Electrolux Oxygen Canister Vacuum Cleaner, EL6988E
by Electrolux
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Electrolux Oxygen Canister Vacuum Cleaner, EL6988E
Customer Review: They are not the same
Summary: 1 Stars
What you people don't understand is that these are not the same electrolux products from past years. These Electrolux sweepers are nothing more than a Eureka that is made today. Original Electrolux sweepers in the past were a high quality American made product that lasted for years whereas the new Electrolux or Eureka is a junk made plastic sweeper from the Sweds that fall apart within a couple years. Here is the history.The Electrolux vacuum brand began in Sweden, and did not come to the United States until 1924. It brought with it ideas that were new in Sweden but were not new in America, such as door-to-door sales and pay-over-time plans. There were other vacuum cleaner companies in the United States at the time that were already doing these things, but the Electrolux vacuum company still prospered very quickly, while continuing operations in Sweden and also moving into Berlin. While how the vacuums got to this country is very straightforward, what has taken place since then is more complicated. The company that manufactured Electrolux vacuum cleaners is now known as Aerus LLC, and has been known by that name since 2001. The Electrolux name is still used in the United States, but it now belongs to the Electrolux Group of Sweden, a company that also manufactures the Eureka brand. In between the company coming to the United States and the change of name in 2001 there were other company changes and name changes, such as the company being bought by the Sara Lee Corporation in 1968, back when it was still called The Consolidated Foods Corporation.
As for the products, though, they have remained high quality and realistically priced throughout the time that they have been in this country, and they are still there today. In the 1960s, Electrolux marketed their products to the United Kingdom under the slogan "nothing sucks like an Electrolux." Many people in America believed that this was a huge marketing blunder, but the negative connotation of that word is generally only in America, and Electrolux was well-aware of the possibility of a double-entendre in the UK. The slogan was deliberate and designed to get attention, and it succeeded in trying to do that. The Electrolux vacuum brand sold very well in the UK for some time and is still sold over there. Now that the Swedish Electrolux company has its trademark back from the United States, it sells its products in that country and in Canada as well, along with a long list of other products under various brand names.
Most people were not aware of the `change in ownership' that took place when the American Electrolux company gave up the trademark and the Swedish Electrolux took over. There was no interruption in the sales of Electrolux products and no confusion. Electrolux products are still sold door-to-door as well, and one cannot simply walk into a standard retail store and purchase an Electrolux vacuum cleaner or parts or accessories for one. In addition, the Electrolux brand is more expensive than many other brands on the market, as well as somewhat more cumbersome. Despite this, however, it has a loyal consumer following in every country that it markets to and has a strong reputation for quality, reliability, and durability. All of these are good selling points that not all vacuum manufacturers have been able to boast. Electrolux vacuums are not the `disposable' vacuums that consumers often buy at retail stores and are simply thrown away when they stop working, only to be replaced with another cheap vacuum cleaner. Electrolux vacuums are built to last and they are right up there with competitors like Oreck Vacuums. Quality often costs more, but this has not been a problem for the consumers that have purchased Electrolux vacuum cleaners.
Customer Review: poor design, poor customer service... never again.
Summary: 1 Stars
I've had an electrolux oxygen for almost 2 years. It's a fine vacuum for the most part, in that it cleans floors adequately. However, it is certainly not worth the price in my opinion. It has a major design flaw. The carpet roller picks up hair and it gets wrapped around it, which is understandable. I do have two women in my household with long hair, but that is not abnormal. You would think that this would simply mean that you periodically have to clean the hair off the roll. However, the design makes it possible for the hair to get into the bearings of the roller and the belt that drives it. This means that every few times I use the vacuum I am forced to sit down and take the cleaning head apart, removing the roller, and cleaning the belt and bearings. Having to take it apart roughly once a month seems a little ridiculous to me seeing that it's a vacuum and it's sole purpose is to clean floors. I would expect such an expensive vacuum to be able to handle a little hair, or at least make it possible for me to clean the hair out without taking the whole head apart. Even this inconvenience wasn't too bad, but today I am fed up. I tried to vacuum and it made a loud noise on the carpet setting. when I took it apart one of the bearings for the roller seized from the hair, causing the plastic casing around it to melt. I was annoyed, and called the electrolux customer service line. The customer service person suggested that I clean up the hair before running the vacuum on the floors to avoid the problem in the future. She actually suggested that I clean the floors before I CLEAN THE FLOORS. She then offered to help me order replacement parts (which I have to pay for). You would think that a company that sold me a $400 vacuum could send me an little piece of black plastic and a 25 cent bearing for free. To add to that, their computer system is down and I am now waiting for the person to call me back so that they can take my money so I can fix their defective product. Obviously hair on the roller is inevitable, but why not design it so that hair can't work its way into the bearings and the drive belt?
Overall, between the inferior product and the poor customer service, I will personally never buy anything made by electrolux again, and I encourage you, the reader, to do the same.
If I could go back I would buy a cheap vacuum in place of the electrolux oxygen. They aren't noticably worse at cleaning floors, and the cheap one would probably be broken by now as well, and their customer service is probably equally not helpful, but I could have vacuums for the next decade for the $400 I spent on this useless lump of plastic.
Customer Review: Great canister but has issues after a while.
