Vorwerk in US

[vorwerkfan]

Hi, guys!
I was really pleased when I bumped into this site. I hope someone will help with ideas and suggestions...
I'm a big Vorwerk fan, I had several generations, years ago I was also a Vorwerk sales person...
I recently moved to NYC from Europe and wanted to buy a Vorwerk-no chance, they don't sell it here anymore. They stopped after the VK 121. Any ideas why? I even tried to contact them with no success in discovering why they are not present nor if they are coming back.
I want to purchase a Vorwerk and after seeing the VK 200 i realized what that that's what I want. Great improvement, I love the new Kobosan auto dispensing brush!
My major concern is, wheater to buy it in Europe, ship it and use it with a power converter (step up 110 to 220 transformer) how does that sound to you?Anyone using a vacuum with that kind of converter?
Thanks to this page I discovered the Seba vacuum which features similar characteristics but I don't find it that functional as Vorwerk not to mention that the design is incomparable ...
Thank you for your help!

 

[myles_v]

Welcome to Vacuumland!
An American vacuum cleaner that can be as versatile as a Vorwerk (albeit heavier and more of a pain to use) would be the Kirby. They're good deep cleaners, are able to dry shampoo carpets, and they sell a variety of different tools and accessories.
I'm aware of a couple people who use step-down transformers in order to use vintage Hoovers from Europe here in America, but I'm unsure of any specifics about it so I'm not of much help there!
I'm attaching a photo of one of my Kirbys, a G6. I personally prefer the look of this model, the features of the G3-Ultimate G, Sentria, and Avalir lines have remained mostly the same. I have heard that the Avalir has an improved shampoo attachment, though.

My second photo shows where the attachments connect to the cleaner at.

Hopefully I've helped a bit! Good luck on your search for a solution
Myles

 

[eurekaprince]

I have used 220volt vacuums here in Canada with a step down converter with no problem. If you are living in a residential home or condominium flat that has a full-size laundry room, I think the washer/dryer machines run on 220volts. All you would have to do is pay an electrician to install a separate 220volt plug for you. You would need a very long 220volt European extension cord though to use your new Vorwerk 200 around the house.

Kirbys are very, very different in that they are far heavier than the Vorwerk. And not as modern in design and style...in my opinion.

Maybe you could work with Vorwerk in Germany to bring back their vacs to North America? It would be great to have them in our vac shops alongside other German vacs like Miele and Sebo.

 

[vacerator]

It is easier

to install a 220 volt dedicated circuit than to step up from 120 to 220 volts via a transformer.
I did that for my German Marklin trains, and they run better on 220 than 120.

 

[tolivac]

NOT aleays easier to have the 220V outlet installed-in my case my WHOLE breaker panel would have to be replaced to accomidate the new circuit.Cheaper for me to use a transformer.If I am lucky,might be able to get one from work out of the surplus parts pile.Kirbys are built with 220V motors for use in areas where 220V is used.They make their machines for worldwide markets.

 

[vacerator]

Entire panel usually dies not need to be replaced.

There are punch outs on the sides and bottom of panels. A short section of conduit to another small box for the new circuit breaker can be added.
Now if your exhisting house power is under 150 amps., it may be an issue.

 

[tolivac]

ALL of the slots in my panel are used-so it would have to be replaced to add another circuit-then that could lead to new service-200A instead of 150A-NOT worth it in my case.Don't know if the other homes on my circle have 200A.

 

[sebo_fan]

Hi Vorwerkfan - welcome!

I recently bought in a much longer cord for my Vorwerk from Germany and it has a 2 pin plug as standard. I had to buy an adaptor plug for usage in the UK. Im not too sure about voltage changes in the U.S though - if you can buy in a U.S cord with a U.S fitted plug, you can in theory use that cord on the Vorwerk vac you have; that's the beauty with Vorwerk as you know since the handle and cord are separate, replaceable items.

 

[myvacsrock]

Have you considered

a Sebo Felix? That's about the closest thing we have here to a modern day Vorwerk.

 

[panasonicvac]

Or you could try the Lindhaus Healthcare Pro to see if you would like that. That's a really fun vacuum to use.

 

[eurekaprince]

Unfortunately, none of the other German vacs (Sebo, Lindhaus, etc) come close to the unique design of the Vorwerk. Though I have no idea of the cleaning performance of the latest model and its various attachments, it is indeed an entire category of vacuum cleaner unto itself: from the dry cleaning powder option, to the window pane cleaning system, to the electrically powered Polsterboy upholstery tool, the Vorwerk offers really unique cleaning opportunities that no other vac of its size and weight and design offers. It would be great to see it return to the North American market as the polar opposite of the bagless vacs sold at big box stores here.

 

[sebo_fan]

I beg to differ...

