Don't make the same mistake I did.
Written: Mar 06 '04 (Updated Mar 10 '04)
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Pros: It looked real good on TV. Some good features.
Cons: Heavy. Low-quality parts and assembly.
The Bottom Line: With so many vacuum cleaners out there, pass on this cheaply made imitator.
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| rocco13's Full Review: Fantom Twister Upright Vacuum |
Boy, how I wish I'd read these reviews before I purchased the Fantom FM760 from HSN. Several of the reviews describe the problems I've had in the 5 weeks I've owned this piece of junk.
I saw several presentations of this vacuum on HSN one weekend (it was their daily special or something). The demonstration was impressive, and they were selling many of them quickly, so I ordered mine. The first thing I noticed was the weight of this machine. Heavy. Very Heavy. I was used to my Oreck weighing in at 8 lbs, and this behemoth feels like at least 3 times that (I don't know the actual weight). Having lifted weights for over twenty years, I'm not unable to wield this vacuum, it's just that I'd prefer to get my upper body workout in at the gym, not by vacuuming the house.
How does it work, you ask? In my opinion, lousy. This machine makes the noise, but is mostly all bark but not much bite. It takes me twice as long to vacuum because I find myself going over the same areas several times to pick everything up. Now I realize NO vacuum gets everything the first time, but this one is ridiculous.
As for the machine itself, I'll address it piece by piece. First, the light is bright and well placed to help illuminate those darker areas of the rooms. From there on, it kind of goes downhill fast. As several other reviewers stated, it is made cheaply, and it just doesn't feel solid and well-made. The setting for the hard floor just doesn't seem to have much suction, and if you try it on the hard floor with the brush rotating, it just throws all the dirt all over the place. I noticed that it does NOT pick up much along the edges contrary to their claims. The handle disengages to provide access to corners and such, and it theoretically is a good idea, but you can't park the machine in the middle of the room and walk around with the wand like they showed on TV. It just tips over after 5 feet or so from the machine. The Turbo Brush attachment is another thing that makes a lot of noise (literally) but doesn't seem to work very well either. I tried it on the stairs, but gave up halfway down the staircase because of a lack of results. The canister is placed for very convenient emptying, but I've found that it needs emptying after about three rooms, because it seems to lose suction power as it fills up. One must be very careful to properly realign the canister when replacing back on the machine, because it will click into place whether the bottom is seated properly or not. When not seated correctly, you don't have a closed system, and therefore, no suction. One more thing I've noticed is this machine runs very hot.
Like I said before, I've had this about 5 or 6 weeks, and regret it. But the main problem with it now is that yesterday, it started acting up while using it. The power would fluctuate from full strength to barely running and back again and again, then finally shutting down completely, although the light was still burning full. At first I thought we were having a brownout, or someone was playing with the cord at the outlet. But evidently something is screwed up with the electronics somewhere along the line, and it now sits in my garage, waiting until I get around to boxing it up and sending it either to HSN or Fantom.
(One note about HSN: When we called to order it and asked if it was beltless, we were told it was, however it isn't)
Overall, I am extremely disappointed with this machine. I don't mind it being heavy if it'll do a heavy-duty job for me, but this thing is simply a piece of junk. Save yourself some headaches, buy something else.
I once again will be shopping for a vacuum cleaner, but this time I'll consult Epinions first!
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 180
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Epinions.com ID:
rocco13
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Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 2 members
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