The Eureka BRAVO!

[dial-a-matic]

Hello all,
About twenty minuts ago I knocked over the mini palm tree in the mud room in my house. I grabbed the NIB BRAVO! HP I just won on ebay and I just cant get over how powerful it is. I like it SOOOOO much better than the POS Hoover Elite, Legacy and Soft-N-Light I grew up with. I have two Bravos, ones the Eureka BOSS POWER, and the NIB one is the BOSS HIGH PERFORMANCE. I LOVE both of them, there lightweght and powerful. I wish they were still made, they would sell well. I think ill use these often, Ill keep one in the pool house, and ill just carry the other one between floors in my house. I am VERY impressed with thier performance!

-a-
Wasnt thier a story about a bravo and cat litter?
Oh I returned my hoover Mach3 yesterday, the bin cracked and I got a mach5 and I LOVE it!

 

[myvacsrock]

sorry but i think a hoover elite/lagacy cleans much better!
Eureka is lighter but hoover elite cleans better!
even better with a double row brushroll!

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Yep.

The Bravo was, I believe, a rip-off of the Elite--in just about every way. Having worked on both, I feel the Elites are built much better than the Bravos. Same goes for cleaning and overall performance.

~F

 

[dial-a-matic]

I really like the bravo better,

Heres why, bag zipper on the front NOT the side or top,HUGE foot power pedal, highly visable. No little drabby power switch hidden on the side (which alwased broke in the soft,n,light). Everything contained on the motor housing (eg, switch,light,electrical connections), For some reason they seem to groom the carpet better than elites, but I cant say its cleaning deep down, how I ment for performance was the grooming power . Now I absolutely HATE this on elites, the single row brush roll, they never seem to groom that well

-a-

 

[decade80]

Yea the Elites clean better than the eurekas I think.

 

[dial-a-matic]

Oh who cares

Neither are made anymore, I enjoy other peoples opinions, but in my opinion the bravo is better in every way, I think its just me, I'm not a big fan of hoover, I like their products, just not a big fan. Just like mercedes, My dad just LOVES his S600 he got brand new a few months ago, Its alwase in for something different
I HATE it, He LOVES it, I prefer the Honda Accord V6 2 door in silver, and the Volvo SUV my dad also has. My mom just got a hyundai tuscon limited which I think is OK, but I did prefer her x5 she had before.
-a-

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Actually...

The Elite is still made, as a commercial machine. Three variations of it. For a lightweight machine at $140, or $160 with tools and a height adjustment, I think it's well worth it.

~F





http://hoover.com/db/xq/asp.hvrProd...ID.1746/qx/EliteLightweightUprightCleaner.htm

 

[dial-a-matic]

Hmmm,

I like the soft bagged one more than the hard bagged, I would still NEVER get a elite, if eureka still had a Bravo, even commercial-I would buy it

-a-

 

[normvac]

Hoover/Eureka

I have been a big Eureka fan in the 70's and 80's when they made my living in Sales and in my Vacuum shop of the time.
Hoover Elite is a very nice product, the Bravo is a lot louder
and harder to repair then the Hoover Elite.
It's true, it's all a matter of preference. If I would have to
choose between the two, it would Hoover hands down!
Thank God I don't, as I have 50 other vacuums in my basement
of vintage quality, which I would choose over either of the
two for use in my home.
Norm

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

I posted this on another thread... here's my opinion!

I think the Elite series was the beginning of the end for Hoover. I hate them. They are loud, and the switch is in a terrible place. I disagree with the person who said they liked them better than Bravos... we had a maroon Bravo when I was growing up and for a cheap vacuum it was pretty good. The foot switch was much easier and more fun to tap than that stupid slider half way down the middle of the shaft on Hoover. There were four screws to remove the top of the housing and then you put the belt on very easily. The was even a belt view window. I liked the bag better too. It was a soft body (though they had similar models that were hard case, called Powerline I believe) with a zipper all the way down the front.... the Hoovers were mostly hard cases...the ones that weren't had a slider at the top and the access to the bag chamber was somewhat limited. Eurekas are usually quieter than Hoovers as a rule and the Bravo compared to the Elite was no exception. Also, it was more stable because the back wheels were on the outside instead of recessed a bit. And, the hand grip was contoured instead of straight and therefore much more comfortable. I liked the attachments better too. But... Elites are CHEAP so they should be hard to assemble and maintain to punish people who think it's okay to buy cheap vacuums... and they should never be fixed... they are certainly disposable.
I think the Bravos look better than the Elites too... more curves and style... the Elites were very straight lined and boring. My aunt had a blue hard case Elite and my other aunt had a teal Runabout... both terrible. We bought our Bravo on Easter Sunday at Kmart when I was probably in 6th grade... I also liked the ridges on the power switch... I loved the big switch! It replaced a dirt devil (not worthy of capitalization) that was flying a part with every use... dirt devils aren't even worthy enough to be called vacuums. They are loud terrible ugly toys. The dirt devil had both back wheels come off, was going through belts with every use, cord clip and attachment holders broke off, and man was it loud. My family was very cheap and I was surprised that they even spent 60 dollars on the Bravo, glad I'm nothing like them. Charles... I do know what you mean. When I sold for Sears, I drove to an old mans house (against store policy... I did it to be nice, I was 19 and he called and begged for someone to come change his belt)... name was Mr. Merburger! He had a Hoover Deminsion... I took the appropriate belt from work over to his house after my shift... and it took me a freaking hour to put that belt on for him! I vacuumed his whole house after I was done. He was so happy he started crying that someone took the time to be so nice... he wrote me a check for 50 dollars which I tried to refuse but he insisted and I needed the money. Was a great experience, and we talked for a couple of hours after the vacuum stuff was finished! Those were the days!

