Eureka 4870GZ Boss Smart-Vac Upright Vacuum
by Eureka
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Eureka 4870GZ Boss Smart-Vac Upright Vacuum
Customer Review: Overall a pleasure to use, but does have some flaws...
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this product to replace an old Hoover that finally died. I had heard a lot of negative reviews about the bagless, so I was looking for a vacuum that used a bag. After reading all of the reviews, and hearing that this vacuum received high marks from Consumer Reports I finally decided upon this one. I have only been using this vacuum for a short while, but I have the following to say:
1. Overall the suction is better than my old Hoover (which is not saying much), but not quite what I expected. I thought it would do a better job with fluffing the carpet up.
2. I like the switch to stop the roller brush for hard floors, but I do not like that I have to bend down to flip it. It would be nice if I could use my foot.
3. The cord is a great length, and I like the hook to put the cord on while you are using the vacuum so you don't vacuum over the cord.
4. The foot lever is quite awkward to get used to.
5. It is nice to be able to turn the suction on for use with the attachments only, makes the attachments very powerful.
6. My vacuum came with the Power Paw attachment, it works pretty well, but there is no place to store it on the vacuum, and it is VERY loud, and makes an awful noise that makes it unpleasant to use.
7. The vacuum itself is the quietest that I have ever used, which is great with kids around.
8. A lot of bagged vacuums will come with around 6 to 7 extra bags, this vacuum only comes with 1 extra bag--so that was a bit of a disappointment.
9. It has a wide cleaning path which is nice.
10. It was fairly easy to assemble, but you will need a screwdriver.
11. The vacuum is quite bulky, but you get used to it.
This vacuum is also sold at [...] for $[...] less, but I bought it here off of Amazon using the $[...] off promotion this month and free shipping. For $125 this vacuum was worth the price, and I do enjoy using it despite the minor flaws. Great job to Amazon for the extra quick shipping for this item too..I ordered it on a Sunday, and was using it by Wednesday afternoon. I would purchase this again.
UPDATE (2/2/2008): My original review was from Oct. 2005, almost 2.5 years later this vacuum is still holding up fairly well, except for one thing....you cannot find these bags anywhere but online now! So, if you do not want to have to buy the bags online for this vacuum, I would not suggest buying it.
Customer Review: A Man's Vacuum!
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a review for an earlier version of this vacuum. Eureka Theboss Smartvac Model 4870 Type HZ-1. Hopefully some of the bugs have been worked out.
My 80 year-old mother bought this vacuum based on the good reviews from Consumer Reports. She ended up giving it to me because she was so frustrated with it.
Pros:
Very powerful. I added a 4' piece of PVC pipe to the end of the hose and added another hose so I could do the stairs with the hose. Even with the 15' of hose, the suction is very powerful.
Cons:
The Bare Floor/Carpet switch disconnects the rolling brush. This is a great feature and my mother was very interested in it. Unfortunately, it takes some very strong finger strength to operate the switch. I see in another review that the instructions recommend operating the switch when the vacuum is operating. This is counter-intuitive, but might work. My finger strength is pretty good so I can operate it when needed. (50 year old male). Mom could not.
The foot switch to release the handle from the upright position is pretty tough. Mom could not operate it. I can work it, but it does take a little coordination and strength.
The Carpet height adjuster does not do anything. I took it apart and tried to see what was wrong, but the adjustable mechanism is stuck in one position. This looks like a design flaw. Fortunately, it works pretty well on the short carpet I use it on.
The hose is pretty short. Not long enough to do the stairs from top to bottom. I overcame this problem by attaching a 4' piece of 1.5" PVC pipe to the end of the hose and then adding the hose from another vacuum cleaner. The connections were not perfect, but I used some 2 liter soda bottle plastic to create a shim to make the connections tight. With the PVC pipe extension and second hose, I can reach about 15'. This allows me to do the entire stairs from top to bottom without schlepping the vacuum up and down the stairs.
Have also used the vacuum to clean car mats and the inside of the car and trunk. Works pretty well for this.
It's not a self-propelled vacuum so it takes a little "umph" to move it around. It may be called TheBoss, but you have to show it who's the boss to get the most out of it.
Customer Review: THE BEST ON THE MARKET RIGHT NOW!
Summary: 5 Stars
The suction on this vacuum is so powerful. It sucks up stuff my bagless dirt devil left behind. It is by far the best vacuum even better than more expensive models. I was prepared to spend 300 or 400 dollars on a dyson because I wanted the cleanest carpet possible but after a lot of research I determined that this was exactly what I wanted. It out performed the dysons and other more expensive brands in the consumer reports test. This vacuum uses a bag, but believe it or not that is a great thing. Bagged vacuums have much better emissions than do the bagless. Empyting the bagless vacuums is actually more of a hassle than changing a bag- granted you do have find and buy the bags. (Eureka makes this easier by putting a sticker with the bag and filter names on the handle of the vacuum) This vacuum is also pretty quiet! It is not hard to push at all- in fact it gets away from you if you don't hold it back!
