Sebo Airbelt K3 Vulcano - Full Review and Pictures

[madabouthoovers]

sebo_fan - in another post, you say that tha K range is now 17 years old - is that really the case? If so, its as old as the Purepower.


But then, I do favour companies who don't forever keep changing models every 5 minutes (cue - Dyson)


And the X4 is based on a design that dates right back to 1991, so it is as old as the Kirby G series.


One thing I have noticed now about Sebo is that their products are so easy to push across the carpet - it is deceptive, as it gives the feeling they are not really doing anything - but feeling the suction power at the end of the hose, its there, as strong as ever.


With the Miele S8, which is 2200W on full power, it gets hard to push the suction only allteq head if I go on anything over the second lowest power setting, however, on the K3, its easy to push the Deleuxe Kombi head over carpet, even at full power of 2100W.


Could the relief pressure valve on my K3 be opening too soon, as on full power it makes a kind of farting sound coming from the main body of the machine, so I turn the power down a bit.

 

[madabouthoovers]

Oh and I finally won a Sebo mini turbo tool on Ebay the other day for £9.50, in excellent condition - it went for so little as the seller listed it as a Sebo Dart power tool, so some Sebo owners might have thought it wouldn't fit their models, as the Dart was the commercial version of the Felix, and is less well known. Bargain. The best things always come to those who wait, and I was determined I wouldn't pay Sebo £35 for a new mini turbo brush.



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201028548057?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

 

[madaboutsebo]

Great thread Madabouthoovers and pictures too. Do like the SEBO K series and in particular this model in the range great colour scheme. Hope you enjoy using it and meets your expectations! I need to get a turbo brush for my Felix like you say £35 is a little high glad you got a bargain!

How's the full size turbo head? Does it groom and clean carpets well?

 

[madabouthoovers]

In all honesty I haven't used the floor turbo brush on the K3 yet, as I am so pleased with the performance of the Deluxe Kombi straight suction head. I have never used such a wonderful floorhead as this, and its a breeze to push it around the carpet. Combined with the handle operated suction slider, this is a totally fantastic cleaner. This range might be old fashioned, but its very understated. I will use the Turbo brush in due course though, and I imagine it will be just as pleasurable to use as the Miele version.

 

[sebo_fan]

Oh well done on the mini turbo brush there!

I use the main size Turbo brush on my D2 Total and by god it is powerful - but lightweight to push. The standard SEBO floorhead that comes with the D2 is a chore to push when full power is max'd - a bit like your Miele. The Deluxe floor head you have with your K3 isn't designed to be such an effort to push on the highest speed - you'll realise that in time that its all down to the fact that the floor plate is mega thin and thus doesn't require that much of an effort.

HOWEVER, as much as I like the design, I still find the Deluxe version to be too heavy and the side buttons to change up to hard floor and back again are often too stiff for their own good. Old review on Dooyoo:

http://members.dooyoo.co.uk/vacuum-cleaner-accessories/sebo-kombi-deluxe-head-7260dg/1194785/

 

[madaboutsebo]

Let me know how you get on when you do use the turbo head be interested how you get on it with it. The Deluxe Kombi head does look a very good tool. Looks similar to the Deluxe Parquet head I got with my Felix which I love using on hard floors. Glad your liking and getting in ok with the Deluxe Kombi head. Be useful to have the Deluxe Kombi head for my Felix. Couldn't agree more I personally think all the range of SEBO vacuums are understated. Yes they may appear old fashioned but they are easy and simple to use and maintain. They are what they are simply an effective vacuum cleaner as it should be.

 

[madabouthoovers]

Jon - you ought to fill in your member profile, so we know what Sebo's you've got  - its a bit anonymous at the moment.


 


Sebo_fan - I find the side buttons on the Kombi head odd too, but kicking them with the side of my shoe I find does the trick when going from the lino on the kitchen floor to the carpet in the lounge, and this head also doesn't suck the lino up to the nozzle and block the suction like many other nozzles - even used on carpet mode, as I can instantly lower the suction power when going onto the lino floor. Having the handle mounted suction slide is just SO convenient!

 

[madabouthoovers]

Jon, what I like most about the deluxe kombi head is that it only has the brush strip behind the air inlet channel, so it doesn't push large dirt like cat litter in front of it on hard floors like other heads do and nor does it get the problem with cat hair build up on the front brush strip like other conventional suction only heads (ie, they snowplough large debris in front of them). Its a very well thought out head.

 

[madaboutsebo]

I will do.

 

[sebo_fan]

As you will see from my video on You tube, the Deluxe Kombi on the D2 (or any SEBO cylinder infact) constantly flips down when requiring to go from one rug to another. It isn't annoying as such but you'd never get that with a conventional floor head. That's the compromise you have to make on the basis that the floor head will go flat without having to turn your wrist.

 

[madabouthoovers]

What do you mean by "constantly flips down"?

 

[sebo_fan]

When going from one surface to another the floor head will flop downwards before it rests on the floor it is going to clean. Even going over cords, this happens.

 

[madabouthoovers]

Ah, right - I thought you meant that it was faulty and the brush flipped down by itself


I used a Karcher canister vac at my last job where the cheapo floorhead kept popping the brush back in by itself when using it on hard floors - it was that worn all the metal on the base of it had massive wear holes in it from being used on hard floors with the brush retracted. As soon as you pressed the pedal down to push down the brush, within a few seconds of use, it would pop itself back again. Useless machine. They started buying Karchers after the Henry HVR200A's kept packing up prematurely - and we know the reasons why that is now too, with the Henry's autosave boards failing.


