SEBO VACUUM CLEANERS

[marcusprit]

Sebo produce very well built reliable Upright and Cylinder cleaners but the one weakness is they don't have enough suction or airflow to deep clean carpets!

The D4 produces 70" of water lift at the end of the hose which is VERY average for todays standards.

Its time for Sebo gave their machines a turbo boost!

 

[turbo500]

Firstly, hello and welcome.

Secondly, I disagree with you MASSIVELY. I've been using Sebo vacuums now for at least 5 years and most of my relatives now own their machines. I've never found the suction to be a problem and in my experience of the D4, the suction is very similar to that of a Numatic Henry. I'm sure one of our other members will be able to give you some technical data regarding airwatts compared with other cylinders on the market.

Thirdly, no straight suction cleaner will ever be able to deep clean a thick pile carpet.

Of all the issues I know of people having with their Sebo's, the suction has never been one of them. The most common issues are dislike of the automatic height adjustment (which is more of a personal preference thing) and the X series falling over when using the hose, which I agree is quite annoying.

 

[marcusprit]

Thank you for your welcome. And I agree with you only a direct air motor will clean deep pile carpets effectively but of the bypass motor cleaners in my experience my Miele S5 gives a deeper clean than my Sebo Felix. I still think the Felix is one of the best uprights available in the UK along with the X4 although I'm not keen on the automatic height adjustment. Id like to see the G1 available as I prefer to adjust the height manually.

Id also like to see Miele introduce a more compact version of the S7

 

[turbo500]

Your Sebo Felix will out-clean the S5 on carpet simply because it has a brushroll.

I agree completely about the S7. It was obviously designed for the US market. Far too large for most UK homes

 

[marcusprit]

I use an Accu Nova with my miele and it does a good job but they should offer a revolution model for customers who want it. And yes I agree the S7 was made for the American market.

 

[jade_angel]

Sealed suction isn't nearly as important as airflow and agitation for carpet cleaning. Royal uprights don't have terribly impressive sealed suction, nor do older Kirbys, but they're considered deep cleaners par excellence.

Most everyone here, at least, seems to generally agree that Sebo's power nozzle canisters keep up with Miele and Simplicity/Riccar for carpet cleaning, mostly due to high airflow and a good power nozzle that provides solid agitation.

Sure, they could beef them up, and it might even help, but they're no slouches as they are.

 

[marcusprit]

With advances in technology would it be possible to produce a bypass motor that can clean as well as a direct air motor or is this beyond the realms of possibility?

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

The suction starts out fine, but it depletes rather quickly as the bag fills.... and the agitation is weak.... at least on the automatic style machines. They can't sell themselves on stellar cleaning performance, they are great for durability and easy maintenance, perfect for thin flat commercial carpet, but much more than that I think requires a more capable machine....

No matter who the S7 was made for, it is an amazing work of art that performs wonderfully.... I don't even want to suck up dirt with mine because it is so beautiful!

 

[marcusprit]

It performs well until cheap plastic parts start falling off it. Lets be honest mieles latest offerings do not have the same build quality as their previous models!

 

[turbo500]

and the agitation is weak

I beg to differ

 

[marcusprit]

Video looks impressive. Still not convinced it will perform better than the miele S7 but it will certainly beat it for reliability and ease of use in my opinion.

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

Great video but the carpet in that video didn't look very plush though... that's where aggressive agitation and grooming are really needed.... even a cheap Hoover Windtunnel grooms better than an Automatic X or the equivalent Windsor....

I also am not sure that the Sebo would out clean the S7.... if it did, that would surprise me very much.... I have read durability about durability issues with the S7s.... I'm glad mine is holding up so well! That's why you go with Sebo over Miele though if durability is more important thant agitation to you....

 

[jade_angel]

As far as bypass-air uprights keeping up with direct-air ones, I think the Riccar Vibrance and Simplicity Symmetry (plus their older versions, the 6/7 series or 8000-series Riccars) come pretty close. My only gripe with them is that the suction inlet is on the right, rather than in the center - and that there's no good way to fix that without making the air path snaky, which would reduce airflow. The Miele S7, by all accounts, comes pretty close too.

 

[turbo500]

It's not a deep pile carpet, no. It's a medium pile, hard wearing rug. I'll try the same test on my upstairs carpet and see how it goes, that's much thicker.

