Talk to me about Henry vacs in the U.S.A.

[alexhoovers94]

No all I was saying was I THOUGHT it doesn't look eight and surely a lot of you agree that it looks out of place on a Henry. STUPID is also a word I would use to describe the look of that floor tool on a Numatic cleaner...

 

[ultimatevacman]

<a name="start_25376.285379"></a> <span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">sbakerde, do you have any more pics of your James? That's a very rare model! </span></span>

 

[sebo_fan]

Thoughts without experience...

The "Henry" model was so-called because it was given a face and sold on the domestic market in 1981. Prior to that Numatic just had round red tubs dependent on the model and the NV250 steel tubs. Specs were slightly different to the commercial models. Even in the 1990s when I worked as a contract cleaner, I used a lot of those old red metal tubs - worlds away from the plastic, softened Numatics of today - the newer ones are so much lighter to carry for a start!

The new floor tool isn't about aesthetics at all. It is designed by Wessel Werk and supplied to a lot of the German brands including SEBO. If you weigh that floor tool you'll find it is often twice as heavy or close to, than a standard lighter suction only floor head. This is because the weight of the floor head adds more grip when motor power is lower. Miele started this trend in the UK with their S4 Ecoline and have continued the theme with their S6 Ecoline featuring the double pedal floorhead, which for the moment is a unique design to them.

However the single pedal model can still be found on a number of brands and in my experience they are far better built and last a lot longer.

Hoover, Electrolux, Nilfisk and Morphy Richards have also used the same floor tool. It ain't about the looks, but rather the performance and durability bonus it offers.

 

[henrydreyfuss]

"you'd be WAY better off on carpets with a Filter-Queen or Kirby!"

Meh. I own all three of those vacuums, and my Henry is by far my favorite. Henry is way easier to use than both, lighter, quieter, and the huge bags don't lose suction quickly like those horrible FQ cones.

In the US, if you look online, Henrys can be bought for around 300 dollars on Amazon or ebay. I think they're worth it! I love mine! They have a long pliable hose, and you can cover a ton of area before you have to pull the canister around. Henrys come with a great set of attachments, excellent filtration, and I love the long cord and cord reel. I just had to have one years ago, and I never regretted the purchase! A true low-maintenance workhorse.

 

[turbo500]

because it was given a face and sold on the domestic market

Sorry, Nar, but that's not entirely true. It was given a face because the designer thought that cleaning was a very lonely job and wanted to characterise the equipment used by cleaners in offices and schools etc.

Numatic were purely a commercial brand and only through word of mouth did they become popular in domestic settings. They weren't sold in Currys, Comet and Argos until the late 90's. Prior to this, they could only be bought from mail order suppliers like Viking Direct and via commercial cleaning retailers.

 

[henrydreyfuss]

This was the video that sold me on the Henry

 

[turbo500]

^That is such a great video.

It's hard to imagine just how popular they are here if you haven't seen it. It's rare to go to any kind of public place - a shop, a school, an office - and for them not to have some sort of Numatic. My office is absolutely full of them. I pass countless shops and bars etc on my way to and from work that are all out with Henrys too.

 

[sebo_fan]

Oh yeah, sorry Chris - I forgot about that.

Maybe I was getting mixed up with the fact that I used a lot of NV250 models with the red tops. Forgot they had faces.

Crucially though, and a nod to those who have bought the new lower watt Lewis or John models - it would be good to know how heavy those new floor heads are alone.

 

[alexhoovers94]

I heard that the face was a mistake and someone from Numatic sketched it out quickly and consumers liked the idea and therefore Numatic started producing the face kits.

 

[hi-loswitch98]

That Wessel Werk floor tool is the best floor tool I have ever used on a vacuum cleaner. It also comes supplies with Vax's TOL Cylinders too.

 

[tolivac]

Nice video-that woman "demonstrator"should be showing Henrys DTD!!Can I sign up for a Demo?

 

[panofan]

Eurekaprince - how did you find the constellation / dupro made turbo brush compared to the electrolux ultrasilencer green's turbo brush? I can't remember why, but somewhere in my research I came to the conclusion that dupro must make the turbo brush for electrolux (swedish, that is) vacuums as well.

 

[eurekaprince]

Hi Panofan,

My wonderful Electrolux UltraSilencer Green was bought after I sold the Hoover Constellation Version II. I wanted a vac that did not blow exhaust on the floor.

The Electrolux did not come packaged with their turbo carpet nozzle. However, I am astounded by the effectiveness of the "Dust Magnet" Carpet-Floor Tool that DID come with it!!! The suction channel is spring-loaded so that it leans forward on the back stroke, and backward on the forward stroke. This allows it to gently "scrape" the rug pile so that it opens up to allow embedded dirt to be removed. You can even sweep the carpet with the floor bristles in the down position because there are only two rows of bristles along the front and back edge of the nozzle. I actually think this Swedish design works better than Miele's heavier AirTeq carpet nozzle.

Back to your question: Because I never got a turbo nozzle with the UltraSilencer, I can't say how it compares to the Dupro that came with the Constellation. All I know is that Dupro is an excellent design!!!! Works very well!!!