Riccar Vacuums

You will not usually find a Riccar on a big-box shelf. The Missouri brand, which describes itself as part of a 70-year-old family company and shares its corporate footer with Tacony, sells through independent vacuum dealers, and even orders placed on riccar.com are fulfilled by one of them. That matters for service: the dealer who sells the machine is normally the one who fixes it and stocks its bags and belts.

The two uprights listed here sit far apart in Riccar's range. The SupraLite Entry R10E ($400) is the stripped-down one: 8 pounds, a wood brushroll, a 30-foot cord, a headlight, a paper bag and a 1-year warranty, with no hose or onboard tools. The Clean Air Premium Pet R27P ($800) is a full-size machine with HEPA media filtration Riccar rates at 99.97 percent at 0.3 microns, a self-sealing bag, two brushroll speeds, an edge-cleaning nozzle, a 35-foot cord, onboard tools on a hose and wand that reach 15 feet, and a 5-year warranty. Its dust sensor lights the headlights amber over dirty patches and turns them off once the area is clean.

Owners of the SupraLite Entry describe it as light with surprising carpet pickup and report service lives of 8 to 10 years or more with basic upkeep. They are just as clear about the limits: floors only, no brushroll shutoff for delicate bare floors, and a direct-air fan that coins and small stones can chip. The R27P has little owner feedback yet. Before choosing the Entry, decide whether a 1-year warranty and no tools suit a home that has stairs or a lot of hard flooring, and compare it with the higher SupraLite Standard and Premium trims Riccar also sells before settling on the cheapest.