New Kenmore Intuition Upright

[tylerawells]

[COLOR=#000080; font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium]Spring Cleaning is around the corner, and I guess sensing the opportunity for some sales, Sears Holdings Corporation has decided to launch a new Kenmore Intiuition Upright, styled similar to the Elite model launched last fall. It is MSRP-ed at $249.99. It has a 30ft cord, Direct-Drive beltless system, Electronic Performance Indicator, and Kenmore Power-Flow constant suction technology for the bag. Here's a picture of it from the website. Haven't seen this in Sears stores yet. Not sure how I feel about the look. Also, here's the link to the Kenmore Intuition Upright http://www.kenmore.com/kenmore-intu...2031140000P?prdNo=11&blockNo=11&blockType=G11[/COLOR]

 

[chan55]

sears

i bought the top of the line Elite recently. I like a lot about it, except the hose is impossible to work with . I called Sears vac line to see if there is a reach out hose for it and they said no, not foe this model. I asked what I should do they said bring it back.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Looks alright to me. This and the Elite have a sculpted, minimal look. I prefer the more squared look of the earlier Intuition models better. I wonder though why they don't make these with a variable speed or three speed motor like the canisters? And why don't they have the Gentle Sweep agitator setting? Haven't seen either of these features since the Progressives with Intelli-clean were discontinued.

And more useful hoses and attachments on all of these would be nice - the older Progressives had a longer hose that was easier to work with, and came with an extra wand and a floor brush.

 

[eurekaprince]

Looks like the only difference between the Elite and the Intuition is that the Elite has the beltless internal drive mechanism for the brush roll, whereas the less expensive Intuition uses a belt and and external drive motor.

 

[eurekaprince]

Also, Sears' website says that the Elite has a three speed motor...wonder what that means? Is one of the speeds the legendary "Gentle" setting?

 

[eurekaprince]

Consumer Reports likes the Elite very much - it's now the top-rated upright in a list of over 50 upright vacs.

Here is their report on the 31150:

"Overall this is a very good upright vacuum cleaner. It does a very good job removing embedded dirt from carpets. When cleaning surfaces such as kitchen and hardwood floors, this model is an excellent performer. Its impressive pet hair pickup is a benefit for dog and cat owners. This model was good for handling and and weighs 21 pounds. This model has impressive suction through the hose when cleaning with tools.

Highs
• Excels at removing embedded dirt from carpets
• Performs well when cleaning bare floors, ideal for kitchens, bathrooms, and hardwood floors
• Does well at picking up pet hair, useful if you have a cat or dog
• Excels at capturing all the dust it picks up, important if you have allergies or other respiratory illnesses
• Strong tool airflow, which matters if you will be using the vacuum's accessories for cleaning
• Has a manual carpet-height adjustment, which is better than automatic systems at matching the brush to the surface
• Has suction control, which helps protect drapes when using tools
• Has a brush on/off switch, which safeguards bare floors and prevents scattering of dust and debris

Lows

• You must bend to adjust the pile height

Detailed tested results
CARPET CLEANING: The Kenmore Elite 31150 does A Very Good job of removing the embedded mixture of sand and powder from our soiled test carpets. This is a measure of how well a vacuum removes the dirt hidden deep in the carpet, invisible to the eye.

BARE FLOOR: The Kenmore does An Excellent job of removing sand from our vinyl floor and leaving very little behind and not scattering sand across the floor.

PET HAIR: This model does A Very Good job at picking up pet hair from carpets using its power head. The visual inspection of the test carpet following the pet hair test reveals no traces of pet hair left behind and very little pet hair caught in the brush roll.

 

[suckolux]

I believe the Elite also has induction motor.

 

[panofan]

I believe so - looks like the same part # as the green intuition upright with the inducer motor