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shopmart's Full Review: LG Electronics Premalite Vacuum Bagless Cyclonic V...
Note: There may be some slight confusion with the listing title: although LG Electronics did have some influence in designing the Premalite, it's dubbed a Kenmore product.
When it came time to buy a new vacuum for the small clothing store that I manage, I told myself that I would buy nothing less than a Dyson. I have owned two Dyson’s in the past and they work amazingly well and are incredibly reliable. However, when I was allotted a measly $200 from my company for a new vacuum, I quickly realized that my preference of having a Dyson (priced between $499-$599) wasn't going to happen unless I pitched in some major cash. I had to take into consideration, however, that I spend anywhere from 8-12 hours/day in this joint, thus I needed the same type of quality vacuum that I would use in my own home to reduce allergens. I reluctantly decided against a Dyson and went with one of its rivals: the Kenmore Premalite.
A little info about this product:
The Kenmore Premalite is a 12 Amp bagless upright vacuum that claims to be just as good as its competitors, but lighter. Much of the Premalite's materials are derived from lightweight plastics, aluminum, and magnesium: resulting in a total weight of about 15 lbs. Although the Premalite is only a few pounds lighter than my Halo UVST that I use at home, it's much lighter than any comparably priced Hoover/Eureka model that I have owned.
Features/specs:
*LED Headlight
*HEPA filter w/ washable prefilter
*4 pile height adjustments w/ LED indicators
*Large canister
*Variable motor speeds with LED indicators
*Overload protection
*30ft power cord
*15.3 lbs.
*3 tools w/onboard storage
*12 amp motor
*30% lighter than most conventional uprights
Style: 10/10
Kenmore's use of magnesium and aluminum doesn't just translate to a lighter curb weight than a conventional vacuum cleaner, the alloy accents are also very stylish. Couple the Premalite's alloy accents to its Pearl Green color scheme and you've got a modern looking vacuum that looks decidedly more upscale than most vacuums under $500.
Assembly: 10/10
Even with good assembly directions, I am doomed to mess up any type of assembly required for a product. That said, I needed a vacuum that was going to be easy to assemble. Fortunately, the Premalite is almost completely assembled right out of the box, save for the attachments, the extension hose, and the handle of which are all painless to attach/detach. There is no need for any hand-tools to assemble the Premalite other than, well, your hands.
Ease of use: 10/10
In addition to the Premalite being easy to haul around due to it being very lightweight, it's also very easy to operate and maintain. The Premalite offers a conveniently placed control panel consisting of just 3 simple buttons (one for powering up the machine, one for switching from carpet to hard-floors, and one for adjusting the power level). There are also four simple-to-operate manual height adjustments (height is indicated by LED display). One of my biggest rants with bagless vacuum cleaners is how annoying it can be to empty the dustbin. The Premalite's canister comes off of the vacuum base with the simple click of a button and snaps back on equally as easy. Because the dustbin opens from the bottom via a release lever (more bagless vacuums should do this) it makes it much easier to empty without dust radiating back into the room. The power/accessory tools are equally as easy to use. These tools snap into place with ease and can be removed with no fuss.
Performance:
Handling: 8/10
Thanks to its light and effortless steering, the Premalite feels even lighter on carpet than its measly 15-lb. mass. Even if I use the bare floor setting on very shallow pile carpets, it still glides along with minimal effort. The only gripe that I have with maneuverability is that this vacuum doesn't have edge groomers. While the Premalite still does an adequate job sucking up debris adjacent to walls and baseboards, if you really want to get these areas clean you must use the crevice tool.
Suction: 9/10
The previous vacuum that I was using in my store was a 3-year old Eureka "Big Cup." I thought that vacuum was absolutely horrible: the Premalite proved just how horrible that vacuum was. To explain, after using the Premalite for the first time I got 2 entire canisters full (the Premalite’s canister is huge) of dust and dirt that the Eureka vacuum left behind! The Premalite also keeps its suction even when the canister is more than halfway full, only showing noticeable performance loss as the cup approaches the full mark.
Tool performance: 9/10
The tools also work great with no noticeable suction loss. You can link any of the 3 tools (crevice tool, upholstery tool, and the pet tool) to either the aluminum wand (the aluminum wand weighs all but a few ounces) or directly to the removable handle, which is attached to the extension hose. I especially like the pet tool, which boasts a turbine-powered agitator that makes it perfect for cleaning furniture and stairs. The only slight problem some consumers may have with this unit is that the extension of the tools is only about 10ft with the alloy wand (even less without it). While a 10ft reach is enough for the space I use this vacuum in, I can definitely see this posing a problem for those with vaulted ceilings or for those who just need a longer reach than a measly 10ft.
Note: I have not had the opportunity of using this vacuum on hard floors, thus I can't comment.
Noise: 4/10
Next to the sound of a washing machine with a squeaky belt, the sound of a vacuum cleaner ranks as one of the worst household appliance sounds I can think of. The Premalite, unfortunately, is no exception. While it's relatively quiet when the power setting is set to "low" it's annoying loud when set to "high" and emits a high pitched tone that rivals the sound of fingernails against a chalkboard. That being said, I usually just use the "low" setting, which seems to do just as good of a job picking up debris as when its set to "high," minus the high pitched sound.
Allergen removal: 9/10
Equipped with a true HEPA filter, the Premalite is able to keep most allergens from escaping from the vacuum into the atmosphere (Kenmore claims a 99% filtration rate). With the Eureka Vacuum that I was using, which also boasted a true HEPA filter, I still got watery eyed while vacuuming. With the Premalite, I still have some issues with watery eyes while vacuuming, however these issues have become far less severe and seem to get better with each use. Note: The Premalite's HEPA filter needs to be changed annually and runs about $20 per filter.
Reliability, Price, & Warranty:
The price for a new Kenmore Premalite varies greatly. I paid $349 for mine, but have seen them recently go for as low as $329 at Sears and for even less at some online stores. As for reliability, I have used the Premalite for just over three months now and have had absolutely no mechanical problems with this machine. If you do have any problems with your Kenmore Premalite, Sears offers a somewhat stingy 1-year standard warranty for this product. Sears does offer a 2 and 3 year warranty that can be purchased for $30 and $50 respectively.
Overall: 7/10:
The Kenmore Premalite is a great upright vacuum, but it’s far from perfect. While the Premalite boasts awesome suction power, weighs a mere 15lbs. and works great at removing allergens; I'm not a fan of neither the sound of this machine nor the fact that it doesn't have edge groomers. When all is said and done, the positives do outweigh the negatives, especially considering the Premalite’s relatively low price tag. I recommend the Kenmore Premalite to anyone looking for a quality vacuum. However, if you have the extra cash, the Halo line and the Dyson line are two great vacuum companies to consider before making any final buying decisions.
-Thanks for reading!
Recommended:
Yes
