Several people have commented that Oreck's aren't in general heavy duty vacuums.  So what carpet types are Oreck's most appropriate for?   I believe CR gave most of the Oreck's tested in the last several years scores of good to very good for cleaning medium pile carpeting.   

Carmine has mentioned the failure of a Dyson DC07 on wool carpeting. 

I would think that deep shag and berber carpeting would have special challenges different from medium pile carpeting.  

HARDSELL wrote:

Do you speak from personal experience my friend?

BTW, I am not the least bit surprised that when push comes to shove you chose HOOVER with WT technology over all others.  I have said here for years and years, thanks to SEVERUS' coining of the expression, that the HOOVER WT is the gold standard of rug cleaning.  Coincidently, so has Consumer Reports said so on many occasions and this particular model you bought was rated number 2 in the upright lineup by CR.  Ironic isn't it.  Two icons, like them or not, that you drudge here constantly.  BUT in the final analysis you end up following and using both.  What's next in the HS household:  An ORECK?

You got taken on the price: $399.  They're being sold pervasively at half that price now.  In fact, were sold at $299 by BEST BUY as early as June of 2009 when the HOOVER bagged platinum lightweight and companion compact canister first launched.  Obviously in direct competition to ORECK.  In marketing it's called follow the leader.

HAVE A HAPPY AND HEALTHY MEMORIAL DAY.

Carmine D.

HARDSELL wrote:
For all that is going on here in terms of the conversation and slightly off topic, I'd like to say BAGLESS is A BOON when new carpets are installed. We went through 9 of the 13 litre fill capacity Oreck XL bags when we got our new thick woollen carpets installed right through the entire house. Carmine - you know already of the cost of Oreck bags in the UK! Then I purchased the Dirt Devil Dynammite model (Vax V-045 in the UK) and five empties per day of its tiny dirt cup ensured no more wasted dust bags. When I moved to my flat in the city where the landlord kindly put new thick short looped pile carpeting down I went through a box of bags with my Sebo Felix in two months; my mother would not PART with the Dirt Devil despite its awful loud noise. It made sense in that moment to keep the bagless upright; I still have it whenever we get new rugs for example.

At least the Oreck and Dyson have one thing in common; auto adjusting heads.

vacmanuk wrote:

Point very well made.....gotta say i have to agree with you....even though i dislike bagless.

Wool ......for the most part is a lux item here in the south where red clay dirt is the norm and will destroy even the cheapest contractor grade carpets. When the carpets at the courthouses got replaced ..i will say i or we did go through alot of bags....a bagless would have been nice. but in the end a bag is better...just my view,

The dynamites were actually good....powerful but that cone filter was the pits....you gotta agree on that. i tried a dacron filter for a shop vac over them and it made a world of diff, a bojack soloution indeed but one that worked....in general do you use the ddvl from time to time and if so areyou still happy with its long term use.

turtle

HARDSELL wrote:

It didn't at that time, now or ever.  Read the ESP brochure you got from BEST BUY if you still have it.  

This is a myth [you bought into] that was started on several vacuum Forums and perpetrated by a few pro-dyson posters years ago.  As near as I can tell, the sole purpose was to increase BEST BUY's revenue stream by pushing extra cost ESP for dyson vacuums when dyson's warranty was 2 years and not 5.  The issue went away on August 15, 2006.  Can you guess why? 

The BEST BUY ESP contract states that the ESP ALWAYS reverts first to the manufacturer's warranty if still under the product's original warranty period.  If the product is past the maker's warranty, the ESP says it will repair the product fault for the period of the extended warranty.  If the fault can't be repaired, then it will replace with an item/product of the same value.  It doesn't guarantee a new product replacement with the same brand and model.  BEST BUY determines what the product replacement is and will be, not the customer.  

Product replacement plans, which is what you describe, is a seperate and distinct animal from an ESP [extended service plan].  To my knowledge no retailers of dyson vacuums offer replacement plans.  That was true for the 2 and 5 year warranty periods.

On a similar note, Consumer Reports discourages ESP for most products including vacuums as a waste of money.  I agree. 

Carmine D. 

retardturtle1 wrote:
Hey Turtle
Sadly we don't have a filter option - its the paper cone pleated type or nothing. I haven't seen a different type although you've got me interested! I think the U.S do have different filters for this machine but I may be wrong judged on the grainy photos on the Internet.

I've had the Dirt Devil for about 5 years now and before that another model, same type with silly pink decals on the bin (now replaced by silver). The Black Vax is perhaps one of the best uprights I've had in a long time; yes its Chinese made but I don't really care; it stands up to a lot of abuse, became a lot lighter to glide once the squeegee was removed and still cleans hard floors without damage. The paper pleats do get coked in dirt but its all a matter of principle- quick twist, pull up and brush clean or alternatively let the bigger SEBO deal with sucking out the dust. I've kept it because its very handy, very compact and great at cleaning bed mattresses to shock my friends/show how powerful it is. My mother adores it because its tiny but does a great job.

As a matter of interest I wrote to Vax UK suggesting that they should import the Dynammite Plus model with the hose on the back as the UK has only ever had the one without it (true upright design then in the traditional sense, like a Hoover Junior cos tubes and hoses mean zilch suction) and Vax's reply at the time was that they were working on a mini upright which would eventually become the basis for their new Mach Air Dyson DC24 Baby copied upright. I have that one too (has Windtunnel and of course, the Mach filter). Strangely enough, although it is similar to the little Dynammite, it doesn't feel as well made and I've had endless problems with it (review on here). As a replacement model, its not as good as the good ol' Dirt Devil / Vax despite having a hose on the back.

Consumer Reports rates this Dirt Devil Featherlight bagless a Best Buy for $60.  Rating it Very Good on carpets; Excellent on bare floors, and Good with tools.  Impressive for the price.  Customer reviews are middlin but for the price........such a deal, as my Jewish Aunt would say.

Carmine D.

See larger image

Dirt Devil Dynamite:   See larger image and other views    Dirt Devil M084600 Dynamite Bagless Quick Vac, Red

vacmanuk wrote:

Hi Vacman

Well the the dacron cover is a sleeve...for the shop vac....avail at homedepot/lowes over here.it will need a shake out and a once a month washing...but thats it and will give the dredded cone filter years of life....we at the shop also used it on the windtunnel bagless vac and it gave us years of use out of the cone filter it used...it was a service everything vac and a great one at that...was put to the test day after day and the sleeve worked very well.

Many swear by ddvl and ive used it myself on a few occations at the shop...really does a good job...hard to complain.....the purple royal version does a great job also.

I prefer the hoseless/or dont use it ...for general use...a portable cann for tool use..just me. its proven itself to be a pretty tuff bugger....love the brushroll and the way it cleans overall.

turtle 

As happenstance would have it, as I was driving out of the the community this morning, being trash day despite the holiday, I see an empty Dirt Devil Featherlite box at the curb of one of the neighborhood houses. 

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote:

Pretty ironic...hahaha my friend.

turtle

 

We have the Dirt Devil Featherlight in many different guises but they come under supermarket and exclusive brand names rather than Vax or Dirt Devil. I had one for a year; not as noisy as the Dynammite but not as efficient either. The biggest problem I had was cleaning the plastic impeller style shroud and escaping dust. The handle folded down at the rear making it great for storage though and the hose was a decent length. Didn't like the height adjustable setting though as it rarely cleaned deep down even with the height adjuster allowing the brushes to get right down to the floor. It's also substantially bigger than the old little Dynammite: