What is the Weirdest Vacuums You've Seen?

[huskyvacs]

True some store vacs do okay for a minute.
Being old I stopped caring if things are ugly, if it gets the job done toss a bag over it...

Fwiw- Ive purchased more perfectly operational Kirbys in estate & rummage sales than I could ever count. Kirbys run forever & being dog owners with Ashma they are must have dirt eaters here man. My mom's Lux ran forever, I used it 4yrs & gifted it to our Sil when we got a Kirby.
I actually sold a lot of used estate/rummage sale Kirbys & Rainbows through a freinds dog grooming business from 1989 - 2006. She stuck a list on her dog adoption board her customers signed to get either one & it was a pretty steady side gig. My guess is people who inherit Kirbys never saw a Kirby demo & have no idea what they were gifted in the end. You know it when they don't even know how to lift one easily.

Seems there's two types of people though.
1) Those of us who fully understand products built like all my Kirbys, restaurant grade Bunn Coffee makers, Kitchen-Aid mixer, True Old Garden Tractors like my old Wheel Horse tractors. Also the old JD, I.H. Cubs & most vehicles built prior to 1980 (mostly steel bumper vehicles) will outlast more than a few owners with a tiny bit of love. We just restore/repair our items.

2)Then we have folks who buy plastic throwaway products over & over, some things annually & never consider fixing the most basic problem that occurs with a product. Just toss it, buy a new one.
They'll even buy items designed to repair with a $10 part & screwdriver yet they'll toss the whole thing out & buy some shiny junk throwaway for $400.
Omg the big corps sure love you folks! Your pay for their new cars/homes/planes etc, no doubt about it.
This "toss it & buy new" mindset has now made throwaway junk being all anyone can find today. Oh' & we're just getting started too.
Farmers just had to sue JD for making their new 1/4 million plus dollar tractors totally obsolete within a few short yrs by not making repair parts & forcing customers to rely on Deere for all fixes etc...
Google: " Right to Repair act ".
Its like being forced to buy a whole new car again instead of an Alternator.
Idk if #2 guy is still fine with that?
I just don't get it but its where we're heading.
Buy a Briggs engine you never change oil on? No drain plug because its only built to last just past an oil change.
Briggs prez stated "Todays Gen doesn't want to fool with maintenance, they'd rather buy a new product instead."
So we all pay $200 up vs $3.40 for a qt of oil. Flip it to drain/fill but its still not lasting decades like they used too.
Congress/laws finally forced Deere to supply parts longer but your lawnmowers/trimmers/saws etc got excluded in the end.
So no more parts if they choose not too make any.
My neighbors 3yr old $3600 Cub rider has sat over a yr because Cub wont make the fuel injector. Its a Cub engine not Briggs/Kohler but both Kohler & Briggs were sold to large investment corps recently. Lots of Briggs parts disappeared already.

So sorry I got so long, my point is it wont matter if its God awful ugly today because sadly' more than likely it really won't be around long anyways .

Also another key thing to consider - nobody owns anything. Their house is rented, their car is rented, their phones are rented, they own nothing and it gets taken away at a moments notice the second they stop paying the bill, so why would they care about fixing anything? They just use it until it breaks, stop paying, ignore the debts, get bad credit, move on. It's the whole mindset now. Some people it's not that they aren't smart enough, they just genuinely are rich/lazy and don't care. Same deal with electric cars "wow I don't have to put gas in it or steer the wheel". >.>

So many vacuums I find of the ones that are just a box of parts, is someone has used AI to try and get a new belt put on their vacuum, they get told all this BS about taking this and that apart, they have 84% of the vacuum in pieces and then they can't reassemble it again. Chuck it in the trash, buy another. Or put it in eBay and I take it and get it back together again. lol I've got probably 5 vacuums now that were taken totally apart to individual pieces that the seller said they didn't work and was for parts, just to reassemble it all and find either a small clog in a air path, or a loose belt. Like??? Goofy.

Being 33 I'm likely the last of the old generation that had to make things work by hand if it broke, and figure it out yourself. I started using the computer in 1999 when I was 7 both in school and at home, and my dad taught me how to use the VCR when I was 9 so I could record shows for him while he was at work. All that new tech that was zooming out into the world at such a fast pace in the 90s and 00s created a make or break situation and you had to know all this stuff just to get through life.

 

[cheesewonton]

California has a recently passed Right to Repair law but the Aerus dealer for our region resolutely ignores it. They won't even sell you a brush roll for your power nozzle, expecting you to bring the power nozzle in and have their tech replace it. As a result I buy what I need from a couple of Aerus dealers on the east coast.

 

[centralsweeper63]

They just pay the fine and move on.

 

[cheesewonton]

They just pay the fine and move on.

Dude, this dealer ( stealer ) charges huge amounts of money for parts, double what any other dealer charges and their labor rates ain't cheap either. Plus they are over three hours drive away. Why spend all that time and money when I can do the work myself for a fraction of the price? That was the whole purpose of the right to repair law this dealer here ignores. So I take my business elsewhere.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Oh geez, wow, that is bad.

