Wow, it looks really amazing - even though it still persists to just be a traditional upright WITHOUT a hose or tools. I see from the manual that this has a brush protected belt/lifetime belt and they've copied SEBO in giving a shorter cut out time back up if anything gets clogged. What a pity then that for that it has a lifetime belt fitted, there's no auto stop function for hard floor cleaning.
Hi,
Oreck's main claims to fame are light weight, simplicity, good performance and reliability. Changes beyond a certain point can only lead to gain in weight and girth. Blessedly the Oreck upright's motor has been re-designed to shut down completely if the brush is jammed. That makes the "Endurolife" belt a feasible replacement for the standard belt they used (it doesn't stretch). I guess this new belt was a concession of sorts for the lack of other conveniences. Considering these machines are simple direct-air vacs, there's probably no practical way to arrange a brush shut-off. They have a single motor to supply suction and power the belt and most the design of a larger heavier would be called for to fit in a mechanical device. Riccar and Simplicity's lightweight uprights don't have brushroll shut-offs either but have also gained user raves for carpet and bare floors.
I should mention, very important, the Magnesium has a brushroll design similar to the type used in the Edge model which got great scores for rugs and floors.
I demoed Oreck's Edge, the XL Platinum (swivel-connection) and the lesser priced XL Insight late last year and early this year. A brushroll shut-off is a moot point. These uprights have no beater bars and during four hours a day weekends, they never scattered dust or marred any of the hard surfaces I demonstrated them on. If the issue is wood that's very delicate, this machine as others also can be bundled with a lightweight Oreck portable vac and its attachments.
This message was modified Dec 1, 2011 by Venson