Summary: 3 Stars
I got an Electrolux Oxygen canister vacuum from Lowes back in 2003 at full retail ($400). At first, it was awesome. Pretty much just like my mom's grey and blue Electrolux as far as suction and mode of operation. It was super great on carpets as the head unit was light and maneuverable. The canister part was great too. The hose was long enough and attachments were all useable. The only con was the canister would always crash into the corners as we were vacuuming. Yes, I know there are some nuances with a canister, but carrying the canister around was tiresome. Also, the attachment caddy broke as a result of one such corner so now it's a carpet cleaning canister with attachments somewhere around the house.
After about 2 years, the carpet cleaning part (with rotating brush) would start to have connection issues. As a result of disconnecting the hose (with handle) from the carpet unit repeatedly (to use attachments), the dual prongs would burn/spark every now and then as I would push and pull on the carpet unit causing momentary disconnection. I thought it was minor enough not to warrant servicing and I guess I was partly in denial considering the cost and reputation of the vacuum.
Well, it did get worse and it got to the point where I couldn't even vacuum cause it would happen every pull and push. Went to an electolux authorized service guy and he told me that once it starts disconnecting, the unit needs replacing. (GRRR) So basically, I spent $200 a year on a vacuum before it started needed repairs. And at a cost of close to $200 for the carpet unit and hose, it wasn't cheap. So I decided to think about it and tried gerry rigging it myself. I sanded down the prongs, cleaned out the female ends and a few other minor and it worked great for about a year before I had to do the same "servicing" again.
So flash forward a few years and now "servicing" did nothing to stop the d/c. On top of that the rotating brush seized and cleaning it out only lasted 2 uses before seizing again, so we decided to spend the money on a lightweight upright that comes with a canister. One canister for upstairs and downstairs now.
The upright is great! The canister's not as good as the Oxygen of course so we'll definitely keep it. Who knows, maybe I'll fork over the $200 one day as it's a pretty good vacuum (less the issues). :)
Customer Review: Research
Summary: 5 Stars
I was quite confused when I first started doing research on electorlux. My mother, and her mother, have always owned electrolux vacuums. This electrolux is not the same company that has been doing business in the U.S. under the electrolux name in the past. The old electrolux has changed their name to Aerus Electrolux. Electrolux is an international company that states on their website "Electrolux is the world's largest producer of appliances and equipment for kitchen, cleaning and outdoor use." In the United States they do business under the familiar names: Eureka, Frigidaire, Poulan, Weed Eater, and now thier upscale brand Electrolux.
OK, on to the vacuum. I bought mine after much research at Lowe's. While opening and putting the thing together, a small clip that holds the power head on the shaft broke off. I called the company and they said they would send me a new piece with out much hassle, but then got a call back 15 minutes later saying that since the product was so new, it might take 2 months to send me a replacement part and suggested I just return it for a new one to Lowe's. My over all experience with thier customer support leads me to beleive that I won't have too many problems dealing with them in the future.
My second vacuum unpacked fine and after a couple uses I'm quite satisfied with it's performance. The carpet powerhead does very well on my rugs, and even does ok on hard floors. The hard floor attachment is more than a foot wide and makes quick work of the hard wood in my house but is so wide you have to switch it for the corner tool to get around most furnature. I was impressed with the suction from the vacuum, even before I noticed that I only had it turned up half way :) So I'll try to sum up the pros and cons.
Pro:
Cool looking
Nice cord length and roll up storage
Wide reach on the attachments
Small size of the canister
Does a good job of sucking up small stuff
Bags are just more than $1 each (for the standard bags)
Easily turn on and off the roller on the power head
Both the hard floor attachment, and the power head easily go under beds and couches
Con:
Hard to deteach the hose from the canister for storage
Power head won't work on bath mats
I'll post again in a few months when I see how it's holding up.
Customer Review: Research
Summary: 5 Stars
I was quite confused when I first started doing research on electorlux. My mother, and her mother, have always owned electrolux vacuums. This electrolux is not the same company that has been doing business in the U.S. under the electrolux name in the past. The old electrolux has changed their name to Aerus Electrolux. Electrolux is an international company that states on their website "Electrolux is the world's largest producer of appliances and equipment for kitchen, cleaning and outdoor use." In the United States they do business under the familiar names: Eureka, Frigidaire, Poulan, Weed Eater, and now thier upscale brand Electrolux.
OK, on to the vacuum. I bought mine after much research at Lowe's. While opening and putting the thing together, a small clip that holds the power head on the shaft broke off. I called the company and they said they would send me a new piece with out much hassle, but then got a call back 15 minutes later saying that since the product was so new, it might take 2 months to send me a replacement part and suggested I just return it for a new one to Lowe's. My over all experience with thier customer support leads me to beleive that I won't have too many problems dealing with them in the future.
My second vacuum unpacked fine and after a couple uses I'm quite satisfied with it's performance. The carpet powerhead does very well on my rugs, and even does ok on hard floors. The hard floor attachment is more than a foot wide and makes quick work of the hard wood in my house but is so wide you have to switch it for the corner tool to get around most furnature. I was impressed with the suction from the vacuum, even before I noticed that I only had it turned up half way :) So I'll try to sum up the pros and cons.
Pro:
Cool looking
Nice cord length and roll up storage
Wide reach on the attachments
Small size of the canister
Does a good job of sucking up small stuff
Bags are just more than $1 each (for the standard bags)
Easily turn on and off the roller on the power head
Both the hard floor attachment, and the power head easily go under beds and couches
Con:
Hard to deteach the hose from the canister for storage
Power head won't work on bath mats
I'll post again in a few months when I see how it's holding up.