Customer Reviews

Electrolux EL 7020B Oxy3 Ultra Canister Vacuum

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

After having my last two vacuums die unceremonious deaths, I decided to do a little more research in buying a vacuum than usual. I checked consumer, and epinions for reports on the latest canister vacuums. I tried out my neighbors vacuums to see if they met my needs, and ultimately decided on the Electrolux Oxygen Ultra.

I am not sorry! This vacuum is fantastic. The bare floor attachment in larger than most making the task of vacuuming easier. However, it still manages to fit into all of my smaller areas (between toilet and tub). It is also more narrow than most I have tried. Because of this, I was able to vacuum in between my banister poles, leaving me one less job to do.

This attachment, along with the telescoping pole, did a terrific job getting under my couches, beds, and dressers, with the exception of one of my daughter's rooms where there isn't much clearance. Furthermore, I decided to give it a go on my blinds. It did a terrific job removing the dust from the 2 1/2 slats.

I then switched out for the motorized head and was very impressed with the power it had for carpeting. I actually found myself being pulled along by it. I used on my berber, and area rugs. It did a great job cleaning them both. Fantastically, the power head plugs right into the handle to make cleaning my stairs a breeze. It took a little getting used to, but I think it did a better job than my last vacuum with a special stairs attachment.

The canister itself is better than others I have worked with. It moved effortlessly. I did not find it was crashing into walls or getting caught up on furniture. It was extremely quiet as well. I found the cord length to be sufficient (I have quite a large house and didn't have change outlets anymore often than with other vacuums) and the extra length on the hose made cleaning higher items easier.

I love the controls on the handle as well. The buttons controlling the power, type of vacuuming and on/off switch were easy to use.

I had no problems with changing out the heads. However, I have not been able to work the space saving storage option of hooking the head onto the canister body. This is not such an issue as I have the space to store it without utilizing this feature.

Bottom line: This is a great machine. I recommend spending the money, and getting a machine that will do a great job and last.

EL7020A is the highest rated canister by Consumer Reports in 2006 - this is why I chose it. I had this vacuum for almost a month now, and I really like its performance. I like that the wand with the power brush fits under the bed where my upright did not fit. I like that this vacuum has HEPA filtration and I do not sneeze when vacuuming anymore.

The vacuum has powerful suction and nice features like "auto power-brush off when something gets stuck in it" and "auto suction reduction when something stops the airflow, so you can pull it out". E.g., if a corner of a bathroom rug gets sucked in, the vacuum reduces suction power and you can pull the rug out, and the suction increases automatically.

The bags are very small (mine filled up with carpet fibers after vacuuming the house 2 times). I did not mind, all that means is that I don't keep all that dirt inside my vacuum in my home and throw it away more often. Like one other user said, the "change bag" light did not come on when the bag filled up. I found that the bag was full thanks to my curiosity. I suspect that the "change bag" light performance depends on what the bag fills up with - if it fills up with carpet fibers, which still allow sufficient airflow, the light won't come on.

Another interesting thing I found was that the box says "Model EL7020A", but the bottom of the canister has a sticker that says "Model 7001". I contacted Electrolux about the discrepancy, and, according to their Customer Service Rep, the model EL7020A is a combination of the 7001 canister and a power carpet brush (plus a bunch of other add-on tools).

I purchased one of these and have been using it for a little over a month. At this point I am totally thrilled with the product for the price. I have owned exectrolux products in the past that were more expensive and a hoover product for about the same price. To say the least I am back to electrolux. I love being able to go under furniture, and being able to disconnect head and use in tight or unusual spots with various attachments. We have a dog and this is a wonderful fur finder! The filtration systems are great for keeping dust and dirt where it belongs once it is sucked up. I'll never stray from electrolux again.

My research found reports rating the "A" model below average for noise and handling so I delayed buying. Then I noticed some sites offering a "B" version (EL-7020B). Electrolux said the new version has a new "quiet clean" powerhead and a synthetic anti-odour bag (which is still an S-bag style and is totally interchageable with all other S-bags).
So, whith this in mind, I purchased the new "B" model and can attest the power head is in fact very quiet and will turn both ways improving the handling. More time needed to rate reliability otherwise I would give it 5-stars. Update: Still working flawlessly after 2yrs+. Upgraded to 5 stars.

I have had this vacuum for about 8 mos. It is quiet, cleans and filters well and is relatively easy to move around. I am pretty happy with it from that standpoint, however, there is no doubt that the quality of the product is not the Electrolux of old. Within a month of buying a small plastic piece which connected the power nozzle broke. I live in a large metropolitan area and thought it would be easy to address under warranty. No such luck. Could only find one warranty repair shop within 50 miles and they had a 3 to 4 month backlog. All the shops that used to do Electrolux warranty repair work had stopped as they said the new owner of the brand was too hard to deal with. Ended up paying out of pocket to get the new part delivered to a vaccum repair shop and after 4 tries at shipping the correct part I finally got the right part and got the vacuum fixed. Was without vacuum for 2 months and out $80. Not sure I would buy again in the future unless they fix the repair and support network.

