winshawn's Full Review: Milwaukee Tool 8955 Upright Vacuum
I have had the vacuum almost two years and I am convinced it is a well engineered quality piece of equipment.
Looks
When evaluating a vacuum looks is not very high on the scale of importance, but my 3 year old loved the sleek black casing with the silver lettering.
Handling
Some vacuums that I have used seem to stick to the carpet or they are really heavy etc. The Riccar automatically adjusts to the height of the carpet and it glides very easily over short carpet or tall shag carpeting. There is a slight pull forward from the brush but not to much. The vacuum will lay perfectly flat for going under beds etc. Overall, very nice, requires only a light touch to drive.
Sucking
The shop actually measures the amount of vacuum from the various manufacturers. The Riccar produces about 135 in of water vacuum, a Hoover 85-90 inches, a Eureka 70-75 (Higher number is better). I must say that I have never seen a vacuum suck as hard as this one. It sucks much harder than my shop vac. Now I use the Riccar for vacuuming my car etc.
Bags/Filters
The Riccar has a three stage filter system. 1st stage is the back, then ther is a foam filter then a final pleated HEPA filter. This system does very well at preventing any dust from exiting the vacuum while in use. I also like changing bags much more than the "bagless" types. The adds for bagless vacs complain about "messy" bags, but I can change this bag without losing a speck of dust. Try shaking out a "bagless" canister without creating a cloud of dust. There is a red light on the casing that indicates that the suction is being reduced from a full bag. It seems very accurate and does not come on until the bag is almost completely full. The bags for this vacuum are fairly cheap at about $8.00 each for a package of 6.
Tools
The vacuum has a full complement of on board tools. They are handy for cleaning under cushions, between car seats, etc. However, my favorite tools are in the accessory box of tools that came with the vacuum. Ther is an extra long hose (about 15 feet) and a wide swivel head brush that has little wheels. I use this setup for cleaning my tile and hardwood floors. It works great. My living room and dining room have rugs in the center and hardwood around the edges. Thus, I vacuum the rugs then hook up the hose and tools to do the floors etc.
Noise
It is a vacuum so it makes noise. However, It is quiet compared to other vacuums I have had. I had a Hoover V2 that was almost unbearable.
Engineering
The dirt/air flow path from the head of the vacuum to the bag is easily accessible and cleanable. Unlike other vacuums where the path is inside the vacuum, this vacuum has a hose on the back of that connects the head of the vacuum to the bag. The hose can be easily disconnected and cleaned.
The most reliable vacuums are the "Bypass" Design. Which means it is a hard case vacuum that creates the suction on the outside of the bag. Thus it is only clean air that reaches the fan.
Most manufacturers put in cheap inefficient fans and motors because you cannot see them. The Riccar motors will last forever.
The Riccar uses a flat wide belt which lasts much longer than the round donut type belts. It does not use a toothed type belt because they often cause damage to the vacuum when something is jammed in the brush. (this is what happened to my Hoover V2)
Summary
The Riccar is not an inexpensive vacuum, but it is not in the over $1000 range of the Rainbows and such. It is a well designed quality vacuum with excellent suction that will last many years.
Milwaukee 8955 10 Gal. 1-Stage Wet/Dry Vacuum Cleaner 10 gal., 1-1/8 bu. recovery capacity, 8 amp motor. Positive water shut-off. Can be used as a blo...More at CPO Milwaukee
Fantastic prices with ease & c...(Stock status: N/A)
The Milwaukee line of wet/dry vacuum cleaners pick up a powerful mess, and still have power to spare. Features a positive water shut off to protect th...More at Amazon Marketplace
10 gal., 1-1/8 bu. recovery capacity, 8.0 amp motor 1-1/2 in. O.D. Hose Connections Can be used as a blower One-stage bypass motor for wet/dry operati...More at Amazon
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.