Thread Number: 38029
/ Tag: Recent Vacuum Cleaners from past 20 years
What's "The Vacuum" of the 2010s? |
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Post# 405317   2/10/2019 at 01:41 (1,895 days old) by bagintheback (Flagstaff, Arizona)   |   | |
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Years from now, what vacuum model will future collectors think of when they look back on this decade? Like the '90s were certainly the Hoover Elite (and clones), and I'd probably put the Dyson DC07 at the top of the list for the 2000s. I wasn't around prior to the 90s, so of course I can't pinpoint from experience before then, but I usually just think of whatever style of Convertibles around were the norm.
I'm thinking for the 2010s it's either the swivel-neck Sharks or cordless Dyson stick vacs. Walmart seems to sell a ton of Bissell Powerforces, but they aren't really a new design and are too disposable. The new Sharks and Dyons have a real original look to them, and aside from battery degradation with the Dyson, I think they will last long enough to pop up in future collections. |
Post# 405320 , Reply# 1   2/10/2019 at 01:48 (1,895 days old) by MadMan (Chicago, IL, USA)   |   | |
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Post# 405342 , Reply# 3   2/11/2019 at 01:59 (1,894 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana)   |   | |
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The Shark Navigator? (various iterations) I mean it seems ubiquitous that coming out of the 2008 recession people want a new shiny "hip" vacuum - and there was Shark. Chrome plastic and all.
I mean you can just imagine there is a Shark inside this 2010 HGTV press release photo of a "green home". hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/... |
Post# 405346 , Reply# 5   2/11/2019 at 08:12 (1,894 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)   |   | |
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Because all of today's vacs (and other appliances) are made of plastic, contain circuit boards that double as self-destruct devices, and increasingly contain non-replaceable batteries intentionally engineered for short lifespans, there won't be anything from around to collect from this decade—and maybe decades going forward if trends continue the way they are going. At best, future archaeologists will dig up plastic shards from landfills, wonder what the hell these devices were used for, and probably get it laughably wrong.
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Post# 405383 , Reply# 6   2/12/2019 at 08:51 (1,893 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)   |   | |
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Post# 405393 , Reply# 7   2/12/2019 at 12:10 (1,893 days old) by kirbylux77 (London, Ontario, Canada)   |   | |
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"There just won't be any 10 year old sharks. Much less 20 year old Sharks."
Really, eh? I beg to differ with you on that point. Shark Professional/Legacy canister, circa 2008, & still runs perfectly :-) Rob
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Post# 405396 , Reply# 8   2/12/2019 at 12:50 (1,893 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)   |   | |
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I meant there won't be 10 year old Sharks, much less 20 year old Sharks, that have seen use in a single vacuum home. I have almost new 10 and 20 year old vacuums in my collection too. But in 20 years, I'll be dead and those machines will be in the landfill. Collectors in 20 years still won't be able to find Sharks from this time period unless one just happens to have not been used.
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Post# 405400 , Reply# 9   2/12/2019 at 16:09 (1,893 days old) by Kirbysthebest (Midwest)   |   | |
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Not just Shark, but many of the other planned obsolesce machines. They are just not designed to last very long, because the marketing plan is to sell more soon. |
Post# 405401 , Reply# 10   2/12/2019 at 16:31 (1,893 days old) by countryguy (Astorville, ON, Canada)   |   | |
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Post# 405405 , Reply# 11   2/12/2019 at 18:30 (1,893 days old) by fan-of-fans (USA)   |   | |
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I agree on Sharks and stick vacs, certainly.
"That said, I'm not so sure on the new domestic PowerForces (2014-15 on up?). I'm sure that there has been some major cost cutting in those as far as materials go. They don't feel as well put together (at least by my limited touch-and-feel while in the vacuum aisles at Walmart/Target/etc). Plus, the motors are only rated at 6-8 amps IIRC. " - SuperOCD I don't know about that. The new Powerforce bagged still seems to be a good basic vacuum that's easy to maintain. I like the Powerforces too, they're lightweight and easy to use. IMO, the 6-8 amp motors are a good thing. They use less electricity and are usually quieter than a 12 amp. The "amp wars" in the 90s that brought us 12 amp vacs, which were supposedly bringing better cleaning power, but really just made for hotter running "screamer" Hoover Elites, Eureka Bravos and Bissell Poweramps whereas the lower amp motors of earlier versions were sufficient. |
Post# 405420 , Reply# 13   2/13/2019 at 05:35 (1,892 days old) by mark40511 (Lexington, KY)   |   | |
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was used daily for almost 5 years and it still works, but the motor started making a burning smell when turned on but it would dissipate after running for a bit. Anyway, I got a new bagged vacuum because I was sick of dealing with bagless.
