Thread Number: 30315  /  Tag: Recent Vacuum Cleaners from past 20 years
my review of the Aerus classic 90th anniversary edition 		[Down to Last]

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Post# 336260   10/26/2015 at 19:58 (3,094 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)        

Hey everyone, here is my review of the Aerus classic 90th anniversary edition. I’ve gotten lots of positive comments on the other reviews I have written, so thought I would review the Aerus classic canister as well. This would probably apply to previous models in this line as well, such as the electrolux Embaseder series.
There is still some confusion about the different companies that have used the name “electrolux." Rather than me trying to write that history here, I will include a link to an article which probably explains this better than I could.
www.ristenbatt.com/xcart/pages.ph...
So, let's start with the vacuum itself. The shape has remained pretty much the same as what the company is known for, the canister is long and narrow, a definite rectangle. On the top is the power button, pressing it toggles the vacuum on and off. There is also a holder for storing the attachments, though I have not used this, I have a couple of closet shelves dedicated to that. On the front of the vacuum is where the hose connects along with a button to open the door when changing the bag. The vacuum will not run unless a bag is properly inserted. As far as I know, the feature that automatically turns off the vacuum when the bag is full is not included on this model, that's fine with me, one less thing to go wrong. It's fairly easy to check and see how full a bag is, and if you're getting less air flow than usual, the bag is the first thing to check. For some reason, and I'm not sure why, Aerus is still using paper bags. They have several layers, but still, they need to make the switch to cloth bags which offer several advantages over paper. First, they are much less likely to rip and become damaged, thus allowing dust to get in to the motor. Second, the airflow tends to decrease less as cloth bags are filled. Fortunately, there are cloth bags you can get for this vacuum, the hepa bags from Perfect Products, made for their Perfect Canister Vacuums will fit this vacuum perfectly. I had an odd issue when using the Aerus paper bags, when the suction was reduced, such as when cleaning a couch or chair, it sounded like someone was blowing one of those toy whistles or flutes, quite annoying. When I got my Perfect vacuum, it included several extra Hepa bags, I put one of those in my Aerus vacuum and that solved the problem. There is no other filtration before the air passes through the motor other than the bag, so using a good quality bag is important. When connecting the hose, you will hear a slight click as it snaps in to place. At the other end of the vacuum, on the top is a removable grill that covers the exhaust filter. It looks like the hole that this filter sets in could also be used as a blower port for the hose, but I have not tried this. There are two plastic wheels on the bottom towards the back, and a spinning caster on the bottom towards the front. It's very easy to pull this vacuum behind you. The cord is around 20 feet I think, and when you want to rewind it, give it a gentle tug and it will wind back in to the canister.
Ok, let's move on to the hose. I'm not sure how long the hose actually is, I'm guessing five or six feet. It is an electric hose, but rather expensive to replace. Apparently the Aerus hoses are over $100, but you can purchase after market hoses that will work for a cheaper price. The hose includes a standard two prong female connector and it also takes standard attachments. Since it uses the standard electrical connection, in theory, you could probably get any power nozzle you wanted to work if you're not happy with the one Aerus provides. I actually did not purchase the power head with mine since I have all hard wood floors, this made the price a bit cheaper, but I will explain how the power nozzle connects to the vacuum. You have the top wand that connects to the hose and mates with the electrical connector. You then attach the bottom wand, and connect a short cord to a receptacle at the bottom of the top wand, the other end of the cord connects to the power nozzle itself. There is a switch on the power head that turns on and off the spinning brush, but the hose itself does not provide this. So, if you decide to use other power nozzles, you may not have a way to turn off the power head unless you use an after market hose which often does provide this. I would not suggest disconnecting the power head while the power is on, it could cause a short which may damage the contacts. This power head has automatic height adjustment, I know some users prefer manual adjustment, and if that's the case, and you want this vacuum, you will want to consider adapting another power nozzle to work with it. The end of the hose that you hold does swivel which is a feature I really like. On the bottom of the handle there is a knob that will open and close the suction relief valve. There is no motor speed control on this vacuum, and I'm fine with that, again, one less thing that can go wrong. A suction relief valve on a hose is more than sufficient for reducing suction when needed.
I want to talk briefly about the motor on this vacuum. It's decent and quite powerful, but I'm wondering if it's as good as motors that were used in the past on models such as the Embaseder 3. I think these vacuums used to be made with two stage motors, but I'm not sure if the current motor is still two stage or not. I can tell by the sound that it spins faster than some of the motors in previous classic models. Would love to hear any comments from anyone who may know more about that than I do. I guess the best way to put it is, some of the motors in previous models had less whine to them than the current motor. This is a minor thing, but thought I would mention it.
As far as attachments, besides the power nozzle, the vacuum includes a crevvis tool, hard floor brush, and the combination appoulstry dusting brush. Not too much to say about these, they are typical of other vacuums. The appoulstry side of the attachment does not have bristles, but it still cleans very well, though if you want the best cleaning power on these surfaces, purchase the Wessel Werk heb-160 mini electric brush. It is great for cleaning things such as couches, beds, and other similar things, and the short cord will plug right in to this hose. For my hard floors, I use the Wessel Werk rd-285 nozzle which I think is the best one for this purpose. Rather than a telescopic wand, it includes two wands that hook together. Personally, I much prefer a telescopic wand instead, and I already have a few of those that will fit this vacuum just fine.
Regarding cleaning power and noise level, the suction is typical of most canister vacuums. It's comparable to a Miele or Sebo. It's not nearly as loud as some shop vacs, but not quite as quiet as some others such as the Sebo D1, and of course, the Riccar Prima wins hands down for being the quietest canister.
Another thing I wanted to mention relates to how Aerus sells their products. Of course, this is just my own thoughts and opinions, but I'm not really a fan of how their products are sold. They are sold through in home demonstration. You then negotiate a price. Apparently the retail price for this vacuum is $1200, I'm sure no one actually pays that much, but that's entirely too high. I think I ended up paying around $550 for mine, without the power head. I'm not sure if you can only purchase through someone coming to your place of residence, or if you could just call an Aerus dealer and purchase their products and have them shipped to you. Also, in the last several years, several Aerus dealers have closed, on their web site, when I called the place that the site said was in my area, this was the case. As internet sales become more popular, I think Aerus will need to rethink their sales stratagy. Of course, I could be wrong, but I just don't think their method of sales has much of a future. I have heard that they are not selling near as much as they used to, though I'm not sure how true this is. Also, this method of sales raises the price in order to pay the sales commission.
So, in conclusion, is the Aerus classic a good vacuum? Yes, I think so, it should clean as well as other high end canisters. I'm not sure it would be my first choice when recommending a canister vacuum though, mainly because you have to go through much more work, finding a dealer, negotiating a price, etc. It's much easier to hop on a web site and make your purchase straight away. Having said that, if other brands such as Miele, Sebo, the Perfect Canisters or the Riccar Prima do not appeal to you for whatever reason, than this vacuum is worth considering. It includes a five year warranty which is good


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