Eureka Boss Smart-Vac Upright HEPA Vacuum Cleaner, 4870MZ
by Electrolux Home Products (floorcare)
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Eureka Boss Smart-Vac Upright HEPA Vacuum Cleaner, 4870MZ
Customer Review: Excellent value for the money
Summary: 4 Stars
We bought this to replace another Eureka vacuum we got to replace our Hoover WindTunnel (great vacuum, never had a problem, and served us faithfully for 8 years).
The first Eureka we bought (the Capture Plus), was a disaster, it kicked the bucket in just 6 months, and it wasn't abused. The Boss SmartVac came highly recommended, and the price was right ($[...]).
Consumer Reports rated the Boss Ultra as one of the best vacuums in a comparison against some of the best vacuums on the market (think Kirby... Rainbow). I can't deny that claim now that I've owned it. The Boss has excellent suction and cleans as good, if not better than vacuums costing $300, 400, 500 more. I've used Kirbys, Dysons, Hoovers, Rainbows, and others, and this one works great. It's loaded with useful features too. It's got a motorized brush roll (beater bar) that turns off when you aren't using it on carpets. You can switch the suction mode, and there's a function for bare (hard) floors and adjustible brush height. The hose stretches out nice and long, and the tools are of good quality. This is a bagged vacuum, so it won't clog easily, and it's hygenic: Just replace the bag. Eureka claims this is one of the best filtering vacuums out there, and it may be, but despite having true 3-stage HEPA filtration, there's some particulates that get by them. Still, good filtration for the money. If you're looking for good filtration, try one of Rainbow's water vacuums, but in terms of cost, the Eureka is more attractive.
There are some reliability issues with this machine though. The motor is very powerful...12 amps. It's an excellent powerhead, delivering astounding suction for a small unit, and it's reliable. That power can be a problem though. If you manage to suck up a rug, curtain, stuffed animal, pet toy, or other object (if you're not careful you will, it's that powerful), it can cause some serious problems. The belt isn't made from regular rubber, it's a synthetic that Eureka claims lasts longer than rubber. That may be true, but it doesn't stand up to abuse, and if overheated, is ruined. Rubber belts can take that abuse much better. also, the brushrool bearing caps are plastic, and suceptable to overheating and melting. You can't readily replace them either. Plus, the vacuum is made almost eitirely of plastic, which is good for weight savings (it's still on the heavy side though at about 23 lbs), but bad for durability. It's questionable however, because if you're not abusive to this machine, you shouldn't have any issues with it. Out of 10 Bosses, 10 will probably be fine. We bought this from CostCo, which has a no-questions-asked return policy, so if it breaks, we'll send it back and get another one.
Customer Review: Powerful suction, terrible build quality
Summary: 2 Stars
The vacuum itself when new is excellent. It does a great job of cleaning, has plenty of suction and agitates and grooms carpet really well. The allergen reduction system (filter bags, motor filter and "HEPA" filtration on the exhaust) are pretty good at reducing airborne particles. That being said, the quality of most of the materials is pretty poor and some of the engineering choices are really questionable. The vacuum has a spring-loaded dingus that removes the roller load from the motor when it's locked in the upright position or when you manually toggle the bare floor setting. Initially, this works alright (if not a bit kludgey...)
However, after 12 months or so of use, mine stopped disengaging the roller and would burn through the thin plastic belt if you didn't immediately toggle the bare floor switch. I was sort of reluctant to live with this, but since it was really the only issue with the machine at this point, it wasn't too terrible. Just lock it upright, flip the switch. Tilt the handle back, untoggle the switch. This allowed me to keep the machine from eating belts and saved me from having to hear the roller spinning and rattling in the upright position. We continued to use the vacuum in this condition for a while, but since it was out of warranty, the price to fix the broken belt mechanism was going to be about the same as a new machine.
It ended up lasting another 6 months or so until this week when it decided to start burning through belts even when the mechanism was set to bare floor, the exhaust filter retention bracket (cheap plastic) became brittle and broke when we changed the filter and the bag retention mechanism (again, cheap plastic) became brittle and broke when we replaced the bag, and the left bearing cap melted (I'd wager due to the heat caused by the weird belt condition) Now, this wasn't the result of mistreating or beating on it or anything. These parts merely wore out over the course of 18 months, which I suppose isn't terrible when some of the reviewers have indicated a machine life of less than 12 months.
I wouldn't really recommend this unit to anyone unless you enjoy replacing vacuum cleaners every 12 months. Ours has since been replaced by a Hoover Platinum upright that feels much more solid, has a better warranty and comparable suction and allergen reduction, which we're extremely happy with.
