Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Hi,

Per Japan Today, Sanyo has come up with a new cyclonic model, the Sanyo Airsis, which is to be released in Japan on October 21st.

The Airsis' proprosed price is to be 115,500 yen (approximately $1,277 American). Despite some slightly radical design changes -- a hose end with dual grips and very different looking floor tool -- the price sounds a bit steep for a machine that's main claim is an upward directed exhaust stream. That's more an exercise of common sense than genius. Sanyo also says this cleaner excels because its filtration rate is 20 percent faster. Whether this implies increased airflow and/or suction, I do not know. Link follows:

http://www.japantoday.com/category/new-products/view/cyclonic-vacuum-cleaner-2

Venson

I have the Panasonic built version of the Airsis, the MC-SXJ4000-W. We live in the US but adore Japanese canister vacuums and their all surface power nozzles. After Panasonic bought Sanyo they continued to sell the Airsis under their own brand name. What makes the Airsis special is its filtration. In the belly beneath the motor is a large circular ULPA filter. The US DoE HEPA standard is 99.97% filtration of particles down to 0.3 microns. That spec was designed for the nuclear power industry to filter out nuclear particles of 0.3 microns. ULPA is a clean room standard with filtration of particles down to 0.08 microns. ULPA filtered air is directed upwards from the rear of the vacuum. It is a bagless design but nothing like Americans and Europeans are accustomed to. The dirt is caught in a clear plastic box with a fine mesh filter at the rear followed by a pleated filter. It seems to work because the separate traditional looking pre-motor filter stays clean in use. I don't read Japanese so I have to look at the drawings in the manual and guess but I wash the pleated filter from time to time. There is a brush provided to allow you to brush it out. It has good cleaning power, is very quiet and the power nozzle is an absolute favorite. It has a shutter in front that folds up and exposes the brush if you press it into a baseboard. You can also rotate it 90 degrees and stand it nose down, press the shutter open and clean gaps between, say, the wall and a refrigerator. There is a way to use it as a wet mop but I haven't figured it out, and the little cleaning sheets one sees in the several videos of the vacuum are not available that I can find. I'm sure they are available, I just can't read Japanese and figure out who sells them, lol! The Airsis can be used as a room filter too. It has a button on top that will turn it on with the hose disconnected. Normally you have to operate the vacuum using the buttons on the hose handle and other Japanese vacuums won't turn on unless the hose is attached. There is no way to use a bag with this machine unless you are clever and can make a little rib for the bottom to hold a bag in place. Some other Sanyo models with similar dust boxes also have provision for a paper bag. This machine does not. I cut a piece of synthetic cloth HEPA dust bag and put that in between the mesh screen and pleated filter to keep dirt out of the filter. Doesn't affect cleaning power but saves on maintenance as the filters get expensive. The ULPA filter costs $85 USD. You can buy a cheap vacuum at Walmart for less money, but it won't be as cool as the Airsis is!