Thread Number: 17355
Momma's got a brand new vac...
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Post# 186884   6/23/2012 at 13:36 (4,296 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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In light of my Mum's recent wave of buying new appliances since moving house (those of you on AW.org may have seen the thread about her new Zanussi washer and dryer), she decided it was time of a new vacuum. Her old vacuum (the Electrolux Powerlite Petlover pictured below) was not a bad vacuum at all. However, it was a very quick purchase at a time when she needed a cheap vac ASAP. She only paid £49 for it on sale in Currys about 3 years ago and has always intended to replace it with something better. So off we went shopping - my god, what a challenge! At first she wanted another Panasonic bagged upright like our old MC-E44. Having tried those in the shop and not being all that impressed, she looked at a Hoover Purepower and initially settled on that. She then decided that she didn't like the handle release on it (and who can blame her) and looked at a whole range of other brands. Finally, having looked at a whole a host of cheap bagged uprights, she realised that everything at the more budget end of the market was either rubbish or no better than what she had. We called into our local independent vac shop to see what we could find.

Post# 186885 , Reply# 1   6/23/2012 at 13:38 (4,296 days old) by vintagerepairer (England)        

I like those Powerlite cleaners. I know someone here who has one and I tried it out in her flat. I was very impressed. It was not the quietest cleaner I have known, but not too bad. So what did your mother buy?

Post# 186886 , Reply# 2   6/23/2012 at 13:39 (4,296 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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And here is what we came home with. The Sebo Felix Navy. I must admit, I did strongly encourage her to get this ;). This is an ex demo/display model. It had only been used a handfull of times and came with brand new dusting tools, the parquet floor brush and a pack of bags. All in - £120. The only problem is that the hose is a little stiff and rigid from sitting in the sun in the shop window, but we've ordered a new one (and the extension hose) direct from Sebo.

Post# 186887 , Reply# 3   6/23/2012 at 13:53 (4,295 days old) by jmurray01 (Scotland)        

jmurray01's profile picture
I've never seen that model of Sebo before, not sure I like the styling...

I'm sure I've seen that book before though, is it you reading it ?


Post# 186888 , Reply# 4   6/23/2012 at 13:53 (4,295 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        
The Powerlite

turbo500's profile picture
Benny, the powerlite is not a bad vacuum at all, especially for the price. However, the cord is ridiculously short (it doesn't even reach from 1 end of my Mums lounge to the other), the belt snaps a LOT and the hose is ridiculous to use - it's a decent length, but it's very rigid.

Post# 186891 , Reply# 5   6/23/2012 at 13:57 (4,295 days old) by vintagerepairer (England)        

Yes I agree the mains lead could be longer, though for the price one wouldn't feel too annoyed at having to purchase an extention cord I suppose. The belt shouldn't keep snapping of course. Does this one have a fault at all? I must tell you that the hose was one of the things I liked most as I do not get along terribly well with the hoses which stretch. It is naturally down to preference.

Post# 186894 , Reply# 6   6/23/2012 at 13:59 (4,295 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        
Jamie

turbo500's profile picture
the Sebo Felix was launched in 2005 (originally as a commercial cleaner called the Dart) and has since become increasingly popular. It has a swivel neck (like a Dyson ball) and is a lot lighter than the Automatic X. It also features brush bar on/off controls, an adjustable handle, interchangeable floorheads and a guided height adjustment system. It's basically a cylinder with a powerhead but stood on it's head lol.

And of course, as you would expect from a Sebo, it's well built, reliable and powerful.

Check out this video for a bit more info on the Felix


CLICK HERE TO GO TO Turbo500's LINK


Post# 186898 , Reply# 7   6/23/2012 at 14:03 (4,295 days old) by jmurray01 (Scotland)        

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Thank you for the information Jamie! Much appreciated.

Post# 186900 , Reply# 8   6/23/2012 at 14:04 (4,295 days old) by jmurray01 (Scotland)        

jmurray01's profile picture
Jamie ? Sorry about that, obviously didn't take enough medication this morning!

Post# 186904 , Reply# 9   6/23/2012 at 14:09 (4,295 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        
Thank you for the information Jamie! Much appreciated

turbo500's profile picture
Were you talking to yourself there, love?

Post# 186906 , Reply# 10   6/23/2012 at 14:13 (4,295 days old) by jmurray01 (Scotland)        

jmurray01's profile picture
"Were you talking to yourself there, love?" Lord knows!

Post# 186908 , Reply# 11   6/23/2012 at 14:51 (4,295 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        
bit more Sebo info for Jamie...

