Daft prices of vacuums - my story of thrift!

[minininjarob]

WARNING. BORING HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE CONTENT.

Recently we realised we needed a new vacuum cleaner. We have a Henry type hoover which is ace but it’s a pain to store and isn’t great at fluffing a thick carpet pile up which we have plenty of in our house (prefer to be comfy and warm rather than trendy!).

So I started looking at vacuums.

CHUFF ME. How expensive???? I knew they were expensive but they are just daft now. And they all seem to be cordless ones now. Which is silly to me. Why use a 24v battery instead of a mega powerfully 240v 13amp socket that I have LOADS of in my house? Cordless vacuums have always seemed crap to me, they just don’t have the power to deal with carpets.

So what do I do?

I’ll fix a broken one.

This was won on eBay for £4.20. Advertised as broken, wouldn’t switch on.

To be continued!

 

[minininjarob]

So why did I buy this? Well I’ve always found that there are certain companies that make the same thing year after year, with good quality construction and components. They don’t advertise they just seem to sell stuff on reputation.
Sebo seem to be like this. Their new vacuums are £400 ish and look old fashioned and basic.
BUT they are used all the time in commercial settings. You don’t see Dysons in hotels do you?
I had a dig round and found that Sebos are still made really well. They are easy to dismantle and replace parts and maintain as most sections detach and you only need to take out 4 screws to get inside the machine. And this screws aren’t self tappers into plastic, they are machine screws into metal inserts.
But they look boring and still use bags which I don’t mind - my Henry uses a bag and that’s amazing. It’s hardly a chore using them and I’d prefer bags and a better quality machine instead!

I also found that the Sebos have a PCB board in the which is quite clever. It auto adjusts the brush height and the motor power will be cut if any strain is detected eg a blockage. This stops the motor being damaged. It does this as it has a special toothed belt system and sensors which detect the brush speed.

Hmmm I thought - I looked on a couple of forums and found some people sell them as broken when all they have is a slight blockage.

At £4.20 it’s worth a punt - isn’t it? I will at least get £4.20 worth of entertainment taking it apart!!

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

I can only hope we take back control of house cleaning with brexit

 

[MountainSide]

Cordless technology = built-in redundancy. Has anyone ever bought anything with a built-in battery that still works properly after 4 or 5 years. I certainly wouldn't buy a vacuum cleaner that costs more to replace or is impossible to replace the battery. Never mind something expensive like a car!!

I bought one of the EU compliant lower wattage mains vacuum cleaners and it just "sticks" to the carpet and is impossible to push around.

 

[gavroche]

We bought a Bosch cordless 15 months ago and the bloody thing has already packed up. We took it for repairs and were told that they don't repair Bosch!! We have to have a cordless now as wife suffers with her hands and can't push a heavy one. Just bought a Vax now, hope it will last longer.

 

[raleighnut]

 

[mustang1]

View attachment 432205

Hey that's the one I have! Nice!

EDIT: actually I dont like it thaaaat much. Its a common problem with hoovers of this type that when I pretend they are a car and make them go around the corner, they always topple over. I blame the three wheel design. I also dont like the two large buttons (again, common on all hoovers Ive seen of this type) where one side of the button is hinged and only the outer side of the button gets pressed; i sometimes press the button and my hand or foot slips off the button because the button has become slanted.

Storage is alright. I'm not entirely convinced about the way the pipe extends (the latch seems to be on the wrong side) but its not that bad.

Other than those shortcomings which are common on all hoovers of that type, it's pretty ok. Had it for quite a few years. I see your is in good shape; mine has scratches and stuff.

 

[raleighnut]

Hey that's the one I have! Nice!

EDIT: actually I dont like it thaaaat much. Its a common problem with hoovers of this type that when I pretend they are a car and make them go around the corner, they always topple over. I blame the three wheel design. I also dont like the two large buttons (again, common on all hoovers Ive seen of this type) where one side of the button is hinged and only the outer side of the button gets pressed; i sometimes press the button and my hand or foot slips off the button because the button has become slanted.

