FC EU VERSATILITY CANISTER VAC – Hoover Bagless Canister Vacuum

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Powerful Suction Within a Plastic Housing, December 27, 2010

Paul S. Remington (Rochester, NY USA) –

This review is from: FC EU VERSATILITY CANISTER VAC (Kitchen)

Our twelve-year old Hoover finally heaved its last dusty breath of air, forcing us to look for a replacement vacuum. I recalled my mother’s old Electrolux workhorse as a child and decided to look into a new one for us. My wife commented on the hundreds–perhaps *thousands*–of vacuum bags I’ve purchased and used over the last twelve years and requested we get a bagless vacuum. The other requirement is it had to be a canister-style vacuum. Electrolux has a few bagless, canister vacuums and we chose the EL4050A due to cost and positive online reviews.

We’ve been using it for the last few weeks and I thought I’d share our impressions for the online community.

First, out of the box, our first impression was, “Wow… That’s a lot of plastic!” It appears as though 90+% of the vacuum is plastic with very few signs of visible metal. This is common with much of today’s construction and didn’t really present itself as a concern, with the exception of the bagless canister; more on this in a moment.

After piecing the unit together and firing it up, we were really impressed with the amount of suction out of this unit with a modest volume level. It’s noisy, but less so compared to our old Hoover. Our cats still run for the hills when we turn it on. It’s a medium-sized unit with a canister that weighs ~20lbs. We ran it through its paces and vacuumed the entire upstairs and–like the last reviewer–we were amazed to see the amount of cat dander it picked up. When we emptied the dispenser, we also noticed a large amount of talcum-like sand and debris that our old vacuum just never picked up.

One note about the bagless vacuum: if you’re like us and are considering a bagless solution, just be aware that it’s a messier option than using bags. We’re getting used to the process, since it’s new to us. With this vacuum cleaner, it’s important to empty the dispenser often. If you let the dispenser get too full, it will clog the internal conical filter within the dispenser. This requires the conical-filter side of the dispenser to be removed. We had a difficult time accomplishing this, which leads into our comments about the plastic.

The dispenser is made entirely of plastic. It’s a very sturdy plastic, but with excessive force, the plastic will crack. The two ends of the dispenser are held together by three plastic tabs on each side. These tabs need to be lifted before the end will release. The side with the conical filter is difficult to remove. Two of the tabs pulled up and released, but the third tab was very difficult. I had to get a screwdriver and pry it up, which made me realize, it’s just a matter of time and this tab is going to break. When it does, I suppose we’re going to have to purchase a new dispenser from Electrolux. It would have been a better design decision to have clasps that flip open and closed, but I’m sure this would have driven up cost.

We feel we need to be very careful with this vacuum due to the excessive use of plastic. The hinges on the housing clasp that holds the dispenser in place are prone to cracking and breaking if handled less than gently. The tube between the beater-brush mechanism and the vacuum handle is entirely made of plastic. Just be sure to treat this vacuum gently and carefully at all times and you should be okay.

The vacuum comes with a number of accessory attachments, but only two fit on the handle. The rest we have to put in the closet for storage. Our old Hoover housed all the attachments in the canister. This is a convenience issue that doesn’t affect performance.

Overall, we’re generally happy with this vacuum. It’s not the metal workhorse like my mother had in the 1970s. It’s definitely more fragile. It requires more maintenance to empty and clean the filters and dispenser. Just be aware of this before buying a bagless vacuum. If you treat this vacuum well, you will surely save money since you won’t have to purchase vacuum bags. Our experience with its performance is very good, so we recommend it. Like the Hoover we replaced, we’ll have to see how it holds up over the next twelve years.

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Paul S. Remington October 28, 2011 At 10:43 pm

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Powerful Suction Within a Plastic Housing, December 27, 2010

By

Paul S. Remington (Rochester, NY USA) –

This review is from: FC EU VERSATILITY CANISTER VAC (Kitchen)

Our twelve-year old Hoover finally heaved its last dusty breath of air, forcing us to look for a replacement vacuum. I recalled my mother’s old Electrolux workhorse as a child and decided to look into a new one for us. My wife commented on the hundreds–perhaps *thousands*–of vacuum bags I’ve purchased and used over the last twelve years and requested we get a bagless vacuum. The other requirement is it had to be a canister-style vacuum. Electrolux has a few bagless, canister vacuums and we chose the EL4050A due to cost and positive online reviews.

We’ve been using it for the last few weeks and I thought I’d share our impressions for the online community.

First, out of the box, our first impression was, “Wow… That’s a lot of plastic!” It appears as though 90+% of the vacuum is plastic with very few signs of visible metal. This is common with much of today’s construction and didn’t really present itself as a concern, with the exception of the bagless canister; more on this in a moment.

After piecing the unit together and firing it up, we were really impressed with the amount of suction out of this unit with a modest volume level. It’s noisy, but less so compared to our old Hoover. Our cats still run for the hills when we turn it on. It’s a medium-sized unit with a canister that weighs ~20lbs. We ran it through its paces and vacuumed the entire upstairs and–like the last reviewer–we were amazed to see the amount of cat dander it picked up. When we emptied the dispenser, we also noticed a large amount of talcum-like sand and debris that our old vacuum just never picked up.

One note about the bagless vacuum: if you’re like us and are considering a bagless solution, just be aware that it’s a messier option than using bags. We’re getting used to the process, since it’s new to us. With this vacuum cleaner, it’s important to empty the dispenser often. If you let the dispenser get too full, it will clog the internal conical filter within the dispenser. This requires the conical-filter side of the dispenser to be removed. We had a difficult time accomplishing this, which leads into our comments about the plastic.

The dispenser is made entirely of plastic. It’s a very sturdy plastic, but with excessive force, the plastic will crack. The two ends of the dispenser are held together by three plastic tabs on each side. These tabs need to be lifted before the end will release. The side with the conical filter is difficult to remove. Two of the tabs pulled up and released, but the third tab was very difficult. I had to get a screwdriver and pry it up, which made me realize, it’s just a matter of time and this tab is going to break. When it does, I suppose we’re going to have to purchase a new dispenser from Electrolux. It would have been a better design decision to have clasps that flip open and closed, but I’m sure this would have driven up cost.

We feel we need to be very careful with this vacuum due to the excessive use of plastic. The hinges on the housing clasp that holds the dispenser in place are prone to cracking and breaking if handled less than gently. The tube between the beater-brush mechanism and the vacuum handle is entirely made of plastic. Just be sure to treat this vacuum gently and carefully at all times and you should be okay.

The vacuum comes with a number of accessory attachments, but only two fit on the handle. The rest we have to put in the closet for storage. Our old Hoover housed all the attachments in the canister. This is a convenience issue that doesn’t affect performance.

Overall, we’re generally happy with this vacuum. It’s not the metal workhorse like my mother had in the 1970s. It’s definitely more fragile. It requires more maintenance to empty and clean the filters and dispenser. Just be aware of this before buying a bagless vacuum. If you treat this vacuum well, you will surely save money since you won’t have to purchase vacuum bags. Our experience with its performance is very good, so we recommend it. Like the Hoover we replaced, we’ll have to see how it holds up over the next twelve years.

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