I did a ton of consumer reports research and determined that their favorite two vacuums were indeed the best two. Theirtop choice was the Kenmore Progressive (I forgot the specific model #) which is no longer available and was about $250. Their second favorite was this Eureka 4870 model. Any of the versions that say 4870 fit the consumer reports criteria. The only thing the letters that come after the 4870 mean is that it will be a different color and in two cases the letters mean that you get the "power paw" stair brush attachment which is awesome. The 4870 GZ is one of the ones that has the power paw which has rotating brushes in it that turn up dirt for more effecient hose cleaning.
So I bought this one and couldn't be happier. I love it. I was looking for something with very strong suction and minimal release of dust etc. into the air. I used to think I wanted bagless until I read about how the bagged vacuums are the cleanest because dust doesn't get everywhere when you have to dump out the bagless canister. So I determined that a bagged vacuum is the way to go especially if you have babies and are concerned about them breathing in nastiness. My only complaints are that one of the attachments won't stay in place in it's holding spot on the back of the vacuum and that the long stick like attachment that lengthens the hose does fit on the hose but attachments don't fit on it.
Customer Review: Update- Problems after 2 years
Summary: 4 Stars
After I took it back the second time, it was fixed and I was told the problem was a warranty item. If yours is broken, insist the repair place check with Eureka for warranty work. It has now worked just fine.
Well, I guess time does answer the question .... the brush roller stopped working last month. It would roll as soon as I lifted it off the carpet, which does no good. I spent $80 to get a new brush roller put on as well as the pulley that gave out. I just got it back from the shop, vacuumed for 3 minutes and it's broken again. We'll see what the shop says about this! I still like the heaviness of the vacuum and the suction....all when it WORKS!!! I would change my stars now to about "2" if I could.
Update: Aug 2008 I still love this vacuum and it has performed very well. My mom bought one and another friend and they all love it too!
I recently attended a Home Show and talked with the person who put in carpeting for me about a year ago. I told him I was bummed out that the carpet already had "trails" in it where I walk. He asked about my vacuum cleaner and I told him it was my hearty one bought 12 years ago. He said to check the rollers on it. So, I get home, check the rollers and they seem fine but the roller bristles are very soft. I figured I should try a new vacuum. So, I went to Consumer Reports, read up and then shuffled over to Amazon to read the reviews. Because this vacuum had so many reviews and the average star rating is 4, I decided to try it. Ordered it and had it within a week. I tried it out and OMG....I feel like I have new carpet! I guess I just didn't realize what I was missing out on because my other vacuum worked, but I didn't know the rollers were so bad. Even my older carpet in the other rooms was "refreshed" and I was very happy about that. It is not that heavy, just sturdy. I did break a sweat vacuuming with it, but I think that was a good thing since I could feel the machine sucking up dirt! My concern is how long it will last. Most of the bad reviews are from folks who had it longer than a week, so time may tell. Hopefully it will last at least a few years!!! Overall, I like it and as someone else mentioned, it does do some squeeky noises, particularly heard on my stained concrete floor. But, I can overlook that.
Customer Review: Super vacuum!
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been researching vacuums for 6 months. Toying with spending a fortune on a Dyson when I find out they aren't all they are cracked up to be. I feel like one smart consumer with this purchase. Got it for a deal on Amazon!
THE GOOD:
- LOTS of suction...I could hear it sucking up unseen dirt that my other vacuum would've never touched.
-Bare floor cleaning is great! There is a switch to shut off the brush.
- It's much quieter than my other vacuum. My old one we had to yell. This one I could just talk loud and be heard. I can vacuum the whole house while the baby sleeps.
-Has clear hoses so you can see what's going up and if it gets clogged you can see why. (Except the long extender hose, it's black, but the hose leading to it is clear.)
-It came with a "paw". A hose attatchment with a suction run brush to clean stairs, furniture etc... I really like it.
- Long cord
- My carpets look fabulous!
- self-propelled so there was no pushing, not like my other that I had to use my foot to push!
-comfortable to use. The handle is nice.
The BAD:
-the cord keeps coming out of the wall. Even when I spread the prongs out further. It's like the prongs are a bit small.
- The handle release and bare floor/carpet switch are a little stiff. Perhaps that will work itself out with time.
- It has an expensive HEPA filter which has to be replaced every 6 bag changes. I can buy a washable one for $40 (which I will do, the disposable ones are $20!)
-The dirt collecting bag is half as big as in my other vacuum, so I'll have to change it more often.
-It runs hot. During the summer I'll be sweating. The air coming out of the HEPA filter was hot. IT has a thermal sensor that shuts the vacuum off if it gets too hot which is good. But yet if it happens too often it'll be aggravating. Using it for 20-30 minutes it never shut off. I would imagine it would have to be used much longer to have a problem..I hope!
-The hose is short. Hopefully it'll stretch out with time.
Even with the negative points, it's a great vacuum. I can't believe how wonderful my carpets look. They seriously look brand new and they are 7 years old.