Panasonic MC-UL815 Bagless "Jet Turn" Upright Vacuum Cleaner - Corded

This is a pretty good vacuum, and has excellent suction. You wouldn't believe the dust and stuff it's bringing out of our carpet that was left by our old Hoover. It has some very good points, and some very bad points to consider as well. THE GOOD: Strong suction Easy emptying of canister Rolls fairly easily Not too loud Helpful red/green dirt sensorTHE NOT-SO-GOOD: Heavy for it's size Very short hose (needs wand extension!) Somewhat fragile construction Poorly designed cord keeper hook on handle Belt wears prematurely, gets hot & smells like rubber Poor design on off/on switch and carpet height control I feel this machine is in dire need of a serious upgrade in design. While I can't fault it in it's ability to vacuum most surfaces well and it's very strong suction capability, it's really a bear to maneuver if you try to force it around. I had to really "learn" how to let it pretty much pull itself around on my carpet, and the swivel head design is something you really need to get used to. After a while, it grows on you. However, the include hose is so ridiculously short and unruly (heavy) it becomes more trouble than it's worth so I rarely even try. A good extension wand or two hooked on the side of the machine would have been very worthwhile. Also, emptying the canister can be a bit tricky, and if you don't hold the bottom lid and prevent it from falling down hard while you're emptying it, the thing will fall off. The whole machine is rather fragile-looking with all the plastic hinges and little latches just ready to break at any moment. The weakest point of this vacuum, however, is the very poorly designed drive mechanism for the roller brush. The control that changes it from carpet to floor use is only a little lever that lays up against the belt and nudges it over to another pulley, and it has no detent for either setting, making the foot control very variable, which can heat up the belt almost immediately and cause it to stretch and slip to the point where the roller brush won't turn any more on carpet. The first time I used it, I immediately smelled burning rubber and noticed that the control was somewhere between floor and carpet, which makes the belt slip. This is a very poor design, and totally unacceptable for a quality company such as Panasonic.I've had to order a couple of new belts recently, since the roller brush has almost stopped turning because of the overheated belt problem, and I hope a new tighter belt will solve the problem. I know it will happen again, however, if I don't make sure the selector control is all the way up to the carpet setting when on carpet. I'll just have to watch it I guess, but that's something I shouldn't have to do. Ridiculous. All in all, it's a decent vacuum for the money, but I'm sure there are better ones out there that one would not have to baby or be easy with. This will by my last Panasonic vacuum purchase, and it's a shame because I've always had good luck with their products up until now.

BTW - I bought this because I have a long-term temp job for Panasonic and wanted to show my support (after having decided on a Samsung television, just a week before - I was feeling a bit guilty). But I was really pleasantly surprised by the quality of this vacuum cleaner. See, growing up my family had a number of vacuum cleaners in the house - most of them were ancient; they looked like they belonged in some pharaoh's tomb or something, and every other weekend was an argument over which one actually worked. Now that I've used this one, I'm beginning to think that none of them did. I have my own apartment now, and the second or third week after moving in, I noticed the tiled kitchen floor was dirty. -Okay; that had to mean I was collecting some dirt in the carpet as well. I didn't actually have any furniture in the apartment yet, and I only really used the small corner where my sleeping bag was, but because the apartment was so new and clean, I wanted to keep it that way. So I bought the vacuum. It's A) super cool looking, so when it arrived I wanted to try it out right away. I never imagined I'd really pick up a lot of dirt; I'd only been there a couple weeks. So when the "dirt-sensor" on the front lit up, I thought the darn thing was broken already. I mean, it sensed dirt in rooms I hadn't even been in! I was disgusted. Eventually I gave up and turned off the vacuum - only to discover through the see-through container that my few swipes through an empty, un-trafficked room, had picked up more dirt than we used to empty out of our old family vacuums every year! It's amazing! I've since learned that it does sense dirt, and it helps force you to really vacuum your carpets. It's not the lightest thing ever, but it's way lighter than a lot of other vacuums in the world and super maneuverable. I don't live with my family anymore, but I love the fact I will never get into an argument over wrapping up the vacuum cord ever again. -Because the vacuum reels in the cord itself. So yeah - I'm super pleased.

I bought this in mid December to replace a 10-year-old Hoover and have been using it for a whole month. Next week I'm dropping what's left of it off at the local charity thrift shop, though I feel guilty that some poor person will end up paying money for it. It's a piece of cheap garbage, but frankly it's too much trouble to ship it back, as the box is already recycled.Here's the score so far:* The automatic cord retractor worked really well for a few days. It worked so well that it was routinely yanking the cord out of the wall behind me. That's because the little clip that's supposed to hold the cord off the floor, doesn't. But the problem was solved after a week, when the retractor totally jammed, meaning the cord is always out. I figured, OK, I can just hang it on the vacuum body.* Then the switch that controls the rotating carpet brush failed. The up position is where I usually have it, running the carpet brush. But it won't stay there, as gravity makes it fall down and turn the brush off. A job for duct tape, except occasionally you do want to turn the brush off.* Today the top panel of the main unit flew off while I was vacuuming, along with a white filter. I was able to replace the filter to where it belongs, but the panel itself won't reattach securely. More duct tape. The whole thing is starting to look very hillbilly. The tape also won't hold the panel in place for very long at a time. And with the panel loose, the noise is so loud you want to wear ear protection while vacuuming.Is there anything I like about it? I'm still thinking....Nope. Time for another Hoover.