Which Vacuums Feb 2014 UK

[beko1987]

February Which magazines have landed in our office, and there is another vacuum test

Looks almost identical to the last one to me, I guess only a few brands donate their machines to Which for testing, which means they get favourable reviews compared to the ones they have had to buy themselves

From Leaflets for forums

From Leaflets for forums

From Leaflets for forums

 

[sebo_fan]

They may well have vacuums that are donated and Thanks for posting. Yet again though, Which have excelled themselves in outlining how hopeless they are - the Miele S6 Ecoline (the model I had) is the SAME as the Silence model bar the colour change and HEPA filter on the Silence models. Both models appear to have 1% difference of performance.

I'm surprised the Dyson and the SEBO Felix Pet are the same though in terms of performance - good to see SEBO have been tested though Which haven't mentioned anything of the extra extension hose that some sellers are including with the Felix Pet OR for the fact that the SEBO has a 9.5 metre cable, both longer than the Dyson and the Miele cylinder vacs.

Pity to see the Vax models being rated so poorly though, including Hoover's Smart upright.

 

[madabouthoovers]

I have a Vax Zoom, and the Argos version of the Smart Pet, and both of these aren't bad at all, for the price.


I note that they have chosen the Zoom P&F at its full price of £150 for the comparison, when most of the Zoom range are sold normally for about £75 in Argos.


Vax did not deserve the damning results shown above. OK, they are not the best, but they are not as diabolical as Which make out.


 


Nice to see Miele out on top - but that's as I would expect


The £200+ Bosch bagless canister might be quiet, but its filtration is no better than the £79 Hoover smart pets, using a central cone pleated filter, with a rotary scraper mechanism. Primitive.

 

[sebo_fan]

For the cost price...questionable.

Well, lets be honest, for the "cost price" of a brand new vacuum, there are tons of models and tons of other types on the market for the same price. Clearly what Which have done here is to hone in on the models that are the most popular by sales figures at Argos, or what appears to be at best, the most popular vacuums.

I'm not entirely surprised at the result though as though these are budget vacuums, their lower filtration and poorer design does them no favours - however, those results won't matter to either brand as both have multicyclonic vacuums as well that are much better, cue the Slalom.

After all, buyers could easily buy a number of bagged uprights or cylinders at the same price, but they're clearly going for the bagless idea, matched by fancy colours, names and the elimination of having to buy bags.

Im more shocked to see the Slalom on test. Barely those models exist now given the Globe that came in to replace it.

 

[ultraperformer]

I've often wondered about those Bosch Bagless as Steve says they use a simple pleated filter in the dust container. They do get good reviews but I can't see how they won't loose suction very quickly due to the filter clogging, they do have a warning light to tell you when to clean the filter though.

 

[sebo_fan]

The one thing I dislike intensely about Bosch is that none of the UK models have locks on the handles to tubes to floor heads. The German market ones do though but the company won't put them over here - a pity since their bagged cylinder vacs often give Miele a run for their money and use the same 35mm sizing.

 

[hi-loswitch98]

Are Bosch Bagged Vacuums any good? Their pricing is quite good (£99 for the Pro Energy Model).

 

[kirbymodel2c]

Hi,

<span style="font-size: medium; font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">Hi, I'm surprised They haven't tested the Dyson's DC41,DC50 etc. Also I didn't think the Hoover slalom was sold any more.</span>


<span style="font-size: medium; font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">Are you sure they've sent you the current issue?

</span>


 


<span style="font-size: medium; font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">James

</span>

 

[sebo_fan]

The Bosch bagged vacs are ok and some are quieter than their other models. Getting bags for them can sometimes be harder, same with the built in filters.

 

[hi-loswitch98]

Have they the same build quality as the UltraOne by AEG?

 

[madabouthoovers]

MOst of the Bosch bagged canisters use the GXXL or GXL bags, and these are also used for the Siemens models too. They are not as good as Miele bags, but still cost the same, sometimes even more.


 


Nice to see the Sebo Felix there - I was toying with getting one of these for ages, but the killer to the deal is that the hose has no extension rod, so means bending down to do the skirting boards etc. The Felix is a cute vac, but I've set my heart on ordering a K3 Vulcano which is coming later this week, and these are fairly rare, and not so bulky as the Sebo D series, which didn't do all that well in 13th place. I also have a rare Miele S8730 with handset controls coming tomorrow too, so 2 nice cylinders to play with, and German too!

