Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Hi,

I was just browsing the Sears website and discoverod a new Kenmore bagged canister.  There's been a slight but not remarkable change in body design and many features are the same -- dirt sensor, lighted wand, etc. -- but what's really different is that there's been a new spin put on the power nozzle.  I think everybody knows by now that I strongly believe in the worth of a good old bare floor tool and hate the use of power nozzles on bare floors even though use of the same has become accepted and encouraged.  Well, the new nozzle by Kenmore purports to allow you the best of both worlds.

A bare floor tool is an integral part of the new PN.  It fits on top while the nozzle is in use on rugs and can be detached for bare floor cleaning.  I'll have to get to Sears to see it in the real but this sounds like a great idea.

Link is: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_02028014000P?vName=Appliances&cName=Vacuum+Cleaners+%26+Floor+Care&sName=Canister+Vacuums

Regards,

Venson

Hi,

Apparently Sears is gettin' in with the big kids pricewise even though it looks like a shaky start.  The new canister below, previously mentioned, has suddenly dropped from a whopping $599 to $500 online.  I don't recall any Kenmore can with that high a cost.

By the way Sears is having a 15 percent off sale.  Those who are looking may find some intersting deals on Dyson, Bosch, Emer and Electrolux.

Venson

Venson,

Just got the Canadian Sears flyer yesterday, they have this same powerhead listed,
but no picture of the cannister, for a "new @ Sears" price of $649.97 Canadian.
At Sears Canada, prices ending in .97 don't go on sale, it's their everyday bargain
price. 

My first initial response is, here we go again, another contraption that's going to be
a p.i.t.a. to repair when things go wrong.  But I guess I should look at it before I
comment. 

Vernon

Hi Vernon,

I haven't had a chance to get over to Sears to take a look at  this model but really wonder if regular Sears shoppers anywhere will go for the price tag.  I have always liked Kenmore for decent vacuums at decent prices.  This vacuum is not "new".  It bears about all the element of its predecessor, the bagged  Progressive, saved for the new power nozzle.  The larger part of buyers, in my opinion, will probably stay with the lesser priced Kenmore cans.

Best,

Venson

Venson wrote:

Hello Venson:

My instincts tell me that this is not new but a redo.  It's been tried before.  The specifics don't come to mind at the moment.  May take some memory jogging.  I do recall the tanks and canns of yester year that used the combo upholstery tool and barefloor brush.  The user slid the up. tool into the brush assembly for floor use.  I think too a barefloor tool piggy back on a rug tool.  I just can't think of the maker. 

Carmine D.

Venson:

My memory isn't cooperating.  I have this vision of the GE Roll Easy combo rug/floor tool.  The user would switch [flop over] from one side to the other for rug and/or floor cleaning. 

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote:

Howdy Carmine,

GE used the flip-rug and floor tool idea -- basically a spin on an Electrolux innovation -- not only for the Roll-Easy but at least one of its canisters (salmon pink model-number not in my recall). That tool was abandoned for the well-known GE rug and floor tool that delivered brush action on both forward and back passes. 

Hoover at one point employed a lever on a PN that would lower a brush strip for hard flooring.  Filter Queen fashioned a felt pad to fit some of its eearlier PNs to accomodate cleaning for some sorts of hard flooring.

The Kenmore idea to the best of my knowledge is brand new as regards power nozzles.  The bare floor tool is actually an integral part of this power nozzle.  The bare floor tool is detached from the PN to clean bare flooring ad then re-attached to the PN so that carpeting can be cleaned. It has to be attached for suction delivery to the brush roll chamber.

 In that it saves running back to the cleaner to change tools, I see this as good since suction alone can't clean hard floors.  Yes a PN with its revolving brush shut off will allow you to suck up loose dirt and debris but there will still be stuff that has adhered to hard flooring and requires brush action of some sort to be loosened.

Best,

Venson

CarmineD wrote:
I believe you are talking about the Kenmore(Birtman Electric) tank vacuum cleaner.  It had a separate brush that you would attach to the attachment.

Other vacuum cleaner makers used similar ideas to simplify the cleaning experience.

CarmineD wrote:
General Electrics unique 2-in-1 attachment was first introduced to the last of the ReachEasy canisters, then the RollAround and RollEasy.  What made the tool unique was that the user did not have to do anything but lift the attachment off the surface.  The attachment would do the rest.  With the Electrolux, the user had to reverse the rug/floor attachment.  The attachment was weighted on one side, so that it would flip partially.  This was sometimes a pain when the user wanted to just lift it onto another surface.

