Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I don't understand why this vac doesn't get more attention here on Amazon. I kept dismissing it because there was very little info and the one star review. It was three times the price of the Eureka 71B that I was considering as my top choice.
Eureka 71B Hand-Held Vacuum
After some availability problems for the 71B I came to realize I didn't really want or need the roller brush on my quick use hand held vac. We have a lot of long hair in our family and I would be always cutting it out of the roller brush, like I have to do with our large main carpet vac.
I reconsidered my price range and looked at the Hoover Porta Power and the Oreck XL Pro that I am reviewing here.
Hoover Commercial Portapower Vacuum Cleaner, 8.3 Lbs, Black
Once I looked at the online owner's manuals for both of these I chose the Oreck because there is a replaceable filter for the motor (comes with a package of filter bags ) that is not owner replaceable on the Hoover. Another consideration is the way the motor/fan is to the rear of the filter bag on the Oreck rather than on one side and bellow on the Hoover; that made sense from an engineering perspective. On the Hoover the dirt flies into the bag and ends up as a layer that the motor has to suck air through thus restricting the flow as the bag fills rather than on the Oreck the motor is on the opposite end the dirt comes into so at least the majority will fall out of the stream of air which can pass over the top of the pile of dirt and have less restriction until the bag fills up.
The housing of the Oreck is smaller because of this and it works better, at least in theory, so seems like sound design to me. Speaking of sound the Oreck is plenty quiet. That was one of the most important factors for me. I am adament I will not have another vacuum that is so loud I must wear ear plugs to protect my hearing. I depend on my hearing for work and want to do all I can to gaurd against damage. I am pleased with the Oreck. It has a quite tolerable sound level. I had read here the Hoover Porta Power is on the loud side. I have not actually heard one so I can not say for sure.
Some mentioned the short hose and the awkwardness of using this vac. I can see what they ment. Hmmmm. I am still learning to work around this. Then I realized the Eureka 71B would have been more awkward to do the same things and could not have been as versatile as my Oreck.
My Oreck. Yes I am keeping it. I like it.
The awkwardness is the shortness of the hose I think. I will put on a longer hose from another vac and report back. For wall vacuuming using the wider smooth floor attatchment ( which works on carpets too ) and the extension wand ( which is quality and works great ) the short hose seems just right and no problem. Cleaning up small messes with the hose and the small floor tool goes very well. It is just that with the same set up I mentioned for walls but used on the floor the hose is just a bit too short.
The short hose is good for dusting shelves, books, displays etc using the REAL horse hair brush. Quite a nice brush with lots of bristles. Makes all the plastic bristled brushes I have had look like a different animal. Dustiing in this manner is one of the main reasons I bought a handheld and this would have been silly to do with the Eureka 71B. I realize this now but couldn't see it when I was ordering. Oreck has a shoulder strap the 71B does not.
One advantage the Hoover Porta Power seems to have is a loovered door over the exhaust to help dispers and direct the blast of air down rather than straight behind the vac. The Oreck has a tube that is bent so you can decide which direction you want the blast to go by rotating this dog leg tube. I think perhaps a better way to go is put a small cloth bag over the exhaust to diffuse the stream. I supose this has been done and found lacking. In theary a person could rubber band a sock over this exhaust tube on the Oreck. I have yet to go there.
About the accessories rack and the accessories not staying on : No problems here ! The brush fits loose on the outboard holder but fits fine on the middle one which has the ability to flex and so accommodate it; the small floor tool fits snug on the outboard holder and the crevice tool drops into a rectangular hole in the holder and so that is just fine. Once you get it you will see it is obvious the floor tool goes on the outboard because it is too wide across the floor/dirt entry end to be in the middle of the holder anyway.
Bottom line : I think this Oreck vac gets ignored and people should really take another look, I would recommend it, keeping in mind this is a compact cleaning tool with some limitations. The hose is short but that makes it compact when you don't want loops of hose to gather up or flop all around in a tight space with delicate objects that could get knocked off a shelf etc.
I would buy it again. I tend to first look at how well a product will work for my particular needs and how well made it is then I look at price. It is the economies I regret not the extravagances.
If I learn to hate it I guarantee I will update this review.
by the way I did NOT get the narrow turbo roller brush tool listed here as one of the eleven accessories but I think it is not a great design (needs an electric motor in the brush ) so I am not disappointed.
PPS:2-20-11 well so much for quiet. The Oreck has developed a high pitch two note whistle. The motor sound is quiet enough if it wasn't for this whistle. I have checked for causes and tried different combinations of tools and it does it with no tools. The door is shut correctly, the little flap on the door is correct ( I even took the flap off to no avail ). It doesn't do it for about ten seconds when I turn on the vac then here it comes. Barely tolerable in a small bed room; intolerable in a small bathroom with a glass wall. Crap. I guess it is back to the old ear plugs.
2-27-11 put in a new Oreck brand bag and the whistling stopped. Vac is quiet again. I used it for a half hour or so then put the first bag back in ( first bag wasn't full; only 1/5th full but I wanted to find out what was causing the high pitched whistle ). With the first "whistle bag" back in the whistling was back. I see no cause for the whistle. Perhaps I sucked up some object with a hole in it and the air going through whistles. It is encouraging that it isn't the vac but the one bag or something in that bag
3-25-11 high pitch two note whistle is back. It may be that once the bag gets enough in it to fill the pores, by no means even a fifth full, then it stresses the motor enough to produce this high pitched auditory irritant. Too bad. Down to four stars.
As far as the awkward short hose : The short hose is great on stairs to my surprise. For floors with the wand I find if I have the vac on the shoulder strap to my left side, arrange the handle on the wand so the angled part is turned toward me some and hang on to the other end where the hose goes into the vac it works pretty darn well (keeps the vac from swinging all around and the hose isn't too short or otherwise being a problem. Works great in a cramped bathroom with this set up.
For adding a longer hose you may need to get an adapter rubber hose which comes in handy for using other tools you may have on hand from other vacs .
Fein 921069A13 1-1/4-in Flexible Connector
I have wound up with two of these over the years. It is just a hunk of stretchy rubber hose. Is more versatile than the hard plastic adapters. One of mine is a bit larger than the other. I mention this because if you order one and it is a bit too big get another hunk from a hardware store or industrial supply that sells to the public.
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Oreck Buster B XL PRO 5 Compact Canister Vacuum Cleaner - BB900-DGR
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