H-P TurboCat Air Driven Brush for All Central Vacuums (White)

There was a central vac in a used RV (sounded stupid at the time). It worked well on the hard floors and furniture but the carpet brush was useless. The only replacement i could find with the small head was the same brand and had lousy reviews. So I crawled around on the floor with my hand vac for two years. I didn't want to bother with tools with a big head because I would still have to use the hand vac in some places as well as find storage for the larger head (6" longer and 2" taller is premium in an RV). Although I considered the price high for one vacuum attachment, there was a satisfaction guarantee on the TurboCat so I finally decided to give it a try. I honestly expected to return it. Pleasant surprise. IT IS WELL WORTH THE PRICE AND SPACE. Bad news....I've moved into a newer RV without a central vac. I'm back to crawling around because I haven't found an affordable stick vac with good reviews. I didn't rate durability because I didn't have it long enough to judge.

Our original TurboCat was wearing out and sounding rough after 12 years of use. We considered buying the new TurboCat Zoom and a local vacuum supply store allowed us to home test one. After our testing we decided to stick with the original TurboCat because:1. The Zoom is a little taller so it doesn't fit as well under furniture, etc.2. The Zoom had a louder whine to it3. The Zoom bogged down more when used on carpetingSince the local store didn't have the original TurboCat we ordered one from Amazon. The replacement is identical to the old one except this one was made in China rather than Canada like the old one. We are very satisfied with its performance and unlike some reviews have no problem using it on carpeting (frieze and loop pile carpeting in our house). When used on carpeting the beater brush will slow down a little but still has plenty of beater speed and suction. We have a VacuFlo 460 main unit. Other reviewers complaints about inadequate power with the TurboCat may actually be related to their main unit or leaks in the piping system. The VacuFlo 460 main unit does have a wire screen in it that needs to be cleaned periodically (maybe once a month) to keep the suction strong. As long as we do that the TurboCat has plenty of power to keep our house of four people and two cats clean.

Same as original. First one was still working after 17 years, but was getting a bit beat up.

I did not even know what a central vac was until we purchased our home. It is nice to not have to draw around a heavy and obnoxious vacuum anymore. A few months after we moved in our carpet attachment broke. Actually, it had been jamming up quite often in the weeks prior to it finally breaking. My husband would have to do surgery and take the attachment apart when I was in the middle of vacuuming to try and fix it or remove whatever was stuck. Nothing was ever really stuck, it just seemed to be jamming up from all of the hair that was accumulating around the bristles (we have 2 dogs). Most times he was able to fix it but eventually it gave out for good. We had looked to purchase a new attachment but the prices were outrageous we thought. Instead, we decided to just use the hardwood floor attachment with our central vac and purchase a cheap vacuum to do the rugs. This worked somewhat but the new vacuum, since it was so cheap, would leave "tracks" on the carpets. This was extremely noticeable on our light beige carpets. We would have to go over spots numerous times to get rid of the tracks and felt this vacuum was not really doing the job. Finally we invested in this attachment and what a difference. I guess we had gotten so used to our cheap vacuum we didn't realize just how bad of a job it was doing. This attachment is great. It picks up everything and slides across the carpets with ease. It hasn't jammed so far (we have only used it a few times) and I hope it doesn't start. The carpets look so much better and it takes way less time to do them. It also doesn't leave those tracks I had become so used to seeing. It was pricey (we feel) for an attachment but if it lasts and continues to perform like it is now, it was a good investment. The only thing is that every time I have used it I get continuously shocked for some reason. It is not a painful, strong shock but a slight shock each time I touch the metal hose this attaches to. This never happened with our old attachment or our cheap vacuum. Not sure why its happening now and it is kind of annoying and creates a little apprehension about touching the metal while vacuuming. I am always waiting to feel that little shock and it will happen each time you touch the metal. Strange. Maybe its just some sort of static thing going on right now but I never noticed it before this attachment. It could however be totally unrelated. I just try not to touch the metal and just hold the handle now.

We had a vacuflo system installed recently and chose not to purchase the turbo cat since the floors were mainly hardwood. We then purchased some area rugs and one bedroom was carpeted. We had the turbo cat in our previous house and it performed very well. The price locally was over $50 more so this was a terrific price for this attachment. It does a great job on the carpets but of course the main reason is the whole house vac system that provides the great suction and since it is vented to the outside there is no need for heppa filters.

Worked great when we first got it.It was a replacement for a similar unit that stopped spinning. All seemed good for the first few months, then it stopped spinning. It was very difficult to get the brush to spin when pushing hard on it with both thumbs. Obviously, the suction from the main unit wasn't going to spin this brush.We returned it under warranty and got a slightly different model (the new one is black, not sure if it is otherwise the same). As expected, the other is working just fine. We'll see in a few months if the replacement still works.The flaw appears to be that hair/dirt get lodged in each end of the roller, causing it to lock up.Really, though, the overall design of the air-powered vacuum head system is flawed. The brush should be powered independently. Then, the suction from the main unit can be utilized for what is supposed to do.