 

[buffalo-joe]

I've used both...........

I've worked on and used both the Elite and Bravo. Both clean well and groom well. I have seen more burnt out Bravo motors almost 2:1 to the Elite. I have two burnt out Bravo's right now. Also the Bravo's bag leaks around its collar. Much worse than an Elite. If you are good about changing the bags frequently, the Bravo should be OK for you.

Of course, nothing cleans like the older Eurekas and Hoover Convertibles.

Joe

 

[myhooverco]

Joe...

I agree with you. The workmanship on the bravo seems a little less than adequate. I have seen very few "bad" elites. I have seen new and almost new bravos with burnt out brush rolls. The elites are not very exciting but are almost 20 years old now. The Hoover Company was very proud of that line and its automation in production. The elite was so popular that it ended the Convertible series which was a mainstay for over 30 years. The elite was never meant to replace it; it just worked out that way. If it were me, I would pick an elite (bland or not) any day over the bravo.

...and of course nothing cleans like a Hoover Convertible!

--Tom

 

[decade80]

I used my Convertible model U4395 to clean off my rug....it had hair all over it when I was done vacuuming the rug was looked nearly new again thanks to the convertible.

 

[dial-a-matic]

I sell these...

In my store for $129, I love them, and so do the people who come into my store, there very easy to use, and are easy to repair.

 

[lux1521]

Does that Sanitaire have a plastic handle? I know they perform great, and the colors on that one are very nice looking, but the plastic handles that some of the Eureka uprights have bother me. My Eureka upright (shown below) has a plastic handle and it actualy bends under stress. It does not stop me from using it but it just feels funny when you push it or lift it and the handel bends.

I was just wondering if they fixed this. I know the mid range to high end models have polished metal handels and seem much better but it just seems strange that such a simple part is the vacuums most obviouse weak point.

Eureka Model 1945A with plastic handel:

 

[dial-a-matic]

Yep,

the plastic one is good enough for most, but I sell the TOL blue line for $350, that has a metal handle, but I talk them into the cheaper one, its lighter and easier to repair the switch.

-a-

 

[buffalo-joe]

Plastic Handles..........

Did you ever try to break one of those plastic handles on a Eureka? They are tough. When it finally snapped after bending it past 90 degrees, I almost had my leg taken off when the broken piece snapped back. Its a tough piece of plastic considering how flimsy it feels when you are pushing it. A metal handle would just fold after a 90 degree bend.

Joe

 

[lux1521]

I'm supprised that they can withstand a 90 degree bend. I had thought that they would bend so far and then suddenly snap. Some plastics tend to do that. I guess it could be one of those plastics that is stubborn and won't snap.

Of course for those who are interested you can look at this from a physics perspective. The handle might obey Hookes Law (a law governing certain springs and elastic materials). If it does obey that law, and if my understanding of Hookes Law is correct, then it can be bent so far while still being able to spring back(and nearly take you leg off in the process). It springs back with as much energy it took to bend it in the first place, and returns to it's original state. If you push it too far it will not spring back and the engery will be dissipated(in the form of heat I would guess), and your handle will be deformed, but not nessesarily broken.

I just diden't expect that you could bend it that far without it breaking or deforming.

 

[hoover1060]

Sanitaire Blue

I have one of the cheapie S634's with the plastic handle, nice light vacuum, but it needs a VGII to make it just right.

I just bought one of the super deluxe S670's on ebay not too long ago, use it once, and retired it to the collection. 7.0 amp Sanitaires hug the carpets too much for me!