luxkid1980
Well-known member
Someone else is going to grab that up at that price if you don't!
Vacuums at my Goodwill
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Update #2
Today at work, the Prolux was still there, and again, I didn't buy it. I honestly don't have a use for a bagged, commercial upright vacuum at my house, due to the ongoing cost of bags.
Soon, I will be getting a vintage vacuum that I've been after for many, many years. I'm keeping it a secret until I get it.
Today at work, the Prolux was still there, and again, I didn't buy it. I honestly don't have a use for a bagged, commercial upright vacuum at my house, due to the ongoing cost of bags.
Soon, I will be getting a vintage vacuum that I've been after for many, many years. I'm keeping it a secret until I get it.
human
Well-known member
Bags are cheap!
Bags for Electrolux upright (U) and canister (C) machines are among the least expensive for any bagged machines. When bought in bulk, they come in well under a dollar each. Frankly, I wouldn't have a bagless machine. They're too much of a hassle to keep clean and unclogged. The utter convenience of a bag is a very small price to pay for not being up to my elbows in dirt every time I clean the thing out.
Bags for Electrolux upright (U) and canister (C) machines are among the least expensive for any bagged machines. When bought in bulk, they come in well under a dollar each. Frankly, I wouldn't have a bagless machine. They're too much of a hassle to keep clean and unclogged. The utter convenience of a bag is a very small price to pay for not being up to my elbows in dirt every time I clean the thing out.
KirbyCollector01
Well-known member
Trust us, you will not be disappointed in the Lux if you get it. It’s really a great machine. Plus I Second human on this. Bags are quite cheap. I really wouldn’t pass it up, honestly...
luxkid1980
Well-known member
If I don't need a particular vacuum I find and it is in good working order and the price is right, I often will clean them up and sell them.
crazykirbydude
Well-known member
Niclonnic, have you ever owned a bagged vacuum before?
Yes
A long time ago in an apartment far, far away....
My family had a Eureka Ultra ESP with a white hood and black outer bag. My parents used it when my sister and I were very young children. I actually posted about this vacuum about a month ago in the Vintage forum. I'm including a link to it down below.
Sometime in the mid- to late 90s, we fell for an infomercial about a revolutionary new vacuum called the Fantom Fury, which eliminated filter bags. My dad subsequently ordered it. It became the best vacuum we ever used, up until that fateful day in the summer of 2001. The cord became damaged and the entire vacuum became unusable. So we got rid of it, and I never saw the Fantom Fury again.
Upon moving into our current house in the summer of 2001, we purchased a brand new Dirt Devil Swivel Glide Vision vacuum, which came with a "Swift Stick" stick vacuum as a bonus. It was an OK vacuum; that vacuum, including all the other ones that came after it, just didn't seem to have that same magic. Despite being a little kid at the apartment, I didn't realize how much of an impact the Fantom had on us. So we've had bagless vacuums ever since. And the revolution continues....
http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?35877_10
A long time ago in an apartment far, far away....
My family had a Eureka Ultra ESP with a white hood and black outer bag. My parents used it when my sister and I were very young children. I actually posted about this vacuum about a month ago in the Vintage forum. I'm including a link to it down below.
Sometime in the mid- to late 90s, we fell for an infomercial about a revolutionary new vacuum called the Fantom Fury, which eliminated filter bags. My dad subsequently ordered it. It became the best vacuum we ever used, up until that fateful day in the summer of 2001. The cord became damaged and the entire vacuum became unusable. So we got rid of it, and I never saw the Fantom Fury again.
Upon moving into our current house in the summer of 2001, we purchased a brand new Dirt Devil Swivel Glide Vision vacuum, which came with a "Swift Stick" stick vacuum as a bonus. It was an OK vacuum; that vacuum, including all the other ones that came after it, just didn't seem to have that same magic. Despite being a little kid at the apartment, I didn't realize how much of an impact the Fantom had on us. So we've had bagless vacuums ever since. And the revolution continues....
http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?35877_10
luxkid1980
Well-known member
I saw an original Fantom Fury the other weekend at the Goodwill. It looked almost unused on the floor, but its dust bin stunk so bad that I'm surprised anyone bought or wanted it. Smelled like dirty feet! It was gone by the next weekend though so someone took the plunge.
