Vacuums that make you satisfied

[hi-loswitch98]

Is a vacuum or appliance made anywhere in Europe good quality?

 

[madabouthoovers]

Most vacs that are made in Europe are made in Germany. I think Poland produces more now but cant be sure on that.


What I can be sure on is that having bought a fair few Chinese built vacs I have been annoyed about how bad the quality control is, especially with Vax machines. Silly things like hoses coming away from their sockets due to bad glue being used, and items not working out of the box. You only need to read customer reviews on these products to see that Chinese built stuff is just not up to the level that German built stuff is.


Companies move production to China to make it cheaper to buy, but that comes at another cost - reliability. China now produces so much its hard to keep up with who now has moved production there. Companies like Panasonic and Sharp, who used to make their products in Japan and the UK, now make them in China and Thailand, and even Russell Hobbs has been taken over by Delonghi, and now all production is in China.


All I can say is thank God for Germany - they still produce goods of reasonable quality, and its not necessarily unaffordable either, with many Dysons costing more than Miele vacs.

 

[hi-loswitch98]

I know the Hotpoint Vacuums are made in Poland.

 

[madabouthoovers]

Just looked at my Kitchen Appliances - My Hotpoint FFA97G Fridge freezer bought 2006 made in UK! Hotpoint CTD80G tumble drier also 2006 made in UK, Bosch exxel dishwasher (2006) made in Germany, LG WM14225FD washer (2006) made in Korea, and my Microwave, a LG MC8483NL also 2006 made in Korea. How times have changed in the last 8 years. I don't think Hotpoint make anything in the UK now do they? as they are owned by Indesit. (My appliances are all 2006 as that was when I did my kitchen up)


LG don't seem to be making microwaves any more, and many Bosch appliances are now not made in Germany.

 

[hi-loswitch98]

Aren't Hotpoint Machines made in Italy in the Merloni Factory?

 

[madabouthoovers]

That's what I feared, made in Italy, but not as bad as made in China. I know Hotpoint machines are not as good as they used to be, their washers always suffered failed drum bearings, or control board faults since Indesit took them over, and Indesit machines themselves are pretty cack and unreliable - all built to a price, not a level of high quality. If you want a quality machine then its gonna be a Miele, and its gonna cost you 3 times more than an average Indesit or Hotpoint. The problem with buying a Miele machine is that if it breaks down outside the warranty it is eye-wateringly expensive to get repaired.

 

[hi-loswitch98]

Yes but at least Hotpoint & Indesit Washing Machines don't have exploding drums!

 

[madabouthoovers]

Oh but they do! at least Indesit ones do anyhow. Search YouTube for them and you will find evidence of Indesit models where the drum has de-seamed itself on a 1600spin, and subsequently destroyed the machine and the worktop over it. Candy models were the worst culprits for this though, and its usually the fact that the cheap quality manufacture of the drums cant withstand the centrifugal forces at play when they have to spin at 1600rpm with an unbalanced load. I only usually use 1000Rpm on my LG machine to help prolong the life of the drum spider and bearings, as many machines just cant take the higher spin speeds they get equipped with.


 


 


Anyhow - better stop talking about washers - we are wandering off the point of the thread lol

 

[hi-loswitch98]

OK then...My new vacuum should be arriving soon!

 

[vintagerepairer]

Hotpoint & UK

I thought the tumble-dryers were still UK made, with Merloni having acquired the Creda plant and all that went with it. If they are no longer UK made, this is certainly a fairly recent change of events. As soon as Merloni acquired the Hotpoint/Creda/Cannon group, many "Creda" dryers were branded as Indesit, I think possibly the first time ever that Indesit had owned a tumble-dryer which had been produced in-house.

 

[vintagerepairer]

From the Indesit website:

"washing and drying

Indesit Company’s plants produce over five million units every year, all designed to meet consumer needs, safeguard the environment and comply with user safety standards. Its development of appliances that ensure optimum performance with minimum expenditure of energy, water and time, and also offer an impressive array of garment care options, enables the Company to maintain its outright leadership in the washing sector in Europe: every year, out of every 100 washing machines and dryers sold in Europe, 20 are Indesit Company’s. Two of the four washing product plants are in Italy, in Comunanza (Ascoli Piceno) and Teverola (Caserta), the other two being in Radomsko (Poland) and Lipetsk (Russia).
All of Indesit Company’s dryer production is concentrated in Yate (UK), while dishwashers are made in Radomsko (Poland)."

As a brand, I read that the name Creda is part of the Glen-Dimplex ever-expanding portfolio.

http://www.indesitcompany.com/inst/en/vision/indesit_nel_mondo/lineeprodotto.jsp

 

[madabouthoovers]

Good info Benny, at least Indesit are keeping production in Europe, rather than China. Regarding Glen Dimplex - they are an Irish company, who started out producing heaters, but as you say, they have taken over a fair few companies, including Creda, Lec and Morphy Richards, but I don't know where they manufacture them.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Dimplex

 

[vintagerepairer]

They manufacturer from all over and they source goods from others too. Although Beko produce a vast range of products under their own name, a good deal of their production is for others, including, I believe, some Glen-Dimplex owned brands.

