Mister_Bojack

Did I remember an issue with the bags for the S5 in which they would burst, or had a weak spot because of the suction? I thought I had read this before in the old forum. I'm asking because I just bought a used machine and under the HEPA filter it's filthy. I'm wondering if the bag broke previously, or if things normally accumulate under the filter?

I would look at the different brands and see which power nozzles they offer to sell with the systems. They all look familiar, as we've seen them on various brands of vacuums. Look for a power nozzle that you recognize as being high quality and reliable. You'll probably recognize it when you see it. Personally, I like the Cen-Tec units with the height adjustment and geared belts. The Quiet Drive types are great. The "Stealth" nozzles from MD Systems are good too, but they'll be a bit pricey because they're made by Rotafil in Italy. I'm not familiar with the DrainVac brand, but I've noticed that they do sell Sebo power nozzles with their systems. I have one of those nozzles on my Felix upright. It's indestructible. As for the the different brands of motor/tank assembly, they're all pretty similar. Most of the brands offer bagged/bagless, and sophisticated electronics to monitor the bag and filter. 

Sometimes, I wonder if the ones who "hate their systems" do so because the tools that came with the unit are inadequate. I've house-shopping lately. I'm looking at homes much larger than what I've owned before. I've seen several homes that had really powerful systems from Beam, Vacuum Maid, SilentMaster. These houses all had the added expense of Hide-A-Hose installed, so I assumed that the builder went to alot of extra expense. What was disappointing was that not one of these home builders had a power nozzle as part of the tool package. In fact, all of these that I saw were straight suction units, and these were homes with extensive carpeting. On top of that, my Mother in Law moved earlier this year into a 5000 sq. ft. home that had the most ancient looking Nutone system in the garage. No hose or tools were to be found. After I determined that the unit had adequate suction (for its age, mind you), I went to Lowe's for a 25' pool hose. I then went to a vac shop and bought about 25 old Elux power nozzle cord straps for the hose, a Nutone hose fitting for the wall outlet, a six foot long pigtail cord (as used for older central systems), and a salvaged late model Kenmore PowerMate nozzle with hose and wands. When I was finished, my end result was a poor man's version of an electrified central vac hose with a Cen-Tec power nozzle. It looks straight out of Dr. Frankenstein's lab, but it works perfectly and has more than enough suction. I had to something because her whole house is full of that "frisee" carpeting, and it was tearing up her Dyson DC 07.

About the Ocean Blue: Does it have decent suction?

Just looked at their website and the different product lines.. The Fakir upright look like a re-badged/updated Clarke Combi, but I don't know whether or not that machine is still in production.

MY GOODNESS! All of this (NOT SO) passive aggression reminds me of the Vacuumland.org forum! About a year ago, the banter started taking a downhill turn and good folks lost their manners. I hope this isn't happening again.............