Eureka Smart 4870DT Bagged Upright Vacuum

Pros: Does a great job
Cons: Bags

This is the best vacuum I've ever owned. I've got one hairy golden retriever and let me tell you, this one does the job.

I agree with all of the pros above and the cons too, except for it's weight. Sure it's heavy, but at least mine came with wheels.

I have one major complaint. The bag is too small and too expensive. The RR bag must be a rarity, and guess what. After selling the vacuum, Wal*Mart hast decided to stop selling the RR bag! The oem bags are too expensive. They do seem to be readily available on Amazon at a reasonable price, but I can't yet vouch for their quality.

A super vac minus one star for the tiny bags.

Pros: Price, light on front, attachment hose works well, long cord
Cons: Poor suction - especially on edges, VERY heavy, difficult foot pedal

Bought on advice from Consumer Reports 'Best Buy' category. I have had Panasonic vacuums in the past. I will go back to them for sure. This one is large and SO heavy that I don't vacuum upstairs much at all. It is even heavy to just get up one step from my sunroom. The suction literally 'sucks'. It doesn't pick up anything on the edges and usually needs two passes to pick stuff up. A new bag every time might solve it, but who wants to put in that kind of time, effort & money. The noise is average. The foot pedal to recline the machine is very difficult to push. The adjustment knobs are all hard to move except the hose/floor knob. On the good side, the hose attachment is easy to use to get the edges that the machine doesn't know how to get. I like the light on the front, but would give it up for a lighter weight with suction. Price is good. Cord is long - a nice feature.

Pros: Sweeps reasonably well.
Cons: Belts wear out too quickly and easily and are too expensive.

I purchased this machine based upon all the good reviews I had read and the reasonable price, but my own experience was mixed. It cleans just fine but not significantly better than my old Hoover cannister did or any upright that I have owned. But, my main problem with this machine is that the belts don't last very long. I have replaced it 4 times during the 1st year of operation. Twice, it seems simply to have worn out and on 2 other occasions some slight interference (the edge of a carpet caused it)seems to have caused it to snap. It didn't take very much. The belts are relatively expensive-Sears gets about $7.50 apiece for them and thats one of the few places that has them available. Its getting expensive.

Pros: Great suction, wide cleaning path, quiet compared to most vacuums.
Cons: kicks up dirt that land "on" the vacuum, not "in" the vacuum

This was a Consumer Report "Best Buy", and after a considerable amount of research, it looked like it. It only took me three minutes of vacuuming to realize a major flaw. The vacuum kicks up dust and dirt from the carpet and leaves a film of grime on the outside bottom front of the vacuum. In other words, it produces a small cloud of dirt which then settles back down on the vacuum. I have an old house and have a kid on the way, so my primary purpose of cleaning is to remove any toxic dust that might be around. Another issue is that an ample amount of dust seems to go right through or around the dust bag and into the Heppa filter. The recline button is hard to push (not a big deal), and one of the hose attachments is very tricky to attach to vacuum when not in use. (This looks like it should very easy but makes you feel very stupid after three minutes of trying)((also not a big deal)). Many people complain about the weight, but I thought it was average for a full size vacuum.

Pros: Nice Color
Cons: Poor Design

My Eureka smart vac burned out belts left and right, also the roller would not work on shag carpet.I got so frustrated with it I decided to take apart and diagnosis this vac,what a poor design.The idler clamp assembly was cracked.I kept calling Eureka, they finally offered to replace part.This part should have been made of steel instead of plastic.All that plastic in in the main components doesn't impress me much.Do you believe in tensil strength?Get a machinist idea on designing main components next time.

Pros: Suction is good.
Cons: Everything on this beast is pretty bulky. The hose is useless.

This is the 2nd time in 6 months that this vacuum cleaner simply won't power on! I have done everything except take this thing apart. It won't power on again...so...I am done. This thing was heavy as heck too. I lift weights 5 times a week and train for a living...half of my weekly workout was getting this thing up and down the stairs.
I think I am am officially done with Eureka!

Pros: None but price.
Cons: You don't even get what you pay for here. DO NOT BUY!!!!

I concur with the person who stated worst vacuum ever.

Not only did it have all the problems listed by another reviewer, it also has a couple more that were not mentioned.

1) The dial switching from floor to tool usage was nearly impossible to change. Unless you are a Russian weightlifter, this could be a problem.

2) The control switch to switch from carpet to bare floor was broken.

It makes me wonder what vacuum Consumer Reports was reviewing when thought they were reviewing this model.