Moebius

Mechanically speaking, is the any difference in the canisters?

The power nozzles have different model numbers, but has the design changed?

Perhaps, look into the Thermax AF2 and Roboclean, they are guaranteed to be built to a higher standard. Well, at least the Thermax is, I've been using their commercial steam cleaners for well over a decade and the quality is impressive. I've seen used ones for offer on eBay and Craigslist in the $500 range recently

Well, there just happens to be a true Electrolux shop just 15 minutes from my house. Found out my Prolux is approx. 15-20 tears old, the shop guy was really impressed with the condition it was in.  He gave a a complete look over and guessed that the roller was probably 10-15 years old and needed replacing. After seeing a new roller and brush bristles, i couldn't argue. He also said that the roller bearings needed replacing as they were the same age and might as well do the gear/roller belt while in there.

Anyway, we started talking about a full service with replacing the brush roller & bearings($50), drive belt($13),   fix/seal the top that locks the bag into place, replace the hose between body and power nozzle($20), but mostly to re-core or replace the the brushes in both motors and make improvements to substantially improve rpms of the brush motor and the vacuum motor.  $260! But, he said it would be good for another 10-15 yrs at least and came w/ a new 2 yr warranty.

I think he saw the sticker shock in my eyes and said, "or you can do a few things yourself". So I got the roller, bearings, and belt. He also showed me how to seal the areas that were likely loosing vacuum. So, I'm just waiting for the silicone to dry before giving it another test drive. I think this thing's a "keeper" after seeing that the current Pro Commercial model is exactly the same with just a few cosmetic changes of moving the on/off button, adding a looped handle, and a full bag/jam sensor light. Other than that, he said the new model has probably 30-40% more suction simply because electric motors have become far more efficient and powerful in the ensuing years. but, he said overall performance between the two would be very, very, close. Not bad considering the new model sells for $1,100-1,200.

Hertz wrote:
Says nothing about whether they will still be working  5, or even, 10+ years from now.

I saw a surprising amount of Dysons in the repair line at the local high-end vacuum shop last week. Of the 20-30 vacs waiting to be repaired or picked up, I'd say ~5 were Dysons. The rest were primarily Hoovers and others of the lower level commodity variety. I didn't see a single Riccar, Miele, Bosch, or Simplicity(Riccar), even though the they are a certified repair/sales shop.

This may be an unfair observation due to Dyson's massive advertising campaign and current fad status, but it also hints at possible long term durability issues.

Hertz wrote:
Not yet. The D31 looking unit was $50, but the accessories were in somewhat bad shape. The hose would have needed replacing and some of the ends were beat thrashed. So, the vac itself was a steal, but by the time I replaced everything else...

The D 88 is a solid hour away without traffic, and up to 2 hrs with. So, it is only possible to get there on weekends. After being misled about the condition of the last one, I'm really not up for that long of drive to find another beater. So, I am waiting on more high quality photos of it.

Out of obsession and a bit of excitement, I've vacuumed every inch of my apartment with the Electorlux twice now and have to say I am really impressed! I can't wait to see how it does with a new brush roller. I've never used a sealed vac before - there's none of that "vacuuming" smell in the air while running it. Even the Hoover, when new, did that. With the Electrolux, no smell at all.