But about the planned obsolescence. What KILLS me about that is about how the world is so worried about climate change and protecting the environment....creating strict rules but at the same time completely IGNORING this aspect is painfully cringy to me. |
Post# 405421 , Reply# 14   2/13/2019 at 08:19 (1,892 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)   |   | |
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superocd wrote:
I do residential/commercial HVAC and a I've noticed that a lot of replacement jobs are for units that are 10-15 years old that are not cost effective to fix. I reply: Absolutely. My house was built in 1970 and still has its original Singer gas furnace and air conditioner. And at 49 years old, they still run like the sewing machines with which they share their name. I've had to have a couple of minor repairs to the system in the five years I've lived there and without fail, every tech who has seen it has told me that even though a newer unit might be a little more efficient and possibly save me a bit on my utility bills in the short run, I would be paying through the nose over time since I'd be looking at replacing them every 10 years--if I'm lucky. And I wholeheartedly agree with Mark that planned obsolescence is an absolutely criminal waste of resources. Yeah, recycling is good but it takes more energy to do that than to keep good quality machines/appliances/vehicles going. We as a society have allowed ourselves to become way too enamored of the latest whiz-bang gimmicks and thus willfully ignore the wisdom of our forebears that durability is the true mark of quality. And I have to throw repair-ability into the mix here as well. Manufacturers willfully and intentionally design their products NOT to be repairable. Case in point: I have two Remington Electric razors. The older one I bought about 20 years ago and the newer one I bought about five years ago. The older one is held together with screws and when the NiCad batteries finally failed after about six years, it was a five-minute job with a soldering iron to replace them with better quality NiMH batteries to get another 10 years of use out of it. The newer one is plastic welded together and the instruction sheet actually shows how to physically destroy the device to remove and recycle the batteries when they fail and the product thus "reaches the end of its useful life". It irks the hell out of me that the product's useful lifespan is being arbitrarily determined by a consumable component that could easily be made replaceable for little if any additional production cost. The real cost to the manufacturer is in future profits because the consumer would be able to avoid the replacement treadmill by continuing to use the old product for a longer period of time and we just can't have that now, can we? The ultimate absurdity of it all is that manufacturers assert their right to make their products non-repairable by saying that consumers don't really own the products they buy, they just license their use, and thus any attempt by an end user or other third party to repair the item is a violation of the manufacturer's intellectual property rights. A number of states now have "Right to Repair" legislation pending to combat this practice. Check the link below to learn more. CLICK HERE TO GO TO human's LINK |
Post# 405443 , Reply# 15   2/13/2019 at 18:18 (1,892 days old) by fan-of-fans (USA)   |   | |
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I never thought I'd be big into the right to arms, etc. But it's getting to where the right to own/use anything is being impinged upon by all of this modern legislation and laws. (I won't get into politics here) but I think we can all agree there are places the government and politicians need to stay out.
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Post# 405463 , Reply# 19   2/14/2019 at 09:22 (1,891 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)   |   | |
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According to one of the HVAC techs that serviced my Singer system, Singer sold off their HVAC business to American Standard. I had a pair of American Standard heat pumps in another house I owned a few years ago. Although I hate heat pumps (blowing cold air to heat the house makes no logical sense to me), they were pretty trouble-free.
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Post# 405521 , Reply# 22   2/16/2019 at 15:24 (1,889 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana)   |   | |
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Post# 405522 , Reply# 23   2/16/2019 at 15:39 (1,889 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana)   |   | |
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The best way to make your furnace more efficient is not to replace it - it's to seal all the gaps and butt-joints in your ductwork with mastic or foil tape, and make sure all the door and window seals around your house are 100% perfect and hold the heat in. Accomplishing that, you won't have any issues. You could have a million dollar furnace but if your ductwork is garbage and your house has more drafts than a barn, then it's all going to waste.
I used to have an old 1960's GE furnace in my basement, but it had to be replaced because it developed a gas leak and for liability reasons the company that inspected it had to replace it. They said if we didn't believe in God, that we should because it had every reason to have blown up, but somehow it didn't. The furnace I have now is an Amana from the early 2000's (this was installed in 2004) and it's been good so far, but the burners like to melt off for whatever reason after so many years, cheap pot metal. But other than that it seems OK. My great grandmother's house had a gorgeous 1940's Coleman with all the art deco flair and streamlining, it must have been one of the first gas furnaces, it sure looked like it. It was also killed off by gas leaks and the fact that the parts were so obsolete they couldn't even find anyone to fabricate replica parts for it. But the people that installed the furnace in my own house must have been in elementary school because the fit and finish is so sloppy and poor. The idiots even tore a lot of the asbestos tape off my ductwork when fitting new ducts (they didn't even change the main trunk), I bet they have cancer by now. I like to watch "Holmes on Homes" and I have learned a lot from that show on how to do basic repair on HVAC at tidying it up and sealing gaps. It's improved it somewhat. I did find that the duct to the kitchen line is crushed like a fortune cookie somehow and the duct to the bathroom is just not even attached, so those need fixing (beyond my skills), but they've been like that for about 40 years. I guess it was fine in the 80s when stuff was cheap but now the price per therm has gone up, can't afford to waste any. |
Post# 405525 , Reply# 24   2/16/2019 at 19:07 (1,889 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)   |   | |
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My house is surprisingly tight for being spec-built and I've made it even more so a couple of years ago by adding good vinyl replacement windows. Winters are short and mild down here, but the summers really give the air conditioner a workout.
When I was buying the place, the inspector actually had the gall to suggest I replace the whole HVAC system because the original thermostat was on its way out. It did indeed fail a couple of months after I moved in and I upgraded it to a programmable digital unit--the only circuit board in the whole system. |
Post# 405569 , Reply# 25   2/17/2019 at 08:40 (1,888 days old) by robsmith1977 (Shippensburg, Pennsylvania)   |   | |
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