I went with Sebo over Miele because the machine is more durable, cheaper consumables, easier to dissemble, lighter, more maneuverable, cheaper to buy etc etc. I think you get far more value with the Sebo and the performance difference is negligible. The S7 is also simply too big for my house.

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

Well you know you could always have a Sebo and a Miele... you are a collector! LOL. It sounds like you chose the Sebo for the right reasons....

 

[sebo_fan]

Im with Chris here, but you miss out one rather important feature with the D4 - can't trust the data of what you're told with pull lift and that's with any brand. The D4 like the rest of SEBO's vacuums have 2100 watts. Not the highest because Miele fight back up 2200 watts. However, the power nozzle floor head sees service with the K3 as well as the Felix and commercial upright version the SEBO Dart and they are designed for commercial use as well as domestic.

Like the rest of SEBO's range, it is all commercial based. I had an S7 and apart from it being bulky, the most annoying aspects were that the rear hose was bolted in by two screws, so if any clogging happened you have to unscrew the bottom hose - with SEBO as you know, it's all about unlocking clasps or unlocking something. The S7 may well have a spring action loader on its floor head but its swivel is too big to go around the corners and the Felix is so much better in this respect if you need a swivel based upright vacuum. I find the X series agitation to be fine and far easier to clean off threads etc unlike the guide-to-cut lines on the brush roll of the Miele.

In addition I can't stand that you have to push you foot on the pedal to get the S7 over thresholds as well as onto different floor coverings. The cushion of air should be enough to interrupt different rugs for example instead of having to use the pedal all the time. The only thing that Miele offers over the SEBO is a far more complicated, heavier hose and wand at the back as well as variable suction control and far more power.

Miele at the moment haven't thought about a compact upright - in their eyes, a compact upright is the Alternative stick vacuum or S190 series, both of which are no longer available to buy in the UK. As a suction only stick vacuum, it is okay but it isn't featherlight. I still have problems with mine due to its bottom fill bag where dust falls out and through the floor head. But I'd rather have it over a Miele S7 again.

 

[marcusprit]

Thank you for all your informative replies. Very interesting!

 

[turbo500]

you could always have a Sebo and a Miele

I do. I have an S5210. I use it on the bare floors and for above floor cleaning mostly. The Sebo is my daily driver though.

 

[sebo_fan]

I have three Miele vacs and five SEBOs. I also have wool carpet throughout; both appliances clean well but treat surfaces gently.

 

[madaboutsebo]

SEBO UK on YouTube.....

Looks like SEBO UK have created a YouTube channel with a few soundless videos of some of the domestic vacuums X, K, D and Felix. Very good user guides. Nice to see SEBO UK do something like this!

I see the Director Justin Binks of SEBO UK has been commenting on the EU ruling of motor wattage reduction see News section on SEBO UK website!

I have to say I've fitted the first synthetic bag on my Felix and what a difference in airflow and suction this new type of bag has made compared to the bag version. I love the Felix for it versatile usage and deep cleaning and grooming on carpet. I've had my Felix for 6 years and can't see myself ever going back to a bagless vacuum well a Dyson! I also have a Miele S7 which I've had nearly a year now, it was a bargain price hence why I purchased it or I probably would have got a SEBO X4. Plus I wanted to try a Miele. It's a good vacuum love the hose and telescopic wand. Wish the brush bar was designed like the SEBO as you can't not remove it on the S7! I love the simplicity and ease of use of the SEBO vacuums just wish more people in the UK knew about the Brand!

 

[sebo_fan]

Ty for the heads up of SEBO UK on You Tube. The videos may well be added to the UK website for each model.

As for JB, the managing director released that info ages ago on the site.

Dependent on the type of dirt, the SEBO bags can actually be reused again in the Felix, but only once more after the initial emptying. I tried it a couple of times but then realised that my filters on board were becoming more progressively dirtier. I suppose you can't cheat the design. I don't mind the paper bags though as it keeps costs low if they are reduced in price. That's one aspect of SEBO ownership I've always adored - the costs of the bag are far cheaper than Miele - especially when you consider how many you get in a box compared to Miele's standard 4.

 

[durango159]

I'm not impressed with the agitation video posted in reply 9!!!

