Why James Is Easier Than Henry (Numatic James JVP180)

Member Name: Nar2

Product:	Numatic James JVP180
Date:	03/10/08 (429 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lightweight, reasonably compact, great motor/suction, uses Henry parts & spares, efficient

Disadvantages: Hard to find; can be pricey when it's the basic version of Henry. No tool storer. Customer services.

It's a sad, sad day when a vacuum cleaner like our old canister Vax decides to break down on its parts and body. Mind you for a 14 year old machine, it hasn't half done a great job; from washing carpets to hard floors, clearing blocked drains, general garden dust to normal dry vacuuming, its days for latter dry dirt pick up are now over thanks to a broken lower bin and a couple of missing castors. It can however still be used for washing carpets but for a more practical solution the cost of new parts means an excess of around £50. Thus for that price I can either buy a cheap vacuum cleaner with a large dust bag capacity, built to a budget or consider something more qualitable second hand on EBay.


And it was through the choosing that I discovered that EBay sellers in general will happily charge full whack (£90 starter) for a new Numatic Henry never mind an old Vax canister on its spares list. Used in commercial cleaning areas, the first time I encountered the Numatic range of Henry models was in London when I was a student and secured a part time job vacuuming offices at ungodly hours in the morning.


So when the opportunity arose to buy a Numatic James JVP180 on EBay, I was beside myself. No bids were needed since the seller was selling the actual vacuum at £60 including postage and packaging and at its used conditioned which showed a model exempt of bumps, dirt and a reasonably great condition, it would appear that I stumbled upon a particularly good bargain and example. Brand new a Numatic James costs around £80 to £119.00 online and are difficult to find on the high street because preference comes down to the more useable Henry model, which is similarly priced.


When bought brand new you'll find the same accessories and attachments that Henry offers; the only differences are with the machines themselves; James comes with a low noise 1100 watt motor against Henry's 1200 watt motor and doesn't feature the same Hi/Low suction switch either. Against Henry, the James model comes with painted aluminium tubes, which I find are actually lighter to lift and generally use against Henry's more robust stainless steel tubes. Over the two types, fitting both type pipes are very easy as well as being able to be taken off freely simply by grabbing and twisting the tubes to unlock. Over other types of friction fit tubes such as Hoover types, the tubes here can be taken on and off easily without resorting to putting the tube into a vice and trying to prise it apart; those with reconditioned Hoover tubes would appreciate this immediately! A tool kit also comes with James and mirrors the same small brushed crevice tool (round), short crevice tool, a T shaped upholstery tool with a snap on brush that has a set of very long bristles apt for contouring and vacuuming cushions or bed linen. The only downside to James is that he doesn't come with a manual cord re-winder and the long 10 metre cord can either be left as a clump on top or wound around the machine if you like your machines to be tidy! Another consideration for James is that unlike Henry, he has a replaceable cord that can be done by anyone; the previous model had a replaceable cord that had a knack for slipping out in use so Numatic have improved the James model in having a replaceable cord but only removable if you undo two large cross head screws and a bolt lock. So for those that privately rent to tenants, a James model makes a lot of sense if you need a basic cylinder vacuum cleaner with a large dirt capacity and parts that can be replaced should they get broken.


Performance wise James is just as eye widening as Henry; in all applications I find I have to loosen the air outlet / volume selector at the top of the curved handle to let out air from the machine. Suction is extremely strong otherwise, impossible to push the 2 way universal floor head across carpet whilst the large 14" floor head can get in the way of smaller furniture legs with the advantage that the floor head will always remain flat to the surface. On hard flooring and the brushes put down, James is a breeze to use also helped along by his squat shape, 5.2kg weight (compared to Henry's 6.6kg) and large wheels at the back and two pairs of smaller castor wheels at the front. Unlike Henry, James doesn't topple over when pulled roughly which is another surprising but welcome finding. However as both machines use the suction only principle (unless you buy the Henry Hound that comes with a pet hair main turbo floor head) thread pick up can deteriorate later on when the 9 litre dust bag becomes progressively fuller and it is annoying if you need a large bagged / dust capacity vacuum cleaner that fails to pick up hair the first time. You can use however any 32mm turbo brush that can be bought off EBay or if you have one lying around from a past machine; it can be fitted latterly to the hose or the tubes which is why the use of its tool adaptor is so handy.