Customer Review: This Vacuum Really Sucks and that great in this instance
Summary: 5 Stars
Ever buy a product and out of the box it seems right from the start. Well if you have not, then you might want to try this baby. Yes, it is an upright and maybe a bit, just a bit on the heavy side, but the suction that this baby, or maybe I should say tiger produces is absolutely amazing. I really think this is because of the great design of keeping the suction pipeline as straight as possible till is gets to the bag, and also coupling that with a powerful motor and great rotating brush. It all combines for great pickup and powerful cleaning. The combination of a well designed filter bag and hepa filtration system also keeps much of the excess dust/allergens down while operating the vacuum. Eureka has done its homework on this upright including the powered hand tool which works good in doing stairs and taking hair off of furniture. It would probably work fine on car carpet detailing, but I have not tried it there yet. Filter bags and belts are available at many locations and at reasonable prices. Many of the criticism of this machine are not deserved and are most likely caused by not reading the manual and understanding how the machine functions and also by not keeping the machine cleaned and the filters changed when necessary. In simple words, lazy people don't usually get good results when they refuse to maintain the very machine that is responsible for doing the cleaning. Change filter bags earlier, not later than recommended, clear debris if the suction is decreased, change or blow out the hepa filter frequently and watch for unusual wear on the belt. This vacuum usual retails around $200 but I was able to pick it up for $133.00 with free shipping. After vacuuming the carpets about three times I have noticed how much cleaner they appear and how much more the nap of the carpet seems to stand up. If you are use to just running the heck out of a machine without periodic service and care then no vacuum will last or work for you. Take care of it, do what the instructions say, and it will be a fantastic cleaner for you. I give this vacuum 6 stars out of five because it works way better than it should. Now, for the rest of the story. I am 67 years old and my wife still works full time and I am retired. I do most if not all of the vacuuming and do the entire house about 3 times a week. With this vacuum, I actually enjoy using the machine. Thanks Eureka for a fine product.Customer Review: Eureka Boss MZ heavy duty vacuum
Summary: 4 Stars
I was a little confused about how to operate it and put it together. Slide handle on and use 3 screws with large phillips screwdriver. Takes a little elbow grease ladies. Yellow "Floor/Carpet" switch on lower part of vacuum has a trick. You must release the foot latch from the upright position to drop the handle to a vacuum position. Then you push the yellow button with both fingers until you hear it click (twice?)When you return the vacuum to an upright position the yellow switch flops around again but you have set it so don't worry about it. It's OK. If you have set it to "Carpet" then turn the large yellow dial on top to "Floor". Now you are ready to vacuum the carpet. The foot release latch to lower the handle is also different. Must keep foot to the outside of this latch to press down. Does not release if you step straight down. Releases to the left and down. Out and down. I have had several Eurekas over the years. They have all lasted a long time. This new one was a little busy on the dials and releases..more to do. Two tricky latches. I tried to peek in at the front filter and couldn't do the latch. Will deal with it later when it needs to be changed. Another tricky latch? Basically I called the 800 number for Eureka customer service and pressed 7. A customer service lady was very polite and explained everything or else I would have thought it was broken upon delivery. I will call her again to find out the trick to opening the filter area. Don't force the plastic buttons. They are only plastic.This vacuum has a forward power drive, power paw, and all the attachments, long cord and ample hose stretch. When the vacuum is upright the carpet roller brush stops and you can turn the big yellow dial to "Hose" and use the attachments for any corners or quickie floor jobs in tight areas. Did a great job on the carpet, pulled the nap up, great suction. It's a 25 lb. vac, a bit heavy, but very good quality. Seems sturdy. Must have a heavy motor. The attachments stayed in their proper place according to the instruction book placement. The customer serivce rep answered all my questions including a local warranty service center for my new vacuum and what the warranty covered. The red color was very pretty. I found the noise level wasn't as quiet as some but not annoying either. Hope this was helpful. PFW
Customer Review: Better than I expected!
Summary: 5 Stars
**Update to the below review** It is two years later and my vacuum cleaner is still working great and I still love it! The power paw attachment is great for vacuuming the stairs - we have two sets and it is easier to use the power paw than balance my canister vac on the stairs.
My 12 yr old Sharp upright gave up the ghost so I needed a new upright for upstairs. I read a lot of reviews here and at e-pinions and decided on this Eureka. First I will say it is very important to read all of the manual, because it actually addresses some of the issues people have with this vacuum, such as: (1) this machine is no heavier than my old one, but people complain it is heavy and hard to maneuver - the maneuverability and "heaviness" of it are greatly improved if one selects the proper brush height. Set it too low and yes, you will be struggling to pull this vacuum back toward you. The first time I used it OMG - it was quite a workout. I figured when I vacuumed I would count that as my upper body workout! Then I read the manual and duh! I raised the brush height one notch and what a difference. It's not light as a feather, but much better. (2) people complain that the brush roll stop (hard floor) switch is hard to move. The manual says it will be easier to move if the machine is on, the handle is released and you rock the machine back so there is no weight on the front wheels. It is hard if you try to move it otherwise. (3) the foot pedal for the handle release is pretty stiff, but if you find the "sweet spot" it's fine - just have to experiment with where to push. On my machine the hard part is getting the handle locked back up. I hope I don't have the belt breakage problems some people have had, but so far I'm pleased with its performance and it seems fairly sturdy to me. I had recently cleaned my carpets with Capture (a dry powder) and this new vac got up quite a bit of powder my old vac left behind. I loathe using tools on an upright thus I have a canister vac for that action - so I can't address the utility of that, but it looks way easier than on my old upright. So far I am happy with this vac, and I am a neat freak who likes her carpets to look perfectly clean! Hope this was helpful...