I completely agree with Marcusprit!!! Sebos are very durable, great filtration, light weight and the cord length is nice. But I've been unimpressed with cleaning ability on all the ones I've used to include: several G1's, X4 blue and a D4 canister with ET-1 power head. The D4 was brand new out of the box too!!! They claim that the tapering hose to increase airflow is a huge benefit to the machine. I was very unimpressive with airflow of machine.
What good is high filtration, if the machine isn't capable of getting the bad dirt out of the surface you're trying to clean. I'd rather have a better deep cleaning machine and a separate air cleaner to catch anything that the vacuum spewed out.

Check out the attached video for a little demonstration on agitation!

 

[madaboutsebo]

Your welcome, hopefully they will as there is an option on the website per model to select a video demo.

That interesting and good to know about the synthetic bags on the Felix might try it. I got the pack of synthetic bags from John Lewis store slightly more in price then the paper one and 2 less in the box! I've been luckily as a got an offer from Miele for 2 boxes of S7 bags but not as cheap as the SEBO running costs I agree.

As for the agitation having used the Felix for 6 years which has the same ET-1 head as the D series and having used the S7 for nearly a year; between the Felix and S7 they groom the carpet on par with each other in my personal experience. What I will say you can see surface dirt, grit jump about more with the S7 than the Felix in my experience.

 

[sebo_fan]

Durango - you give a example video showing a Dyson vs a Miele. One would assume on this thread that the video would have shown a SEBO vacuum - how misleading. I think I'll have to buy some sand tomorrow and conduct my own tests. I don't have a Dyson, though I do have a bagless upright.

By all means share a video showing how bad the airflow is on the D4. Id really like to see it. No air escapes on vacuums like SEBO in general - they'd never be considered good enough for the commercial market if their pick up was generally poor, either. The reason the hose is bigger at the end to the top is that it reduces clogging, perfect for pet hair to flow through as well as other considerations of general household dirt.

 

[marcusprit]

In the commercial world they only have to deal with low pile carpet but to effectively clean medium to deep pile you need more aggitation and airflow.

 

[sebo_fan]

Oh this old adage again...
If, like me you have actually worked in the commercial trade with vacuums like Henry and SEBO, not all carpet is the of the glued down low pile variety. Chapels in hospitals benefit from thick carpeting which usually gets a SEBO upright run over it. Same with hotels - they're not all low pile.

Whilst I do agree that the brush roll on the SEBO X automatic doesn't go low enough to provide the same kind of cleaning a dirty fan upright can perform to, the Felix and the manual control SEBO uprights are a better match. They use the same brush rolls on the Felix as they do on the X series. The commercial uprights use a different brush roll with removable strips.

And to what degree does a carpet need agitation? To the point that it starts to rip carpets to bits like a Dyson? I had experience of that before when carpets were practically threadbare after going over carpet with a Dyson brush roll - they are far from gentle.

 

[marcusprit]

Yes i agree you can overdo agitation but i still think Sebos would benefit from a bit more airflow. I'm not knocking them i think they are excellent Vacuum Cleaners!

I own a Felix and considering purchasing a D4.

 

[durango159]

I'll do research and try to find some more youtube videos. There are several videos of Dyson vs. Tandem Air Tacony uprights and/ or Miele S7. There also some of Orecks vs. Tandems and Mieles. There are videos of Royal Everlast vs. some other vacs. Many of the "VS." competition vac videos on Youtube from vac shops are common well known Big Box store machines vs. a Miele S7 or Riccar Brilliance. The Sebos are a high quality, very durable machine. Their cleaning is good but could be MUCH better.

I have no video available for a D4's airflow. I worked with one brand new out of the box for several months at a former house cleaning client of mine. The airflow for bare floor attachments and deep cleaning ability did not compare to Riccar 1700, Kenmore Intuition or Hoover Windtunnel canister that I substituted in on occasion to make my job easier and produce a cleaner environment. Yes the Sebo filtration and build quality is better than the Kenmore and Hoover but cleaning power on those machines made the job SIGNIFICANTLY easier, faster and more thorough. I have since dropped this client for better line of work and don't have to bring my machines along to cover the slack of her Dyson DC41, DC25 or Sebo D4.

 

[marcusprit]

Yes I agree totally Durrango very nice machines but room for improvement. But all vacuum cleaner have faults. One day the perfect one will come along