 

[huskyvacs]

Dude, this dealer ( stealer ) charges huge amounts of money for parts, double what any other dealer charges and their labor rates ain't cheap either. Plus they are over three hours drive away. Why spend all that time and money when I can do the work myself for a fraction of the price? That was the whole purpose of the right to repair law this dealer here ignores. So I take my business elsewhere.

He is likely a franchisee. This same thing happens with Kirby too. They let any hokey apply to get a license, and as long as you have collateral to buy a dozen or so vacuums on lease and sell them on contract, and a retail space, you can do whatever you want. In my state there was a Kirby dealer that got caught taking leased Kirbys, filing the serial numbers off, trading them into a pawn shop for a hundred or so each, then filling out false paperwork saying they sold the vacuums - all fake names and fake addresses - and then collecting the commission bonuses and other stuff.

I suspect a lot of these vacuum stores - especially licensed dealers - are losing money as people buy more Dysons and Sharks and they are trying to milk customers dry for money to keep themselves in the green. You see eBay sellers do the same thing. They need to pay their rent or fix their car so they list something thats worth $30 for $600 and of course nothing ever sells.

My area lost the only 2 vacuum stores we had here, so outside of the once in a blue moon vacuum at Goodwill, I have to supplant my collection finds with eBay hunting.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Oh gosh, Walmart is the only option?

 

[cheesewonton]

He is likely a franchisee. This same thing happens with Kirby too. They let any hokey apply to get a license, and as long as you have collateral to buy a dozen or so vacuums on lease and sell them on contract, and a retail space, you can do whatever you want. In my state there was a Kirby dealer that got caught taking leased Kirbys, filing the serial numbers off, trading them into a pawn shop for a hundred or so each, then filling out false paperwork saying they sold the vacuums - all fake names and fake addresses - and then collecting the commission bonuses and other stuff.

I suspect a lot of these vacuum stores - especially licensed dealers - are losing money as people buy more Dysons and Sharks and they are trying to milk customers dry for money to keep themselves in the green. You see eBay sellers do the same thing. They need to pay their rent or fix their car so they list something thats worth $30 for $600 and of course nothing ever sells.

My area lost the only 2 vacuum stores we had here, so outside of the once in a blue moon vacuum at Goodwill, I have to supplant my collection finds with eBay hunting.

This dealer four physical locations in Southern California from Fresno south. They have been around for a long time. There is only one other Aerus dealer in So Cal and that one is a small mom and pop joint in Canyon Lake out in the boon toolies east of Lake Elsinore. I bought the 12 foot hose for my Guardian Platinum because his price was lower but even still it was over $400 for a simple two wire electric hose with an on-off switch for the power nozzle on the handle. No speed controls or any other electronics. Meanwhile Sebo will sell you a new 8 foot long C/K hose with both power nozzle on-off and vacuum on-off and speed control on the handle for $119 from their on-line store but the dealer could sell it to me for $98. WTF Aerus?

The two Aerus dealers on the east coast don't play these games. Low prices and honest.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Oh wow.

 

[cheesewonton]

Oh wow.

Sometimes I think Aerus worst enemy are their own dealers. I was trying to support this dealer so instead of buying filters and bags for the G-P from the Aerus on line store I decided to buy them from the dealer. Aerus on line store prices are pretty reasonable. This dealer charged me literally double or more the price Aerus charges for every item I ordered. I told them after that I would never do business with them again.

 

[centralsweeper63]

A victim of their own success really.

 

[rlsellman21]

Ball Animal 3 would be Dyson's best ever upright with a few minor changes. Suction control for the hose/wand as its way too strong and cumbersome. Literally sucks the hose back towards the machine and you have to fight with it constantly.

And in my opinion a different Cyclone design, something similar to the DC17 would be perfect as those were their best ever imo. I've considered buying a DC17 bin and Jerry rigging the cyclones onto the Animal 3 but I'm not handy enough to do it successfully.

Otherwise in terms of raw carpet cleaning performance the animal 3 is probably their best though.

Even better than the DC17? Because that would be really impressive.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Why is the DC17 so good?

 

[rlsellman21]

Why is the DC17 so good?

It was designed to clean American carpeting, which tends to be thicker and deeper pile wise. It has a round brushroll with stiff bristles that provide the agitation needed to remove embedded dirt from carpet. That, and it uses Level 3 Root Cyclone Technology, which has 1 or 2 core separator cyclones to handle sand. It's basically the love child of Dual Cyclone and Root Cyclone technologies.

 

[centralsweeper63]

As, isn't the DC28 even better though?

 

[cheesewonton]

It was designed to clean American carpeting, which tends to be thicker and deeper pile wise. It has a round brushroll with stiff bristles that provide the agitation needed to remove embedded dirt from carpet. That, and it uses Level 3 Root Cyclone Technology, which has 1 or 2 core separator cyclones to handle sand. It's basically the love child of Dual Cyclone and Root Cyclone technologies.

Do you have scientific data to back your claim about American carpet ????? How did you test this and how many data points do you have ? O_O

 

[rlsellman21]

As, isn't the DC28 even better though?