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Sebo actually run 4 ranges of domestic cleaners.

The Automatic X is their flagship cleaner and the largest of the bunch. It features an on-board computer which automatically adjusts to the correct carpet height. It also has clutch control, meaning the cleaner will automatically shut down if the brushroll should become jammed.

The Felix is a more lightweight, versatile machine designed for smaller homes and homes with a variety of floor types. This does not feature the computer controlled height adjustment, but does have a guided height adjustment and also has the automatic shut down if the roller becomes jammed. The Felix can also be used with different floorheads.

The cylinder ranges are the D and K series cleaners. All of which come with a variety of extra's, depending on the needs of the user. Again, the powerhead models feature the automatic shut down for a jammed roller. They also feature telescopic wands and ergonomic handle grips. Both also have the unique airbelt bumpers. The exhaust of the machine is actually a bumper around the body of the cleaner. This means that if the machine bashes into anything whilst in use, it will just bounce off and not cause any damage to furniture or to the cleaner.

See link for the full ranges


CLICK HERE TO GO TO Turbo500's LINK


Post# 186909 , Reply# 12   6/23/2012 at 14:54 (4,295 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        
Commercial series...

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Sebo, of course, are renowned for their commercial cleaners. They started as a commercial floorcare company and in 1978 released their first vacuum - the Sebo 350 - which was actually the first upright vacuum EVER to feature an integrated hose. This was replaced in 1986 by the Sebo 360 and again in 1991 by the BS36 and the larger BS46, although none of these have really changed much from the original design.

Sebo broke into the domestic market in 1991 with the Automatic X1 upright which combined the reliability and performance of their historic commercial cleaners, but also the convenience and ease of use of a domestic cleaner.


CLICK HERE TO GO TO Turbo500's LINK


Post# 186910 , Reply# 13   6/23/2012 at 14:54 (4,295 days old) by jmurray01 (Scotland)        

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Thank you very much - CHRIS! Got it right this time!

Post# 186911 , Reply# 14   6/23/2012 at 14:59 (4,295 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        
Thank you very much - CHRIS! Got it right this time!

turbo500's profile picture
LOL. You're very welcome. Although, I beg you, please don't start writing my name in capitals all the time like you do with Hoover :P

Post# 186912 , Reply# 15   6/23/2012 at 15:04 (4,295 days old) by jmurray01 (Scotland)        

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Alright CHRIS.

Post# 186941 , Reply# 16   6/23/2012 at 21:48 (4,295 days old) by sebo_fan (Scotland, UK, member AKA ukvacfan, & Nar2)        

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As I was saying in another thread more recently, there aren't that many bagged uprights on sale in the UK at high street shops anymore which IMHO is a great pity, compared to bagless uprights.  John Lewis however have reinstalled their Electrolux Hilight bagged vacuum under their own name, which is at least a good contender alongside the Dirt Devil/TTI based uprights or if you have to go Premium, it's a Sebo at JL, Currys, Debenhams, House of Fraser's or Miele at Argos and Comet.

 

I had a few Powerlites. The belt does go quickly on these because the brush roll is very eager and the height adjustment dial slips easily, if you are determined to believe it can clean hard floors and the back to carpet again and keep changing the height adjustment. I think Electrolux knew that they could sell a pretty cheap vacuum cleaner and to just fit it with cheap parts and pretty flexible plastics. However what I do like about the Powerlite is that it is super light to push, and the top hood comes off via two screws to change the drive belt instead on the base plate like some other brands. The hose is too short but I eventually bought the "Stair master" hose extension from Electrolux to alleviate the short hose problem. Didn't like the injection moulding of the rear bits though and the upholstery brush was of the similar oval style that Panasonic fit on their bagged uprights. I also had the mint green, short lived Eco version of the Powerlite that first came out when the white models were on the market and with only 800 watts, it was quite powerful and noisy but had a tendency to lose suction too quickly despite the use of the white electrostatic dust bags. But I never quite understood why Electrolux never fitted a piston valve bag indicator in the front bin door to ANY of the Powerlite uprights and have since failed to include it, even on the more recent models.

 

As for Felix and X - there isn't much of a weight difference between them (Felix is 6.8kg against 7.3kg for the X1.1) but the Felix feels lighter because of the ratio of parts and for the fact that it swivels. It has a simpler arrangement where its power head is concerned but it also lacks the double insulated thermal cut out that the X is just fantastic at having, even though the two share the same principle of shutting the brush roll off if something gets caught. When something gets clogged in the tube, or blocks the air flow, X's will switch off automatically until the clog is removed. Then the whole system starts up immediately via the power switch. No cool down time required with the X at all, one of the reasons to why it is so successful as a commercial upright vacuum. 

