Hey Roger, I used to sell this machine when it was current and yes it wasn't much chop for huge piles of dirt and dust, but I can confirm 100% that under normal day to day use it was a very good vacuum. Great review as always mate.
My 4 year old loves the color but went absolutely bonkers when he saw the shark. His list for Santa is "a blue shark vacuum please!". In any event he yelled "bad boy ibaisaic" when the dirt was spread on the carpet and screamed shame when he saw the line through the mess. I wish he'd get that exited about other things, lol. We haven't watched a video together in awhile so this was especially exciting I suppose. Nicely done, as usual!
These were sold in the usa under the kenmore name and were mated with a eureka power head with a Chevron brush. I owned one and can honestly say yours is not performing properly. I found that was far quieter. I never had issues with the screen clogging but I did notice that your screen is bent out of shape which could be causing the hair to grab. They are rare machines these days, it's just a shame you didnt get one with a powerhead in the UK. Try it without the gore clean stream filter and see if the performance increases. That one is pretty plugged.
Glad you are using that safer box cutter, Roger! 👍 In North America, we saw this unit branded as a Eureka Whirlwind and as a Sears Kenmore. Both of these were "married" to Eureka's outstanding Express Power Nozzle with Vibra-Groomer 3 brush roll - which probably was too effective at throwing lots of ground-in dirt and carpet fluff into the dirt bin. Eureka's tools stored on a carrier on the wand.
Had a look in my arcives and found 2 pamplets with the machine in them. The one you got is an early one as the next generation does not have the blue/green color but has grey and translucent. the ones I have pictured are from 2002 and 2003. Also looking into the dirtcontainer i can se that the "cone" is either replaced or they have put a pointy plastic screen also on it. The model number are Z 5835. Also they did away with 3 tool and now have 2, the new version of the 2 in one tool and the 2 in 1 are stored on the hoze.
Very unique looking it reminds me of a piece of medical equipment for some reason. Looks well made and solid no cheap shiny plastic that looks scratched straight from the box with this. The filter is useless I wonder if they even tested the thing before mass producing it, seems like a prototype what should have stayed that way.
The fan sounds full of dust, the bearings could probably use a spot of oil too. I remember these being in the catalogues when new too, always thought they looked interesting, although they haven't aged too well... That turbo head is awful too, was when it was badged up as a vax! I have a new in box one and it's terrible!
I had an early 2000s canister vacuum, much the same form factor, and the back wheels (it had two, but in the same place as your mini wheel) were claimed to help you move it up stairs when it's stood upright.
did have a look at the parts shop online for electrolux sweden and found your machine. the screen are a separet part acording to the parts diagram, its listed as a conescreen, and to get any more info about it you have to call Electrolux, there were other parts listed as the foam pre filter and that was 95 kr about 10 pounds. the post motor filter is a standard sized filter so not hard to get ahold of. Good video as always
The little wheel underneath is for stability for example if you were to pull the cleaner around carelessly due to the weight distribution it is inclined to tip on its end thus the wheel which aids and assists under such surcumstanses also it should be quieter but like most other bagless cleaners of the period it had inferior filtration and has allowed dust to pass through the filter and stick to the fan making it run un evenly hence the high pitch noise and obviously it is quality it's swedish like volvos there notorious for reliability, safety and quality
I think that if I ever purchase a bagless machine I'd empty it outside at the bin and stand upwind. Still I don't think that it would happen any time soon. My next machine will still be a bagged unit.
Hi, Roger! This is a machine I know a little bit about, in contrast to many of the UK machines that don't have a US counterpart. This appeared first in the US as a transparent bright blue Kenmore in around 2000. It came standard with a Eureka "Express" (with a Kenmore label) power nozzle. In 2001, the same machine was relabeled a Eureka Whirlwind and the color was lightened to the much lighter and more transparent turquoise blue. The Eureka version could be purchased with either the standard wood brush roll or the Vibragroomer 3, the latter of which would make in a spectacular cleaner. (I don't understand why UK companies package otherwise good vacuums with turbine nozzles and thereby limit their performance to mediocre even when the vacuum would otherwise be very good.) You're having the same problem with the rubber seal on the back plate, which is that it's partially separated from the plastic, that I remember with the Eureka. Also, the mesh dome on your vacuum looks like it was crushed, and, although I remember the Eureka occasionally having the same problem with very large clumps getting stuck to it, the deformity on yours is preventing the proper vortex from being generated in the top chamber, combined with two very dirty filters that reduce the airflow. Like other cyclonic machines, airflow reduction leads to more dirt on the filters, and that becomes a positive feedback cycle. The pre-filter is washable, but your post-motor HEPA filter probably is not. Luckily, the metal mesh dome is a cap, which could be replaced, but I don't know if you'll be able to find one now. Regardless, you might not be interested in pursuing all of that when the vacuum is limited to nonelectric floor nozzles. If you saw a well-maintained American version work, I think you'd be a lot more impressed with it, as they were really very good cleaners. It was my favorite canister for a little while. When they were introduced, the Kenmore/Eureka were the best American bagless vacuums except Rainbows in terms of cleaning ability and separating dirt from from the air. (I'm excluding things like Filter Queens and others that relied on filters that got thickly caked with dirt and might as well have been upside-down bags.) Their contemporaries, which were uprights (Eureka, Hoover, Regina, etc.), were awful and spewed dirt if they didn't have a filter or clogged horribly if they did. The later two Fantom models (the Lightning canister and Cyclone XT upright) weren't very well made, but they had pre-motor screens (in contrast to the earlier two Thunder and Fury models) and good dual cyclones; however, I don't include these in the comparison because they were Dyson designs marketed as Fantom. This was Eureka's and Sears's first bagless canister and has a fond place in history. I wish you had had a better experience.
Yeah I really wasn't impressed with this machine either I looked at it when Service Merchandise was still in operation and they had the Eureka version which was basically Kenmore and Eureka they had the same machine just different labeling. But yeah I was not impressed with it
I like the retro looks of this Electrolux, it's reminiscent of the 1960's and 70's Electrolux cylinder vacuum cleaners. As with a lot of the early cyclonic vacuums, it gets clogged very easily. I'm not a fan of Dyson vacuum cleaners but at least the cyclone design on the DC01 was reasonably efficient. Looking at the exhaust filter it looks like dirt has passed through the motor which would explain why the motor does not sound smooth running. Given that this is an unusual and rare vacuum cleaner with its retro looks, it's a shame it didn't live up to ecpectations.
Apparently they also sold this in the States as a Kenmore. (Considering that so many other companies made Kenmore machines back in the day, I'm not surprised.) And it's a shame that this machine had such a tiny mesh. If it were quite a bit larger and longer, then the separation system would've been quite good for the time. After all, that's why Shark systems work so well!
I don't know about the UltraCaptic, but my UltraFlex can take huge abuse and cyclone doesn't clog (unless I overfill the bin). I have video called "Electrolux UltraFlex Heavy Dirt Pick-Up" showing how it can deal with huge amount of dust and other debris. Although I highly prefer bagged Electrolux vacuums over the bagless.
dang, that machine looks pretty, but sounds terrible. I agree with a message down below, either the impeller has packed up and is off balance (from dirt) or the bearing is going in the motor cause it shouldn't be that loud at all.
This is cheap in comparison to Electrolux Grandma&mom had 1950’s&60s. Color tradition was turquoise. Easy to use & sturdy high quality cleaner. Had felt bag we emptied by hand. Long narrow canister of hard rubber & steel. I dont like the bagless either.
