Replaced my Kirby with....

[matt8808]

3 and a half years ago I bought a brand new Kirby Sentria II from my local Kirby dealer. It was only ever used lightly and was well looked after.

At around two years old the power cable failed and needed to be replaced under warranty - internal breakage causing intermittent power supply. Getting my local Kirby dealer to replace the cable was a huge pain and took around a month in total. The shockingly poor service left me feeling rather let down. I was lied to and told there was a global shortage of Kirby power cables, when they finally came to fit the new cable I was lied to again and told the machine NEEDED servicing every year as the tech drive needed oiling regularly and then to top it off he rounded off the screw heads on one of the cable fixings by using the wrong sized screwdriver.

At 3 years old the power switch failed. The machine kept flickering on and off and running at varying speeds - almost as if the motor was burning up. £80 and a new power switch later the machine was working again.

While replacing the switch I found the fan was slightly misshapen so that was replaced too - all genuine parts naturally.

And then a few months ago the machine started making an intermittent squeal noise on startup. I checked it wasn't the rubber seal behind the fan and put it down to the front motor bearing starting to fail.

By this point I'd had enough. Regardless of what the strange noise was, I'd lost all faith in the machine.

I won't slag Kirby off as such. The overall build quality was great and it left the floors spotless. However it was noisy and at times inconvenient to use if in a small cramped room for example. For me, for the money paid, it just wasn't being reliable enough.

So I sold it on eBay. At a huge loss may I add.

The Kirby went. So did my 'backup' plastic vacs that I'd use on days when I couldn't be bothered or didn't have time for the Kirby.

And I have started from scratch.

Two new daily drivers bought this week.

Sebo Felix for the carpets and a Miele C3 Complete Limited Edition EcoLine for the hard floors.

The Sebo is just a bog standard Felix. £240 from John Lewis. I could of got it cheaper online (£209) but preferred to buy it from a shop in person.

Decided it wasn't worth paying for a model that comes with the separate hard floor tool as I've used one on a Felix before and didn't like it. If I want to use my Felix on the hard floors I just use the main powerhead with the brush motor turned off and it does just fine. I purchased the optional large dusting brush and store this on the machine in place of the crevice tool - the crevice tool being the tool I'll use the least. I also like this colour combo on the Felix the most. Carpet performance is superb, its incredibly agile to use and seems to be picking up lots of dirt.

Now the Miele. The Miele I am over the moon with. Mostly for the spec and the price.

First off it is a Limited Edition model. How 'limited' is anybody's guess though LOL

It has the higher end suction control 'display' with the filter change reminder light and reset button along with Boost mode. This being the eco version the top motor speed is 550 watts, however once you activate Boost mode the power is ramped up to 800 watts. To activate the Boost function, the ‘+’ button must be pushed when the machine is operating at the maximum setting. The Boost function can be activated up to 3 times in succession and lasts 20 seconds each time it is activated.

Hepa filter - or AirCleanPlus as Miele call it.

The rear parking dock automatically powers off the machine when the wand is parked and starts the machine up again when you remove the wand again - handy for short pauses during cleaning.

I am really really pleased to have such a decent spec Miele for such a bargain price (decent spec for the UK market).

It is fitted with the new odour control 4D filter bag and has the new style telescopic wand too.

£160 in the Currys sale!!!!

As this machine is intended for mostly hard floor use I've got the Parquet Twister XL floor tool for it too.

I did consider combining both machines into one and buying a cylinder machine with an electro floor nozzle - The Miele C3 Electro or the Sebo D4 Premium for example - however I much prefer an upright on the carpets. Just feels less cumbersome.


So there we have it. My new cleaning duo.

 

[matt8808]

I've just noticed how incredibly well the Miele colour matches the kitchen floor... its like they were made to be together LOL!!

 

[vacuumdevil]

Bravo those are both great vacuums! I have to ask why you didn't go with a Miele with an electric power head so that you have one vacuum that would do both? I have also found that the sebo Felix is quite good on bare floor especially with the bare floor tool attached!

 

[madaboutsebo]

Great choice of vacuums you choose there. The Eco Felix is very good just as powerful as the older version if not more! I can see why you went for that Felix model like you say it suits your requirements. You can always add to it later if you needed too. The larger dusting brush does look better might get one for my X4 Pet Boost! I already have the small version!

The Miele looks fab, love the colour and model choice. New odour control 4D filter bags look cool, be interesting to hear how they perform!?

Enjoy your 2 new vacuums.

 

[matt8808]

Vacuumdevil - as I said, in some rooms, especially the bedrooms (carpeted) when vacuuming around the beds and in confined spaces I find an upright much nicer to use. Less cumbersome. As opposed to having a large power head, the hose trailing all over and then a unit on the floor behind you. For carpets I prefer the upright. For the hard floors I prefer a dedicated cylinder. The Parquet Twister tool on the Miele can clean under the table and chairs in the dining room without me having to move anything. While a hard floor tool may work very well on the Felix, the machine is still too bulky to get under chairs and things, Two machines = best of both worlds.

Madaboutsebo - yeah I’m interested to see how the new filter bags on the Miele perform too. I noticed they’ve added a clear plastic part around the bag opening.... I’m assuming this is to stop fluff building up there as this used to stop the little flap from closing and slealing the bag on the older style bags. The odour protect side of things comes from a bag of charcoal granulals inside the main bag. I expect it is going to take me a LONGGGGG time to fill a bag on the Miele as it’s only really going to get used in the kitchen, dining room and bathroom as these are the only rooms with hard flooring. It will get the odd job that the Felix can’t do too.... live vacuuming the carpet under my bed as there is only a 6” gap. Either way it isn’t going to be seeing a lot of real dirt. Just crumbs and the odd bit of fluff.

The large Sebo dusting brush performs much better than the smaller one and I completely agree with you regarding there being no noticeable suction difference between the eco motor Felix and the pre-eu version

 

[madaboutsebo]

I did wonder what that plastic part around the bag opening was! Makes perfect sense now you mention it! That’s just like the bags on the Vorwerk they contain charcoal granules in their bags and it does work a treat especially if you own any pets! That’s true it will take you a long time to fill the bag with what you will use it for! Will test the charcoal granules out!

Great to hear the larger dusting brush is better will have to get one! I noticed that when I tried one of the new eco motor Felix models! Plus they run much cooler to, less heat exhaust from the motor

 

[tseg]

Nice combo. I see you have the updated Miele hose and wand. I'm curious why Miele made the change? I have a very pimped out C3 but am still drawn to the Felix. I wish it had a light on the head and I would likely have one. You should be set for some time. Disappointing asbout the Kirby.

 

[mark40511]

I've been looking all over

for a Sebo Felix and can't find one under 699, unless it's the model that just comes with the hard floor only.

I'm like you, the crevice tool I'd use least so I would want to use the dusting brush in place of that.

Someone in another forum said they took the outer micro filter off and ran it through the wash and it came out spotless. I'm not sure if that's so smart but it might work.

 

[madaboutsebo]

Must admit I’ve had my Felix Classic for just over 10 years and only changed both filters after 8 years! P Plus the brush roll too. The post motor fabric filter was covered only in carbon dust from the motor, no other dust was present. The pre motor filter wasn’t too bad either considering how long it had been in the vacuum. I had switched though to the fleece bags once they where available which are better. I believe they advise to change the filters every 16 to 20 bags (after 2 box worth of bags) suppose that depends how often you change the bags on it!