Toughts on the LG Kompressor?

[Sanifan]

Now that the LG Kompressors have been out for several years, does anyone have any observations on how if performs?

I just used one to clean the hallways and stairs in my apartment building. First impression is good. Nice quality for a plastic vacuum. The thing feels big and bulky! It's really heavy feeling and cumbersome when you're pushing it! Not that it's really that heavy, but it feels heavy and bulky to push. It takes a lot of effort. It's OK, but I don't know if I like that too much.

It seems to clean well. Supposedly it's on par with a Dyson DC33 (apparently LG's claim that it picks up more than the DC33 is based on the larger bin size, and not from better performance, which is on par with the DC33 according to one professional review site).

I absolutely LOVE the Kompressor feature. It uses a vertical paddle that slowly sweeps back and forth to pin and compress the debris against a vertical barrier at the back of the bin. When I vacuum with my Sanitaire commercial bagless, I usually empty the bin after every cleaning cycle (though, in truth, I could probably do another cleaning cycle without penalty). With the Kompressor, the bin isn't even at 1/4 of its capacity yet.

The detachable hose is mixed. I love how it stretches out a long way. It's great for cleaning stairs. The hose seems to lack on suction, though. It's even worse with the turbo brush attached. It's good enough to get surface debris, but there's not a lot of suction or brush speed with the turbo brush attached.

Filtration seems to be very good. No complaints there.

Does anyone else have one of these? What do you think?



http://www.lg.com/us/vacuum/index.jsp#/300

 

[venson]

I like bags but . . .

During 2011, I actually worked doing demos at several chains stores for LG's Luv200 and LuV300. At the end of that campaign I got to keep both cleaners. Both machines sit nicely in CR ratings.

I especially like the LuV300 you've posted an image of. It has great suction and cleans well. It's also easy to maintain. Though life's fine with the Miele, I kind of wish I'd been able to bring mine along for the move down here.

However, I discovered quite quickly that women generally hated it. The size alone, nothing out of the ordinary to me, puts them off. A machine weighing 22 pounds is just not for today's market save for a few people. Thus, the silver lining here is as they can often be found on sale for much less than their overly hopeful MSRPs.

There was an LuV250 lightweight that I don't think has done well and a following 350 model that I'm looking to one day try.

The black and silver top-of-the-line LuV400 comes accoutred with a bare floor tool (which should have also been supplied with the LuV300), a mattress tool, a flexible crevice tool and a felt carry-all.

The problem you may have to keep an eye on with the LG uprights is the cyclonics area. The air spin happens vertically with these and not horizontally as usually done. There are two air entry ports -- one each side -- that lead into it. They're a little narrow and on occasion one may clog and you may notice lint, bits of litter, etc., swirling around up top. The world doesn't stop turning but the collection of fine dust on the pre-filter above instead of in the bin below does step up. You can use the convenient door set a either side of the cleaner's cyclonic system and remove the debris but should also use a pipe cleaner, etc., to undo any blockage you might find present beyond either of the two air entry ports.

Point of mention, the long warrantied LG includes two foam pre-filters that should last a couple of years or more with regular rinsing out. You can use one while the other dries after being cleaned. The single HEPA can also be cleaned and replaced easily.

A sad design flaw is that the exhaust sits low at the front of the machine. If you do above the floor work with it or put the handle fully upright before you've turned the machine off it will blow about loose stuff on the floor in front of it.

LG also makes a great canister vac and we should be finding a new idea the "Follow Me" vac on the market in not too long. (Check out the link.)

Being truthful, I think the idea of a vacuum that can follow the user is interesting but none of the videos I've seen so far show it's advantage in a room with a good amount of furniture or if the user needs to make a sharp turn.

All that said, I do like the brand think the LG models are great to have if the price is sensible.

 

[mark40511]

Wow!

How cool is that? It packs the dirt to make it easier to dump! That's a huge improvement for people who hate emptying dry bagless vac's with the cloud of dust flying. It would be cool to try.....But so many sensors on the canister vacuum to make it follow you? Hmmmm!

 

[gsheen]

I recently got to see onw of these LG uprights , they are not available here but on of the smaller company's I do work for brought one in as a sample.


 


I could not believe how big this thing is, people here complain about the heavyness of a eureka. This beast of a machine would never sell here. 

 

[venson]

@gsheen . . .

My, how things change. What used to be simply modern convenience is now seen as a malady of the times.

Having grown up around heavy everything, I didn't pay much attention to weight in regard to either of my LGs. However, weight complaints do seem to start here at as low as 15 pounds. That's quite light in comparison the old Electroluxes (especially with the attachment saddle holding its all metal tools onboard) and, of course, upright Hoovers.

