Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

I have been a huge Electrolux fan and I hate to part with my Guardian but people tell me that the world has changed and you can buy really good vaccuums must cheaper than the !,400 I paid for my Guardian 14 years ago with just as much pick up! Is this true, what would you do, pay to ship this with our goods or can I go out for under $500 and buy a really good vaccuum. I'm hearing Panasonic's are great. I can only get about $250 or $300 for my Guardian to sell it used, I'm told. This gives me pause even after factoring in the weight it adds to my moving costs. Would love some thoughts, thanks so much, Mair

I have an Epic 8000 with the Guardian motor. It's the same machine minus the big exhaust filter on top. I would never sell it. What I would do if you haven't already is to install the pre-motor filter Aerus sells for these. Trust me when I tell you to do this right now if you haven't already. If a bag ruptures or leaks in these machines, there is nothing keeping whatever was in the bag out of the motor unless you have a pre-motor filter. It will extend the life of the motor and protect it from a bag failure (rare but it happens). Oh man what a mess if a bag does blow. Been there, done that. Disassemble the whole machine and wash it out, including the motor (yes, you can wash some parts of a vacuum motor, just not the armature). I started using a cut to fit Kenmore CF-1 filter before I knew Aerus had a specific filter for this purpose. The Kenmore filter is, however, cheap, more available (every Sears and K-Mart sells them) and easy enough to make fit. Cut it to 5 inches X 4 inches (it is 5 X 4 7/8 originally) and push it to the back of the bag chamber. It does not hurt suction at all. Cheap protection.