Opinions on Kenmore Intuition Canister...

[ryan1994jeep]

I just won a Kenmore Intuition on Ebay. Iv'e bought from this seller before and was happy with the purchase. I have always wanted one, but they were a bit more than I could afford at Sears, but I think this was a good deal. I was wondering if anyone had one and would share pros and cons, and their opinion from their use.
Thank You!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kenmore-Int...zOIOn6xzc4O5xHG%2BMsA%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

 

[jade_angel]

My opinion - based on friends who have them - is that the vacuum itself is rather good, but the power nozzle is gimmicky and and not as good as it should be. It's both a mediocre power nozzle and a mediocre floor tool. However, it's not *bad* as such - it's just not as good as it should be.

But, if you take good care of it, it'll work quite well. IF the nozzle ever fails on you, though, I'd get a different one.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Yeah, I've heard mainly about problems with the floor nozzle on that model. I think there were issues with it not docking properly and with the wheels coming off. Otherwise I think it's as good as the other Kenmore canisters, but I have not used that model. It has some of the better attachments compared to the other models (includes both a horsehair dusting brush and angle/ceiling fan brush), and the hose end is the metal 1-1/4" so it can use standard attachments as well.

 

[durango159]

I've used a few.

I love canister vacuums with power nozzles. The Power nozzle on this unit drives me nuts though, I find it too repair prone and wasteful in time for cleaning to be functional. Full explanation is below.

The canister unit runs like most other Kenmores. Good suction/ airflow power. The hose is very long, and the handle controls are very convenient. The filtration is reasonable especially with HEPA bags and its quiet with a 3 speed motor. I love that shade of blue and the PowerMate Jr. hand tool does well. You got a great suction unit here with large bag capacity!!

The problem I have with the unit is the power nozzle. The power head is very bulky and in my opinion does not clean as good as the other CenTec power heads found on other Kenmores, which those power heads don't clean as well in my opinion when compared to Hoover, Riccar, Simplicity, Wessel Werk and other power nozzles. I feel that CenTec power nozzles would benefit from slightly longer agitator bristles. Due to the connection on this particular model, the front of the power head will lift off the ground if you drop the handle any lower than around 15" from the floor. This is much worse compared to other CenTec power heads which usually stay grounded up until handle is about 3" off the floor.

The bare floor brush is a disaster. It has insufficient bristles hitting the floor so while its good for Cheerios, and pet hair and it's not good for those finer dust and sand particles. The wheels on the back of the barefloor brush are EXTREMELY DELICATE!!! Not only are they very tiny plastics that have no traction on the floor you're using the system on, causing it to scratch some surfaces, but they break when reconnecting to power nozzle. The reconnection to the power nozzle has broken on all 3 of the units that I've seen and the replacement part is expensive.

My suggestion for this machine would be to get a generic horsehair 10" barefloor brush for about $11 at your local vacuum store and any other power nozzle that can fit the wand set and hose connection. CenTec CT14DX, CT18DX or CT20DX. A CT12DX will fit with a set of wands that can be wired all of the way up. Your local vacuum shop may have some good condition refurbed power heads around to fit. Attached is a photo of a power head that I would get with a quick disconnect wiring set up.

 

[ryan1994jeep]

Thanks for the reviews!

I actually have a older Kenmore power nozzle like the one pictured so that's good. I was mainly wanting a vacuum that I could clean the whole house with that I wouldn't have to swap hose's or wands for those quick vacuuming days. I'm still excited to get it. I think it will be a nice addition to my collection.

 

[durango159]

You won't have to swap any hoses for this Intuition canister. That hose will fit standard and quick disconnect metal Kenmore wands. You will have a very nice canister vacuum system with this machine as the hose is very long, with great controls at fingertip reach. Additionally long cord, powermate jr. and horsehair dusting brush are great. The metal hose connection is a standard size to fit various other manufacturer attachments.

In a household with a multitude of flooring surfaces and the need to constantly change between floor nozzles, you will do better in the long run with separate set of wands. The quick release power nozzle pedals are a nice feature but every nice feature is something else to break. The standard style quick release system on Kenmore/ Panasonic/ Cen-Tec wands is well known for shorting out causing electrical errors and replacement of power nozzle wiring, and/ or wands wiring or both. The Intuition system that you have will not only have electrical issues but also plastic connectors to reconnect floor brush to base along with teeny wheels on floor brush will break. The floor brush will not smoothly clean your floor with those wheels broken, it will damage your floors.

I highly recommend using your other power nozzle on one set of wands, and a separate set of wands with a bare floor brush and for any other attachment use with wands.

Hope this helpful. Enjoy your new vacuum!!