Any question answered...

Nilfisk or shark (classic iirc). Got both - both better than henry

Henrys are great if you live on one floor and have a lot of storage space. Or are doing lots of diy.

Our vacuum* has just broken and I borrowed a Henry. I'd forgotten how fucking massive they are. It's nice having every element be long though - the hoze, the flex, the pipe.

*a 2013 Vax fwiw

Based on Which? and the cost of the Miele ones were probably going for a Shark - HZ3000UKT.

Nilfisk.

^ this. If I were buying one, a Nilfisk (used to use them in manufacturing areas and labs, years ago). But we were given a Miele, which works fine.

C3 you can get for £225 here

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/miele-­complete-c3-active-cylinder-bagged-vacuu­m-cleaner-petrol-blue-10249554.html

They also have a - 10% if you trade in an electric appliance - haven't worked out what the restrictions are on that, but it's put a c3 back in the running. My only concern is the size. The pipe looks lovely to use, but the combo makes it a big package.

Out of curiosity can anyone remember what the vaccum thread is called?

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/359297/ ?

No, I swear it was a specific thread where forumungers battled it out over whether they preferred their cleaners using a Miele or a Dyson, or both for the combo humble brag.

Then hippy would go on about Shark.

Seems to be loads of mentions of Dyson in the Owning Your Own Home thread.

There's a Pistonheads thread about this, and I think it concluded with the person going to an experienced retailer of all the different brands in the vacuum world.
Anyway the conclusion for battery-free models was that although the build quality is crap and they last 5 minutes nothing touches a Dyson for actual cleaning power. Sharks and the rest are simply not as good. But they are mostly better built and more repairable.
For corded models Miele are the best if you have things like animal hair to collect. Henrys are great if you have rubble and so forth.

That £225 is after the trade in (it's pretty much any old junk from what I remember on the details of the trade-in, doesn't even need to be working).

It is a bit unwieldy to store, the body isn't that big but it's useful to have somewhere to hang the pipe if you want to store it neatly (although ours is just behind the bedroom door so we don't bother).

Mieles seem pretty indestructible and not that pricey in the scheme of things. Something like a C3 you can get for £225 here

I got their cheapest (C1, was also on discount at the time) two years ago or so, very happy with it.

@Greenbank

I had a corded Miele which I got for free, which was actually very good.
When the cable retraction mechanism packed up, I replaced the cleaner with a Nilfisk GM80P, which sucks the carpet so hard that it actually takes a bit of effort to push the thing along.
ETA - I did some work with Electrolux when I was at college, where it transpired that the efficiency of a vacuum cleaner isn't determined by the wattage of the motor or whether it is bagged or bagless. What determines the efficiency is affording attention to tiny radii on the grooves on the stainless plate beneath the brush head. Apparently there are only a couple of companies that have done the science behind this and they supply most of the cleaner manufacturers with stainless plates to suit their cleaners.
ETFA - I'm told that a Nilfisk is what they use to clean up once the builders/constructors have finished putting together operating theatres.

I did some work with Electrolux when I was at college, where it transpired that the efficiency of a vacuum cleaner isn't determined by the wattage of the motor or whether it is bagged or bagless.

I worked for a couple of vacuum cleaner manufacturers and they used air watts as a measure of performance.

The stainless plate thing is a new one on me but not surprising considering the amount of aero and fluid dynamicists that worked at those places.

Henry for all the big shitty jobs* and a cordless Dyson for the carpets and stairs. You’ll be in vacuum cleaner utopia. Then just replace the Dyson battery every couple of years.

*I mean, we’ve been using it to suck up all the food and shite the kids chuck on the floor and it stank but the bag wasn’t full. I took it out the front and filled it up by hoovering up all the gravel, mud, bugs, moss, weeds and leaf debris that had accumulated in the porch over the winter. New bag and you’d never know. You really don’t have to look after them!

Henry's are great and a photo of me in bed with one secured me two hinge dates.

As cool as a £500 vaccum that's so powerful you can't use it on carpet sounds, the Nilfisk looks like it'll have the same storage issues as a Henry.

2 Dates with Henry?

Hetty.

No fun if you are a into conspiracy theories. anti-vacs

Hetty lives with my ex, Henry is a great wingman.

My cleaner keeps the Nilfisk in her cupboard.

Miele. Every time. Our C3 complete has been going strong for several years and knocks everything else into a cocked hat for performance. Everything on it is well designed with an eye to being easily maintained or replaced (not that we've had to buy any replacement accessories for it yet). Also had a Sebo, which was decent but did conk out on us.

Have a shark, had one for about 5 years now. It's alright. But it's not 100 great.
I've got a dog now, have I mentioned it?, we've got mainly hard floors, carpet on stairs.
What are the vax machines like? I ask because I'm looking at getting a spot cleaner (bad dog).