Mondo Mania (Electrolux Mondo 1 1150E)

Member Name: Nar2

Product:	Electrolux Mondo 1 1150E
Date:	05/05/07 (388 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great suction, basic frills does what is says on the label. Easy to maintain.

Disadvantages: No auto cord rewind, no longer on sale, most have had an abused life.

This Mondo vacuum by Electrolux appears to have been a hit and miss product amongst reviewers on Dooyoo, but I’ve owned and used my Aunt’s model since 1992 when she bought it brand new from Comet for £49-99.

This model in particular still exists but with an auto cord rewind function in the U.S under the brand name “Eureka,” as well as Electrolux’s commercial brand. It is however no longer on sale on the high street unless private electrical shops sell these basic machines reconditioned.

Originally, the Mondo came in at least 5 versions, the basic 1150 E Silencio /1151 E model which this review relies on featuring very little and made do without an auto cord rewind, longer power cord and a higher motor.


** Nar’s Quick Skip Product Spec **

• Tool Hoister Clips to Main hose
• Upholstery tool & Crevice tool supplied
• 1300 watts fixed power
• 5 metre power cord
• Metal aluminium pipes
• 2 way floor head
• 2 park positions located on the body of the cleaner
• 3 litre capacity dirt bag
• Multi filtration (4 levels)
• Bag indicator
• Cord cable tidy
• Quiet motor
• Lightweight at just 4kg.


** Why Buy/Search? **

One of the aspects to consider why this product still deserves recognition is simply because of the performance it gives and the fact that it is very easy to maintain – a factor which until now not a single reviewer has managed to point out.

The Mondo range seems to outlast the longevity of other rivals not just because bags and filters are made to mass production but because they also fit other Electrolux and AEG models at the same time.


** Quality of General Fittings **

The first important aspect I noticed with this machine is the fact that it has been built with one of the thickest plastics compared to other machines I have used. Even when I bought a Boss cylinder cleaner the plastic is much thinner than on my Mondo machine. So for the last year when I stopped using it, it still shows scuffs and scrapes that the machine has withstood for the time we used it – roughly since 1995 to 2000 when my Aunt passed it onto me!

But it’s the underside of this machine (which is completely coloured in blue whilst the bin lid and door opening mechanism is coloured in yellow) which has the better plastic. This thicker plastic for example has managed to withstand scrapes, particularly from being dragged across a cement floor in the garage. In the home, the machine is soft on carpet textures and sits for most of the time stable on the three wheels – two at the back and a rotational 360° smaller castor wheel that sits on a raised mount which pivots the cleaner at a slight angle. There is nothing outwardly modern about this machine, it is after all one of the most basic machines that carries the “Mondo” badging but in some cases the quality of the plastic is better than other plastics used on the machine elsewhere.

Two metal friction fit extension pipes come with the machine as standard but they are not of the same design applied to the ones on my Boss B4111 machine. Here they are similar to Hoover’s basic design tubes whereby no inner rubber sleeves have been applied – but unlike most cheap metal tubes supplied by Hoover, the ones supplied by Electrolux are easy to secure together and to remove.

The floor head is of a 2 way pedal push design; press down to push down the brushes for hard flooring and push the pedal upwards to retract the brushes for normal flooring. The floor head glides well thanks to additional wheels which have been added to the design.

So what you have here is a basic cylinder vacuum cleaner which has been designed well and has good tubing.


** Changing or Fitting A New Paper Bag & Filtration Levels **


The Mondo 1 has a very simple procedure of installing a bag. There is no plastic hinge and no additional grate to fuss about with. Open the bag up, find the wings on either side of the bag collar and fit down onto single blue lugs either side of the machine bin. Once the bag is fitted, the lid can then be closed over and locked down.

As such the paper bags that come with this machine (and the ones that need to be bought thereafter) often come with a flap to seal the dirt in, but by far the most impressive aspect is that you just open up the bag and literally drop it in, so that the corresponding holes on the bag just meet the connection pips and then you just close the lid.

Additionally bags for this cleaner are very cheap to buy ranging from £1-99 and upwards for a pack of 5 bags from Electrolux. The capacity of these bags volume is 3 litres.


** Filtration Levels **


The basic 1150 model has a 3 stage filter fitted as standard for the exhaust filter. This is located at the base of the machine where the cord storage hole sits, but it isn’t always plain sailing in removing the cover and putting it back. I have found that once you undo the filter cover, which thankfully is easy to remove thanks to its push in and pull out nature and design, the cover reveals a long rectangular felt which has been pleated in several layers to catch the odour and fine sprays of dust back into the room. The filter thankfully has been shaped so that you know what side it fits on top of. Putting the cover back on should be easy but sometimes if you don’t push the cover on properly it will flip off once you start the machine again! The manual suggests changing the filter 3 or 4 times a year depending on usage and they are not washable. Using aftermarket universal filters are better in this instance as they can be washed.

The Motor Protection filter – a 2 stage material filter - is easier to actually lift up. Like all cylinder machines that have these types of filter, this ensures that if a dirt bag gets burst the filter will catch all the dirt and doesn’t stand much chance of entering the motor. The difference with the exhaust filter on the Mondo is that it has been designed to sit directly under the bag and not against the motor which is sealed. In this way, it means that the filter sponge can be picked out and washed. So many owners I know who own this machine never clean the filter and they wonder why the suction is reduced as a result. Filter replacements are currently available and cost £3-99 for a set – however it cheaper just to wash them and allow them to air dry or toss into a tumble dryer on a low setting.