I would think it's about as good as the DC17, but its Airmuscle head was prone to failure, and it didn't have the Level 3 Root Cyclone Technology like the DC17 had.

 

[rlsellman21]

Do you have scientific data to back your claim about American carpet ????? How did you test this and how many data points do you have ? O_O

I'd ask the Vacuum Facts guy, but he probably wouldn't be interested.

 

[centralsweeper63]

I would take a DC17 cyclone setup and drop it into an old Airmucsle. They can dig in better on "American carpet".

 

[Absolute Rainbow]

I'd ask the Vacuum Facts guy, but he probably wouldn't be interested.

@Vacuum Facts doesn't take anything lesser than... the Dyson cordless flagships seriously!

When in fact that the corded Dyson machines are more beloved...

To be honest, I agree with VF that these mains-equivalents are the way forward. Performance at least matching the old corded greats but with good battery life and hardly heavy-weight. Ready attachments too.

 

[centralsweeper63]

I will take many, many vacuums over a V16. If you give me a list of all the 'advantages' of a Dyson V16 or similar machine, I will counter with a machine from my collection.

 

[herbicide]

I have a V15, I like it, I use it more often than my Sebo "mains."

With that said, for the umpteenth time, the V15 is not anywhere near a "mains" equivalent. Scientific data: it doesn't clean as well as the "mains" Sebo.

 

[vac14012]

Here's a video of the DC17 with a torture test. The filters stay insanely clean considering the amount of debris he picked up. Plus where the dust exits the cyclones the seal is clean. Crazy that modern sharks and other bagless haven't stolen this design. I'm sure the patents have expired by now. He does other videos with modern sharks and it's a absolutely disgusting mess.

And the carpet cleaning ability is pretty insane.

I wish they would bring back a non ball upright.

 

[vac14012]

I have a V15, I like it, I use it more often than my Sebo "mains."

With that said, for the umpteenth time, the V15 is not anywhere near a "mains" equivalent. Scientific data: it doesn't clean as well as the "mains" Sebo.

I agree and disagree. If you don't have any carpets and clean fairly regularly I'm sure a v15 and Sebo household would be the same level of cleanliness.

Obviously the Sebo has more raw power since it's corded and can run at high suction at all times though.

 

[herbicide]

I agree and disagree. If you don't have any carpets and clean fairly regularly I'm sure a v15 and Sebo household would be the same level of cleanliness.

Obviously the Sebo has more raw power since it's corded and can run at high suction at all times though.

Yes, the carpets part is true. The only bicker I'd have is the sebo is still faster on hard floors IME. I love the green laser on the V15 so much I put an add-on one on the sebo's parquet cleaner; the extra power from the Sebo sucks things up further away from the cleaner head, and also you can move the head faster; if I used the V15 like the Sebo it'd leave some dust/dirt behind, I have to be more deliberate with the V15. End up the same cleanliness though.

I use the V15 mostly on hard floors between the major weekly or sometimes semi-weekly major (Sebo) cleans. (If I go thru the trouble to get the Sebo out I'll use it everywhere)

 

[centralsweeper63]

`The Sebo is great on hard floors. Dyson's are fine, I just think their fluffy tool necks are way to loose and hard to control.

 

[huskyvacs]

Here's a video of the DC17 with a torture test. The filters stay insanely clean considering the amount of debris he picked up. Plus where the dust exits the cyclones the seal is clean. Crazy that modern sharks and other bagless haven't stolen this design. I'm sure the patents have expired by now. He does other videos with modern sharks and it's a absolutely disgusting mess.

And the carpet cleaning ability is pretty insane.

I wish they would bring back a non ball upright.

What you need to know about the DC series is they have flaws in the cyclone design. If you exceed the max fill line, the filters will just reverse flow (anticyclonic) and start sucking up the dust from the bin and pack it into the filter instead. It's a complicated physics thing I won;t pretend to understand. As long as you stay under that line and watch the dirt in the bin you will be fine.

 

[vac14012]

What you need to know about the DC series is they have flaws in the cyclone design. If you exceed the max fill line, the filters will just reverse flow (anticyclonic) and start sucking up the dust from the bin and pack it into the filter instead. It's a complicated physics thing I won;t pretend to understand. As long as you stay under that line and watch the dirt in the bin you will be fine.

View attachment 171605

That's a cinetic series vacuum. The ones without the pre motor filter. I've never used one but can tell by the rubber tips.

Interesting idea for sure but I assume there was a reason they didn't last very long before being abandoned.

The 17 was a much earlier vacuum from like 2006ish. It had an issue with the rubber seal being pushed up by the bin flap and if you weren't aware all the dust would skip the cyclones. But as long as you were careful closing the bin it was fine as shown in the video.

Obviously watch out for the max fill line like any Dyson though.

 

[centralsweeper63]

If I were to do some custom Dysons I would do the DC28 with a DC17 cyclone, then, implant a 240 volt brush motor and an Ametek Comm-Up 2 stage motor. For a cylinder my pick would be a DC23 with the big powerhead, Implant the same motors and alter the exhaust filter. I think the Dc23 has the inner cyclone, I may be wrong though.