Bought this Electolux model after going through two Sears Progressive units in three years (even though they were highly rated by Consumer Reports) Their quality and durability was horrible.

This new Electolux is a very nice machine. Only negatives I would identify is that the power carpet sweeper is noiser than most. Also the size of the dust collector bag is quite small & will require more frequent changing.

However unit works great; controls are handy and easy to use. Unit is light and compact, easy to use and attractive. If the carpet power sweeper was quieter, I would give it five stars. You won't go wrong buying this unit.

I've owned this vacuum for about 2 months and I love it! I have 5 cats so you can imagine the amount of pet hair that accumulates around the house, I wanted a vacuum that could handle this without breaking my bank account. I also suffer from mild allergies and needed a HEPA filter, but the main feature that drew me to the Electrolux was the Micro-Seal technology, which prevents dirt and debris from being blown back out from the exhaust fan. It sucks dirt up from the floor and keeps it in the bag, where it should be! My old Dirt Devil upright had a horrible problem with this and I was constantly sneezing and coughing while I was vacumming. With the Electrolux I NEVER sneeze while vacuuming, all the pet hair goes in the bag and stays there!

Good points:

1. The vacuum automatically changes suction strength when moving from carpets to tile/wood floor (you can also manually override the settings).
2. On/off button is located on the handle; much better than bending over to turn the unit on/off from the canister.
3. Accessory tools are stored in the handle, so no more hunting for the dusting brush... it's right there ready to snap on and use!
4. Motor is very quiet when turned on.
5. When vacuuming is done, the self-winding power cord is great!
6. Two carrying handles make for better mobility.
7. Ability to vacuum underneath furniture and beds.
8. Micro-seal technology keeps everything in the bag.

The only bad point I would say is the motor strength does not clean carpet very well. I had to vacuum over the same spot several times in places of heavy traffic or a lot of cat hair build up. I would not recommend this product if you have medium or high-pile carpet. It works okay for low-pile carpet though, and great for hard floor surfaces. If you have high-pile carpet, I would recommend the model above this one, I believe it had a bigger motor and more power.

Overall, I am very pleased with this product. It's great if you have allergies!! I love the HEPA filter and the Micro-Seal technology. I would definitely recommend it if you have any kind of allergies, especially pet hair.

Purchased vacuum new in March of this year - suddenly stopped working. Took it to an authorized repair shop 5 weeks ago. I was shown an entire room full of the vacuums that were waiting to be exchanged - seems the repair rate on these vacuums is high and because of the technology, the vacuums are usually replaced instead of being repaired - or so I am told. At any rate, it is 5 weeks later and I still do not have a vacuum.

I used my mom's electrolux for 5 years (and she had used it for 5 years before me) and it finally died. I've been searching reviews and looking at models for the past two months, and finally decided on this one. The most important feature was the HEPA filtration, then the ability to do both carpet and bare floors.
It was easy to put together, and the instructions are clear. The telescoping wand is excellent for my needs - I have a bad back and being able to make the wand longer so I don't have to reach and bend is a backsaver! The wand disconnects from the hose easily. The power contols are on the wand within easy reach of a thumb. I did have to read the instructions to figure out which button was which. There are 3 buttons - power, bare floor/carpet, and suction strength. There's also a manual pedal adjustment on the powerhead for carpet pile adjustment that's easy to adjust with your foot. Power cord is a little short, but easily solved with an extension cord. The carrying handle also serves as the cord retriever - neat! It's easy to carry up and down stairs. The bag is easy to get to and replace. It comes with the option of using an s clinic bag or an s classic bag. http://electroluxservice.stores.yahoo.net/vacuumbags.html
It cleaned medium pile carpet, persian type rugs, and bare floors with ease. I haven't found it too heavy, and the large wheels make it very easy to maneuver. It comes with an extra wide bare floor head and an upholstery head that I haven't found the need to use yet. In addition, there are two heads (dust and crevice) right in the wand piece. The powerhead is noisy but not as much as the previous model I used, and I'm willing to deal with the noise because it cleaned the carpet so well.
I've been pleasantly surprised by this model, and am very happy with it.

The vacuum works really well to clean medium to low carpet in my apartment! It is quiet so I can clean at night and not disturb my neighbor up and below my room.

The only problem I found so far (using for 2 months) is that it doesn't turn very well. You have to do quite a bit of lifting and repositioning the vaccum to turn the unit.