kirbylux77
Well-known member
Mark
You are correct, Godfrey's in Australia does indeed sell this vacuum under the Wertheim brand as the Wertheim 7 Series through their own stores. As for the Wertheim brand being a quality vacuum? Hardly! IF you had done your research, you would have found out that KingClean had previously made the Riccar Pristine for Godfrey's as a Wertheim 4410 with a DustCare PB11 powerhead that had a NuTone/Dirt Devil style powerhead powerhead hood. The Hoover Windtunnel Anniversary Edition was also sold as the Wertheim 4435, again with a restyled DustCare PB11 powerhead. Go ahead and read the reviews for those vacuums on various Australian sites - They got BLASTED for them, BIG TIME, because they ARE Chinese made junk! The reviews on those machines consistently stated they are poorly built, unreliable, and had problems with the powerhead in particular. There was also a Wertheim canister with the same powerhead sold on a home shopping channel in Britain that was a rebadged Simplicity Verve....I can only imagine how poorly the Brits thought of it compared to a Miele or Sebo.
As for your comment about the quality of the bag, since you claim to know so much, Miele's AirClean FJM and GN bags are 9 LAYER HEPA Cloth, NOT 5 layer as you stated in your post. Most aftermarket/generic Miele bags are 5 layer HEPA Cloth, though. So there goes your claim these are the "best quality available". The material even looks like it's just a ordinary Chinese HEPA Cloth bag....nothing special. The ONLY thing I will give it credit for is the bag collar....it appears to be a copy of the bag collar used on Bosch canister HEPA Cloth bags, but with the bag flap and seal like Miele uses on the AirClean collar, very interesting! Looking at the Wertheim 7 Series bag, theirs only uses a cardboard collar with a silicone seal.
As for your assertion that the Riccar Prima, Titan canisters and some Miele canisters are made in China, yes that is correct. However, you forgot to mention it is ONLY the RETIRED Miele canisters and the latest Miele Boost bagless canister that are made at Miele's Dongguan, China plant. And they are made of German components formed into a body formed at the plant and assembled there. So they are not "true" Chinese vacuums, and they get positive reviews consistently. The Titan canisters are made of Chinese parts at a Chinese factory by Cleva, same as current Kenmore canisters. However, their designs are restyled Panasonic designs, from a Japanese company that has been called legendary in their own right by vac shops, same as Aerus Electrolux was, and are already sorely missed by many, including many consumers. The Riccar Prima is also a Chinese canister, but is made to the specifications specified by the parent company, Tacony Corporation. And might I remind you, before you dare try to nitpick and criticize it, that Tom Gasko, Dysonman1, the owner of the shop carrying this Air Way canister, helped in the design of the Riccar Prima and former Simplicity Wonder. I have actually seen the Prima in person once at McHardy Vacuum here in London when I picked up some bags....for a Chinese made vacuum, it is certainly above average. While I didn't like the design of the bag collar and the quality of the paper used in the HEPA filter, I might have bought one if I wasn't happy already with my Simplicity Gusto, Riccar Pizzazz and The Bank Vault canisters. If I was a normal, average consumer looking for a new vacuum, I would take a Riccar Prima hands down over the Air Way UltraKleen!
I looked through the catalogue you posted a link to, and my opinion stands - the Air Way vacuums are cheap, Chinese junk. The uprights are relabeled Bernina/Prolux uprights which are cheaply built Panasonic clones. Even worse than the Cirrus brand uprights. I also find it rather funny they still have the nerve to sell the Air Way Altera and Agilus canisters....those are horrid machines! As for your assertion "Parts are available, and will be available as long as Air Way continues to order parts"....well, newsflash for ya, do you REALLY THINK the Chinese are gonna care how long some silly American or Australian company wants the parts made for? Nope! THEY will ultimately decide how long parts are available for this vacuum, NOT Air Way!
The Air Way UltraKleen is being manufactured by Qinqdao Creation Industry and Commerce Co., Ltd, of China. Hardly a reputable manufacturer. Look further down on Alibaba.com, and you will see the Airway Altera and Agilus canisters, as well as the Bissell Momentum the Air Way is based on. You should also know that the vacuum is also sold in Switzerland as the Satrap Aspira, in Iran as the German brand Rugen RU-1110, and a slightly different version with a knob for the variable speed control as the Persia France. Also note that the Rugen comes with a reusable cloth bag, and the Wertheim has a optional bag saver attachment and a optional Wessel Werk turbo floor brush. So we are certainly getting ripped off for features here in North America.
Alex - Even if I wanted to, I couldn't try out the Air Way, I have yet to see a Canadian vac shop distributor offer the Air Way brand yet. And I certainly wouldn't buy a Chinese vacuum that I would have no warranty on.
