some sort of device to convert the dusting brush to an upholstery brush? Could you show us images of the tools, how they attach, etc? They look interesting and maybe not the childs toys too many vacuums now come with. Thanks.

 

[danorob1]

DesertTortoise…

The small grey tool on the rug is the upholstery tool - The larger tool on the rug to the right of it is the electric hand power brush…

The two tools that are stored on the handle are actually separate - One is the crevice tool, and the other is the horse hair during brush…

I will post some more detailed pictures tonight after work… All the tools have the oval/square shape openings that EurekaLux uses on all their current vacuums… While I normally don't like proprietary shapes, there are tons of accessories available that they make for their canisters and uprights, along with all the specialty tools that make for the Beam/Electrolux Central Vac that Electrolux now owns...

As far as bags went, I used the cloth HEPA style bags in the Miele, Sebo, and Aerus - After a week or two or three, they all had a "pet" smell to them… I think it is the natural oils in the cat and dog hair, combined with just the smell from general house dirt that causes the odors…

I will post pictures this evening…
Dan

 

[sebo_fan]

Actually, something I stumbled across the other day when looking at a few models on the Electrolux site in the UK...

Their spares/accessories shows off a few PN heads you can buy for their AEG/Lux models.

 

[DesertTortoise]

I see. The view is straight down on the tool which makes it hard to tell. I'll be interested to see how the tools fit on the vac. I wouldn't even begin to know where to find a modern Electrolux anything in my area. The US website shows something they call an Ultra Active Deep Clean which looks to be the same vac as yours.

http://www.electroluxappliances.com/Homecare/Vacuum-Cleaners/Canister-Vacuum-Cleaners/EL4300B.aspx

 

[whirlpolf]

a GOOD bagless

While I have never seen this particular model I recently was using an AEG-Electrolux of a larger series, but it had the same horizontal cyclone (sample pic, the one I used was black/black with scratches, not blue/gray and new)
Other than the pleated paper filter cone "cheapo" cyclones, this one DOES work quite amazingly well.
Similar to the Dysons, there is no filter material around the cone at all. Besides that, all debris is immediately flung outwards and after 2 or 3 revolutions it is whirled into the lower dirt compartment underneath through a horizontal slot, thus gone from the centrifugal portion of the filter box.

I cleaned a whole house with it and just to give it a try I continued sucking up smashed glass (from an old ugly beer mug), a pound of flower soil and a package of cake flour until the lower box was full to the brim. Only THEN just some of the flour would pass through the cone and get caught in the pre motor filter.
That larger AEG cyclone vacuum had a side window to watch the level of dirt - I do not know if yours has a that as well.

Emptying was not as messy as I thought, but not "dust free" either: You lift the box out like a bucket, carry it to the waste outside, open the side panel and dump the dust.
A wipe along the rubber gasket, shut and dump back in the machine.

Besides, Dan: You love it already ("...sucker for LEDs"), so why not get it? ;-)

 

[ralph123]

sirena, hyla, pro aqua, rainbow good choices if odor

Hello Dan and congratulations on your new vacuum. If odors bother you, you might want to consider a water filtration vacuum in the future. there are lots of choices (e.g. sirena, hyla, pro aqua, and rainbow).

I have 2 bagged vacuums, and they do develop a smell as the bags fill, particularly from the dog hair. The Simplicity 7 is a great vacuum. but the bags maintain air flow so well, I hesitate to change the bag until it's full. with my lux canister the bags are small and I can buy 100 generic bags for about $30, so I don't hesitate to change the bag if it starts to stink.

 

[danorob1]

DesertTortoise -
The link you provided to Electrolux is the same basic vacuum - Mine is an Ultra Active Deep Clean as well - Just in purple and black - They sell it is a few different colors for the different retailers… The one I puchased (EL4305AZ) differs only in color and in that it includes the hand power brush as a standard accessory…

Ralph123 -
I did have a Rainbow that I purchased from Tom Gasko a number of years ago - It was a great vacuum, and I loved the 10 foot Electric hose and all the attachments… It was just that after a while, the filling and draining, and changing water during cleaning got to be a pain when you wanted to do a quick vacuum every day… It was great for the twice a month HEAVY DUTY cleanings… I ended up giving it away to a close friend of mine...

Dan

 

[danorob1]

Hi Folks…

As per comments and request, here are some various photos -

Tools, Dust Bin handle, Etc…

I discovered that the powered hand tool fits on the back of the canister - This is a great thing - Not having to hunt it down when you get to the living room or stairs !!!'

The Other thing I love is how the electric hand brush has a button to allow it to rotate 306 degrees...
Dan

 

[DesertTortoise]

That looks like a good quality vacuum. The quality of the tools is especially heartening. I buy floor brushes just like that for my Kenmores. They are the best floor brush I know of.

Two follow up questions: can the slot in the back of the vac you put the hand brush in be used to park the powered brush temporarily, and are those perforations in the sides of the crevice tool or just dimples in solid plastic?

 

[danorob1]

DesertTortoise…

The large "DeepClean" power nozzle does not have a fitting on the back to allow it to store on the vacuum, but to be honest it does not need one…

The power nozzle has a very hefty weight to it - Not to heavy to make it difficult to use, but enough heft so that it makes no attempt to tip over when stood up… It locks into the upright position and you need to push as release pedal to lower the wand…

The marks you see in the side of the crevice tool are actually tiny holes… Supposedly it is to provide a deeper cleaning when vacuuming between chair and couch cushions…

Hope this helps…
Dan

 

[DesertTortoise]

I see what they are doing with that crevice tool. Made me laugh out loud thinking about it. Do the holes degrade the tools ability to suck dirt from a dusty corner or from the junction of the base board and the floor or carpet? I think it would but some Swedish aerospace engineer on loan from SAAB Aerospace probably designed the thing.

 

[sebo_fan]

Or possibly GM when they sold off SAAB and left them for dead.

Electrolux aren't the first company to add nodes onto plastic - it is either supposed to infer durability or to lend it to the rest of the design, which looks like it is part of the machine.

One also has to remember cost price. In the UK Electrolux no longer add their name to their vacuums - passing off the cheap line to "Zanussi" and premium line to AEG. When you see the costs of their vacuums, its good to see some fancy design element for the cost price.

 

[DesertTortoise]

Different SAAB. SAAB Aerospace was never owned by GM. They make combat jets for the Swedish military and for export. Years ago they were the same but the car division along with Scania trucks were split off and a separate company, SAAB Aerospace, was formed before the GM purchase. The Swedish government is very protective of their defense industry.

 

[danorob1]

DesertTortoise…

No - The crevice tool worked fine on the corners of both the tile floor in the bathrooms, and the wood floor in the kitchen - Did equally as well on the joints between the carpet and the baseboards…

The canister has enough suction to overcome the loss from the little side vent holes...

 

[DesertTortoise]

Interesting. It is a clever tool. Next there will be a screen at the connection end to catch the change you lost down between the seat cushions. Make vacuuming pay!

 

[seanc]

This reminds of an Electrolux I had maybe 10 years ago.

On a certain carpet, the tool holder and handle would generate enough static electricity to give a good surprising snap as it arced to my hand.