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Thread Number: 10796
Hoover/Maytag Constellation |
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| Post# 116703 12/2/2010 at 16:53 (4,892 days old) by frosty29 () | ||
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They look cool with the brushed stainless steel. How good are they? | ||
| Post# 116710 , Reply# 1 12/2/2010 at 18:54 (4,892 days old) by vacman117 (Chicago, IL) | ||
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| Post# 116736 , Reply# 2 12/2/2010 at 22:13 (4,892 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada) | ||
For the most part, a great little machine!
These were being sold at our Canadian Hudson Bay department store several years ago. They were originally priced at CAD400, but I got mine for CAD180 when they were clearing them out!
Here are the positives: * Highly rated by Consumer Reports when they debuted several years ago - excellent bare floor cleaning and filtration and sound control, and very good airflow for use with tools. They even gave it a "Good" for carpet cleaning due to the great turbo carpet nozzle. * very, very quiet * very, very powerful (12 amps) - even with a full bag * nice disposable cloth HEPA bags are easy to replace * great turbo carpet nozzle (now being sold in the UK with a red Henry canister vac) * great large wheeled bare floor brush included with vac * really long stretch hose (possible stretches to 10 feet) with a nice 360 degree swivel at the handle end * nice long cord * hose and telescopic wand have standard profiles, so you can add standard vac attachments to this machine if you don't like what Hoover/TTI supplied For me, these are the negatives for this canister vac: * when used on bare floors, the down-facing exhaust blows dirt all over the place unless you carry it in your hand (which is not that difficult to do since it's relatively light) * if you place the tool-holder onto the vac itself (you can also place it on the wand), the tools stick out beyond the perimeter rubber bumper and can damage walls if the vac goes sailing into a wall (they should have provided a separate tool carrier for this machine) * dusting brush LOOKS like it has horsehair bristles, but they are more like rough goat hairs to me! Very rough and brittle to me (I use a nice soft Kenmore horsehair dusting brush instead) * upholstery nozzle is poorly designed and is really only useful on carpeting - there is a removable set of rough bristles which, when removed, leave you with one of Hoover's notorious fabric-ripping tools that have really sharp edges that become dangerous when combined with high 12 amp suction * no cord reel - it would have been great if the handle had higher hooked ends so it would be easier to wrap the cord around the handle like you did with original Constellations. * not a fan of black-coloured tools - they show the dust too much!!!! Much prefer the grey tools provided by Panasonic and Kenmore.... That's my take on this vac! :-) | ||
| Post# 116750 , Reply# 3 12/3/2010 at 02:53 (4,892 days old) by Vacbear58 (Sutton In Ashfield & London) | ||
Mostly I agree
except:
The length of the standard hose is virtually useless as the suction is so strong that it gets completely compressed and the cleaner is always round your feet, rather than following behind. I have oftern wondered what it would be like with the old Hoover flex hose. It should have had a suction control (maybe they do now) and also, I find with the two lug fitting the hose becomes easily attached. I feel that they really passed up an oppertunity with this cleaner - I like the Stainless Steel take on the retro look but for what they were charging it should have had at least a cord rewind and an electronic suction control. With that it could have been a real winner. My take on it is, if the price is right go for it and enjoy it, but dont pay top dollar for it. Al | ||
| Post# 116756 , Reply# 4 12/3/2010 at 05:50 (4,892 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada) | ||
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Alistair...I agree with you about the hose....
I find that if I let my new Connie ride up onto a bit of its electrical cord/flex, it cancels the floating feature and keeps the unit from moving. It helps to use two hands with the hose - one to do the cleaning and the other to grab onto it a few feet from the handle to give you the freedom to clean without the springiness effect. I do indeed have a suction release valve on the hose handle which somewhat reduces the negative effects of the super suction flowing through the hose.
Speaking of the Connie's hose...my biggest complaint was the way that TTI in China packed the hose in the box! I had to exchange my original hose at The Bay because it was so badly bent and flattened out of shape....I went through one or two other boxes at the store before I got a hose that was not damaged! I don't know why they did not pack the hose around the nice round base of the unit to protect it during shipping. It was packed on the top with the other tools, and could easily have been damaged by the stacking of the cartons. They may have even been damaged before they were put in the final box - they may have already been flattened in a sloppy shipping container used to get piles of hoses from the hose supplier to the packing station at the TTI plant. | ||
| Post# 116860 , Reply# 5 12/4/2010 at 03:52 (4,891 days old) by thermokid (Casper, Wyoming) | ||
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I love Mine I have three of them. Unfortunately they are all the Stainless steel model. I really wish I could find the white and gray model then I would have both models.... | ||
| Post# 116890 , Reply# 6 12/4/2010 at 12:05 (4,890 days old) by petek (Ontario) | ||
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Definitely the hose is much too short and it makes using the vacuum unpleasant with it constantly banging into your heels. Otherwise it's a great vacuum. Here's mine that Dave got for me | ||
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