Rob
You are correct, Godfrey's in Australia does indeed sell this vacuum under the Wertheim brand as the Wertheim 7 Series through their own stores. As for the Wertheim brand being a quality vacuum? Hardly! IF you had done your research, you would have found out that KingClean had previously made the Riccar Pristine for Godfrey's as a Wertheim 4410 with a DustCare PB11 powerhead that had a NuTone/Dirt Devil style powerhead powerhead hood. The Hoover Windtunnel Anniversary Edition was also sold as the Wertheim 4435, again with a restyled DustCare PB11 powerhead. Go ahead and read the reviews for those vacuums on various Australian sites - They got BLASTED for them, BIG TIME, because they ARE Chinese made junk! The reviews on those machines consistently stated they are poorly built, unreliable, and had problems with the powerhead in particular. There was also a Wertheim canister with the same powerhead sold on a home shopping channel in Britain that was a rebadged Simplicity Verve....I can only imagine how poorly the Brits thought of it compared to a Miele or Sebo.
As for your comment about the quality of the bag, since you claim to know so much, Miele's AirClean FJM and GN bags are 9 LAYER HEPA Cloth, NOT 5 layer as you stated in your post. Most aftermarket/generic Miele bags are 5 layer HEPA Cloth, though. So there goes your claim these are the "best quality available". The material even looks like it's just a ordinary Chinese HEPA Cloth bag....nothing special. The ONLY thing I will give it credit for is the bag collar....it appears to be a copy of the bag collar used on Bosch canister HEPA Cloth bags, but with the bag flap and seal like Miele uses on the AirClean collar, very interesting! Looking at the Wertheim 7 Series bag, theirs only uses a cardboard collar with a silicone seal.
As for your assertion that the Riccar Prima, Titan canisters and some Miele canisters are made in China, yes that is correct. However, you forgot to mention it is ONLY the RETIRED Miele canisters and the latest Miele Boost bagless canister that are made at Miele's Dongguan, China plant. And they are made of German components formed into a body formed at the plant and assembled there. So they are not "true" Chinese vacuums, and they get positive reviews consistently. The Titan canisters are made of Chinese parts at a Chinese factory by Cleva, same as current Kenmore canisters. However, their designs are restyled Panasonic designs, from a Japanese company that has been called legendary in their own right by vac shops, same as Aerus Electrolux was, and are already sorely missed by many, including many consumers. The Riccar Prima is also a Chinese canister, but is made to the specifications specified by the parent company, Tacony Corporation. And might I remind you, before you dare try to nitpick and criticize it, that Tom Gasko, Dysonman1, the owner of the shop carrying this Air Way canister, helped in the design of the Riccar Prima and former Simplicity Wonder. I have actually seen the Prima in person once at McHardy Vacuum here in London when I picked up some bags....for a Chinese made vacuum, it is certainly above average. While I didn't like the design of the bag collar and the quality of the paper used in the HEPA filter, I might have bought one if I wasn't happy already with my Simplicity Gusto, Riccar Pizzazz and The Bank Vault canisters. If I was a normal, average consumer looking for a new vacuum, I would take a Riccar Prima hands down over the Air Way UltraKleen!
I looked through the catalogue you posted a link to, and my opinion stands - the Air Way vacuums are cheap, Chinese junk. The uprights are relabeled Bernina/Prolux uprights which are cheaply built Panasonic clones. Even worse than the Cirrus brand uprights. I also find it rather funny they still have the nerve to sell the Air Way Altera and Agilus canisters....those are horrid machines! As for your assertion "Parts are available, and will be available as long as Air Way continues to order parts"....well, newsflash for ya, do you REALLY THINK the Chinese are gonna care how long some silly American or Australian company wants the parts made for? Nope! THEY will ultimately decide how long parts are available for this vacuum, NOT Air Way!
The Air Way UltraKleen is being manufactured by Qinqdao Creation Industry and Commerce Co., Ltd, of China. Hardly a reputable manufacturer. Look further down on Alibaba.com, and you will see the Airway Altera and Agilus canisters, as well as the Bissell Momentum the Air Way is based on. You should also know that the vacuum is also sold in Switzerland as the Satrap Aspira, in Iran as the German brand Rugen RU-1110, and a slightly different version with a knob for the variable speed control as the Persia France. Also note that the Rugen comes with a reusable cloth bag, and the Wertheim has a optional bag saver attachment and a optional Wessel Werk turbo floor brush. So we are certainly getting ripped off for features here in North America.
Alex - Even if I wanted to, I couldn't try out the Air Way, I have yet to see a Canadian vac shop distributor offer the Air Way brand yet. And I certainly wouldn't buy a Chinese vacuum that I would have no warranty on.
Rob