Storage is alright. I'm not entirely convinced about the way the pipe extends (the latch seems to be on the wrong side) but its not that bad.

Other than those shortcomings which are common on all hoovers of that type, it's pretty ok. Had it for quite a few years. I see your is in good shape; mine has scratches and stuff.

That's just a stock photo, ours is battered too but it has survived for 10yrs or so and with Maz using it that's bloody amazing.

 

[screenman]

Sebo and a Henry here, and a George for use in the garage.

 

[cyberknight]

Have to agree on the cordless power , we bought one and its great if you have har floors or dont need to clean up all the time after kids grinding all and anything into the carpet on a daily basis so we got a corded upright in the end and the cordless does the stairs .

 

[Drago]

I wanted a Henry. Tough as old boots, all the parts are available separately as spares, good at what they do. Alas, they were mighty pricy, and being a tight git myself I wasn't going to pay it. Double alas, few were available second hand.

Then one day a local Dixon's was selling the pink one, known as Hetty, for £30. Identical in every way except the colour, and an obviously more feminine face on the side. I rushed in, barged and rugby tackled my way to the counter, and bought one. A brand new Henry, albeit in pink, for one and a half score.

 

[welsh dragon]

I have a Sebo as it was recommended when i went in to buy a Dyson. Sebo are crap and don't work very well, and they have bugger all tools with them. But after 10 years it still works

Just bought a cordless Dyson V8. Great. Take up no space, and you can just grab it off the wall and pick up anything instead of having to drag it outmof a cupboard, plug it in, get the rubbish up, then have to do everything in reverse. No bags as well.

Mr WD has a henry in his workshop. I don't rate that much either.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Sebo are very good , used in Care homes and by contract cleaning companies everywhere as there good quality and you can buy all the spares.
Good price too.

I have a cable dyson and a £30 asda cable thing with a handheld in the kitchen.
I wont be going Dyson cordless, £400+

 

[Levo-Lon]

So why did I buy this? Well I’ve always found that there are certain companies that make the same thing year after year, with good quality construction and components. They don’t advertise they just seem to sell stuff on reputation.
Sebo seem to be like this. Their new vacuums are £400 ish and look old fashioned and basic.
BUT they are used all the time in commercial settings. You don’t see Dysons in hotels do you?
I had a dig round and found that Sebos are still made really well. They are easy to dismantle and replace parts and maintain as most sections detach and you only need to take out 4 screws to get inside the machine. And this screws aren’t self tappers into plastic, they are machine screws into metal inserts.
But they look boring and still use bags which I don’t mind - my Henry uses a bag and that’s amazing. It’s hardly a chore using them and I’d prefer bags and a better quality machine instead!

I also found that the Sebos have a PCB board in the which is quite clever. It auto adjusts the brush height and the motor power will be cut if any strain is detected eg a blockage. This stops the motor being damaged. It does this as it has a special toothed belt system and sensors which detect the brush speed.

Hmmm I thought - I looked on a couple of forums and found some people sell them as broken when all they have is a slight blockage.

At £4.20 it’s worth a punt - isn’t it? I will at least get £4.20 worth of entertainment taking it apart!!

We get sebos for about £250 ,we have 4 at work

 

[Levo-Lon]

I have a Sebo as it was recommended when i went in to buy a Dyson. Sebo are crap and don't work very well, and they have bugger all tools with them. But after 10 years it still works

Just bought a cordless Dyson V8. Great. Take up no space, and you can just grab it off the wall and pick up anything instead of having to drag it outmof a cupboard, plug it in, get the rubbish up, then have to do everything in reverse. No bags as well.

Mr WD has a henry in his workshop. I don't rate that much either.

I'm surprised at the sebo slating @welsh dragon
They dont have many tools but they are good for edges and getting under things.