But also thinking of those times women did as much, sometimes more, with a broom and dust cloth as they did with a vacuum cleaner and few untidy homes were to be seen. (They still do in many countries where conveniences and energy are costly.) Not a lot of talk of allergies in my neck of the woods either when I was a kid.

Having owned both, LG's equally heavy counterpart, I find Kirby the more difficult to use. However, I see two sides to "easy." There's easy and too easy. I figure a slightly heavier vacuum saves me money on gym time. But, a lighter vacuum is good for the elders as many, unlike in past, are living on their own. Lightweight vacs are also good for those with disabilities striving to manage on their own and good for young ones you're beginning to teach how to help take care of things around the house as well as how to work.

 

[Sanifan]

Physical work as exercise...

Venson,

Funny, I also look at the glass as half-full like that. I consider all of the heavy, physical jobs I do as workouts or excercise. Sometimes, that's the only way I can motivate or console myself when I don't feel like doing physical work. I've seen studies suggesting that a lot of populations around the world exhibiting the greatest longevity, and perhaps best health, are those that don't actually workout in gyms, but those that work at jobs that require them to be physically active day in and day out. That's one of the key factors, so there's something to that.

The fellow I work for has been doing that all his life. Up until the last few years he's been lifting refrigerators, stoves, etc. by himself, and broken up chunks of cast iron from ancient boilers weighing a couple of hundred pounds, wrestling them up and down stairways with a rope (we moved those in tandem). He is turning 90 years old this year. It was just last year that we moved the big iron. I can't help but think his ethic valuing physical work has contributed to his longevity.

But not everyone looks at it that way. That's fine. People should use whatever vacuum is suited to their lifestyle choices. There's a market for light vacuums cleaners because it's easier and a more bearable experience. Understood, it's human nature to seek the most pleasurable experience. So when a heavy vacuum like the LG get put to market, there's some resistance because of the weight and bulk. Now I'm a physical guy - I do a lot of physical work and rock climb, etc., so using a heavy, bulky vac is more of an annoyance to me more than anything prohibitive. As long as the features, performance, and user experience are such I can overlook the weight, I can deal with that. Out of everyone in my immediate family who are not as active as I am, however, I can think of no one who would want to use a vac as their daily driver or only vac. It's just far to unwieldy. And for someone like my mother, who has arthritis in her knee, it's not even an option.

So again, the LG is another vac that I feel ambivalent towards. There are some things I like a lot about it, but it is, as Gareth calls it, a beast. I have reserved it for use in the apartment hallways and stairs because the stretch hose is very handy for that. And also it seems to clean well as an upright.

 

[venson]

@Sanifan . . .

Hi,

I share you're feeling. I've known and grown up around such people as the gentleman you mention. My grandfather was one and the thing that killed him was moving away from our farm to live in the city -- more for my benefit than his. Inactivity quickly started him on the downhill slide but he lived to 85 as if to make sure I'd safely reached 21.

Though I don't do rock climbing or a lot rough stuff, I do what I have to do here on my own. More determined than strong, I can still shove a piano or a fridge around to get it where I want it. Thus, what makes me scratch my head and wonder is what will all the seemingly "delicate" youngers do if, one day, some one pulls the plug.

I never say any cleaner is the be all, end all machine but the LG uprights do well enough and at a decent price.

 

[Sanifan]

One thing that I really like about the LG is the 40' cord. It works perfectly for getting down into the staircase, which doesn't have plugs. It's as handy as my Dusctare 6500C and Sanitaire commercial vacs which have 50' and 40' cords, respectively. Such a rarity on a vac that's not designed for commercial use.

Funny, but the guy I work for also grew up on a farm. One in Denmark. Farming really does instill a physical work ethic in you, doesn't it?

I guess that's why you can eat a "farm breakfast," eggs, bacon, etc. without too much ill effect - it all gets burned off!

Nowadays, most people in the city will go to the diner and that food goes right to their waist and arteries. I sure love the farm breakfast! Chicken fried steak, too.

 

[venson]

@Sanifan . . .

By the way, this is the LG LuV350P I'm waiting to learn of. It weighs in at 17.8 pounds. The company is following the trend for more maneuverability and thus have worked in a swivel mechanism for those that have to run a slalom course while cleaning. Customer reviews -- not a lot -- are mixed

Yes, a good old country breakfast is a great thing -- you forgot hot biscuits. But moderation in all thing being seen as a virtue, things were usually kept simple during weekdays around our way. Sundays, the call to the table came 'round about 10:30 or 11:00 when my grandmother went for broke on what she set out.

http://www.lg.com/us/vacuum-cleaners/lg-LuV350P-upright-vacuum