Sears Powermate Vacuum: Review and Comparison with Electrolux
While I cannot recite a lot of technical jargon about horsepower or torque or suction quotient (is there such a thing?)…I can say that I know when something works well at what it’s supposed to work at, and vice-versa!
That said, here’s our “vacuum-history”:
Our very first vacuum was a Sears Powermate given to us as a wedding present. We used that for over 12 years and only replaced beater-bar belts once or twice. The unit cleaned to my wife’s liking, which is quite a “high-standard”, I might add…(and that’s ok with me!).
Sometime later, we were given a nearly new Electrolux by my wife’s mom. It was (one of the long, torpedo type) one she’d bought for herself, but for some reason decided she didn’t want it, so she gave it to us (sometimes she was like that!). We passed our Sears Powermate on to one of our daughters for her apartment.
While the Electrolux unit “sufficed”, I cannot say I would recommend it. We did use it for a few years, so it must have been marginally acceptable, but I can recall using it myself, and thinking it was not really cleaning like I would expect such an “elite” product should. In addition, I became quite frustrated at the lack of ergonomic considerations in design.
For example:
-The “cord-recoil” unit was situated so the cord came out on one side (as opposed to top), which meant that when the cord was pulled out, the unit was very likely to tip over on its side…especially when getting to the last few feet of cord…unless you put your foot on the unit to prevent it from tipping. If the cord recoil were repositioned 90 degrees so the cord came out the top, I think that would be resolved.
-Also, this unit was not easy to maneuver around furniture, etc., primarily because of the length and “squarishness” (is that a word?) I believe.
Simple things like that…but it’s those simple things that make a lot of difference in something that gets used as often as a vacuum cleaner! After a few years using the Electrolux, we received a second Electrolux from my wife’s mom’s estate, after her passing. Now we were using two Electrolux vacuums! The second was a bit higher model, but I really was not impressed with that one either. Same ergonomic issues and same sense of the unit not doing what it should do.
We did use them both for a few years, then decided finally to replace them (once again…we gave the ‘used’ ones to our daughters). I recommended we try the Sears again, and my wife immediately agreed (not all THAT uncommon!). We purchased one of the ‘mid-range’ models, and it’s been working fine and cleaning noticeably better. Plus, it’s much more ergonomically up to date in its design and ease of use.
In summary…SEARS Powermate canister vacuum wins hands down over Electrolux torpedo-style vacuum, at least in my opinion!
