Why I think canisters aren't popular in United States anymore

[n0oxy]

love my central vacuums

I love my central vacuum units, you can check my profile to see which ones I have. I use them all without pipes, just put a utility valve on the intake and connect the hose. Of course, by using them this way, you lose some of the benefits of a central vacuum such as no motor noise and having the exhaust taken out of the building. All of my units use bags though and filtration has never been an issue. It's awesome getting the full power of the unit. Some of the units are actually quiet enough that you can still have a normal conversation while you are in the same room. The loudest ones are the two motor 240 volt models, even with a muffler you would not want to stand right next to them for too long. I don't fault them for that though, it's assumed that they will be installed in a place that is not commonly occupied, not in the dining room of an apartment which is where I have them.
Mike

 

[cbimmer]

I remember seeing an infomercial in the early 2000's. It was a quasi-central vacuum that was a self-contained unit that fit into the wall. It resembled the shape of a wall furnace. But it contained the motor, bag area, and a retractable electric hose. The hose was probably around 40 ft long. I think you could also store the power nozzle inside of it too. It was an interesting concept but I guess it didn't catch on. I'm not sure who built them.

 

[n0oxy]

portable central vacuums

Actually there are a few central vacuum units that are designed to provide the conveniences of central vacuums but not require pipes. Of course, any central vacuum unit can work without pipes by attaching a utility valve, but these are designed to work this way out of the box. I have all of these and they are really nice.
First is the Intervac H120.
https://www.thinkvacuums.com/intervac-h-120-surface-mounted-compact-vacuum-with-accessory-kit.html
Next is the Drainvac Atomik, this one comes with a utility valve attached but you can remove it and use it with central vacuum pipes if you wish.
https://www.thinkvacuums.com/drainvac-atomik6-30-portable-system-w-accessory-kit.html
And finally there is the Vacumaid garage vac pro.
https://vacumaid.com/product/garage-vac-pro/
All three of these will work with any central vacuum hose including electric hoses so you could use electric power nozzles with them.
Mike

 

[human]

The only central vacuum I've ever had my hands on was built into our Winnebago that we had in the late '70s. The funny thing was we never used it. We had a Bissell SweepMaster electric broom that we kept in the closet. Dad was a car salesman and any vehicle we had, the Winnie included, Dad always had an eye toward resale from day one.

 

[kb3pxr]

I think the issue is with shopping trends

I'm a millennial, far from typical though, but here's where I see the problems lie. The quality and premium machines such as Aerus, Kirby, and Rainbow are not selling where people are buying. Sebo, Miele, and even to a very limited extent Filter Queen are seeing the light.

Requiring a salesman to come to your home and do a demo is not the way forward. I can understand that some of these brands want a more human touch and a demo, but forcing it in home is not where it is at. Most people want to shop in a big box store, online, or an online superstore. Sebo and Miele are going to online sales, and Miele is selling in some retail establishments. Even Filter Queen has taken the first step of allowing you to buy online from them directly.

I have no objection in being required to buy from a dealer, you have to do that with new cars anyway. If I'm going to be paying the price of a Kirby, Rainbow, or in some cases Miele and Sebo I'd rather go to a dealer to be able to see demos and ask questions. I didn't mention Aerus as I'm not sure of their pricing. but they are likely in the range of wanting to see a dealer.

After improving their accessibility, word of mouth will then help them gain more business. Pricing isn't usually the problem, seriously, look at the price people pay for Dysons. Many people don't know about Aerus, Miele, or Sebo, let alone the really premium brands of Kirby, Rainbow, and Filter queen.

 

[kb3pxr]

Pardon the earlier deleted post, I went off on a tangent. Marketing is the issue. Most if not all vacuums in big box stores are uprights. If power team canisters would be marketed as hard as uprights are, you may be seeing more of them. Additionally, if people knew how well they could clean above floor with the longer hoses and clean their carpeted stairs with the small power nozzles they may become more common.

Lastly, two things need to change. Gas pump style handles (I'm looking at you Kenmore) need to go away. These handles make above floor cleaning horrible, integrate an adapter into the power nozzle wands to convert from pistol grip to gas pump if that is an important feature. Lastly, put the suction motor switch in the handle along with any speed control if applicable. This may be a bit difficult to keep the handle lightweight and easily maneuverable, but I remember the old Kenmores from the mid to late 80s had this and I grew up with handle control.

 

[djub85]

I think I prefer canisters because they remind me of cars. When I was a kid, I would sneak my mother's canister out of the closet and line it up with my toy cars. It was proportioned like a car, had wheels similar to a car. One grandmother had a a Rainbow, which never interested me. The other had uprights that never interested me. For me, it was that these old metal canisters looked a lot like a toy car, and they even had motors inside, like a car.