~50 year old Hoover Constellation still running like new (I'll have to ask my parents exactly how old it is). Must admit it hasn't had much use in last 7 years (due to buying a Dyson), but it was in constant use prior to that, first by my parents, and then by me.
I know people rave about the Henry, but let me express a dissenting view. We have a Henry with the electrically-powered beater head.
It's heavy and awkward to carry, particularly up and down stairs. The secondary filter is huge, and seems to squash the bag down unnecessarily. It's noisy. The airflow seems lower than the Morphy Richards cleaner it replaced - not surprisingly, since it's nominal power is less. The head and tube assembly falls over if you let go of it - for instance while moving furniture, despite locking into an upright position that requires the user to stand on the (not his) head to return it to its normal position - which it does with such a load crack that soon, surely, the bit of plastic is going to break.
The main unit falls over too easily if you drag it over door thresholds. The electrical contacts for the power beater in the various sections of the handle often make intermittent contact. It takes several passes over small pieces of lint or fluff on a carpet to pick them up - and then doesn't always succeed. The crevice tool, upholstery tool, and brush, all require an adaptor to fit them to the handle. The only tool storage is a canvas bag. The lid release mechanism (for bag changing) is crude.
Its strengths are its long reach (hose plus flex), and easily-available bags and filters. Otherwise, it seems yet another example of an industrial tool that's been to the toy-makers to produce something that looks a bit like the original, but isn't a patch on it.
MH is right that any modern vac is unlikely to last that long, though.
We bought a Miele about 5 years ago off the back of a Which? report. Works well (according to the wife) and is damn quite which is a bonus when she decides to hoover when I'm watching the TV. Should it break wouldn't hesitate to buy another one
HTH
Jim
Talking of Mieles - we have a Cat and Dog which has worked fine for some time. Today, however, as I used it it sounded a bit noisier than usual, then it suddenly cut out and a small red light near the power switch came on. (This isn't the bag full indicator. It has never come on before.) Now, when I apply power, nothing happens, no motor, and the red light comes on after a couple of seconds. I can't lay my hands on the manual - can some kind person with access to same please tell me what the red light means? An even greater act of kindness would be to tell me how to fix it...
thanks, Andrew.
In message , Andrew Haylett writes
assuming I've found the correct model, that's the Overheating warning light - from p35 of the manual:
"The vacuum cleaner has switched itself off automatically A temperature limiter switches the vacuum cleaner off automatically if it gets too hot. Some models also have a warning light , which comes on to indicate that it has overheated. Overheating can occur if, for instance, large articles block the suction tube or the dustbag is full or contains particles of fine dust. A heavily soiled exhaust or dust compartment filter can also be the cause of overheating. Switch off the vacuum cleaner using the On-Off switch. After removing the cause, wait for a period of approx. 20 - 30 minutes, to allow the vacuum cleaner to cool down. It can then be switched on again."
at and Dog which has worked fine for
many thanks for the reference (I admit I should have been able to find it myself!)
The red light never goes out, no sign of life from the motor, so I don't think it's simple thermal cutout. Miele's diagnosis is 'broken motor, send us unit + =A399 and we'll fix it'. Err, no thanks. I'd rather buy a new one (probably not Miele - I know they have a good reputation, but once bitten, twice shy). I may take it apart first, though - nothing to lose.
Andrew.
Thats the beauty of Numatic - cheap parts - new motor around £50.
Cat and Dog which has worked fine for
No, you must buy a Miele, they're the best, plenty of people will tell you, you obviuusly misused it ;-)
MBQ
On Sep 5, 12:03 am, "The Medway Handyman"
You will be tried for heresy ;-)
MBQ
You also get new tools and anything else that is required plus a set of bags and collection and delivery.
This is an excellent deal.
I have one with the suction-powered brush head (bought as an add-on).
It's not light, and is definitely designed to be used on the flat, but the weight comes from the strength of the components.
It squashes back up when the bag is full.
Mine's the quitest cleaner I've ever used. I can usually hear the radio over it, never known that before. It's much quiter than the Dyson they used to use here at work.
Seconded, especially if the bag's empty, no weight to stabilise it. Also, it always catches on doorframes or corners if you try to drag it through, which is very annoying.
But it works...
Yes indeed, I can clean the whole house from a socket in the hall. And the hose is long enough to do the whole stairs from the bottomm or top.
But it is the original, isn't it?
I bought one because my wife is hard on things, and it's 7 years old and working fine. I used it to clean up huge amounts of dust and rubble in the loft once and it stopped when it overheated, but once it cooled just carried on as before.
And my kids love turning the knob to coil the flex back in.
Andrew
Cat and Dog which has worked fine for
Just to follow up on this, I took it apart and found one component (looks like it might be the thermal cutout switch) with one of its two legs not quite soldered properly to the PCB. Resoldering it kicked the machine back into life. Now I can treat myself to a =A399 gift. The motor still sounds noisier than usual. I wonder if it needs lubrication of some kind.
Andrew.
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