That's one of my dislikes for bagless cleaners; the terrible smell I have a feeling most will suffer from sooner or later. Its so easy to change out a paper bag on the other models. No mess to clean out, no dust cloud, no fuss!
That's one of my dislikes for bagless cleaners; the terrible smell I have a feeling most will suffer from sooner or later. Its so easy to change out a paper bag on the other models. No mess to clean out, no dust cloud, no fuss!
luxkid1980
By "original Fantom Fury," do you mean it was a 10 amp (dark green) or 12 amp (light green) model?
By "original Fantom Fury," do you mean it was a 10 amp (dark green) or 12 amp (light green) model?
human
Well-known member
Exactly!
Luxkid1980 wrote:
That's one of my dislikes for bagless cleaners; the terrible smell I have a feeling most will suffer from sooner or later. Its so easy to change out a paper bag on the other models. No mess to clean out, no dust cloud, no fuss!
I reply:
My sentiments exactly! I had a girlfriend who lived with me a few years ago and insisted I vacuum the house with her bagless Bissell plasticrap vac. It was a miserable experience to clean that thing after using it. It took longer to clean it than it did to clean the house! Why bother with all that when you can toss one bag and slap in another in about 20 seconds. How the industry made this ridiculously illogical shift is simply beyond me.
Luxkid1980 wrote:
That's one of my dislikes for bagless cleaners; the terrible smell I have a feeling most will suffer from sooner or later. Its so easy to change out a paper bag on the other models. No mess to clean out, no dust cloud, no fuss!
I reply:
My sentiments exactly! I had a girlfriend who lived with me a few years ago and insisted I vacuum the house with her bagless Bissell plasticrap vac. It was a miserable experience to clean that thing after using it. It took longer to clean it than it did to clean the house! Why bother with all that when you can toss one bag and slap in another in about 20 seconds. How the industry made this ridiculously illogical shift is simply beyond me.
Prolux Line
Good information from human.
Here are some additional details:
The Prolux series was introduced in 1987 with the 3rd model of the Discovery II. The Electrolux wordmark with the bold serif letters indicates that it was made at the Canadian factory; although it may have been assembled in the U.S.
The line included seven different models that had changes or upgrades including motors (you will find the model # in in small print with the specs on the brush roll hood when you release the handle). In addition, there were four different labels. I'm not sure if the Prolux and Prolux Plus cleaners were sold concurrently or not, but it would have been logical to give customers an option.
Here's a list of labels and models:
Prolux Commercial - model 1572E (8.1A); 40' 2-wire cord
Prolux - models 1572C (8.5A), U111A (10A); 40' 2-wire cord
Prolux Plus (w/onboard caddy) - models 1572G (9.5A), 1717C (10A), 1747 (10A); 40' 2-wire cord
Prolux 2000 - model U136B (8.5A); 35' 2-wire cord
Interestingly, the model 1572E also had these standard household labels: Discovery II (3rd of 3 models), Discovery Plus, Discovery III, Discovery Advantage, Regency Series, and Special Edition. I'm guessing that it was the first Prolux, and that Electrolux decided to take off the "Commercial" descriptor in succeeding models, because it really wasn't commercial grade (3-wire cord, reinforcements). The "heavy duty" descriptor that followed likely denoted the double-insulated 40' cord.
The Prolux cleaners were marked "For Household Use Only" on their name stamps, so they were likely marketed to home cleaning companies, individual home cleaners and home business owners.
