Eureka 4870HZ Boss SmartVac Upright Vacuum, Blue
by Eureka
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Eureka 4870HZ Boss SmartVac Upright Vacuum, Blue
Customer Review: MAJOR REPAIR ISSUES CURRENTLY WITH THIS VACUUM, BUYER BEWARE!
Summary: 2 Stars
The Eureka 4870 is consistently rated very highly by Consumer Reports. I am still scratching my head trying to understand why. There are certain vacuum cleaners that are brought in for repair that I can guess what the problem is before the customer tells me. This is one of those machines.
This vacuum cleaner is our number 1 repair customer. The Eureka 4870 is brought in for repair MORE THEN ANY OTHER VACUUM CLEANER. The only reason I have given this vacuum 2 stars, is because when this vacuum is working, it actually does clean very well, however the number of times you will have to bring the vacuum in for service, outweighs how well it cleans. Let me first tell you about the Pros to the Eureka 4870, as this can be summed up with a few sentences.
Pros:
The Eureka 4870 motor actually is a very high output motor, and creates a decent amount of suction power. The motor is the only metal component to the vacuum, and is the only part on this vacuum that I have never seen problems with, or had to replace.
The vacuum has a nice selection of on-board attachments. Included is a nice on board hose, an extra wand for above the floor cleaning, a nice long crevice tool for those hard to reach nooks and crannies, a dusting brush, as well as an upholstery tool. The "power paw" (as standard attachment on the 4870HZ) attachment leaves a lot to be desired, as most of the time the rotating brush driven by suction stops as soon as you put it on upholstery, or stairs.
The electrical cord on this vacuum is a nice long 30 foot cord, allowing you to be able to clean more square footage without having to go and unplug the machine from room to room. This feature will actually save you substantial time on vacuuming.
The vacuum bag is a "top fill" bag. This means that the hole where the dirt goes into fills from the very top of the bag, allowing you to really jam pack the dirt in the bag, and filling the entire bag before there's any suction loss. A lot of other vacuums have the hold on the side of the bag, which is really pointless, as you have to throw away the bag before it's completely full.
The price is probably the best feature on this vacuum. For right around $150, the machine is very affordable, and feature packed for this price. You do get what you pay for in terms of quality.
Cons:
Weighing in at 25 pounds, this machine is VERY heavy. If you have multiple floors, and you have to take the vacuum up and down the stairs, you will surely hate this vacuum after the first few times of carrying it up and down stairs. The carrying handle is not very conveniently placed either, causing the customer to have to pick up the machine by the handle which makes it seem even more heavy.
The Eureka R belt "Extended Life Belt". The belt on this machine was a new design by Eureka. The belt is actually not made of rubber like most belts. It is actually a plastic belt. Eureka claims that this belt is "Extended life" however some of my customers are replacing this belt 3-4 times a year. If you vacuum anything that gets stuck in the roller brush while vacuuming, the belt usually stretches to a point where the brush will not spin, or if it does spin, it will spin very slowly, and sometimes even stop as soon as you put it on the carpet.
The roller brush itself. A typical Eureka roller brush, this roller brush (sometimes referred to as a "beater bar") has two PLASTIC bearing caps on each side. If something is vacuumed up into the brush while it's spinning, a lot of the times, the brush bearing caps will actually melt! Eureka does not sell these caps separately either, and you'll have to purchase the entire roller brush assembly if this happens. Do not expect to get any more the 1 year out of the roller brush before some melting happens. The plastic bearing caps are not sealed either. If you have pets in the house, or females (some males are also included) that have very long hair, this hair will get inside the bearing of the roller brush shortening the life even more. One way to prevent this from happening is take the roller brush out, taking the bearing caps off, and remove the hair, thread, etc that has wrapped itself around the bearings. You should do this every 2 weeks for best results.
The dreaded Carpet/Floor switch. Out of all the problems this machine has, this is by far the most common. Not only is the most common, it can also be the most expensive, as the amount of time and labor that it takes to replace the switch is very difficult, and you will have to take it in to a local repair shop to fix it. If you talk to any independent vacuum store, and ask them about this repair, 9 times out of 10 you they will tell you how difficult of a repair it really is. This is my least favorite repair to do out of ANY VACUUM CLEANER. You basically have to take the entire roller brush housing apart, and fight with a spring to fix it. The design on this switch is the problem. If a customer does decide to purchase this vacuum from me (I certainly don't recommend it) I always open the machine, assemble it, and I always test the machine before the customer leaves my store. I have opened probably 10-15 of these machines brand new out of the box, only to test it, and find that the Carpet/Floor switch is broken. Brand new out of the box there should never be any problems.
