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Product Reviews for EasyLift

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EasyLift
Manufacturer: Shop-Vac

(Based on 1 reviews)
Avg. Price: $150
Reviews: 1 - 1 of 1   View as Outline
Better lightweights out there...
Jul 7, 2008 2:31 am
Motorhead
Joined: Nov 2, 2007

When I saw the new Shop-Vac EasyLift at Lowe's last November, I was eager to try it as it had the potential to be another good, less expensive alternative to the Oreck. While it is still a better *value* than the Oreck due to price, after gaining some experience with the machine I feel that while there were good intentions, the idea was lost in translation and the end result was not that great.

The first thing I noticed when I took the (pre-assembled) machine out of the box was that the handle grip felt a bit flimsy. The aluminum handle itself seemed fairly substantial, but the grip is a 2-piece plastic assembly with the on/off switch mounted at the top for an easy reach. The cord is very long and durable, if not overkill for such a lightweight low-amperage cleaner. Onto the underside, I see that the brushroll is a fairly aggressive chevron-type that, fitted to a capable machine, could probably do a decent job of deep-cleaning. Considering that this is a power nozzle with a bag, it seems to me as being capable of little more than surface cleaning like the Oreck. I opened the outer bag to get an idea of the bag arrangement. At first it struck me as odd that the disposable paper bag appeared to be bottom fill, not seen on vacuums within the last 20 years. I thought this was the case until afterwards when I tore apart the used bag and noticed a plastic fill tube connected to the cardboard collar and extending the length of the bag. To me it would seem like a lot less trouble to add a permanent top-fill tube rather than produce each and every bag this way. Considering the price of the replacement bags at Lowe's, that doesn't seem too far off.

At this point I have looked the machine over and am ready to see how well (or not so well) it performs. I turn the machine on and the first thing I notice is the high-pitched whine it puts out, at first I wondered if such a little cleaner would be capable of this but it seems it is. Certainly holds true to the Shop-Vac name of raucous cleaners, even though at one point it was branded as "Super Quiet" on their website. The headlight is a single LED which for a moment I thought was operated by the rapidly spinning brushroll, and doesn't do much in the way of illumination. Even though I can hear the brushroll making contact with the carpet, it takes quite a bit of effort to push the machine, due in part to the pathetically small wheels in both the back and front. Ironically, setting the 2-position height adjustment (there is a slider control at the back of the nozzle) to "floor" mode raises the wheels. This type of effort is not what I expect from a lightweight, and with each push the handle grip feels as if it is going to break off in my hand, but doesn't.

After I use the machine for a couple of weeks, I open the bag to examine the contents. Besides discovering the internal fill tube as I noted above, I noticed there's quite a bit of debris in the bag, much more than I expected from this machine. The jury is still out as to its deep-cleaning ability, but from what I saw, it seems to be OK.

Would I recommend this vacuum? No, even though the price is attractive. To be honest I could not imagine this as my only cleaner. The two main disadvantages are the noise and the difficulty to push, if it didn't have these problems I could easily overlook its other faults but "ease of use" does not happen with this cleaner.

For a good single-motor lightweight, look towards the TTI-made Hoover Clean & Light, also branded as the Aerus Lux Lite, the Royal MRY6400 (residential), and Royal MRY6500 (commercial). Unlike most lightweights including the EasyLift these units are equipped with a full-sized motor and fan, which gives them good deep-cleaning performance and is why they can make their claim of "2x the cleaning power vs. Oreck".

Date Purchased: 11/07
Price Paid: $150
Recommend: No
Pros:
Fairly aggressive brushroll, convenient switch, simple lightweight design, better value than an Oreck, large bag capacity.

Cons:
Flimsy handle grip, difficult to push, supplies only available at Lowe's, bags are not cheap, not to mention NOISY NOISY NOISY. Easily the noisiest vacuum I have used.


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