Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Hoover (TTI) introduced a new vac a few months ago called the Linx.
And Electrolux has had the Pronto around a while (Costco's version uses a 12 volt battery .vs. 9.6 volt version in most retail outlets)

As it was getting tiring lugging the Miele/Bosch/Sebo up and down the stairs of my townhouse, I picked these up for various cleaning duties.

The Linx claims to be a Windtunnel design and actually did a pretty decent job on rugs and bare floors. 
It's relatively light weight, uses a simple Cyclone that so far seems to handle fine dust without immediately clogging its secondary filter.

The Pronto is either stick or handheld.  It uses a dust cone which is a pain to clean (pull a tab out and release, whack whack whack until no more dust comes out of the screened enclosure).

Both these vacs run for around 15 minutes per charge.  Linx uses exchangable Lithium Ion pack that pulse-charges in 3 hours, Pronto an enclosed NiCad taking all night to trickle-charge.

....and while I have seen the Dyson handheld, it really didn't fit this as it has no floor capability, uses up battery really fast (new versions supposedly do better), and has a shrieking motor (the Linx and Pronto,
while noisy, are bearable).

Vacuumfreeeke wrote:
Hi VF,

The Hoover Platinum rechargeable stick is a nice idea and serviceable but, fully understanding what it is -- just a rechargeable stick vac -- the price, that of a halfway decent straight suction canister or upright, seems kind of out there. How I'd love to kow what it actually costs to make one.

For the all too many shoppers who make purchase decisions just by the "say-so" on the box, I think many may be assuming they're buying something more merely due to the price.

Venson

Venson wrote:

I agree Venson.  ORECK has HOOVER in its sights when it sell it's Silver Series Upright alo for $199.  Clearly a better choice over the HOOVER linx stick at $179.  No doubt in large part the reason for the giveaway by retailers.

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote:

You really should not consume alcohol while taking trilafon.

HARDSELL wrote:

As I said HS, in the morning I will no longer be drunk.  But you will still be stupid.

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote:

wrt dirt devil m083414:

seems like Dirt Devil still using NiCad batteries, though with an improved charging system.
Trouble is, NiCad's don't last.
also, battery's built in, and if you need to run longer than its capacity, it's a 6 hour wait to recharge.
with the Hoover stick, you slap in another charged l-ion battery and are cleaning again.

Granted, that Hoover stick vac's for light duty only - it's not going to get stuff deeply imbedded in my"level 3" rugs.
I get out the heavyweights for weekly or bi-weekly cleaning.
But so far it's keeping the floor dust and rug lint under control.

I'm not sold on the cordless idea - even for a lightweight vacuum.   It's not like a cordless drill that might be used high up on a ladder, outside, or far away from a power outlet.  With a corded lightweight, I can use a higher voltage motor and I don't have to care about the battery.   I can wrap the cord on my vacuum in less than 30 seconds, so it just isn't a big deal to me. 

If Dyson develops a full size  120 volt cordless vacuum that runs on water, hydrogen peroxide, or urine, perhaps I will reconsider. 

Coming from a person who owns a food processor, a mini food processor and a hand blender, I think the rechargeable lightweight vacuum issue has a lot to do with our sense of extravagance or the easy way it can be played upon by people looking for money. While in Europe, at least in countries where electricity came at high price, I saw many vacuums in many places but in the larger part of the homes where I saw them -- it appeared one was enough.

During my childhood the "one is enough" theory seemed to hold although the Regina Electrik Broom was readily available. However, I seldom saw them used as supplemental machines. People were buying them for general floor care duty.

There were two vac households, one for upstairs and one for downstairs or an upright and a canister for obvious reasons. Their owners were considered well off. The "lightweight" was usually the little handheld straight suction or revolving brush vacs.

Now that supplemental devices can either be cheaply made and/or easily acquired by manufacturers it appears that the sky's the limit as far as the market and the consumer is concerned. However, "convenience" at 40 bucks or so is one thing but above the hundred dollar mark is totally another for most of us.

An inexpensive, corded device would serve me well enough and as to-date I have no little rechargeable wonders about the house save for a rechargeable Euro-Pro sweeper. I stopped using it for the hallway and stairs ages ago. My neighbor and I are in and out all the time but traffic is not a big issue. I keep a large, heavy rug down at the entry door. It catches just about everything and the stairs keep quite well until the one or two times a week I bring out a regular vacuum.

Venson

Severus wrote:

Hello Severus:

How about that.........crappy vacuums that run on urine.  I like that scatological symbolism.  Very appropros.

Carmine D.

Well said Venson. In Europe (NOT the UK however) most countries are offered mains power stick vacs and are often used for kitchen dirt pick up and from time to time anything that the cordless sweepers or uprights claim to do. In most cases most homes which are smaller than the U.S will make do with one large vacuum cleaner and may have a cordless or mains powered stick vac to do minimum dirt pick up.

In the UK though we seem to be a market who don't like mains powered stick vacs and less so for the cordless ones. Currently Hoover have their dirt devil based stick vac ( I think Carmine put a link up here showing one in previous posts which is the same one we have here in the UK) and Hoover also have a new Linx derived design which is far too expensive (close to £100 cost price). Electrolux did try with their Ergorapido. I quite liked that design despite being low on power, the most useful element was its pop out hand held dust buster.
In this case it was its versatility that won it for me rather than its actual pick up performance in upright mode which wasn't really good unless it was used on hard floors.