Canisters are great cleaners.
Many Clean Air Design uprights have the air path on the far side opposite the belt. Therefore airflow is not even and consistent across the entire width. However with an aggressive brush roll such as with the Hoover and high airflow you would still have a very clean carpet. The Hoover Windtunnel series do an excellent job cleaning and some models do better than others. A lot is due to the brush roll. The T Series has a few different agitator designs depending on the model. There are several models to Hoover's T Series. Is your bagged or bagless, does it have brush roll shut off?
As I'm sure you aware: Hoover, Royal, and Dirt Devil are owned by TTI Floorcare. Since that time many of their products have been shared amongst the brands. If the bristle tufts are touching each other on your agitator then you have a Dirt Devil style agitator. If you have tufts with about an 1/8" inch gap between and is auger shaped then you have a Hoover style agitator. In my opinion the Hoover style will clean better.
At the same time, it has been shown that several canister vacuums on the market clean just as well if not out clean many uprights on the market. Yes the power heads are lightweight but with higher CFMs from a larger suction motor, and centralized suction duct inside the nozzle the power nozzles clean very well. It really depends on the unit as some agitators are more aggressive than others and some motors are more powerful than others.
Kenmore style power nozzles with the wooden chevron style brushrolls are made by a company known as Cen-Tec Systems.
www.centeccommercialvacuums.com There are 4 primary models all with similar brush roll.
The old style squared style with full width headlight and wide rear wheels slightly inside a few inches from the base is model CT14DX. This model is also the same nozzle found on Hayden central vacs, older Panasonic canisters, and some Royal Power tank canisters. Some offer a different top hood design but the guts are the same. This nozzle used to come with 2 rows of replaceable brush strips and single row beater bar.
The next series used by Kenmore was on their first Progressive canister back in the late 1990's then in later years it was found on the BOL models. It is a squared off front--not a T design, large plastic wheels on very ends in rear and sleek rounded off center headlight. This is Centec model CT18DX. It is currently found on all current market Panasonic canisters.
The next model is what Kenmore is using on the majority of their units. CT20DX. T shaped sleek design power nozzle. Low profile, rear wheels are rubber coated and on very edge of sides. It is on current Kenmore Lime Green, Orange, White and Blueberry models, along with several central vacuum systems under various manufacturer names. Pictured below is the agitator cavity of a CT20DXQD
The next model is considered Cen-Tec's TOL it is a hybrid barefloor brush built into the power head, that removes from the powerhead via a step on quick disconnect. Model CT24DQ. This model is found on the TOL dark blue Kenmore Intuition canister.
All of the Centec nozzles uses the same agitator design, the difference may be cogged or serpentine belt, different end caps for various models. They are all 14" width. Years ago Kenmore also used a CenTec CT12DX power nozzle. A 12" wide power nozzle with stretch belt and headlight, centralized belt path similar to a Rainbos. Cen-Tec also manufacturers a few other power nozzles but the Quiet Drive series which is the 4 models above is what they're known for the most. The motors are good--quiet,powerful and reliable. The agitator brushes in my opinion are good design but would be better if bristles were longer. I also don't feel the carpet height adjustment allows the unit to hug the carpet as tight as it should.
Your Eureka Express canister most likely has a VGIII agitator with beater bars and blue colored replaceable brush strips. These are great agitators. The units themselves are well designed excellent cleaning power nozzle. Many experts recommend these power nozzles. Yes they're lower priced units with stretch belts and no motor protection and no manual height adjustment but they're great cleaners and probably the best for that price range on the market. Yes this power head is still manufactured today with a few tweaks. You'll see it branded as a "Sweep n Groom" with out headlight and also the Beam Rugmaster power nozzle for their Central vacuum systems.
Sorry for the "Book". I love power nozzle canisters and wish you lots of luck with your Express canister. What other canister vacs do you own?