Good old Sebo eh - still plodding along, stalwart and reliable as ever!

 

[sebo_fan]

Apologies - the SEBO K series was launched in 2002. Not 17 years old then, but rather 12 years old this year...The Professional G was also launched the same year.

The thing to remember is that as a brand, SEBO don't go in for as much style as it does for durability and functionality - these are two phrases that jump up every time with a SEBO product and yet it all seems to stem from their, yet again commercial status. I don't think SEBO would be the company they are today had they not entered the commercial field to begin with and remained there.

Same with Numatic - Numatic have a lot to thank for the commercial industry. A few consumers and collectors tend to forget that as not all brands in the commercial industry are good but for those who are, they don't tend to change the basic "things that work" in terms of components that go on and on, particularly on a day to day basis which in a domestic setting is entirely different - I bet half of the cheap bagless uprights that are on sale today can't withstand 1000 hours of continual use in one go.

Thus, there's a lot to be said for appliances like vacuums that are made to withstand daily use, even if they are owned by collectors that expect longevity stemmed from the more durable, well built vintage classics.

 

[madabouthoovers]

The problem is nowadays, its all about profit and selling as many units as possible, at the lowest price, which a company wont do if it builds vacs to last - after all, who would buy a new vac if the old one was still working?


Looking at all the plasticavs that get thrown out within 2 years of being bought - this is very good news for Vax, and Dyson, as most of these owners will be back again to buy another vac, and so the cycle goes on.


Customer buys a Vax for £70. Customer uses Vax for 12 months without any maintenance. Vax motor burns out. Customer takes Vax to the tip. Old Vax is recycled. Customer goes to Argos and buys another £70 Vax, and the cycle repeats, over and over.


Bosses at Vax rub their hands together and set about designing more new looking Vax cleaners to keep customers coming back for more.


Also apply this to Dyson, but their vacs must last a Customer 5 years, so must be 5 times dearer than a £70 Vax which is only designed to last 1 year.


Vax might offer 2 or 6 year warranties, but they also stipulate that unless you register your warranty within 30 days of purchase, it voids itself, so how many people do you think actually do this and register? Exactly. So when said Vax burns out atfter 1 year, customer who doesn't register or loses receipt says, oh what the hell, and its off to Argos again.


 


Lets also then think about the backhanders. Dyson pays Currys a big bung to favour his cleaners. Vax pays Argos the same. Whose vacs do you think will then feature, and sell the highest in these stores?


Note that Sebo are now no longer stocked by Currys. Except the K1 Komfort - which as you might also notice is always out of stock. I wonder why that is? Sebo not prepared to pay Currys enough to feature their vacs? or perhaps Dyson paying Currys to def out Sebo?


 


There is so much corruption and greed in the domestic appliance market now that its getting harder to obtain a Sebo without having to go online, as no local stores will stock them.

 

[sebo_fan]

A few good points however, a few far fetched too!

The thing is though you're forgetting, when you see so many cheap vacs being thrown out, people aren't repairing them when they are so cheap to buy in the first place and inherently, people become lazy, even with big name vacuums including Dyson!

You can blame who you like when it comes to brands, but ideally speaking the first "wave" of cheap appliances came in at first with the humble toaster. Yours truly had a Hinari "Lifestyle" toaster for the best part of 15 years before it conked out. It did what it promised, but was a horrid piece of cheap plastic to look at but came with a cool wall design and slip out tray compared to many a "traditional" big name brand such as Philips who offered the same but three times the price of and featured a screwed toaster plate on the base and no cool wall. Only difference with SDA's is that they don't come with long warranties.

Naturally then and thereafter it affects everything these days when it comes to appliances. You keep banging on about Vax's limited warranty - well there are other brands who stipulate the same! My expensive £300 Panasonic combo oven had to be registered in 20 days before the limited "bonus" of a 5 year guarantee could be sent away and recorded.

Samsung and Bosch are also known for limited date purchases on warranties too and they don't offer the lengthy warranties on ALL appliances.

The premium "Miele" brand only offer 1 or 2 years warranty on their vacuums if you're lucky. By the time you've already shelled out a lot of money for the machines themselves and then if you have to, upgrade the filters, you're then offered an extra 10 years if you want on your Miele vacuum (if it is "the chosen one") at another payout. When is it going to stop??

Let those large franchises sell whatever the heck they want - its not as if the consumer HAS to shop at those franchises anyway! Thanks to something called enterprise, the consumer these days has a much wider choice before the Internet came along!

Reading between the lines here, you're obviously wondering why SEBO aren't more commonplace. Well, they've always been a premium company and as you know Currys, Argos and Tesco are hardly a premium company for aspiring people to go to. I'm not a snob but I've realised that those franchises will never sell an ARCAM sound system any less to the full SEBO range.

Argos, Currys and Tesco did sell SEBO at some point but there's been little demand for it - it has ZILCH to do with what company pays who etc. Rather, it is the other way around - all these franchises BUY IN from the brands on the products - you'd learn about this if you have ever watched The Apprentice and where some of the tasks have been to sell a product to Argos and likewise chain stores.