GE later went to a "double-action" attachment that would clean the rug, then move to the floor, without moving or changing a thing.  It also had two strips of bristles, set at an inward angle.  This created more agitation with the rug on both backwards and forward motion.  Most other brands used only one  brush strip if any.

Vernon wrote:
Lets see now, same old tried and true panasonic looking machine,love the 360 hose swivel,centec 600 series power head[not bad better than most] decent cleaning set,njce cord lenght,nice and easy bag change,excellent filtering,it's a little pricey,i would like it better at 299.99, If sears ever lets this machine go and stays with the L>G. stuff they are going to lose a big share of the canister market,

  MOLE

Thanks all.  It's coming back to me. 

The old lux 30 had the metal rug tool [also weighted] that flipped over to concentrate all the suction in one hole on the top of the tool to pick up the hard things on the rug that would not come up.  Unlike the later lux combo tool, the user didn't have to reverse the adapter.  Just flip over.  And the 30 tool had grooved channels to help loosen the lint. 

Who said: What's old is new again?

Carmine D.

Venson wrote:

I liked the HOOVER tool, as expected because it didn't have the same old brush configuration of the barefloor tools.  HOOVER used the tapered brush hair too on the barefloors, like the Miele floorbrush, but still pushed the dust around rather than pick up.  I preferred the rug/floor HOOVER combo.  Ironically it was cheaper too since one tool was omitted from the venue.

I'll have to take a closer look at the Kenmore PN when its in Vegas.  Maybe its not as troublesome and weighty as I think it appears. 

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote:

Thinking more about the Lux rug tool, I recall the 11 and 12 Lux rug tools also had the flip over feature to concentrate suction in one small hole.  The tool was bulkier than the 30, but still available even all that time ago.

As for the 5, and first Lux in the USA, someone older than me/with a better memory, will have to say if the rug tool offered this option.  My sense is that the 5 did not have a rug tool.

Carmine D.

Hi Carmine,

There was an early Electrolux rug tool without a swivel neck in the early days.  It was a larger version of the metal upholstery nozzle.

Venson

Venson:

I do vaguely recall.  Thanks

Carmine D.

Venson:

If this barefloor brush on the new Kenmore cann is like the old [Progressive models], it will have brush strips strategically positioned on the underside of the tool to allow maximum suction from the tool opening.  Not the full oval brush hair all around.

Carmine D.

Hi Carmine,

Won't get to Sears 'til the weekend so I'm speaking hypothetically.  If you look at the picture showing the nozzle's outline as it fits into the top of the PN it would seem to indicate that the tool is more the standard type with the brush strip all around.  There was probably not much room for more ideas or embellishments here as the tool must snap on and off the PN part easily if its to be considered useful.  I also don't know if the neck pivots up and down only or swivels as well.

The main thing I want to learn is whether the set-up appears sturdy enough to last a while during regular use.

Best,

Venson

PS -- Pic is gone but you can check it out the Sears website.

Venson:

I thought Kenmore canns used the brush all around on their upholstery tools in lieu of having a round brush.  Plus the crevice and barefloor with the brush strips.  I could be wrong on my memory recall.

HOOVER did a similar tool and called it utility for its uprights.  Did away with the round brush and upholstery tool in favor of one utility tool.

Carmine D. 

CarmineD wrote:
This is only true of some of their models.  If there was a Kenmore model with the dusting brush/upholstery tool, the brush would slide off.  HOOVERS did not slide off.  HOOVER used the brush attachment on a few of their canisters also like the Constellation and low end Celebrities and Slimlines(except TOL).

The front of the brush slides into the top, then snaps down and locks.

I saw the Intuition last week.  See my review-

http://www.abbysguide.com/vacuum/reviews/364-0-1.html

Mike_W wrote:

Thank you Mike.

Venson

Mike_W wrote:

Nice review.

Carmine D.

Mike_W wrote:

Venson:

Next time you see the Kenmore cann, quagomole green that sells for $140, at Sears or KMart look at the attachments: Barefloor brush and upholstery tool. 

Carmine D.

The SEARS Intuition snags the top spot for canisters by Consumer Reports in October 2008.  All red grades save a Good for handling.  N-I-C-E.

Carmine D.