The last issue on this vacuum is the filtration. Eureka claims that this machine is "True HEPA filtration" vacuum. I have found this to be more like a "False HEPA filtration" vacuum. One of the many cool gadgets we have to diagnose and test vacuum cleaners is what's called a Particle Scanner. This very expensive machine will actually measure with lasers how many fine dust particles are leaking from a vacuum per minute of use. I measured the Eureka 4870 like I do all vacuums I sell. This machine registered 25,000+ fine dust particles per minute of use being leaked out of this machine. Now this number is definitely lower then any bagless machine on the market, however for Eureka to claim that this machine will help allergy and asthma sufferers is just false. If you own this vacuum try vacuuming in the sunlight, and you can actually see some of the larger micron dust exhausting from the machine. This is only the larger particles you can see. The most damaging particles to humans are the ones that are not visible to the naked eye. If you or your family has any breathing issues such as Asthma, Emphysema, or allergies, please beware of this vacuum.
You can kind of tell the quality of a vacuum cleaner by the warranty the manufacturer will give you. The Eureka 4870 has a 1 year parts and labor (required by the government, I'm sure they would give less if they could). Consumer Reports loves this vacuum, but as a vacuum repairman, I would tell anyone that asked me to STAY AWAY FROM THIS VACUUM CLEANER.
Customer Review: I did my own carpet test
Summary: 5 Stars
Just like the carpet salesmen come to your home and vacuum up a ton of dirt from your supposedly clean carpet, well I did that on my own carpet, nothing scientific here, but it's enough to convince me. I set out to find a better vacuum than my Sharp Twin Energy vac, which is 2 or 3 years old, still working, but didn't seem to be getting the carpets as clean as I'd like, and I wanted one with a HEPA filter because I've lately declared war on dust mites.
My test ran for 3 days, and on the first day, I vacuumed all the carpets in my 3 bedroom home with the Sharp. We have about half and half Berber and Frieze (short shag). There's just me and my husband, no pets, and we usually take our shoes off in the house, and he wasn't even home during these 3 days, so there wasn't much traffic. The second day I brought home a Hoover WindTunnel, thinking that I might like going bagless. I re-vacuumed the whole house with the Hoover, and I got at least a full cup of dirt in the cartridge, but when it came time to clean it out, that was a mess! I couldn't just hold it over the trash barrel and let it fall out, I had to reach in a pull it out with my hand, and even then it wouldn't come out of all those little holes in the funnel, so I ended up taking it into the yard and blasting it with the air compressor, which removed most of the dirt; I seriously did not want to go through that every time I cleaned the carpets! The Hoover did have a HEPA filter, and if it hadn't been for that mess when cleaning out the dirt, I probably would have kept it.
On the third day, I returned the Hoover and bought the Eureka Boss Smart Vac, came home, put it together (I'm really tired of putting them together and taking them apart again), and vacuumed the whole house again, just general, daily type vacuuming, no moving of furniture or plants. I knew I had the right vac this time when I could hear tiny clinking sounds as it pulled dirt from the twice-cleaned carpet. It takes more strength and energy to operate than the old Sharp, but then it actually seems to be doing more than just rolling over the floor. I didn't measure the dirt in the bag, but it was heavy enough that I threw it away and installed a new one. My carpets feel and look new and fluffy once more. I hope the Eureka lasts for years because I think this might be love!
Customer Review: GREAT VALUE Vacumn, great suction power!
Summary: 4 Stars
I will tell you I am a member of AARP, and a farmer's wife, just to give you my qualifications to review vacumns. I fix my own unless parts are needed. I have had a Hoover, a Rainbow (yes the expensive one), two Dirt Devils and a Eureka before - and worn most of them out not given up on them.
When I went to get the last one my son said the little Dirt Devil pet one I got last was the least vacumn we ever had, so please check for ratings before going again. Eureka has the Consumer Digest and Good Housekeeping seal of approval.
I had gotten the little Dirt Devil in a hurry for a particular clean up with big company coming, the kind you have to mostly put together yourself out of the box and it never quite did right, turned it back to the store and got another and it lasted longer but was never good. However, we live on a real farm in the country, with real dirt issues, not just a little city dust.