** General Performance **

By far one of the better advantages of this machine is the motor noise. I have to say that it is a lot quieter than other cylinder machines I have used in the past. Although there is no variable suction available on this machine, the suction is always strong but it’s the motor noise which is quiet. No wonder this machine has extra badging on its main name title – “Silencio” as this does show its claim to be true.

However when this cleaner was used in the home, I found that the 1150 model had a bad tendency to topple over and the blame could be partly be due to the design of the main hose. The hose for example sits at the top half of the bin and it is supposed to rotate easily in a 360° principle. Sometimes it doesn’t and this means that the machine will topple over as if in protest to what you want it to do. Other Mondo models seem to suffer a similar fate; when I last lived away from home for example my flat mate owned a higher featured model, the all blue 1400 watt Mondo 1175 model which also tumbled over on its side and top whenever the machine was pulled roughly or when that hose fixing wouldn’t turn. In short this is a bad design fault.

Suction is always strong however even when the bag is starting to get full. In the five years I have used this cleaner; it has never once had a blockage that has reduced the suction completely. There's even the obligatory but standard air inlet valve located at the handle which reduces suction when you pull this across but this didn't seem to deter the suction that this cleaner had. What is even worse on the early model which I have is that there is no bag indicator to know when the bag is full! And, you have guessed it – higher models in the range have a bag indicator whereas this model doesn’t.


** Annoyances **

Here are my main gripes:

The lack of an Auto Cord Rewind: As there is a space for the cord, this means that you can end up stuffing and cramming the cord into the side rather than winding it up over your hands and trying to get the cord neatly into the side where it belongs. Unfortunately this also means that when you store the cylinder on its side, the cord can often fall out.

Mondo models 1160 and upwards had a pedal press auto cord rewind feature but not on this most basic version in the Mondo range.

The mains cord is limited at a maximum of 5 metres. This is ideal if you have a small flat with small rooms and lots of power sockets but hopeless if you have a larger house and many stairs to clean with the nearest power socket “miles” away.

Poor filtration levels: I find in time that the cleaner does emit a dank smell rather than clean air. Certainly if it was fitted with a HEPA or S-Class type filter, then the air that gets sucked into the machine would be cleaner going back into the room. Filters, especially the exhaust filter get quite dirty very quickly early on, so if you don’t like smells I wouldn’t consider buying this machine as it becomes very stale early on even when the paper bag isn’t full and needing to be replaced.


** Additional Tools **

The Tool Hoister: I don’t like the obvious fact that in the ENTIRE Mondo range there is no internal tool storage available on the machine. Instead, you have the tool hoister which may look like a good idea at the time but in use it doesn’t quite work. The hoister slides onto the top of the first extension pipe between the hose handle and the pipe and you can clip the crevice and upholstery brush to this hoister. Much as they don’t come off when the cleaner is idle, the hose sometimes brushes past and knocks the tools off! Once it sits there permanently you can adjust it on the extension pipes itself for the best access but it would have been better just to have spaces on the machine itself where the tools can be fitted and never fall off.

As a result we never tended to use the smaller tools and resorted to using just the handle and hose whenever we needed to clean small and difficult areas to clean.


** Basic Features But Little Else **

Other models such as the 1175 & 1176 models had a variable suction control dial that allows you to increase or decrease suction depending on cleaning task.


Storing the machine can of course be a bind, particularly when that power cord falls out of its cable storage well. The hoister has a space where you can actually clip the hose to which is a novel idea as it means you can compact the hose and the pipes together to create the smallest space possible. So many cylinder cleaners these days sport park positions but when it comes to storing them, these park positions take up so much room wherever the machine is stored. At least here, in the Lux’s defence, it does have park positions, but alternatively you can park the hose as well as the pipes, thus minimising any space taken up by the machine and its hose.


** The Manual **

It’s a 12 page booklet with some good black and white diagrams but aside from the cable storage well located on the 1150 basic model, no other inclusion has been made as to the features of the 1150 model. Other models have been included and in general it’s a booklet designed to cover the entire range but barely mentions the basic model at all.


** Conclusion **

Yes it topples over and yes it doesn’t have an auto cord rewind. But it has better quality plastics, a quieter motor than most and lots of suction. Filters and bags are always available and even reduced priced copy bags are just as good as well as using the same 3 litre dirt capacity.

Sadly although it is no longer in production (Electrolux ceased production in 2002) or on sale brand new here in the UK, the little basic Mondo 1150 E is still working every day and does its job with little fuss. The key to its ownership value is to maintain its filters, bags and treat it with a little respect now and then. Even the most basic of features on a cylinder vacuum cleaner can make sense. Thanks for reading. ©Nar2 2007.


** Consumable Costs – Average pricing **


The Mondo 1150 E model (and models 1160, 1170, 1175 & 1176) use paper bag code E49n at £5-99 and filter pack code EF44 price usually £4-99 and upwards.

Later Mondo models (Z5105, 5106, 5115, 5116) use E44 type bags which cost around £5-99 for 5. Supplies are generally available online or from outlets in high streets such as Currys, Comet, Scottish Power (where applicable) and Powerhouse.

Electrolux
Luton
Bedfordshire
LU4 9RJ

Helpline: 0845 626580

Summary: One of the best kept secrets in the budget cylinder vacuum cleaner market.

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