In addition, there was a ProTeam label and models:
Prolux by Electrolux - models 1400, 1400X, 1400XP
_________
If you're interested in an onboard caddy, check some Aerus dealers for NOS or trade-ins. I've found some that are willing to network for customers (contacting and purchasing from other dealers). Fyi, be sure to specify that you want the caddy with two wand holders in gray or they may get you a light colored one or a gray one with one wand holder, which was made for the commercials, because of the placement of the power switch.
Aerus discontinued the onboard caddies at least 5 years ago when the current black line was launched.
Good information from human.
Here are some additional details:
The Prolux series was introduced in 1987 with the 3rd model of the Discovery II. The Electrolux wordmark with the bold serif letters indicates that it was made at the Canadian factory; although it may have been assembled in the U.S.
The line included seven different models that had changes or upgrades including motors (you will find the model # in in small print with the specs on the brush roll hood when you release the handle). In addition, there were four different labels. I'm not sure if the Prolux and Prolux Plus cleaners were sold concurrently or not, but it would have been logical to give customers an option.
Here's a list of labels and models:
Prolux Commercial - model 1572E (8.1A); 40' 2-wire cord
Prolux - models 1572C (8.5A), U111A (10A); 40' 2-wire cord
Prolux Plus (w/onboard caddy) - models 1572G (9.5A), 1717C (10A), 1747 (10A); 40' 2-wire cord
Prolux 2000 - model U136B (8.5A); 35' 2-wire cord
Interestingly, the model 1572E also had these standard household labels: Discovery II (3rd of 3 models), Discovery Plus, Discovery III, Discovery Advantage, Regency Series, and Special Edition. I'm guessing that it was the first Prolux, and that Electrolux decided to take off the "Commercial" descriptor in succeeding models, because it really wasn't commercial grade (3-wire cord, reinforcements). The "heavy duty" descriptor that followed likely denoted the double-insulated 40' cord.
The Prolux cleaners were marked "For Household Use Only" on their name stamps, so they were likely marketed to home cleaning companies, individual home cleaners and home business owners.
In addition, there was a ProTeam label and models:
Prolux by Electrolux - models 1400, 1400X, 1400XP
_________
If you're interested in an onboard caddy, check some Aerus dealers for NOS or trade-ins. I've found some that are willing to network for customers (contacting and purchasing from other dealers). Fyi, be sure to specify that you want the caddy with two wand holders in gray or they may get you a light colored one or a gray one with one wand holder, which was made for the commercials, because of the placement of the power switch.
Aerus discontinued the onboard caddies at least 5 years ago when the current black line was launched.
huskyvacs
Well-known member
Ongoing cost of bags? I have never seen any pack of bags over $5. Thrift stores if you go often enough will usually have bags too. I just bought a pack of Kenmore U bags for $1 at Salvation Army, a random Eureka HEPA filter at Goodwill for 80 cents never opened, and my local ACE hardware store still sells Royal upright bags for $2.50 a piece (packages are faded from being on the shelf for 25 years). You can get 24 Electrolux C-Style bags on eBay right now for $12, can't get much cheaper than that!
Corrections & Clarifications
After I posted reply #29 I talked with a friend of mine who used to work for Electrolux. He offered the following corrections and clarifications:
1) 'Heavy Duty'/'Industrial' (designing & manufacturing) and 'Commercial' (purchasing & selling) are often used interchangeably as descriptors (think 'industrial strength' and 'commercial strength'). So Prolux cleaners were, in fact, intended for commercial use, because of the double-insulated longer cord cord. The 'heavy duty' descriptor was also used on the later B-8s because of the double-insulated cord.
There was sometimes lack of consistency among Electrolux's printing and manufacturing divisions. So the Prolux cleaners were marked 'Heavy Duty' (except for the one marked Prolux Commercial by Electrolux and Prolux 2000) but literature used the term 'commercial'.
2) As far as he knew there was only one Prolux cleaner (model 1717C) whose name stamp included 'For Household Use Only'. He thought that was an oversight as he didn't know of any differences in construction between it and the others.
3) There was also a Prolux-labeled power nozzle used with some of the CB2000s. It had the same gray color and printing as the uprights.
