Customer Reviews

Eureka 6984A Power Team HEPA Canister Home-Cleaning System

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I liked this vacuum at first. It cleaned well when it worked. Here are my problems:

1. The canister easily overturns when trying to move around corners. It needs two swivel wheels or needs to be balanced better.

2. After a few months of use, the carpet attachment started to squeak from what sounded like the wheels. Annoying for a product that is only a few months old.

3. A few months later, only 6 short months after the unit was purchased, the carpet attachment quit. The brush won't turn because it is rubbing plastic on plastic. It is poorly constructed. It smells like burnt rubber when I try to use the carpet attachment. You will notice that the canister is made in Sweden but the wand and floor/carpet attachments are made in China. They should have spent a few more dollars and had the entire thing made in Sweden.

At first we were very happy: the suction on the vac is very strong, the roller also very effective, and the hepa filtration seemed to be working perfectly. Within a week or two the wheels on the powernozzle began to squeak. And now, just a little under two months(!) after we bought it, the roller brush is not working at all. Because the design of the roller is to have plastic end pins inserted in and spinning in a plastic holder, they wear, get hot and melt. What a teribble design. Maybe the better metal roller on the more expensive Eurekas work better, but this one seems to be fatally flawed. Not recommended except, perhaps, if you have little or no rugs and carpet to do. But why pay for such an expensive powernozzle then?

The design of the beater brush system on this machine suffers from a fundamentally flawed design. The beater brush bearing surface is felt on plastic. The drive belt applies a significant lateral load on the beater brush. Inevitably, the plastic on the housing gets hot and melts. In some instances this is likely to result in fire if you have hair or lint in your carpets.

A great vacuum at first, but I've encountered the same problems as others have. Wheels have become very squeaky, terrible rubber or plastic smell, picks up little. I'd like to check the brush roll belt, but the user manual is deficient and sort of punts, saying that for some models you remove 4 screws from the bottom side, then turn the unit over (sic?). I see only 2 screws, and they're not flathead or philips or allen. Apparently designed to discourage customers from fixing, more money for Eureka technicians. Talk about planned obsolescence, this one takes the cake. The Eureka website has little info & tries to push a subscription service.

The Eureka worked fine at first. Now, with medium use, the beater brush started smelling like it was burning. It became terribly noisy and my wife shut it off. I have just read some other complaints here by people having the same problem. Want to know what kind of guarantee this has and if anything can be done. Ours was bought only EIGHT months ago and we have no children and or heavy traffic on our carpets. We use it infrequently.

Our previous Eureka lasted over 12 years!

This is really bad news.

Bill Schulze

Where do I start? First off it tips very easily. One tug on the hose and it flips over on it's back like a dead beetle.
Secondly, the power brush isn't powerful enough to spin. Never mind the hi/medium/low pile carpet settings. I use it on low pile commercial grade loop carpet and the spinner barely spins when set on high. If it is set on medium or low the spinner doesnt spin at all and the air smells with the foul smell of burning rubber.

Eureka used to be known as a high quality vacuum, or so I thought. After this experience I'm moving on to antoher brand.

I've read lots of negative reviews and I have to say I disagree. I did a heck of a lot of research before purchasing the Eureka 6984. I was first inclined to look at the Rainbow and felt I was settling for less. I even turned to the European models and my conclusion was that they were expensive, difficult to repair, and not too much better than the Eureka. I asked A LOT of experts and I got only positive responses. I think the suction on the vacuum is incredible. I was told by an objective seller that the suction is equivalent to the Rainbow. Yes, I hate changing the bags so often, and I'm surprised at how often I have to change the bags, but this only proves that there is great suction. I've also researched online correct vacuuming techniques. The advice suggests vacuuming twice a week and changing ANY bag for ANY vacuum when it is half full. It is less effective otherwise. Okay, so right, who vacuums that often and changes bags that often? My impression is that I find all that dirt so often because I don't vacuum enough (3 kids and a dog live here!). I also could change the bag more often. My whole purpose of buying the Eureka 6984 was to help eliminate allergens from my house. I've done lots of experiments. I've vacuumed my living room and have emptied the bag. I've then vacuumed in the same room and was surprised to find even more dog hair (an experiment the door to door sales people would try to argue that only their machine could do). I've also put a cloth over the nozel and placed the nozel flat against both the carpet and the sofa. I've found considerable sand in the cloth. Another trick door to door sales people do to prove their machines superior. Yes, it is not easy to manipulate around the house and I have pined over the ease and maneuvarabilily of the Miele and Sebo. But my philosophy is that this vacuum was within my budget and if my goal was to bring texture back to my carpet and reduce allergens in the air, this vacuum has done the trick. I AM dusting less - something I didn't believe when other vacuum cleaner owners attested to. I think it's a great purchase, a great machine, a great value and a reputable company. I do believe you need to take care of your vacuum cleaner. Objective websites defining best vacuuming techniques repeated this over and over again in relation to ALL brands and types.

I bought this about 6 months ago, have been searching for bags for the past month...guess I will order them on line. This vacuum gets tanngled every time I use it..cannot go 5 feet without having to get the cord untangled from itself. Additonally, this vaccum smells like burning dust all the time during use.
Try something else!

NOW
Nearly four years later this unit is still working just fine. Got a little louder, but still operates very well.

PREVIOUSLY
Hmmm, we haven't had any problems, still runs quiet and is ideal for hardwood floors. The problem I have is finding replacement bags, they're the EX type and not very common.

At first, we were very pleased with the performance of this vacuum, however...
We've owned ours for over a year and have no end of problems with the vacuum head band stretching to the point the brush won't rotate properly. The band requires replacement twice a month (according to the vac shop, this is a common problem and the reason they wouldn't sell the model). We've had the head in twice for repairs already. Our house is predominantly wood floors with one room of nearly flat carpet pile--not a real challenge for a vacuum, especially with no kids. The power brush was a great attachment at first, but now screeches like a banshee unless held in a very particular position. It still works very well, but what a hassle.

Both the bands and the bags ($$) can only be purchased at two stores in our area, both a good 30-minute drive from home. I had researched this vacuum and chosen it after a lot of thought. The only thing I can say now is that I should have concentrated my research on people who had tested the machine for a longer length of time. What a huge disappointment, irritation and waste of my money.