The Eurkea Boss Smart Vac is great! I have not had a single vac except for the Rainbow that had that much power and 20 years ago the Rainbow cost $1000.00 from a door to door salesman. It was great, but we used it for everything including a shop vac and wore it out. I don't plan to invest that much in one again.
That said - please note the review from C. Anand is from a self styled salesman for SEBO, a German brand (Amazon $784) that costs over 4 times what the Eureka Boss does..so if you use one for 2 years instead of 5, buy a new one 3 more times instead of taking it to his shop for repair, you still come out ahead.
The tools are good, the carpet brush is awesome and it walks itself across the carpet with suction I have not seen in years. BRAVO! As someone else metioned it comes in a tall box, you do not have to connect the body together--only attach the handle and attachments. Power is the most important feature in a vacumn cleaner. And like any machine it will require regular maintenance, change the bag, clean the filter, check the belt and change it before it wears out or be prepared to when it does wear out. A quick swipe with a baby wipe when you are done for the day will keep it looking new if you have been in really dusty quarters.
If this one wears out on my watch - I will get another just like it!
Customer Review: Fabuloso!
Summary: 5 Stars
I really like this machine. Really, really like it. And I hate vacuums. It's unnatural how much I like it. It works great, is convenient, and happens to be the best value I could find.
The handle release switch almost caused me to return it, but I figured it out after two uses. Here's how to make it work smoothly: * Press the handle forward, * Press the release switch with your whole foot (it takes some pressure; toes won't work, but the outside of my right foot works fine), and * gently pull the handle back.
Follow the manual and use a height setting that lets the brushes just contact the carpet to avoid burning up belts. Scrubbing the carpet at a low height doesn't clean better and wears both the machine and the carpet out faster.
PROS:
** Using attachments is convenient; they don't stick out and stay where they're put. Switching from floor to attachments is easy, too, and the suction is great. I'm surprised how much I like the power paw.
** Nothing will revive my 15 year old carpet, but this really cleans deeply. It even pulled the cat hair out of the jute area rug, which has no pile.
** The cord clip on the handle makes cord handling a snap. When using attachments I unclip the cord so it comes from the bottom and won't tip the machine over.
** The cord is long enough; I only have to move the plug once to do my 1500 square foot apartment.
** The brush roll stops when the handle is upright and you can switch it off when you're pushing the vacuum around unplugged. Few vacuums in this price range have that option.
** It takes up less room in the closet than my canister vac did.
** It's heavy duty, which means it's not great for someone who's frail or has back/shoulder problems. But heavy means solid, which is what I want.
CONS:
** It's a vacuum cleaner. Really, I hate vacuums, though this one inspires me to clean more often.
THINGS I DON'T CARE ABOUT:
Noise (I hate vacuums, remember?), hose length (could have bought the GZ instead), hard floor cleaning (don't need it).
Overall I'm very satisfied. I bought an extended warranty but don't expect to need it.
Customer Review: Source of frustration
Summary: 2 Stars
I purchased this particular vacuum, as it was a Consumer Reports best buy. It has since fallen down the ratings with the most recent vacuum cleaner tests.
When new, this vacuum cleans like a champ. It has really good suction and is amazing on carpets. The initial negatives include the weight. This thing is heavy. When I initially purchased it, I didn't have any stairs to navigate. Now I have to lug this thing up and down two flights of stairs. This also does not work well for vacuuming the stairs, simply because it is way to heavy and the the wand will only reach a few steps at a time.
At first, I thought it was great. Then the beater brush stopped rolling. So I replaced the belt. I found myself replacing the belt every couple of months. Then, after about a year of owning this unit, I replaced the belt and it was still not working. So I assumed that I had defective belts and kept buying and replacing belts. At this point, the vacuum beater brush spins on hardwood floors, but not carpet. Yes, the carpet height adjustment is in the highest position.
After reading and studying this vacuum cleaner's downfalls, I decided to replace the beater brush assembly and the belt (again). This helped immensely. The vaccum was up and running like new. After about two weeks of brand new-like vacuum, the beater brush stopped rolling on carpet. I'm ready to toss this think in the dumpster. However, I'm trying my best to get as much life out of this as possible.
I'm tempted to give this a one-star rating. However, it worked well initially and is fairly inexpensive when compared to other cleaners. If you haven't already, check out the review "MAJOR REPAIR ISSUES CURRENTLY WITH THIS VACUUM, BUYER BEWARE!, October 19, 2007". I have experienced several of the issues mentioned in that review.
My advice--buy a good vacuum and save yourself hours of frustration. This one just drives me to depression.