 

[madabouthoovers]

Arent Beko made in Turkey?


 


I know Morphy Richards use other companies products - they have the Lift away vacuum cleaner in their name, which is really a Shark product.


I would be interested to know who makes Morphy RIchards microwaves and where they are made, as I was trying to find a new freestanding combination microwave that isn't made in China, and not being very successful

 

[vintagerepairer]

Beko were always Turkish, yes, I have heard nothing to say this has changed. May I ask why you mentioned this? Genuine question on my part. No sarcasm.

Interesting what you say about microwave ovens. This is an excellent example of a product which can do so much, yet the appetite (no pun intended) of the consumer drove production almost entirely towards an affordable metal box which can reheat cooked food and cooked processed meals etc. rather than the original forecast back in the late 1970's or so when it was suggested that a microwave oven could well take the place of the domestic cooker. Though it's clear that it is possible to make such a thing, it's also clear that it's not what the consumer wants.

I suppose with a "decent" model being available for around £50 or so, we can't ask or indeed expect much service from it. And yet back in the day when domestic microwaves first became available, no one would have predicted for a moment that they'd ever become "disposable" items.

 

[madabouthoovers]

I found out myself only recently that Beko were Turkish, and it was a surprise as I thought they were another Chinese made brand.


 


I use my microwave more than any other kitchen appliance with the exception of my kettle. I use it to cook ready meals, chips, pasties etc as its a very versatile machine, and my gas oven is pretty redundant now, as I prefer to use the oven facilty in the microwave. Sadly the quartz grill tube got broken, and I was looking at updating the machine as its now 8 years old and the turntable motor is also getting noisy and jerky. Its an LG model made in Korea. I read so many reviews of different models, from Samsung to Panasonic, and was surprised at how many negative reviews I was reading due to poor quality issues about these machines, which were mostly made in China now. Only Miele make a good quality free standing microwave in Germany, but its not a combination oven, and £500 odd.


I have decided to order a new quartz tube and synchronous motor for the LG, as I am not impressed with the current offerings of cheap rubbish made in China. That old LG model has done me proud for 8 years, so I might as well use it until the magnetron fails.

 

[sebo_fan]

Well its like bread makers - my mother's 15 year old Panasonic cost her £200 brand new - now you can get ones for £50 which is crazy!

If however there is one "domestic" appliance brand name that I feel has slipped in quality big time, it is of that of Sony. Sony audio products used to be the best to buy in terms of sound quality and power.

As soon as Sony changed manufacture from Japan to Malaysia in the early 1990s I noticed a huge drop of sound quality as well as general design.

 

[vintagerepairer]

Negative reviews

Ah well you see, there is so much in life now where the consumer pays a 1-star price yet expects a 5-star product or service in return.

Somethings are of course a given; a smile from a hotel receptionist and a warm, clean room is the very least one could expect, be this in a Travelodge or Claridges. Likewise a product should perform it's core purpose, no matter how much one pays. But beyond that, what else one gets could be considered to be subjective and indeed even a bonus. These days few people pay much for the likes of a microwave, but their expectation of all aspects of it is as high as ever.

 

[madabouthoovers]

I am prepared to pay up to £300 for a combi microwave, but I refuse to pay that much and its still made in China. The problem is that the choice that we had a few years ago seems to have dried up, and you either have a new Chinese made microwave, or fix your old one, and after experiencing terrible quality of Chinese made goods from faulty Vax vacuums to my latest £150 office chair that's falling apart already, quite frankly I'm sick and tired of wasting my money on Chinese tat.

 

[sebo_fan]

I agree Benny and well said!

I have a Panasonic combo oven. The one before that was Panasonic and the one before that was the cheap Argos-Delonghi model.

Well, the "Japanese" made Panasonic with a conventional door didn't last even when the oven was treated gently. There was also a product recall about it, which Panasonic took away quite happily, fixed and worked for a couple of years before it suddenly began to go strange with its oven element. Then, inexplicably one day, the inner glass door fell out and then the door housing that held that in, began to fail.

My current Panasonic has a flat floor design and pull down door. It is better made and guess what - it is made in China!

The Argos Delonghi, now in its seventh year is STILL going strong and is used in a holiday home.

BUT, I am beginning to wonder that with the weekly use I put my TOL Panasonic model through, perhaps I should be investing in a basic fan assisted main oven rather than continually using the Panasonic purely for its convection/fan assisted oven. I don't know if they are designed to be used so much.

Therefore I don't know if MY EXPECTATION of use of it is too high.