Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Shark is going after the Dyson Ball pretty hard with the Navigator product.  It claims no loss of suction and claims its just as easy to maneuver as the Dyson Ball.  After acknowledging Dyson as the first to offer no loss of suction, they go for the throat.  They do a direct comparison to a Dyson Ball and state that they are equal in all ways (easy to maneuver, no loss of suction, 5 year warranty) but price.  For less than $200 you can get a Shark Navigator with a free steam cleaner thrown in to boot. 

vacmanuk wrote:

The $70 Eureka-lux Maxima more resembles the VAX with the much longer hose which is a nuisance for some users.

Carmine D. 

Nope I have to disagree Carmine, that Eureka model is different. Here's the bagged version of the Vax Widetrack / Dirt Devil had it out in the UK last year.

vacmanuk wrote:

The UK VAX bagged model you posted bears a striking resemblance to the USA EUREKA-lux Comfort Clean above IMHO that I posted with the commentary that they are same same.  

Carmine D.

PS a question:  Does the UK VAX bagged Widetrack have a cord rewind?   

Nope. None of the Vax models have any cord rewind apart from top spec Mach 7 uprights. Electrolux UK are about to release their EASE uprights based on the First Eureka you posted here. That model range has auto cord rewinds.

vacmanuk wrote:

In the USA, VAX upright bagless models X3 and X5 were among the first in 2005/6 to offer cord rewinds.  HOOVER [before TTI ownership] offered cord rewind in the HOOVER Elite Rewind [and still] in 2005/6 and still.  EUREKA-lux with the Intensity in 2005/6 and now finally with models like the Comfort Clean bagless upright. Also offered now on the latest HOOVER T-Series bagless uprights.  BTW, both the HOOVER T-series and EUREKA -lux Comfort Clean uprights receive Consumer Reports ratings of Recommended/BEST BUY.  With no mention of the cord rewinds at all by CR.  One of my pet peeves with CR.  Should be a feature listed.

Carmine D. 

Ah, sorry Carmine, I was referring to the Chinese built models spurned on by Dirt Devil -  the Vax VX series always had auto cord rewinds - and the U.S know these as the X3 / X5 but they're based on Bosch uprights and it was a collaborative effort from Bosch and Vax when they appeared in the late 1990s. Bosch only had them on the market for a limited period. Vax kept them on for longer.

vacmanuk wrote:

Yes, Bosch Siemens ran a promo in the US, buy one of their appliances and get the vacuum free.  So we have it at least for VAX, TTI, and Eureka-lux:  Cord rewinds on uprights are becoming standard issue even on the bottom of the line models. 

Carmine D.

The UK had auto cord rewinds in the 1980's on many hard box uprights from Electrolux and Hoover including the Turbopower models we had "going under the name of "Autoflex." I believe the U.S had the British models under the name of Hoover "Sovereign."



Hoover however stopped production of auto cord rewind motors in the end of the 1980s and Electrolux also followed suit. The problem seemed to be that the motors inside were forever breaking. Panasonic UK were one of very few brands in the 1990s who kept making uprights with auto cord rewinds but these are now obsolete.

I actually got to see the Navigator at Costco yesterday.  Couldn't turn it on -- no near by electrical outlet -- but got to maul it a bit.  Though not a great fan of bagless vacs, I did very much like the fact that the Navigator easily disassembles.  The bin lifts off with the push of a button and the cyclonics module can be accessed with the press opf a lever.  Another lever on the module allows it to come apart for easy cleaning to maintain optimal performance.

The "shroud" is made of wire mesh and I did wonder if it might be prone to clogging.  There is a large round filter that seats underneath the collection bin. I'd have liked a slightly more sturdy feel but reminded myself, what do you expect for only 170 bucks.  It appears that Costco has hopes for them as I saw a rather large amount of boxed up ones in proprtion to the other models they had out.

Best

Venson

Venson wrote:

Hi Venson:

One of the benefits of the Navigator is the ability to very easily and quickly remove and wash the 21 cyclones [it's called Infinity technology].  A closer look reveals 2 round thick sponge foam washable lifetime pre-motor filters atop a felt non-washable filter.  Lightweight at 15 pounds.  More maneuverable than most full size uprights on the market today, bagged/bagless.  Price is right at $160 but a bit on the chintzy side for my liking.  Nice stiff brush roll tufts but more on the order of a power head brush roll than full size upright. 

Carmine D.