Weird Ugly plastic vacs...

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Plenty of ugly vacs to choose from, but I'd have to say that this is the most horrible vac ever made by Hoover - a universal flop here in England and terribly renowned for burning out quickly!

Hoover - The One:

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I had one those GE vacs

I had one of those traded in at the store. After cleaning it and servicing it up really well i played with it for a bit and it was horrible. It isn't a full size vacuum more like an electric broom. The suction/ airpower was pathetic no matter what I did to it and it clogged up in minutes. I eventually trashed it because it wasn't worth trying to sell or use.
 
As soon as the Escargot migrates to North America I will be snapping one up, as long as features are not de-contented or converted to a rechargeable.
Far from being ugly, I find this to be a stylish design statement that stores in very little room. This is a must in crowded cities with tiny apartment restrictions.

Something similar in concept is the Black & Decker ORB vacuum (known as the ORBIT overseas) that has made its way to our shores.

Although it is a rechargeable I think this softball sized unit would be perfect and stylish for touch ups in a car trunk, carpets and seat seams.

Dave

http://www.blackanddecker.com/power-tools/ORB4810B-CA.aspx
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Robert, the Eureka Contour is also the Electrolux Hilight upright vac and typically in the UK, there is no headlight. Slightly flimsy plastic but does the job and feels heavy compared to the flimsier Powerlite upright I used to own and quite liked despite the build. John Lewis department stores in the UK had one under their own name for a few years - they were taken off line from their website but I spotted one on sale earlier this year in the Oxford Street branch, London. As with both, they have no piston valve indicators for the bag or any other measure.

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Commercial hit with the ugly stick

I love commercial vacs but this one, i dunno, i wince now but if i saw it at a thrift store i'd probably pick it up & grow to appreciate it's, "keep it simple stupid" design ethic.

I was so against plasti-vacs after a Target bought yellow Eureka bagless that burned through belts & 'hurt my eyes open' into the arms of a metal Royal. Fast forward to sometime later when i 'got' what makes at least some Orecks great while finding a new vac for my 84 year old mother...you have to consider what job the vac was originally built to do. Now i have a whole new appreciation for these big box everyman vacs, you just got to be careful what one you get & keep your expectations in check...and lastly, buy it after a massive mark down or two. Then sit back & enjoy all the 'ghee-gaws' & bright colors.

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Been deep researching the ORB vac. I really want one.
runs on a full charge for only 8 minutes but has a surprisingly powerful suction. Best video has it pulling in popcorn kernels.

Good enough for quick car cleanups, keyboard dust busting and fast cleanups in the kitchen. What a cool thing to have on display by the couch for snatching up those potatoe chip fragments and other crumbs.
Slightly larger than a softball, looks real cute and makes for a cat toy ball when closed up off the charger. What's not to like? Whee!
Here in Canada it seems to be readily available at Home Hardware and I'm going out looking tomorrow.
Dave
 
I'm 90% positive I saw those Orbs at Canadian Tire the other night on clearance for something like $19
 
Pete our CanTire had those too about 6 weeks ago. When I returned to get one the next day they were all gone. Yes, it was a clearance item - a loss leader - that appear for a week and are never stocked again.

If your CanTire still has them please get me two. They retail at Home hardware at like $45!

I know it's a toy with limited uses but I want one.

Dave[this post was last edited: 1/22/2013-22:50]
 
Re: Hoover Turbopowers

There are about 12 shops in my local town. 4 of them have old Hoover Turbopowers, mostly the red U2724 and the model after that with the built in hose. They are very badly scraped on the hood and to the sides - but if they are still being used, the build quality isn't that bad at all.
 
yes but the things you cant see are probably broken i had 1 side of the bag housing snap off that little round thing that holds the bag housing in, they are almost certain you will find a crack, they rattle because parts haven't been sealed on and get loose
 
First Vacuumland Review

Today I went to our Local Home Hardware and they had one ORB left on the shelves and on clearance sale at $27. I snatched it up.
As you know I am the furthest thing from an impulsive 'easy sell' consumer but opening the box I knew I'd made an excellent choice.

I am very impressed with the build quality , weight, balance and attention to minute details. The plastic is a shiny tough, almost vinyl-ish ABS with a nice tactile feel in the hand, not cheap brittle styrene.
There are no loose joints and even rubber button cushions under the fold out handle and nozzle to prevent them from impacting the body when retracted. The cup filter is washable and reusable. The bagless dust compartment holds slightly over 1/2 cup of ingested debris (rice) with a rubber flap valve to keep that debris from falling out of the intake nozzle.
The putty-gray colour accents are pleasant to look at, I also like the look of the Green and Blue ones but I would not care for the Ruby Red version.
Color-matched rubberized trims surround the handle portion for a secure grip.
The motor is relatively quiet - it does not scream - and as demonstrated in the videos quite strong suction for a mini-handvac.
The motor runs only when the power button is held down, saving power when you set it down to answer the phone.
The Owner manual even has a full and illustrated page on how to change your own batteries in future! That's a plus we haven't seen since the 1960s.

It unpacked with dying rechargeable internal lithium batteries and so as recommended I ran it down to depletion (which I will repeat 3 times) to lock in a full charge capacity. It must be on the charger for at least 12 hours for this first charge and so it sits on the table until I can fully test and play with it tomorrow. Looking forward to having it strut its stuff.

I can already tell that it will be the perfect stow-able minivac for cleaning the car carpets and seats or fast touch-ups around the couch, as well as whisking over the mainframe keyboard which as we all know collect and trap dustbunny crumbs and shed off beard hairs & skin cells every day.

Just did a test with the old Vac-U-Tronic Suck-O-Meter. The Orb pulls 12" of water lift. Not too shabby for a mini vac.

Dave[this post was last edited: 1/23/2013-23:18]

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