There are some unique features that Vorwerk offer with their uprights in general but versus the SEBO Felix there are some similarities. Variable suction control, swivel neck, brush roll on/off (with previous Vorwerk PN heads such as the EB350 & EB351), the ability to lie flat to clean under low furniture, long manual cord on board, even changing over to hand held design where in the U.S you can buy a shoulder strap for a similar Vorwerk like shaped cleaning function. The dust bag capacities are also similarly low with 3 litres, 3.5 litres and then there's also SEBO's DuoP dry cleaning powder. 

It is true that Vorwerk offer some unique features such as an electric PN Polsterboy small turbo brush and the new auto adjusting sensor PN that automatically adds hard brushes down on hard floors and auto retracts the stiff bristles when carpet comes into contact. I'm pleased that those floor heads and other accessories can also be used on my old VK130. I'm also pleased that Vorwerk have retained their low wattage motors as they have always done. Those additional accessories don't come cheap to buy though. The current UK price for the PN head alone is around £150 to £200 which could buy you a complete vacuum cleaner!

However, between the older VK130 I own and my old Felix, I find I'm in a bit of a conundrum. I have a full tool kit with the old Vorwerk but I seldom use it. It just takes too much time to detach and unlock everything just to use the hose and associated tools alone. At least there is a hose on the Felix that I can use, even if it might be short length. I have managed to push my SEBO extension hose onto the mouth of the Vorwerk VK130 when going hand held - far more flexible and longer than the non-electric Vorwerk hose and SEBO's standard cleaning tools aren't so large or as cumbersome.

A few days ago I also treated my carpets with the Kobosan dry powder treatment. My Vorwerk tool kit also includes brush cartridges for that purpose alone. Despite the snow like feel of the powder, there was far more clean up involved than the SEBO Felix after the powder had been rolled into the carpet. Granted my Vorwerk is old but in use, the PN was impossible to keep to a straight line with those dry powder brush bars fitted. At least with the ET-1 on the Felix, the standard brush roll doesn't have to be changed over and the far better control can be had guiding the Felix through the dry powder cleaning stages.




Kobosan powder does seem to work; but I'm impatient sometimes and find rubbing some of the powder manually into the carpet by hand takes a stain out as opposed to trying to keep control of an upright that feels like a hover lawnmower.


 


What the Felix does offer is a trade off; a far heavier vacuum cleaner by its design, far more substantial build quality, slightly more motor noise, but still low energy rated, better value dust bags, hose on board with cleaning tools, manual height adjustment and simpler filtration. The Vorwerk VK200 is far more high end, not just judged by the price. 


 


Currently in the UK you could buy yourself <span style="text-decoration: underline;">three</span> or <span style="text-decoration: underline;">four</span> SEBO Felix uprights for the price of one Vorwerk VK200 with its PN head.

 

[myvacsrock]

Err..well..

If you read what I said, I do believe i said "about the closest thing"

So I don't believe I'm wrong here. But hey, thanks for the insight.

 

[sebo_fan]

Well that wasn't a response to you I made, but to Eurekaprince who feels that no other brand including SEBO comes close.

Like some other brands, there's always several unique factors with every appliance and vacuums are no different. I'm not slating Vorwerk; I wouldn't have gone out and bought an older one for nothing and I love using my Vorwerk.

As I said previously, at least Vorwerk have designed the optional floor heads with universality in mind; previous model owners can consider those upgraded floor heads for their existing Vorwerk.

 

[vorwerkfan]

Thank you guys! Great community! The Sebo Felix was a discovery, I didn't know about that one, however I stick to Vorwerk. Hirby is too heavy and not versatile, I think it works great for you, Myles V but if I understood well from other posts you are a professional cleaner and that is different
I find that Vorwerk adapts to both carpets and hard floors when other vacuums are more one or the other.
Good to know that people are using the step up/down transformers and have no problems with that....
I just hope I won't need any repairs, that would be a problem in the US, but after having 3 generations of Vorwerk with no problems I really believe that this shouldn't be an issue...

 

[bisonian]

Re: Lindhaus

Eurekaprince, a minor correction. Lindhaus -- despite the name -- is actually Italian, not German.

 

[eurekaprince]

Thank you for that correction, Rick.

I always found it odd how so many brandnames don't match their country of origin! Rowenta sounds like it comes from Spain, not France. Miele sounds like it comes from France and not Germany. Lindhaus indeed sounds like it comes from Germany, not Italy. And there was/is a French company I think named Astor Martin (an Electrolux subsidiary) which sounded more like it came from the UK, not France. And then there is the confusion between Sebo and SEB/Tefal....

 

[eurekaprince]

Sorry...the French company is "Arthur Martin" which indeed sounds British....

 

[sebo_fan]

Like Aston Martin, the car brand?