Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Happy Monday . . .

Rowenta has entered the cordless stick vac market with a new model, the Air Force. As with many Rowenta past vacs, it bears a wedge shaped nozzle for getting you right into corners. The claims here are stronger suction equivalent to a regular canister machine and up to 40-minutes of runtime. Sounds like a go -- if it works.

http://living.scotsman.com/features/Gadgets-Rowenta-Air-Force-Wireless.6642531.jp

http://www.homeandcook.co.uk

The following link is to a sweet and to the point YouTube video from Which?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K_B_yeo6I8

Venson

vacmanuk wrote:

Thanks to Vacomatic here it is from May 2010 for the USA LiNx.  Now we could use the same for Vax/Life LiNx.  Except for dirt bin capacity which I mentioned I could not verify anywhere on line for the USA sold LiNx.  Except for price and warranty [and bin capacity] this looks almost same as UK specs for the UK LiNx.  And much different than the Which? info for the LiNx.  Rowenta Air Force still looks like the better buy based on this review.

Carmine D.

Linx is a lightweight "windtunnel" stick vac that does a decent light duty cleaning of carpets and floors. With battery and parked on carpet, it tends to fall over. A loud, grinding motor's unpleasant, and the Lithium Ion battery, while maintaining constant power, only lasts 10 - 12 minutes (recharges take 3 hours). Brush head's cog belt driven. Not a lot of airflow thanks to the very restrictive secondary filter. Vac's fine for small apartments and surface dirt on rugs/floors, but keep a regular canister/upright around for serious cleaning! Date Purchased: 10/15/09 Price Paid: $170 Recommend: Yes

Pros: Lightweight, easy to carry and push. Relatively constant battery output. OK at picking up surface litter. Brush roll can be switched off. Cons: Very loud motors. Tips over on rugs with batter installed. Short battery life: 10 - 12 min. max. Secondary filter messy to clean, clogs easily.

Well.. that's interesting info. If I get one to trial, I'll let you know all about the Rowenta.

vacmanuk wrote:

Sounds like a plan. Let us know the unknowns.  I still can't reconcile the huge price differntial between the Vax/Life LiNx and the HOOVER TTI LiNx.  Euro dollar diff explains some but not this much.  Something just doesn't compute.

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote:

The 18-volt model can be had through John Lewis for 129 pounds. That's the equivalent of $201.50 American. Correct me if I am wrong but if the price includes a VAT of some sort then it all probably works out to about the same as I'd pay here for a Platinum Stick. Regular price $179 plus about 15 or 16 dollars additional for sales tax (.0875 percent).

http://www.johnlewis.com/230906944/Product.aspx?SearchTerm=RecentlyViewedList

I haven't been to Europe in quite a while and do not know how the Euro works or prevails since this product is priced in pounds instead of Euros.

So far I've found the Vax Life stick as low as 159 pounds and up to 199 pounds.

Venson

Venson et al, the prices you see at these retailers will have VAT added beforehand.

vacmanuk wrote:

Makes life simpler I think. The price they say is the price you pay.

Here you first are told price and don't learn of the additional sales tax until you either the register or ask.

Do you know what percentage of VAT is added per your individual pound?

Venson

Venson wrote:

Thanks Venson.  You're the man.  Always an explanation for the unknown.  Well, almost always.  Too bad the European countries didn't stick to their own currencies in 2000 rather than adopting the euro.  They're reaping the benefist of the euro now.  Greece bankrupt.  Ireland bankrupt.  Portugal soon to follow.  Then probably Spain.  Rioting in the streets over pensions and tuition hikes.  Even in the UK.  Only Germany is above the economic and social unrest fray and largely through its financial assistanceand stability bailing out the weaker euro countries.  But for how long?  Any wonder SEBO and MIELE are still going strong.  Strong country, strong people.

Carmine D.

PS: Rowenta is Gerrman made.  What a coincidence?

Venson wrote:
For all retail products, everything has a 17.5% VAT tax added to it.

Lots of reviews for the new Airforce including: http://www.dorkadore.com/house-home/rowenta-air-force-dork-review/

Wins points for

• Flexibility. The stick bends every way, meaning you can easily get under the sofa without any unnecessary effort.
• Triangle head. The suction goes all the way to the edges, which is great for those corners a more substantial hoover misses.
• Lightweight. Having a lightweight vacuum certainly makes cleaning less of a chore.
• Storage. It’s tall and slim, so it’s great for storing away in the broom cupboard or under the stairs.

Loses point for

• Suction. It’s good for a cordless option, but it can’t compare to the heavy duty corded options.
• Recharging. A little annoying to have to stop every 40 minutes to recharge. Saying that, I seem to get the hoovering done a lot quicker anyway, so I only need to recharge between sessions

Also check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkmea_PlrHg&feature=related where you'll see the true part of the sole plate.

vacmanuk wrote:

Hi,

40 minutes time for light cleaning should be more than enough. I would not use this machine with the intention to deep clean but merely to make things appear tidy in quick fashion. The more time allowed to do that, the better the result.

The bottom view shows that this vac is a not yet ready for prime time player when it comes to heavy duty. The brushroll, as shown, is for light duty/low energy challenge by way of use in a rechargeable device -- exactly the same as with the Ergorapido and a number of other rechargeable sticks.

However, I think if Rowenta thinks on a serious redesign of the cleaning head it has good chance to excel. The nozzle's bottom is overly elaborate in regard to air paths and could bear simplifying as the design as is requires a lot more air power than supplied. (The engineers who thought it up seem to have had a limited type or carpeting and hard flooring in mind.) Considering the Air Force's power draw it could stand a beefier revolving brush to step up surface soil/litter pick up and a simpler PN design to ensure good edge cleaning as well.

Venson