My B-Kitchen

The Hoover BH50030 is my fourth hand vacuum in about as many years. The others have been a Black & Decker, Eureka, and Hoover. This Hoover is definitely the best out of the bunch!

Pros:
- Extremely powerful for a cordless vacuum.
- One of the attachments has a brush roller, which really helps in picking up pet hair.
- Uses an interchangeable lithium ion battery, which is handy if you have the Hoover LINX floor vacuum, as you can just swap batteries between the two if one is low on a charge.
-Nice ergonomic handle.

Cons:
- A little on the heavy side.
- By far the most expensive hand vacuum I've ever bought (twice as much as the next most expensive one).
- Dust container is a little hard to get on and off.

Overall, I guess Hoover BH50030 one of those "you get what you pay for" products. I love it for cleaning stairs and upholstery. Its high cost is mainly due to the lithium ion battery. For those who are not familiar with this battery technology, it's the same kind of battery as found in cell phones. Advantages are that it packs a lot of juice and has no memory effect like the older NiCad batteries. It's expensive but so far worth it..

more vacuum, Hoover FH40010B , Hoover UH70120

I just purchased a Brother SE-400 computarized sewing and embroidery machine from Ken's Sewing and Vacuum Center via Amazon.com. It arrived within three days. So far, I am VERY pleased with this machine.
Loving embroidery, I decided to purchase the Brother SE-400, as it had all the features I wanted and it was within my price range. Prior to my purchase, I read all the web reviews I could find on the SE-350, as there are barely any reviews yet for the SE-400 (new on the market). Noteworthy is the fact that the SE-350 and the SE-400 are the exact same machines except for the additional computer connectivity that the SE-400 possesses. The SE-400 has a port for computer connectivity and comes with a USB cable which helps connect directly the sewing machine to your computer. This is an advantage over the SE-350 as this feature allows you to upload embroidery designs directly from the web(or your computer) to your machine, and update your machine's operational software from Brother whenever updates occur.

The Brother SE-400 is compact enough, comes with a handle at the top, which makes it truly portable. Even though it is relatively lightweight (compared to my good 40-year old "all metal" Kenmore), the SE-400 feels sturdy while sewing and it is a very easy machine to operate. The manuals that came with the machine are very well written and the diagrams easy to follow. It took me only a few minutes to figure out how this machine operates. I love the self threading feature of the machine, as well as the built-in thread cutter, bobbin sensors, and drop in lower bobbin.
I was also delighted to find out that the embroidery part of the machine has the following built in features: You can reflect an embroidery design; and rotate the design 1 degree, 10 degrees, or 90 degrees at a time.
I appreciated all the enclosed accessories that came with my SE-400. I wished though that it came with an additional large embroidery hoop too, besides the medium hoop. I guess I will have to buy a large hoop sooner or later, if I am to become more involved with machine embroidery.
The SE-400 is a good choice for a home sewer. I give it a 5-star.
One more note. If you are looking for a hard carrying case for this machine, I highly recommend the Brother 5300 universal hard carrying case. It is the perfect fit for it.

more -Weber 586002 , Breville BKC700XL , Weber 386002

I've been juicing, though not consistently, since 1968 and have owned a variety of centrifugal juicers, a Champion juicer, and most recently two Omega J8005 juicers. I gave one to a family member in college and then reordered myself a new Omega 8005. In the few weeks in between sending one to NYC and waiting for the arrival of my new Omega 8005 I used a Champion juicer. While the juice from the Champion tasted good the pulp was really wet. In addition the pulp constantly backs back up the chute and no matter how often you push it down the chute a fair amount of it comes back up. Then along comes the Omega. The pulp is significantly drier and the juice is really very rich tasting. My only real complaints about the Omega are as follows.

On the older Omega (only two years) the auger broke-got a big chip in it and I had to replace it. Also, they squeak like crazy as soon as you turn them on. And, the entire auger assembly kind of rotates leading you to believe it's going to snap off at some point. I called Omega this morning and they assured me that is a characteristic of Omega J8005 juicer and it will not break off. If you scour the net and read up on the Omega masticating juicers you will find nothing but glowing reports..

more Brother SE400 , Weber Genesis E-320 , Breville BKC700XL

I bought Hoover F8100900 about a year ago and was very impressed with how it worked! We carpet of light, and lots of it. This machine has just burned through the spots and left the belt nice and dry. My only real hang up at that time was that it took some practice to understand just rinsing. This unit has the potential to set took a lot of soap if you're not careful. He was also talking very little hair (3 cat with dark fur) and I have almost never had to clean a butcher.

However, almost one year to the day after I bought the little nozzle that the soap container connects to the camera broke. I took it to the shop and had it repaired. In a day of use though, other problems began to arise. The electric motor appears to be failing, and fire control containers are almost always burst for no apparent reason. The press foot petal became loose and the unit is less likely to stand (minor, but a little boring). The sensor that knows when the hose attachment is clicked on the unit (turning the brush) also began to fail ... . For the price I paid for it, I would have expected a more durable build.

Bottom line: When Hoover F8100900 works, it's fantastic, but the building itself is simply not designed to last very long..

more vacuum, Hoover H3044 , Hoover BH50015

If I could give ZERO STARS I would have Hoover UH60010. Opened the box that had secondary tape (opened once before, HEPA filter dirty too!). Started to take photos as I went. Attached handles with the provided, cheap screws that stripped immediately. Handle did not fit "tightly" which is were the power and propel switches are located Plugged it in and there was comlete SILENCE; no wind in this 27lb., $200, WindTunnel. Checked plug, outlets, fuse box - no problems. Checked all features and "doors" on unit, on/off switches, etc. each of which moved smoothly.

Removed handle and re-attached (tough to do with cheap, stripped screws. Still did not "seat" properly to unit. Plugged in again, turned switch to ON - Nothing.

As I wrote Hoover UH60010 review I went to "insert a product link" and lo and behold - the model vacuum I purchased is not there. So, the model number is Hoover UH60010 - run if you see it listed again as it's probably the one I returned.

I have saved two months to buy a good vacuum that would last - I no longer spell "quality" or "Vacuum" H.O.O.V.E.R. My dog produces a more reliable product and it weighs 26 pounds less.

25% ($50) restocking fee, $60 to ship oversized box - more than half of the purchase price. Never again will I purchase anything other than the occasional movie from Amazon - EVER.

more - Breville 800JEXL , Krups KM7000 , Margaritaville DM3000