Some Thoughts On The Platinum
I sold equipment both residential and commercial for Lux on the streets of Boston for more than a decade back in my days with Jimmy Hoffa. After numerous calls from my buddies at lux and lots of back and forth on the price of the unit (Believe me I know EVERY angle inside Lux) I picked up my Lux Guardian Platinum this afternoon to evaluate whether I would consider selling for them again part-time.
I have been after Lux's engineering dept. since 2003 to bring this machine (then the Lux-1 Royal) to the North American market. People used to say IBM was tough to deal with. I found Lux corporate tough to deal with (lack of R&D and poor understanding of target market and competing products coupled with sky-high prices) and the Guardian Ultra became the straw that broke the camel's back for me. The Platinum is mostly a hit with a few misses. Far and away the best machine since the Silverado Deluxe with P/N 5 which was, overall, probably the best vacuum they or any vacuum manufacturer ever made. Certainly Filter Queen, Air-Way, Kirby and Rainbow join that short list.
The Good:
1. Smooth, Quiet and VERY Powerful.
2. Great Informative Display you can actually see.
3. Super Filtration with twin HEPA.
4. Excellent hose and cord length (a little ArmorAll on the cord makes it retract better)
5. Easy to use and Stainless/black body Looks REALLY Cool!
6. Bags are small but same as C Bags in capacity and reasonable $$$.
7. Best overall quality since early 80's and Old Greenwich, CT
8. Scent capability and about same weight as Electrolux Oxygen and Miele Capricorn
9. The combo tool, crevice tool, Sidekick III and Combo rug and floor tool are excellent quality.
Not So Good:
I have always hated this WAL-MART wand and hose grip and adding the above floor accessories , complete with the Legacy/ECV adapter for the combo tool adds insult to injury. Most companies would have learned their lesson from the Guardian Ultra project . The Tristar wands ARE better than the Epic wands. I will give them that. They should have used the LUX Intelligence hose grip and control switches on this hose along with the aluminum telescoping wand mated to the Lux Omniflo nozzle. The P/N needs a better quality elbow on the nozzle itself. Don't misunderstand. This current setup yields superb performance and this machine has enough power to bury the nozzle in really thick carpet. Because of this, I might have opted for an OEM agreement with SEBO and included the PB-1 or PB-2 as it pulls itself along more like it's self-propelled. Some sound absorbing material under the P/N cover would also be a nice touch. The bags should have been the MediClean cloth from Lux. These Aerus bags leak enough dust to stain the HEPA first the time out. Lux IOTA spun-woven polypropelene bags were fantastic and would also have been good in this machine! A pair of aluminum wands from the Olympia should have also been included for the floor tool.
At the end of the day I may give this a shot again just for toy money. I am pretty fussy when it comes to quality and it's all about the details. This is a VERY nice vacuum and I have owned ALL of the current TOL canisters including SEBO, Miele, Simplicity and Filter Queen. In it's current form is as good as its competition and a lot like buying Deere, Massey Ferguson or Kubota. In the end it boils down to personal preference. Each of the TOL machines on the market has design issues that need to be corrected including the Miele. This machine is no different. All are of excellent build quality and the Lux is the machine I would buy for my wife.
Brian
