Customer Reviews

Eureka 5197 Whirlwind Bagless Upright Vacuum

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

 

 

I bought the Eureka 5197B yesterday and so far I have been satisfied with my purchase.

We had cleaned the carpet with a regular bagged vacuum a couple of days ago, and it seemed to be very clean, but when we used the Eureka a lot of dust and dirt was picked-up. I emptied the 'cyclonic cassette' a couple of times, not because it was full or clogged, but just to see how much of a mess that would cause, and the operation seemed very simple and not messy.

I agree with one of the reviewers with regards to the control for the 'self-propelled', which may inadvertently enable the feature when it is disabled. However, I did not find this to be a major problem. The cleaner has a regular rotating roller brush and control to adjust the height of it from the carpet, so it is not going to eat the carpet away any differently than the others. The vacuum is hard to move around when it is off and the `self-propelled' feature is enabled, but once the feature is disabled the wheels rotate freely and you can move it around easily.

I've had this vacuum for about 3 months and it's already broken! Every time I've used it I've had to repair something. It clogs very easily and the canister is too small. The hose is also too short to reach anything and when I use the attachment it slips off. The self-propelling feature is useless because it goes too fast. Also, the machine often slips out of manual and into self-propell by itself, very annoying. Finally, the roller's bearing seized and its housing has melted and the belt broke! My husband is a mechanical engineer, and upon taking it apart commented on the extremely poor quality of the bearings and seals. This vacuum has truely been a disappointment. I'm going to try to see if the warantee will cover this.

I have to echo a previous review. I don't like to use the self-propelled feature, because it just doesn't feel like it's doing the job. Yet, the switch is on the handle, and I have to hold my thumb on the switch to keep it from engaging, which it always does--annoying.

Also, the vacuum does not stay upright. Usually you need to push a pedal to lower from storage to vacuum position. Well, it always falls out of storage position.

The suction is okay, but not nearly as good as the Hoover I had previously.

Better to spend a little more money on a better vacuum.

So we finally break down during the summer and bought a new vacuum. I was using an old canister put together with masking tape so you'd think that I'd be grateful for just about anything. Not so.

We got the Eureka Whirlwind model 5197A after much consideration and a fabulous sale. We made the switch to bagless a bit unsure about it but figured why not.

Here's what I liked about it;

1) The look of it; very mod looking
2) The suction; it's amazing what you can get out of your carpets, even in a house without pets.

Here's what I don't like about it;

1) The self propelled feature kicks in on it's own even when you don't want it; annoying that the switch between manual and self propelled is right on the handle and the very act of pushing the vacuum jars it into self propelled from manual. Usually just 3-4 pushes and it's back on self propelled. I personally don't like this feature and prefer to go slowly over my carpets and rugs to get ALL the dirt, rather than whizzing over them quickly and missing the dirt.

2) IT'S HEAVY; not only is this thing too heavy but if you're not careful the upright handle can fall. Which it did to me and landed on my foot...set me out of commission for half a day. I mean this thing is HEAVY. What a pain for lifting all the way to our 2nd floor to vacuum. Also...you can't do carpeted steps with it. I seem to recall reading that you are not supposed to but it's not like you can anyhow with the weight of the darn thing. I'm afraid to have my kids around it because it literally could hurt them if the upright part slams down on them.

3) It is eating my floors; so we just pulled up carpet and are waiting to redo our floors so right now I don't care but this is a major problem to me. When I vacuum my area rugs, the floor all around the rugs are scuffed and scraped by this vacuum. How are you supposed to do the edges of the rugs???

4) You can't push the thing when it's off. You have to either carry it or pull it. Just a minor annoyance.

5) I guess I don't like bagless....it's messy and you have to change the canister every time or every other time you vacuum. Maybe it's not as good on the sinuses but I prefer a bag that I can put in and forget about for a few weeks or so.

I just wish I never bought it. SO...what we're going to do when we get some spare $$$ is buy a new vacuum for the first floor and move this monster up to the 2nd floor where it's wall to wall carpet. I do like the suction but that's about all I like.

It's a great vacuum. The cup is easy to empty. The vacuum does a great job of cleaning and really picks up a lot. It is self-propelled, thus easy to push. My only complaint is that there is no switch to turn of the beater bar especially when using the accessories.

I paid over [...] for this thing. I bought it for my mom who was having a terrible time keeping hers working. Went in one day and found her trying to vacuum with the old broken down one. She told me she didn't mean to hurt my feelings, but the Whirlwind was just to heavy for her to push around. I brought it home for myself and if I had written this review the first day would have given it 5+ stars. It is heavy, but that didn't bother me. It was unreal what this thing got out of what was near new carpet. About two weeks later, the filters clogged. Tried cleaning, but figured out real quick it would take new ones. It cost [...] to replace the two filters! Within a couple of months time it was clogging again. When the filters are clogged at all it picks up nothing. We have no pets in our home or anything that would be to [...] a vac. It is awesome with new filters, but I can't pay [...] a month maintenance on a vac! I wish I had my [...] Dirt Devil back that I donated to charity when I still thought this thing was wonderful! My advise is if you can afford the upkeep on this thing just hire someone to keep your floors clean!

I AM VERY DISSAPOINTED WITH THIS PURCHASE!!! Suction on this cleaner is extremely poor after just a few minutes of use..Cant turn off brush when using attachments.Plastic latch and other parts break easily..wise to consider another product

This vacuum has excellent suction and easy manuvering!

This has been the worst vac ever used. It puts out more dirt than it picks up. No power in hose when in use. The filters are always full and difficult to empty. Very expensive annual replacement for the filters and HEPA. So bad I will never purchase another Eureka. I would not give any rating if that was an option.

This is an okay vacuum cleaner, but there are some design flaws. I'm now wary about bagless ones 'cause they are messy and if you don't close them properly dust can leak and spray everywhere. Also when cleaning area rugs with the admustment on high, the cleaner still grabs the edges of rugs and as shredded some. I have to make sure I avoid them and then take out the hose manually in order to clean the edges of the rugs. There must be better designed vacuums for the price.