Welcome to Home Appliance Review! This is a review for the Kenmore Elite CSV Max Cordless Stick Vacuum.
Kenmore Elite CSV Max overview
The Kenmore’s airflow was measured at 31 CFM, and its suction was measured at 72 inches of water lift. These are both below average results for cordless vacuums in general, though they are above average results for a budget-priced cordless vacuum. Like most other budget-priced vacuums, the Kenmore’s suction also dropped significantly over time because its pre-motor filter clogs easily with fine debris.
This is well demonstrated in our flour clog test, in which a large quantity of flour deposits on the Kenmore’s pre-motor filter.
Compare this result to that of a more expensive vacuum that uses multiple cyclones to filter out fine debris. With this Dyson, the flour drops back down into the vacuum’s bin instead of depositing on its pre-filter. Overall, these results indicate that the Kenmore vacuum will lose suction much quicker and require much more filter maintenance than more expensive multi-cyclonic competitors like this Dyson.
Carpet and Hard Floor Performance
In our carpet stress test, the Kenmore does well, though it does slightly push forward some large debris. In our hard floor stress test, this vacuum again only had slight trouble with large debris on hard surfaces.
Some large debris can get trapped under the front side of its cleaner head. You can see it more clearly from this angle; notice how it pulls back a few Cheerios that get trapped under the front of its cleaner head. Overall, though, the Kenmore performs well picking up surface-level debris on carpet and hard floors.
Deep Clean and Crevice Tests
In our carpet deep clean test, the Kenmore picked up only 57% of debris after being pushed back and forth three times over an area of carpet embedded with fine debris. This again is a below average result for cordless vacuums in general but an above average result for a budget-priced cordless vacuum.
Another component of our hard floor testing is our crevice test. Here, the Kenmore left most debris in the crevice even after over 20 passes over the surface. This is a below average result compared to top-rated vacuums but an average result for a budget-priced vacuum.
Battery Life and Performance
The Kenmore Elite CSV Max Cordless Stick Vacuum offers a poor combination of battery life and performance. It was tested to run for only 9 minutes on high, and even on high, it doesn’t have much power with poor deep cleaning performance. Top-rated vacuums give you much better battery life and better performance. Most budget-priced competitors have more battery life but even less power on high.
Debris Containment
Debris containment is a notable point of strength for the Kenmore. It is the only budget-priced cordless vacuum we tested that passed our debris containment test. We didn’t observe any fog leaking or exhausting out of the vacuum during this test. The same cannot be said for any other budget-priced competitor.
Long Hair Pickup and Ease of Use
In our long hair pickup tests, the Kenmore tangled with 5% of 8-inch long hair and 70% of 14-inch long hair. This makes it more resistant to hair tangling than most other budget-priced cordless vacuums we tested. When it comes to ease of use, the Kenmore is fairly lightweight.
It’s comfortable to hold in the hand, and its cleaner head is easy to maneuver around furniture. The Kenmore powers on with a single trigger pull, and you don’t have to keep the trigger pulled to keep the vacuum powered on. The Kenmore bin was measured to have a maximum measured capacity of 650 milliliters. This is an above average size compared to all other cordless vacuums we’ve tested.
Pros and Cons
Summarizing the pros and cons for Elite CSV Max Cordless Stick Vacuum, the biggest positive for the Kenmore is that it’s the only cordless vacuum at its price point that we’ve tested that properly seals in fine debris. All other budget-grade competitors, vacuums like the Eureka Rapid Clean Pro, Inay, Orfeld vacuums, and the Tineco A10, failed the same test. The Kenmore also picks up most surface-level debris on carpet and hard floors very well. It also tangles much less easily with long hair than most budget-grade competitors. It’s lightweight and has an above average size dust bin.
The biggest negative for this vacuum is the fact that it failed our flour clog test. Results here indicate that the Kenmore will quickly lose suction as its filter clogs up with fine debris. Its filter will also need to be cleaned and replaced frequently according to the results of this test. Another negative is the vacuum’s low battery life.
Our general Recommendations
Moving on to general recommendations, the truth is that you really need to spend at least a few hundred dollars to get a cordless vacuum that passes both of our most important tests: our flour clog test and our debris containment test. At budget prices, you have to concede failure in at least one of these tests. The Eureka Rapid Clean Pro is the only budget vacuum that passed our flour clog test, but it failed our debris containment test.
The Kenmore Elite CSV Max is the only budget vacuum that passed our debris containment test, but it failed our flour clog test. The Eureka does have better battery life than the Kenmore, but the Kenmore is a better deep cleaner, tangles far less easily with longer hair, and comes equipped with a much larger dust bin. Overall, we give the nod to the Kenmore as the best budget-grade cordless vacuum we’ve tested because it wins more tested categories and we think debris containment is more important than not clogging with fine debris.
Thank you for reading our Kenmore Elite CSV Max Review !
