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Product Reviews for felix

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felix
Model No: classic
Manufacturer: sebo

(Based on 3 reviews)
Avg. Price: $520
Reviews: 1 - 3 of 3   View as Outline
Sebo Felix
May 22, 2008 2:00 pm
ukvacfan
Joined: Aug 23, 2007

The reason that the Felix exists is purely to offer customers a fusion of upright and cylinder vacuum design rolled into one but with a small dirt capacity.

The Felix however doesn't come in a stepped range of having to look for the flagship model to get the most out of it; available in three different colours such as the lurid Orange "Fun," model, white and blue "Ice Blue/Navy Blue," and the "Classic," model decked out in beige/cream, all models benefit from the separate electric powered floor head and a range of accessories which the Felix comes with; a deluxe parquet floor brush which adjusts to floor surfaces automatically and made with better quality plastic than Sebo's standard wheeled Parquet brush available on the K and C series. Since 2007 however Sebo have further added a black and silver model with an extra pet hair turbo tool fitted. As with all Felix models, the handle can be adjusted to the height of the owner in a three stepped locked position facility and upon the handle two tools are supplied; long 10" crevice tool and Sebo's T shaped upholstery brush with a pick out easy to use optional stiff pick up brush line.

However due to its short wrap around hose which locks down the main "open" handle nature of the vacuum, the Felix will fall over if the hose is pulled roughly thanks to its top hose design. And unlike the X range which has a longer plastic wand, the Felix lacks this luxury. As a compact upright, the Felix does little wrong. It has the same feature as the X upright range which enables owners to choose between the hard double chevron bristle brush roller to a delicate brush roller for delicate floor coverings and hard surfaces whilst removing a clog is still as easy because of the sprung trapdoor on the power head sole plate if anything should get caught. In both aspects, owners can open up the floor head easily by unlocking one side of the floor head to install or take out the brush roll of their choice even though you will have to pay extra for the delicate brush roll. Performance is highly efficient, excellent, progressive and simplistic if you keep the power low. A further stop activation button on the floor head can stop the brush roll if cleaning on hard flooring, although the stop function noticeably brakes the floor head causing a slighter heavier feeling from the handle to the floor head. A rotary height adjustment dial however means bending down to the floor head to ensure that the height is correct; this is a cost cutting exercise perhaps designed to steer owners who need a bigger vacuum to look at the X range rather than the Felix. Whilst it is handy however, I prefer the all automatic solution provided on the X range here.

Handling is also very easy thanks to its pivotal neck, enabling any floor head used to turn on a 180 degree access point meaning getting around corners is a lot easier than traditionally pulling and pushing an upright back and forth, thus cutting cleaning times in one application. Unlike the X range, the Felix power head has edges on both sides of the floor head which makes edge cleaning usually more instant. Low cleaning is however compromised by the oval shape of the hard bag area.

The problem that the Felix has however is that despite the nature of its integral flush fitting hose, taking off the power head and turning the vac into its "hand held status," reveals a larger bulk than expected, even if the handle can be slid into the body, the hose is too short to expertly clean stairs without bending down whilst tools can easily be knocked off the flimsy holder on the handle if the Felix is made to clean at angles whilst holding it. Weighing in around 8.6kg fully kitted up, the Felix cuts to 5kg when its put into its hand held mode but it still appears bulky compared to a cylinder/canister design on its own which is what the Felix is supposed to be able to emulate.

Installing a bag into the Sebo Felix isn't very hard even though the bag has to be locked into the top main frame pushing a tongue over a lock spring before the lid can be locked into place. What is slightly disappointing is that Sebo have fitted a cheap mechanical bag fill indicator at the top rather than the LED lights Sebo fit on their other ranges.

Filtration is also S Class standard and the three layer bags have no problem keeping the dirt in, filling from the bottom like top fill bags are supposed to fill up. However Sebo don't produce any other bag other than the triple layer for the Felix which with the additional body wrap-around filter and motor filter add up to the standards of S Class and HEPA. Sadly however good the Felix is, the filters are not washable but can last the duration of 16 to 32 bags dependent on the type of traffic dirt the Felix will be made to clean up.

And whilst the bags don't quite have the same 5.5 litre capacity of the bigger X range uprights, Felix bags have a capacity of 3.5 litres which proves that the Felix is a small to medium-sized home upright vacuum rather than the bigger X range, and being the newer model in Sebo's range, benefits from having seal hats already stuck on the bag to minimise dust leakage the moment the bag has to be lifted out and disposed of. Since selling my X1, the Felix has taken its place of being the main upright in the home and I find one paper bag will last two months before it is completely filled to the top of dirt. The slight advantage of having a separately powered motor floor head means that whilst the bag may well be full, the mainstream suction isn't compromised by a slower motor, thus you can still keep using the Felix with a nearly full bag to get the most out of it.