Thanks to the thick PVC construction bumping off corners doesn't prove any problem for James and following the last breakage of plastic on the old Vax revealing half of its sealed motor to my eye, James is built with thicker plastic that feels and looks like it can go the distance; certainly in my own experience, all Numatic machines have thicker plastics to cope with their commercial origins and James is no exception here; in fact his top doesn't sustain scrapes because he has a recess against Henry's shiny bowler top where scrapes and scratches are regularly found!


Naturally being the playful brunt of the pack, there are a few downsides to the James model. For a start the filtration system is branded Microtex, which is a basic washable filter basket, which has to be lifted out before getting to the bag; it is the same as the filter you will find in Henry though. Already in use James still has that new vacuum cleaner odour emerging from his filter but against the thicker and more preferred HEPA system that keeps back obvious odours, Numatic's washable cloth filter can keep back most odour even though it suffers on pet hair odour that has been left in paper bags for a long period of time. Fitting a bag should be easy on all Numatic models but I have to admit that I don't like putting the bags on; they are tough thanks to the thick rubber membrane seal that keeps all the suction in but impossible to put on thanks to the dirt channel feeder where the bag is supposed to slip on. It's just as well Numatic engineer their 9 litre dust bags with extra tough cardboard collars because you may well have to fight with the cardboard to put the ruddy bag on! With relief once the bag is on, it's well and truly on! Sebo bags are just so much easier when you simply drop, align and close the door over. Sadly on James and Henry models you need patience and a prayer, especially if you have longer nails!


Another weakness is the storage of the smaller cleaning tools; although Numatic go to the easy solution of suggesting that the tools or tins or polish or dusters can be put on top of James' head, the crevice tool just won't snap fit into any space given on top of his head. And neither do the tools fit onto the rubber insert at the top of the hose unless you use an adaptor tool which you wont get on second hand models. I bought an adaptor tool at £4 online from EBay which allows the tools be used with a simple short plastic tube that fits onto the rubber end of the top of the hose before the tools can be used. Whilst the brushed tools will fit on the surface of James' recessed head and seldom fall out, the crevice tool will fit into the space but sit over the lip meaning the slightest jolt can knock the tool out. Numatic should change this design so that the tools can fit in properly; Henry in this instance has points where his tools can slide on behind his roller cord winder next to the main controls at the back.


The last part of any Numatic ownership comes with the simple fact that the tubes can be reversed over however Numatic could provide a more suitable handle support for hands rather than rely on the old fashioned bent metal which can be slippy because it has no grips set into it. Whilst the hose on the James is shorter (1.5 metres compared to the larger 2 metre hose) and in some areas may be welcomed because it prevents excess hose from wiggling side to side wildly whilst in use, the tubes are identical to Henry models and can be reversed over with the bent handle part acting as a neck angled to get into corners. Now this is a good idea, but what isn't is the lack of an actual grip on the rubber part that inserts between the hose and the three part metal tubes; I've been using Numatic models for years now and its shocking that Numatic just haven't bothered thinking about putting a more curved logical hand grip on the rubber insert or making it longer for a hand to grip onto.


For a more compact and basic approach, James is a good all rounder in terms of a vacuum cleaner that uses one of the largest dust capacities on the market. Thanks to his lower 1100-watt motor the paper bags installed don't tear because of the force of air unlike Henry models that have the 1200 watt basic motor. And being made by Numatic means that James can use Henry bags and tools as well as 32mm diameter fittings for other brand tools such as turbo brushes and small cleaning tools available online if you can't afford the more expensive Henry Hound model. On average I find that most Henry/James paper bags can last up to six months depending on use and a cost of £5-99 to £7-99 for a pack of 8 to 10 from numerous sellers, not just EBay (Hoovermania are perfect for example) are good prices to consider. However there's a shop around the corner from me who sell double filtration copy bags at a cost of £2-99 for 8 and frankly it does pay to shop around! He's not only fun or generally lightweight to use - James makes other canister type machines look decidedly old fashioned - where else could you see a smile looking up at you when you clean other than on a Numatic model? Thanks for reading. ©Nar2 2008

www.numatic.co.uk

UPDATE MARCH 2009

What a shocker! Numatic's UK website where the head office is located doesn't have any links for user manuals, no email facility link or any shop for consumables. You can always trust the fact that other European brands such as Miele and Sebo offer such things, but not Numatic - ridiculous and reverts to the usual British way of doing things including a 4 day open period Monday to Thursday and a "half day" on Friday where their customer services are concerned.

Summary: Henry's brother is worth considering for a good all round basic easy to fix vacuum cleaner.

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