 

My first Felix/Dart experience was actually with the Dart 1 before I bought my Felix Navy. The only decision I don't agree with Sebo UK is discontinuing the X based "Essential G" / G1/2 series where there's a manual height adjustment dial instead of the auto sensor. Sebo UK's decision to replace the G2 with the Dart never made much sense to me on the basis that the Dart/Felix has the small 3.5 litre dust bag compared to he 5.5 litres on the X/G2. 



CLICK HERE TO GO TO sebo_fan's LINK

Post# 186958 , Reply# 17   6/24/2012 at 03:36 (4,295 days old) by gsheen (Cape Town South Africa)        

gsheen's profile picture
I have the exact same model

Post# 186961 , Reply# 18   6/24/2012 at 04:15 (4,295 days old) by Wolffie ()        

Looks to be a pretty nice vac. I am not a fan of plastic vacuums, but it looks to be of good quality, and has good styling.

Post# 186970 , Reply# 19   6/24/2012 at 05:35 (4,295 days old) by jmurray01 (Scotland)        

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"But I never quite understood why Electrolux never fitted a piston valve bag indicator in the front bin door to ANY of the Powerlite uprights and have since failed to include it, even on the more recent models." Maybe they realised it was a useless feature as it only indicated a full bag when it was bursting at the seams and didn't have any suction at all, so decided just to save a few pennies on something the user would never miss.

As I said on the thread about piston indicators, I hate them.

The one on my 2008 JMB SC1056 doesn't indicate a full bag until it has no suction at all, the same goes for the bin full indicator on my 1988 Hitachi Powerhouse and the 2000 Electrolux Tango likes to say it has a full bag when it has a brand new bag and no blockages (the indicator is clearly too sensitive for the 1400 watt motor fitted).

They are utterly useless for anything other than identifying a blockage, which even then is still useless because if you had a blockage, you'd know about it without having a little red indicator to tell you!


Post# 186971 , Reply# 20   6/24/2012 at 05:36 (4,295 days old) by jmurray01 (Scotland)        

jmurray01's profile picture
The only upright I have with a piston indicator is my 1993 Philips U800 and seeing as I'm still on my first bag with it and haven't filled it up yet, I don't know whether it works efficiently - Who knows, maybe it will surprise me, I'm not holding out any hopes though.

Post# 186974 , Reply# 21   6/24/2012 at 06:15 (4,295 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

turbo500's profile picture
I've never found that any bag full indicators work that well. Even the computer controlled indicator on my Sebo x1.1 doesn't go off until the dirt is starting to go up the hose. I much prefer to just check it myself

Post# 186975 , Reply# 22   6/24/2012 at 06:32 (4,295 days old) by jmurray01 (Scotland)        

jmurray01's profile picture
Hear hear Chris, nothing better than actually opening the bag door and feeling the bag.

I change my bags at 1/2 to 2/3 full, you ?


Post# 186977 , Reply# 23   6/24/2012 at 07:06 (4,295 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

turbo500's profile picture
Well, I don't use my vintage vacs as daily drivers. The beauty of the Sebo is that the bag is jam packed full to the top before you need to empty it, so I fill it up as much as I can without the dirt coming up the hose. Thanks to the filter setup, it really doesn't lose suction until its full to overflowing

Post# 186978 , Reply# 24   6/24/2012 at 07:29 (4,295 days old) by vintagerepairer (England)        

Does it smell though?

Post# 186979 , Reply# 25   6/24/2012 at 07:39 (4,295 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

turbo500's profile picture
No, not at all, that's to the high quality bags and S class filters

Post# 186988 , Reply# 26   6/24/2012 at 11:18 (4,295 days old) by alexhoovers94 (Manchester UK)        
"Does it smell though? " ..... "No, not at all,

alexhoovers94's profile picture

I changed the bags and filters a couple weeks ago in our x4 extra with genuine replacement ones and after about a week and a half of use it started to smell off dust and pet dander, don't get me wrong, it will still be filtering to a high standard, it is just it starts to smell because there is no charcole filters to prevent odour.
At least this is my experiane, I have this problem with all of my vacuums.

I like how you can fill sebo bags right to the top, however I would still emty it when it reaches about 3/4 full because I wouldn't want to over work the motor.

Nice felix by the way chris! Your mum will enjoy it for YEARS!