Yes from the offset the Felix may be an expensive proposition, but for an all round quality feel and simplistic design, as a compact upright with a short hose and a myriad of versatile cleaning accessories available, the Felix should appeal to many looking for a versatile vacuum. It's not the best compact Sebo out there, but for an upright it's not far off the excellence of its older and bigger X series of uprights.












Date Purchased: July 2007
Price Paid: $400
Recommend: Yes
Pros:
Efficient, strong performance coupled with great suction.
Variable power means general use is easy and quick.
Long 10m power cord means less visits to the mains sockets.
Height adjustable handle easy for owners and to store away
Powered head a great advantage as well as optional other floor heads.
In built hose can use any small Sebo attachments for other Sebo models.
Unclogging easy to do from removable hose and trapdoor on floor head.
Good filtration system.

Cons:
Short hose, smaller bags.
Falls over easily if hose is pulled roughly.
Daft height adjustment rotary dial which means bending down.
Bulky design when compacted to become "hand held."



This message was modified May 22, 2008 by ukvacfan
Felix's bag is no bag o' tricks
Aug 21, 2007 8:42 pm
vacomatic
Joined: Jul 26, 2007

The Felix is a maneuverable, flexible "big stick" vac boasting an unusual wrap-around final filtration system. Carpets get decently groomed with little wear. Motor noise is moderate with some whine at lowest speeds. Unfortunately Felix's paper bag is hard to install, frequently leaks, and clogs very quickly in dusty desert climates. Vac can be converted to a "carry vac" though handle can get in way.

Date Purchased: 06/06
Price Paid: $600
Recommend: Yes
Pros:
Maneuverable
Easy to carry
Good rug grooming
Ear protectors not needed
Can be carried like portable vac
Variable speed suction


Cons:
Bag hard to install
Bag has small capacity and often leaks dust
Vac "loosens up" with use (handle rattles, etc.)
Final stage filter tedious to replace
Brush switch on powerhead, not handle
Expensive


Sebo Felix - the stick vac that grew up
Jul 23, 2007 1:29 pm
admin
Joined: Nov 29, 2004

For those who tire of fast clogging stick vacs but like the concept, Sebo offers the new Felix line, top of which is the Classic. The floor brush (an improved ETH series with long, soft bristles) connects to the rounded, fabric covered body via a swivel neck.

Felix has an adjustable heigth handle, microswitches to shut the powerbrush off if hose is removed _or_ Felix is stood upright, and a brush motor servo system that warns user if brush heigth is wrong, brushes are worn, or brush roller is jammed. Bags are the standard Sebo paper design, with an internal motor filter and the S-rated exterior, clothcovered filter sheet.

Felix seems to manuever well, proving easy to steer around objects. Its powerhead is lower than most uprights, but the body diameter is pretty fat, preventing Felix from going very far under beds, furniture, etc. The powerhead can be shut off by pressing a switch on the powerhead body, letting Felix work ok on bare floors without scattering stuff. An included parquette brush is easy to exchange for the powerhead. Felix can be converted to a portable by detatching the powerhead and unmounting the hose, but the telescoping handle can get in the way of using it thusly.

Felix seems to groom medium pile rugs well, and also handled a very uneven carpet on a warped wood deck, picking up far more dirt than a modified Hoover Flair had done (the mod was vastly greater filter surface area that let Flair work for several minutes rather than the brief time its miserable cup filter offered). The powerbrush switch, though less convenient than a handle mounted one, worked well.

Minor gripes include rather flimsy strip holders on the parquette brush, chinzy upholstery tool, high friction cord surface making cord removal somewhat tedious, motor whine at low speed (at full speed Felix is a bit quieter than most uprights). Also, Felix tends to build up dirt in the bend in the hose just above the dirt chamber - it's a good idea to tap the hose to dislodge that dirt just before shutting Felix off. The bag is not easy to put in - you have to be careful in aligning it properly. Finally, Sebo has yet to offer filtrette bags, and changing the exterior filter can be tedious due to the way the exterior filter fits into hidden holders.

I don't think the ultimate stick vac has been made yet, but the Felix is certainly a step up in terms of capability.

-Moved from previous site by administrators.

Date Purchased:
Price Paid: $560
Recommend: Yes
Pros:
good carpet grooming action
easy to manuever thanks to swivels in neck
convertable to portable with little effort
S-class filtration
full size paper bags = large capacity
brush stops if hose is disconnected

Cons:
motor whine at lowest speed
dirt can build up in upper bend of hose
brush shutoff switch low to floor
chinzy accessories
cord wind, bag install a little awkward


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