 

[keiththomas]

Saw this and will visit my library soon. The Trouble is which have failed to test Hoover Turbo Power etc, AEG and others. Best to buy one you like and return if poor. Which has got itself in a rut and does not recommend appliances most people can afford.

 

[madabouthoovers]

This is the Miele S8730, which has no +/- controls on the vac itself, and is the only model to be controlled from the handle available in the UK, it also has a Hepa filter and Automatic suction control, with a filter change light, found only on the Uniq model in addition.



http://www.miele.co.uk/vacuum-cleaners/S8730-HEPA-Automatic-Obsidian-Black-418/

 

[sebo_fan]

Personally, whilst Which may appear to favour premium vacuum cleaners, I don't think they have always recommended things that people "cannot afford."

HiLO- Bosch has slightly better quality, uses similar Wessel Werk floor heads to both Miele and SEBO. Dependent on model, the dust bags for the smaller BSGL3 series are more in demand also helped by the fact that John Lewis had a similar model under their own name and sells 5 dust bags.

Keith - the D2 that you feel "hasn't done that well," was a previous Which winner...It is bulkier because it has almost twice as much cord length as your Miele S8 and actually, ALL of the Miele cylinder vacs.

However as with the K series, you get almost twice as many dust bags for the amount Miele charge.

Steve - Good luck on the K3. Im not a fan of the K3 Premium. As the owner of the K3, the hose is too bulky, winds on its own and kinks easily because of the embedded electrical cord inside. I've also had problems (as well as others have had) with the pigtail plugs behind the handle to the electric tubes. If you don't like the idea of bending down, you'd have to do it on the K to get the crevice tool out, anyway!

The same crevice tool, longer than most other brands acts as a secondary extension for the Sebo Felix - it isn't a conventional cylinder vac - and I find it a heck of a lot easier to use its upright design plus the longer power cord on it and for the simple fact that it has the more modern ET-1 floor head with brush roll on/off - if you buy the K3 Premium it comes with the simpler, slightly heavier non-manual brush roll stop ET-H in the UK.

At least the Vulcano only has the longer 2.1 metre hose with the controls on the handle. That is slightly better, but the hose is still liable to kink.

 

[sebo_fan]

Forgot to say though, HiLO - the smaller cleaning tools on the Bosch are pathetic compared to AEG.

 

[madabouthoovers]

I did read up about the Vulcano - I wanted some canisters with handle mounted controls, and the only ones I liked - price wise were the K series. The K3 premium is too expensive and the D4 is far too expensive, so that left the Vulcano, and I paid £189 for it, which is a good price I feel, from the dealer in the link below.


I also like the look of the Vulcano, its rather different and striking. It also has the bag full light that many canisters lack nowadays. Don't forget that the hose only carries the cable for the controls, rather than a powerhead, and I always look after my vacs so it will get a pampered life. I also wanted an Airbelt model, and a canister Sebo for the collection.



http://www.freenetelectrical.co.uk/sebo/vacuum-cleaners/k3-vulcano-9684gb/product-2377/

 

[sebo_fan]

Good luck with it. The K series is incredibly compact and so much easier to use than a lot of the Miele vacs IMHO, but only if you are willing to put up with the silly pull-pull cord rewind (a feature that Bosch also copied as well as several Hoover bagged cylinders in recent years).

You get a slightly longer cord and hoses on the K series (bar the base red K1 Airbelt) than Miele's standard vacs too, and the Vulcano also benefits from those tubes that are very light. All of the K series have LED bag indicators, which is pretty good for the price.

Yes, whilst the cord is there for the controls, the K3 Vulcano is intended as the model below the top of the range K3, and thus gives you the option in later life to consider buying both the pig tail plugs, electrical suction tube and power nozzle. A few owners tend not to but when appearing on EBAY, it is an obvious (but more expensive) optional upgrade.

 

[madabouthoovers]

Well, Sebo_fan, you know how it is, being collectors we just have to have them to try out don't we?


Which might rate the Bosch bagless highly, but I'm afraid I don't, and solely down to the filter design, which is an over hyped single cyclone paper cone filter. The quietest vacs are usually those that have variable power, and I just don't like canisters that you cant vary the power on, as the floorhead is often too heavy to push on full power, unless its a turbo brush.

 

[beko1987]

I really really wanted a K3 Vulcano and was saving up for it, but then I found the Miele on freecycle so stuck to that.

Be interested to know your thoughts on it! It seemed the best value of the K3 range when I looked a few years ago. The right balance of tools and price