Speaking of Dyson…

[GeneL]

Fry's had a special on a Dyson DC25AF refurb. This is a "ball" model.

I had been interested in these vacuums and figured that it was worth a try. Well, as I had read in a review on Amazon, pushing the ball model around took more than a little strength. In fact, it's like pushing a truck uphill.

The effort is increased because you not only have to push forward and back with your arm, but also it puts a lot of stress on your wrist which has to twist in order to steer the ball in another direction.

It was hard enough for me, but there's no way my little Mavis will be able to use this design.

Looks like a trip back to the store and back to the drawing board.

Consumers" Reports rates the Hoover WInd Tunnel model highly, but I'm not sure which version to look for. I think that a self-propelled model might be good for us.

Any recommendations?

Thanks for your thoughts,

GeneL

[Pam]

Funny it was so hard for you. My mom (74 year old) has a ball model and likes it. She's not what you'd call a strong person either.

It may be the suction was too strong for your carpet.

[Grateful11]

>"Consumers" Reports rates the Hoover WInd Tunnel model highly, but I'm not sure which version to look for. I think that a self-propelled model might be good for us."

My sister just got one about a month ago so I can't say about it's reliability but she likes it. It's a good
thing it's self-propelled because it's heavy.

My question about the Dyson's are why do feel like they're going to fall apart when you pick one up in a
store to check them out? I mean joint and hinge seems very sloppy to me and my wife.

It's messy but we still like our $25 yard sale Rainbow.

This is the model we have:



Never buy buy one new there's too many at yard sales. I think people get tired of cleaning
the water bowl filter. I don't mind because we have woods behind our house I just dump
it and wash out with a garden hose. I think they're over $3k new now. We've bought 3 at
yard sales, 2 ran fine one didn't run but had some really good accessories with it.

My SIL still uses a Rainbow like this:

If anyone has an Oreck here's a tip for you if it doesn't pick up like it used too.

Remove the bottom cover and flip the beater bar to the "old" position. It has a New and Old position.
The Old position positions the beater bar so that the brushes are a little closer to the carpet. I found
this out when I replaced a drive belt.

[kap]

GeneL,

That Fry's DYSON refurb may be the same one we got last year. It was incredibly loud. It sounded like a jet engine. Its suction capability failed right out of the box as well. Fry's suggested we call up Dyson. We returned it. Fry's CS took it back. We got a full refund. Added a bit more to the amount and bought Dyson 27 Animal. Have been quite happy since.

[GeneL]

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

Pam, I don't know what to tell you, but this vacuum weighs a ton and with the ball, it is incredibly cumbersome for me. I was really set to like it, so this is really disappointing. I think that the model without the ball might be much easier to use, so for me, the ball is a less than effective design feature.

As far as your 74 year old mom being able to push this machine around, at 72, I still think I can take her!:oldfogey:

Grateful11, a German friend of mine bought that Rainbow vacuum years ago for a lot of money. I don't know if she still has it though. I have never seen one for sale, but based on your post, I'll keep my eyes open. Actually, I wanted to get away from the canister style vacuum, like the one we have now.

I will be researching the Hoover upright self-propelled models.

kap, it appears that the Dyson you have isn't a "ball" model. I think that without the ball it is easer to use. I had been foolishly attracted by Dyson's marketing. This vacuum s definitely going back to Fry's.

[lafinfil]

I own a very nice Nilfisk Commercial vacuum but it just doesn't do dog hair very well, so I had been eyeing
the Dyson Animals for awhile. A lot of the info I turned up said that they didn't work that well, and were
prone to breakage and expensive repairs, so I passed.

I ran into a deal on an Oreck XL about a month ago at an estate sale. It was older but looked good so for
$5 I took a chance on it. Brought it home and put a clean bag and a new belt on it and led it to the living room rug
which is the toughest test in the house. I fired it up and was very impressed. It is the first vacuum that I have
had that picked up dog hair in one pass. It is also incredibly light weight.

Personally I never bough into the Oreck sales pitch and thought it was a gimmick, but this $5 vacuum
made me a convert. If I had known how good they were I would have paid full price for one years ago.

[Panopticon]

"ball", that cracks me up every time I hear it.
It is not a ball, it is a tapered cylindrical roller; captured on axis. It cannot spin, only roll and wobble.


why do feel like they're going to fall apart when you pick one up
Because they are cheaply mass produced in Malaysia?

Yard/Estate sales & fleamarkets, you can find a quality vacuum, usually American made, that does the job and uses easy to find parts.
Many times you'll find one that was hardly used. An anniversary gift the wife did not appreciate perhaps?

[kap]

Panopticon wrote:
why do feel like they're going to fall apart when you pick one up
Because they are cheaply mass produced in Malaysia?

Cheapy plastic parts all the way.

[haikuman]

You been sleeping on the living room floor again "fil" with the dawg ...? *(:>*

[lafinfil]

haikuman wrote:
You been sleeping on the living room floor again "fil" with the dawg ...? *(:>*

Does passing out count ?