Customer Reviews

Factory-Reconditioned Electrolux EL 6989 Ultra Oxygen Canister Vacuum

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

 

 

Excellent, can't even tell it is refurbished. In great shape, few scratches. works great! Cleans the air while you vacuum. Power head for carpet and attatchments work great,and I have a dog and a 3yr old. Love the retractable cord. this is my first canister, also considered a kenmore, but I don't like sears warranty w/ fixing appliances.

This is by far the best vacuum around for the money. Let me tell you, this little Ultra can suck big time. I had built a vacuum pressure gauge device to measure suction power while shopping for a new vacuum and this little unit measured the most powerful in its class and price category. Other canisters did not even measure up! I compared Kenmore, Dyson and the everyday store brands. I got 150vp on this unit compared to the others which could not get past 50vp. I was very impressed and purchased it right away. A year later as I write this I am not disappointed. I have a cat and dog which like to shed and needed a new vacuum that could really suck the beegees out of the carpet and furniture. Let me tell you, to get the biggest suck for your buck, this is THE vacuum! It is very easy to move around and light to carry around the house when doing stairs and furniture. It is also extremely quiet when running. Did I mention how powerful the suction power is and isn't that the objective for a vacuum? The power floor head is good on carpets and has adjustable pile height. The only con is the tools don't all store on the unit directly and the bag is not that large so it requires changing often. But I can live with that in exchange for the power! I have the power!

Just received this vacuum two days ago, so I haven't a lot of time to put it through its paces yet. But I was extremely pleased with how fast it arrived (four days after the order) and its condition - it looks brand new. There was a bag and filter already installed, it was ready to go.

Because I have inflammatory arthritis in both hands, it was really imperative for me to find a lightweight, maneuverable vacuum that was easy for *me* to operate. My upright vacuum was just murder on my hands - it was too heavy, hard to steer and required me to grip harder than was comfortable to control it. Not so with this vacuum. Because the powerhead self-propels, it requires much less hand strength, which extremely helpful. The powerhead is very zippy, it just about pulls you along with it. It requires more effort to draw it back towards you than to push it forward - that's how much get up and go this thing has. Pulling the unit back doesn't put as much stress on my hands as pushing my old vac forward did, so I still consider this a big improvement. The maneuverability with the powerhead takes a little getting used to, and I'm still getting used to it, so I can specifically comment on it yet.

When using the bare floor attachment, it's extremely easy on my hands/joints. The wand & attachment are light and easy to maneuver without my hands cramping up. This would likely be true of any canister vacuum, I suppose.

The tools attach and detach easily (again,easier on the arthritic hands) and the filter and bag panels open easily as well. The handle is great for carrying the unit upstairs, and it isn't too heavy. The one complaint I would have about the handle is that twice when I've picked it up by the handle, the canister itself swings up vertically and bashes my knuckles - yow! After the second time I've learned to be a little more mindful of how I pick it up.

As for the cleaning power, I'm very impressed at the job it did on our carpets, bare floors and carpeted stairs. The carpet actually *felt different* underfoot after I'd gone over it with the powerhead. Even with socks on, it felt like a different carpet. It was frightening to see how fast the bag filled up and realize how much our old upright wasn't doing the job!

So I'm extremely pleased with it so far, even more so that we got such a great deal on a reconditioned product. I'll update this again later if we run into any problems, or if it continues to perform above or beyond expectations.

I just received my reconditioned Oxygen Ultra half an hour ago and have cleaned my house top to bottom without hurting my eardrums! What a treat! Came in great shape, put it all together quickly and got on with it. Suction supreme! Keep all your little goodies out of its path! Lightweight, maneuverable, handle ergonomically correct, and the bare floor brush is 14" wide which makes for speedy cleaning. Dust bags tiny! There are 3 things I'd like to bring to your attention that haven't been mentioned in previous reviews, starting with the most important: The wands do not lie flat, so I cannot reach completely under the bed without the beater bar being lifted off the carpet-- definitely a design flaw. Next, the powerhead pulls like a dog on a leash when doing the carpet. I find it annoying, but pretend I'm at the gym working out. And finally , a minor point, the off/on switch is on the top, back of the unit. I feel it would be more convenient if it were in the front where the hose attaches and where you are naturally standing anyway. None of these 3 things would be cause for me to return my new treasure, however, it's good to be aware beforehand. I was unable to purchase it through Amazon because they wouldn't ship it to Hawaii, so I went directly to cpoelectolux and purchased it over the phone. The woman was really nice, told me she had bought this vacuum for both her daughters and that they love it. Also, by going 2 day instead of regular shipping, I saved $50, another helpful hint from my sales lady. This is a worthy little workhorse and it stays in my stable. My 30 year old Kenmore is out the door.

This is the vac I have been searching for! I have the worst luck picking out vacuums. This one is fantastic. I live in a small house but I have two dogs with very stubborn hair that weaves itself into the fabric of the rug and furniture. It has caused many an hour of frustration. I also have a short hair cat and two grandchildren who spend many hours at my house. This vac makes short work of the pet hair. It pulls it right out of the weave of the fabric. Also, does a perfect job on hard floors. I will never go back to a bagless vacuum with their clogging filters and lack of suction power. There are no telltale signs to make me guess that this is a reconditioned product. Everything was in pristine condition and it came with new bag and filter installed so I could go to town as soon as I received it. The instruction manual does leave a lot to be desired but if you have ever had a vacuum before you won't have a problem figuring out how to assemble and use this vac. I give this an A+++ rating. Oh, the shipping was so fast I received it 5 days sooner then expected.