4) He thinks the 1572E labeled Prolux Commercial 'by Electrolux' (which I didn't mention) may have been sold in retail, because "by Electrolux" was often used on the label for those cleaners. It's also been used for outsourced cleaners; although he didn't think that was the case with the Prolux.
5) Veridian, a retail brand of Aerus, also had a label called Prolux OBT (onboard tools). It was like the Xtreme Plus, Lux 4000, & Lux 6000 with the attached hose w/wand and tools.
6) Besides the motors, other differences among the models would have been the location of the reset switch (back side or nozzle), brush roll guards (metal or plastic), hard-wired or detachable power cord, and whether it was equipped with a carrying handle. These would have coincided the contemporaneous household cleaners.
7) The model U111A's label was Prolux Plus.
8) Aerus (Electrolux LLC) cleaners labeled Electrolux Commercial or Lux Commercial by Aerus, made by ProTeam and ?, have had reinforced construction, 3-wire cords, metal brush roll guards, and a System Performance Indicator. All had detachable cords, so they lacked the electric hose option for the Sidekick.
9) The Prolux label was bought by Prolux, LLC, located in Utah, about 5 years ago. He wasn't sure if it's run by a former Aerus exec or if it's somehow connected to Aerus.
After I posted reply #29 I talked with a friend of mine who used to work for Electrolux. He offered the following corrections and clarifications:
1) 'Heavy Duty'/'Industrial' (designing & manufacturing) and 'Commercial' (purchasing & selling) are often used interchangeably as descriptors (think 'industrial strength' and 'commercial strength'). So Prolux cleaners were, in fact, intended for commercial use, because of the double-insulated longer cord cord. The 'heavy duty' descriptor was also used on the later B-8s because of the double-insulated cord.
There was sometimes lack of consistency among Electrolux's printing and manufacturing divisions. So the Prolux cleaners were marked 'Heavy Duty' (except for the one marked Prolux Commercial by Electrolux and Prolux 2000) but literature used the term 'commercial'.
2) As far as he knew there was only one Prolux cleaner (model 1717C) whose name stamp included 'For Household Use Only'. He thought that was an oversight as he didn't know of any differences in construction between it and the others.
3) There was also a Prolux-labeled power nozzle used with some of the CB2000s. It had the same gray color and printing as the uprights.
4) He thinks the 1572E labeled Prolux Commercial 'by Electrolux' (which I didn't mention) may have been sold in retail, because "by Electrolux" was often used on the label for those cleaners. It's also been used for outsourced cleaners; although he didn't think that was the case with the Prolux.
5) Veridian, a retail brand of Aerus, also had a label called Prolux OBT (onboard tools). It was like the Xtreme Plus, Lux 4000, & Lux 6000 with the attached hose w/wand and tools.
6) Besides the motors, other differences among the models would have been the location of the reset switch (back side or nozzle), brush roll guards (metal or plastic), hard-wired or detachable power cord, and whether it was equipped with a carrying handle. These would have coincided the contemporaneous household cleaners.
7) The model U111A's label was Prolux Plus.
8) Aerus (Electrolux LLC) cleaners labeled Electrolux Commercial or Lux Commercial by Aerus, made by ProTeam and ?, have had reinforced construction, 3-wire cords, metal brush roll guards, and a System Performance Indicator. All had detachable cords, so they lacked the electric hose option for the Sidekick.
9) The Prolux label was bought by Prolux, LLC, located in Utah, about 5 years ago. He wasn't sure if it's run by a former Aerus exec or if it's somehow connected to Aerus.
Today at work
Some shelves were rearranged! So now this allows the vacuums to sit on the shelf, rather than being out in the open, on the floor.
Again, the Prolux was still there, and I didn't get it. Looks like it's a tough sell. The other day, I saw a Black & Decker Air Swivel vacuum for sale, but today, it was gone. When I got to work this morning, I saw a Hoover WindTunnel T-Series bagged upright for sale, but somebody bought it by the time my shift was over. It didn't have a bag installed. I also found a Bissell Powerforce Compact vacuum, originally from Walmart.
