winshawn's Full Review: Milwaukee Tool 8955 Upright Vacuum
Update Mar 22, 2005 -
I have had the vacuum almost two years and I am very happy with it. I have a large shop vac that I use to vacuum my car but, it was not very good at picking up the sand that gets in the rear cargo area (the filter was clean). The Riccar did much better than the shop vac. It has great suction even when the bag is very full.
The suction on this vacuum continues to amaze me. You have to be carefull with the accessory tools because it sucks so hard.
The vacuum came with a box of extra tools; a super long hose, a wide bare floor brush that has little wheels, and some other misc. attachments. I use the floor brush with the long hose to vacuum my tile and hardwood floors. It has a "twisty" head so it is easy to maneuver around furniture.
Changing the bag is much cleaner than emptying a bin from one of those bagless vacs. There is even a built in dust cover on the bag to cover the little hole while you are taking it to the trash.
One other nice thing I have noticed is that the dirt/air flow path from the head of the vacuum to the bag is easily accessible and cleanable. Unlike other vacuums where the path is inside the vacuum, this vacuum has a hose on the back of that connects the head of the vacuum to the bag. The hose can be easily disconnected and cleaned.
I have had no broken belts or any other problems with the vacuum. I have also noticed that the vacuum is much quieter than the old Hoover or most other vacuums that I hear. Clearly this is a quality piece of equipment that will last a long time.
Original review.-
I had a Eureka Excalibur that did not suck very well. Then I bought a Hoover V2 that broke after a month. We had a friend that raved about her Riccar so I went the nearby old fashioned Vacuum repair shop to look at the vacuums.
The local repair shop was your typical vacuum store. Filled with vacuums waiting to be repaired, etc. The store owners son helped me and it was nice to talk to someone that knew all about vacuums. He told me:
The most reliable vacuums are the "Bypass" Design. Which means it is a hard case vacuum that creates the suction on the outside of the bag. Thus it is only clean air that reaches the fan.
Most manufacturers put in cheap inefficient fans and motors because you cannot see them. The Riccar motors will last forever.
The shop actually measures the amount of vacuum from the various manufacturers. The Riccar produces about 135 in of water vacuum, a Hoover 85-90 inches, a Eureka 70-75 (Higher number is better).
The Riccar uses a flat wide belt which lasts much longer than the round donut type belts. It does not use a toothed type belt because they often cause damage to the vacuum when something is jammed in the brush. (this is what happened to my Hoover V2)
When test driving the Riccar I noticed it was very easy to push and pull. Much easier than the Hoover V2. I also felt the suction on the accessory hose. It was kind of scary how firmly it latched onto my hand. It comes with a box of accessories including; a long extension hose, a wide head for bare floors, and some other pieces. No turbo brush but, Riccar does not think they help clean any better because they reduce the suction available at the nozzle.
While I was there a guy came in with his 6 year old Riccar. He raved about how well it vacuumed and how reliable it was. However, he said his wife accidentally vacuumed up a rag and it broke the vacuum. I waited to see what was wrong. It turned out only to be a stretched belt that was replaced for $2.25. Plus I found out that over those six years he had never replaced the belt and he swore he used the vacuum at least once a week.
Since I did not like my Eureka because it did not suck very well and my Hoover V2 broke after a couple months I was ready to spend a bit of money to get a good vacuum. A good vacuum will go a long way to help your carpets last longer. The list price was $650 but it was on sale for $550 and they gave me 10% off for giving them a trade in. Thus, it cost me $495. I think that is a bargain for a vacuum like this. One more thing. The vacuum came with the Platinum Warranty plan. 5 years parts and labor plus, a free check up at the end of the first three years which will include motor lubrication, new belt, new bag, new Hepa filter and new after filter. I think I got a bargain.
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