I purchased this vacuum some time ago new. I have always owned and liked electrolux vacuums. This machine worked well at first, but so many parts are plastic (the wand) and over time it has lost suction. It barely works better then a dust mop. On another web site I discovered why this vacuum is a piece of junk... electrolux is not electrolux anymore. They sold their name to another company (eureka?). Anyway I will never buy another electrolux again. I bought a Miele and am very happy with it so far. My "electrolux" is going into the trash. P.S. Even new this vacuum did not work well on my hardwood floors.

I purchased the Factory Reconditioned EL6989a from CPO through Amazon.com on April 21, 2008 for $[...]. It seemed like an excellent price for something reconditioned by the manufacturer with a 2-year manufacturer warranty.

Overall I thought the vacuum had strong suction and all the features I'd expect in a canister that retails in the $[...] range. The only performance negative I noted was it seemed to generate a lot of carpet fuzz. I don't know what the long term implications of that would be for the carpet. Otherwise the many reviewers of this product here have covered all the various features. Some you might like and some you might not but with regular long term use you would adapt to any that feel strange at first (like the wand that rotates only to the right where it joins the power head).

"Long Term Use" is something I won't be able to tell you about... I ended-up trying three units and never got a good one.

Before continuing it is important for the shopper to understand that CPO Electrolux is a distributor not the manufacturer or in this case the refurbisher. According to the labeling on the box and vacuum the machine is originally made in Hungary. These refurbed units are "like new" returns that are shipped to Mexico for refurbishment by an Electrolux factory there. CPO gets the refurbed units from Mexico already in the box and ships them from their warehouse in Norcross, GA. This is key because it means that CPO does not inspect these units before they ship them to you. They are relying on the Electrolux refurb factory in Mexico, which, as we shall see, is not doing their due diligence on all of the units.

Unit #1 Look a bit scuffed up but seemed to work fine and I would have been satisfied with it. However, the cord would slowly self-retract during use. This was very easy to observe and should have been caught by the refurb folks.

Unit #2 This one arrived with dried mud in the crevices and screw holes and a musty smell in the HEPA filter/motor compartment. Clearly it had been used in a wet environment. It should have never left the refurb site.

Unit #3 CPO didn't have another EL6989a to ship immediately so the customer service rep called me back (!) and told me they would upgrade me to an Oxygen 3 Ultra (newer but similar unit with on/off switch on the hose instead of the canister) and it would ship that day. This one also bore the marks of more than a few months of wear and tear but seemed to work fine. After 45 minutes on day 1 and about 30 minutes on day 2 the electronic buttons on the handle failed and I couldn't turn the vac off. After I unplugged it from the wall and plugged it back in I couldn't turn the vac on. The canister itself has some blinking lights when it is plugged into the AC and these were blinking. But the on/off switch is located on the hose handle and this is apparently what failed.

CPO and I decided that it wasn't worth trying a 4th unit. In each case CPO paid shipping both ways. They never questioned my complaints but simply recorded the details. CPO quickly refunded my full purchase price back through Amazon.com within 24 hours after they had received the 3rd unit.

A lot of people seem to have had better luck with the refurbed vacs than I did. So if you want to take a chance I'd say go for it because CPO has a very effective system for handling returns and they don't make you feel the least bit self-conscious about doing it. Just save your box and packing material.

All of this drove me to do some more research and I ended up biting the bullet and bought a Miele Capricorn from a local dealer. I decided to pay the price for what I perceive to be a product that will provide reliable service for 15 to 20 years. I am replacing a Eureka 1700 canister that has lasted 23 years with a bit of duct tape on the hose and a motor replacement around year 2 or 3 under warranty.

The Eureka 1700 was $[...] in 1985. As a point of reference I believe gas was around $[...] a gallon then. So all-in-all maybe today's Miele price will seem reasonable in the year 2031 assuming it lasts that long. :-)

CPO Electrolux was wonderful to deal with, while the same cannot be said of Electrolux itself. We had some trouble with the vacuum we received, but CPO electrolux replaced it immediately. We are satisfied and pleased about our dealings with the distributor of the refurbished vacuums. They once asked me to call Electrolux directly because the part (the hose) was supposedly covered by warranty, but Electrolux was not cooperative. CPO Electrolux handled the replacement in a courteous manner. The vacuum is great.

I am very pleased overall with this one. I tend to try "refurbished" on bigger products if the manufacturer stands well behind it. They included a certificate of ownership just like a new one and it only had one small smudge on the start switch (which I quickly made bigger by my own use. I love the variable power slider on the power unit and on the hand held wand. Between this and the general quietness of the unit, it is very versatile. It has great cleaning with the (suction powered) hand unit, which surprised me. I formerly had a Sears with the motor powered unit, and I would say this is equal if not slightly better than that one.
No problems in 3 months nor do I have any concerns that any will show soon. I am totally happy so far.

The vaccum is very good but the attachment doesn't work correctly; moreover the vaccum and attachments weren't clean.