I did have the original Shark Rotator Lift Away that did not have the powered hose and the only reason I got rid of it was that my brother was in a pinch and needed to borrow a vacuum when his Kenmore broke. I never saw it again LOL. I cannot imagine sparks would come from the hose on that model since it doesn't have electricity running through it. I actually just dump the Shark in a grocery bag out in the garage. I do clean out the Neato Botvac and Dyson V8 bins with the hide a hose on the central vac. It's a really quick way to clean them out and buys me some time on cleaning the filter on the Neato.
I too am really considering the Sebo Felix. My parents bought a X4 when I was still living at home and it worked great for them when they didn't want to use their Silentmaster. It's idiot-proof with automatic everything (which my mom needs). However, I *HATED* the auto height adjustment - it never seemed to get low enough on wall to wall carpeting. However, when we built this house and put in the central vac we paid a pretty penny so it's hard for me to justify $700 but I'm really sick of bagless!