Post# 186992 , Reply# 27   6/24/2012 at 12:02 (4,295 days old) by sebo_fan (Scotland, UK, member AKA ukvacfan, & Nar2)        

sebo_fan's profile picture

I use the Charcoal filter in my X, its the one if you clean up after pets.


Post# 186993 , Reply# 28   6/24/2012 at 12:05 (4,295 days old) by jmurray01 (Scotland)        

jmurray01's profile picture
The only Vacuum Cleaners I have charcoal filters in is my Turbopowers, so to mask any pet odours (not that there would be many with just a cat) or any other smells for that matter I use vacuum fresheners in the bag.

Post# 186996 , Reply# 29   6/24/2012 at 12:15 (4,295 days old) by alexhoovers94 (Manchester UK)        

alexhoovers94's profile picture

I have a charcole filter in my turbo 2 and it does help some what but then again it does begin to smell before the bag is completely full.


Post# 187023 , Reply# 30   6/24/2012 at 19:19 (4,294 days old) by sebo_fan (Scotland, UK, member AKA ukvacfan, & Nar2)        

sebo_fan's profile picture

The Felix has a piston valve bag indicator that I never could trust properly; again like others, feeling the bag or checking it made much more sense. However the new fabric synthetic Felix dust bags are far more reliable working with the valve giving a far more consistent and reliable "reading" compared to the paper bags. 


Post# 187053 , Reply# 31   6/25/2012 at 04:18 (4,294 days old) by jmurray01 (Scotland)        

jmurray01's profile picture
Piston bag full indicators are like the low fuel warning lights on cars, they only activate when you are close to breaking down!

Post# 187060 , Reply# 32   6/25/2012 at 05:10 (4,294 days old) by sebo_fan (Scotland, UK, member AKA ukvacfan, & Nar2)        

sebo_fan's profile picture

Well, we'll just have to learn to disagree. Whilst they may not be reliable on certain brands I find them effective on others. Electrolux could have put a valve on the front of the Powerlite even if it wasn't reliable - at the time other brands had them and it made the machine a false economy if you went by the lack of suction alone if the hose was clogged and didn't feel the bags. Most owners rarely feel a dust bag and often chuck out the bag when it isn't even full. I could tell that from the amount of Powerlite uprights that I've seen at our local recycling site - and the synthetic genuine bags are not cheap to buy in the first place. Sadly with the force of suction, using the brown/paper dust bags often resulted in some being split open during use. 

 

If however there is one saving grace to having a white vacuum cleaner, it takes a far longer time for scratches to appear; my old SEBO K3 is testament to this. Unless you lift the machine up or peer closely only a few scratches can be seen compared the darker colours on my Miele canister vacs. 


Post# 187073 , Reply# 33   6/25/2012 at 08:31 (4,294 days old) by jmurray01 (Scotland)        

jmurray01's profile picture
Well I agree about the colour.

My 1993 Philips U800 does have some scratches but you'd never know because the white colour hides them.


Post# 187074 , Reply# 34   6/25/2012 at 08:33 (4,294 days old) by jmurray01 (Scotland)        

jmurray01's profile picture
"at the time other brands had them and it made the machine a false economy if you went by the lack of suction alone if the hose was clogged and didn't feel the bags." So you're trying to say that because there was no indicator people would replace bags when they didn't need replaced because of a loss of suction through a blocked hose ?

If there was a bag full indicator then a blocked hose would activate it anyway and make the person doubly sure the bag was full.


Post# 187382 , Reply# 35   6/27/2012 at 20:31 (4,291 days old) by sebo_fan (Scotland, UK, member AKA ukvacfan, & Nar2)        

sebo_fan's profile picture

Yes Jamie - if you read what I've said in context - and you've got the jist of it if you read further into your reply - most owners never checked the synthetic dust bags AFTER checking the hose, therefore wasting one or two quarters left in the bags. The filters underneath would be terribly clogged up with dust as well. Clearly if a valve was fitted ,either a blockage in the hose or the bag would indicate there was a problem.

 

Thats why when you rescue an old clean fan Hoover, you may well find the carbon filters on clean uprights like the TP2/3 are completely clogged up compared to the dust channels/where the main hose travels from, looking a lot cleaner. As a repairer's assistant in the mid 1990s, I used to see a lot of vacs where the motors were actually, still pretty good and owners had chucked away the vacs because they thought they had lost their suction. All that was really required was simple things like changing the dust bag, to cleaning the motor filters behind the bag. Owners just don't bother changing the filters on machines like vacuums - in the same way that they won't defrost their old fashioned freezers until something like an LED or a valve tells them to do so to avoid finding that the doors won't open due to the freezer over-freezing!



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