Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

http://gizmodo.com/345918/dyson-dc24-vac-sir-james-brings-his-ball-back

Two models, one small, one large :-

DC24
http://www.dyson.co.uk/store/product.asp?product=DC24-ALLFLOORS

DC25
http://www.dyson.co.uk/store/product.asp?product=DC25-ALLFLOORS

CarmineD wrote:
I really don't think people vacuum blindly under furniture/beds blindly; there is always rubbish like coins, socks, small toys, or other large debris than can cause serious damage to your machine.  I would seriously think that people who operate $300-$600 vacuum cleaners would be more mindful of that than someone who could care less about maintaining a working vacuum cleaner and regularly cycle through $50 bargain vacs.  I always move my furniture/beds before vacuuming the carpet under them, or get down and inspect the floor underneath with the cleaning wand in hand to clean under those hard to reach areas.  As long as the Dyson Ball vacs have that low profile motorhead that can roll under extruded kitchen/bathroom cabinets, I could care less if I can't blindly ram it under a couch or a bed, because IMO, that's asking for trouble.

iMacDaddy wrote:

Different strokes for different folks.

I have a English yellow lab who sheds year round.  And a dear Wife who has sinus and allergy issues year round.  Our bedrooms are carpetted.  The lab's hair gets under the bed and bedroom furniture daily.  I wouldn't want to move the bed and bedroom furniture weekly to vacuum up the hair and dust.  Like most, there are books, TV and radios, clocks, clothes, portraits and jewelry weighing down the pieces.  Hair and dust [did I mention I live in the desert] always gather in the nooks and crannies up close to the base board and wall near the bed and furniture and around the legs.  I wouldn't want to move the bed and furniture out weekly to use a $500-$600 upright vacuum to clean underneath.  I don't have the time.  Let alone my dear Wife who spends most her time with our 2 grand daughters [and another on the way].

Instead, I use the $35 HOOVER Slider [weighs 2-3 pounds with a revolving brush roll and no cord] /$150 Oreck [weighs 8 pounds] AT LEAST once a week to get the dog hair and dust that inevitably accumulates under the beds and furniture.  And throughout the year, usually seasonally, I'll move the matress and bed and bedroom furniture to do more thorough cleaning.  In part to make sure there are no big and little items under there so I can continue to do my weekly vacuuming in these out of sight places. 

My dear Wife uses the Slider and Oreck for the same reasons.  And she loathes vacuuming with a passion.  If she had to move the furniture and bed to vacuum under with the $400 dyson DC07 pink, she wouldn't.  She can't.  She uses the Slider to vacuum the lab hair on the beds' comforters [our lab has the run of the house and likes to sleep alot on the beds.  She's old like me].  CAn't do that with the baby dyson ball.  Slider works very well.   My dear Wife loves me in part for these vacuums.  Makes her life much easier.  And mine too.  Happy Wife, happy life.

I guess that's why they call it a "Slider."  And not a slammer, ball, and/or rammer.  And they call the Oreck: Simply Amazing!

Carmine D.

Carmine,

Is it my imagination or has low clearance height in regard to upright vacuums become a none-issue for selling them? 

Venson

Hi Guy's

I have a question,what is the benefit to the customer,if the machine uses the digital motor,do you really think the customer cares?The reason i say this is because MIELE touts it's vortec motor,it's a single fan carbons mounted on the top instead of the bottom with the conical fan,does the consumer really care?.The d.d.m has to be controlled by a computor like rexairs . I would not even venture to quess what the computor cost is and they have been known to fail,The regular e series motor replacement is over 425.00.

God knows how much a motor and computor board change would cost.But i would think a 20.00 carbon brush replacement is a lot more friendly to the customer.

This industry is overteching itself...........It's to the point of insanity.............

MOLE

Venson wrote:

Hello Venson:

Yes, to a degree.  In part, due to on-board tools on uprights which are a relatively recent development for the upright vacuum industry.  HOOVER Dial started in the early 60's.  But by and large other makers were later.  The 80's.  And its spawned a new venue of daily users: The lites, nanos, etc.  The Regina Electrikbroom was very popular for decades in large part because users found them quick and easy to use in the hard to get out-of-sight places. Oreck and RICCAR-Simplicity catered to these customers cleaning needs for years and now too the lightweights both bagged and bagless. 

Carmine D.

mole wrote:

Mole:

I agree with you.  Hi-tech motors are transparent to end users.  They can care less.  What's important to them is less weight, good performace, easy to use and store, and now most especially PRICE. 

Carmine D. 

Hi Mole,

If digital motor technology could produce beneficial effects by way of increased power, less unit weight, increased dust capacity or lower and simplify repair matters (meaning consumer executable motor changes) I'd say yes the public would be very interested.  Are we talking the same Dyson motor that is also said to be of lesser size?  Anyway . . .

The idea of a "motor module" was pushed some time in the last century by Shetland Lewyt but did appear to gain much interest and Shetland Lewyt, I think, was just about dead in the water by the 1980's.  In any event the idea of an affordable motor/fan unit that could be ordered online or by phone call and then simply be dropped into your vacuum and locked in much the same as you'd pop in a circuit board or RAM chips into your computer would be great.  Too great I think.  I don't think established service suppliers would appreciate it much.

Miele's motor design is interesting and I think a good pitch point but as always, price can soon kill interest in innovation.

Venson

Venson wrote:

The Dyson Digital Motor can apparently produce a third more suction power than a conventional motor. The new motor is very small in comparison to a conventional one. The Digital motor is supposedly more robust than a standard motor; carbon brushes and armatures being, supposedly, the reason for most failures.

It could be said that Nilfisk have a drop-in motor on their GS80 series machines: motor drops in, locks into place, plug in the flex, and away we go!

As for Miele's motor, I think it is just another variation on what has gone before. Most motors that I have seen have had the fan(s), then the armature, then the carbon brushes.  The carbon brushes would get the heat in this arrangement.

Miele has the fan(s), brushes, then the armature. The carbon brushes run cooler in this arrangement.

However, the Hoover 'Powerglide' S4256 cylinder that I once owned, I'm sure had a reverse positioning of the fans to the motor: carbon brushes, armature, then the fans. The filtered air was sucked over the brushes, over the armature and expelled from the fans. This was quite a noisy cleaner.

Yes Trilobite,

The Nilfisk GS 80 still has an easily removable motor unit as well as some other new models meant for office use. That idea goes back years and years with Nilfisk but I did not bring it up because I didn't want to wear the name out all in one day.  The Shetland Lewyt I mentioned was the more commonly known here. SL came to develop two or three "modular" canister vacuums that were intended to be easily repairable by the owner.  Shetland-Lewyt was sold by SCM to a Canadian concern around 1972 per what I've gleaned from the web.

Nonetheless, a smaller than usual, high performing digital vacuum motor that could be easily removed and replaced is not a bad idea If affordable.

Venson

Venson wrote:

Hello Venson:

I think there is another major factor at play too for the trend away from low clearance for under furniture and bed vacuuming.

In the first half of the 20th century, USA households were usually one vacuum only, due to the cost and the longevity.  Upright/tank/canister.  The one vacuum household changed in the 60's when vacuums began cheapening.  More households had an upright and a tank/canister vacuum for cleaning and the trend has continued.  Households now have a plethora of floor care appliances for all household cleaning chores.  Hence, the need for vacuum makers to solve all the users' cleaning problems in one/another vacuum whether tank-canister and/or upright is not as important anymore.

Carmine D.