I didn't take a pic of today's selection.
Some shelves were rearranged! So now this allows the vacuums to sit on the shelf, rather than being out in the open, on the floor.
Again, the Prolux was still there, and I didn't get it. Looks like it's a tough sell. The other day, I saw a Black & Decker Air Swivel vacuum for sale, but today, it was gone. When I got to work this morning, I saw a Hoover WindTunnel T-Series bagged upright for sale, but somebody bought it by the time my shift was over. It didn't have a bag installed. I also found a Bissell Powerforce Compact vacuum, originally from Walmart.
I didn't take a pic of today's selection.
crazykirbydude
Well-known member
That ProLux would outclean any bagless! $9.99 is a steal!
lux_luthor
Well-known member
I wish I could get it. The reason it doesn’t sell is due to people not knowing what it is or thinking it is a commercial use vacuum only.
huskyvacs
Well-known member
*wee-woo wee-woo wee-woo*
Stop! You're under arrest because you used a commercial vacuum in a residential home!
Shame it's being left to sit there, because getting an Electrolux like that for that cheap is a once in a great while thing. They do best on low pile carpet, their suction is terrible for anything thicker. I have an Epic 9500SR I use in my basement and it does great down there on the glue-down carpet (my Kirby will actually lift that carpet off the concrete) I found an Amway Cleartrak at Goodwill in 2013, you think I've ever seen one again there? Nope. Likewise the other time in 2010 I seen a Royal there with a aftermarket magnet strip on it to catch tacks and paperclips for $19.99, never seen that again either.
Stop! You're under arrest because you used a commercial vacuum in a residential home!
Shame it's being left to sit there, because getting an Electrolux like that for that cheap is a once in a great while thing. They do best on low pile carpet, their suction is terrible for anything thicker. I have an Epic 9500SR I use in my basement and it does great down there on the glue-down carpet (my Kirby will actually lift that carpet off the concrete) I found an Amway Cleartrak at Goodwill in 2013, you think I've ever seen one again there? Nope. Likewise the other time in 2010 I seen a Royal there with a aftermarket magnet strip on it to catch tacks and paperclips for $19.99, never seen that again either.
luxkid1980
Well-known member
niclonnic
If I recall correctly, it was the dark green model. I wasn't sure of the amps though.
If I recall correctly, it was the dark green model. I wasn't sure of the amps though.
luxkid1980
Well-known member
@niclonnic
"Again, the Prolux was still there, and I didn't get it. Looks like it's a tough sell."
A lot of people will probably take one look at the Prolux and think it looks old fashioned or they don't want it because they are used to seeing an upright bagless vacuum with on-board attachments and see that the Prolux doesn't have any. They just don't realize the great motors inside or that attachments aren't that expensive. They also may think bags are too expensive (which they aren't by any means if you buy generic.) Just about every vacuum store I've been in sells generic "U" style bags.
My aunt uses one of the Oreck commercial vacuums in her house and it cleans great. They call it commercial because it has a heavier, longer and grounded power cord. Also its orange in color.
"Again, the Prolux was still there, and I didn't get it. Looks like it's a tough sell."
A lot of people will probably take one look at the Prolux and think it looks old fashioned or they don't want it because they are used to seeing an upright bagless vacuum with on-board attachments and see that the Prolux doesn't have any. They just don't realize the great motors inside or that attachments aren't that expensive. They also may think bags are too expensive (which they aren't by any means if you buy generic.) Just about every vacuum store I've been in sells generic "U" style bags.
My aunt uses one of the Oreck commercial vacuums in her house and it cleans great. They call it commercial because it has a heavier, longer and grounded power cord. Also its orange in color.
crazykirbydude
Well-known member
I think niclonnic is biased against bagged vacuums. It appears he has drunk the bagless Kool-Aid.
