1997 Hoover Purepower Autosense 1400S U3141

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Benny - I do miss the gadgets on modern vacs - especially the lights and gizmos, but times move on I suppose and we can still get the Sebo X4 range which is bagged with all the lights and features. Whilst I do like bagless vacs - I will always prefer the good old bagged vacs of the 70's 80's and 90's, as these were the vacs I grew up with. They bring back memories.


 


Oh and we mustn't forget the flagship Miele S7510 and S7580 models - these really are feature heavy bagged vacs!
 
features

Yes, they can be rather charming, although the likes of Electrolux were always rather keen to play safe and have just one or two useful features, with a focus on quality. Hoover were the ones who like the toys! Then again, once upon a time a bag-full lamp was as good as it got. And seeing how the original Hoover Turbopower cleaners were something of a flagship range, I found it most odd that they all came without such a feature to begin with, more so when you think that the likes of Goblin and Moulinex even had managed this.
 
The bag full light was a very useful thing - so many people would carry on using a hard bag vac when full and not realise it was not picking up - the light draws ones attention to the problem very well and more easily than the piston type indicator.


If the light was on, there was a blockage - simple. That's one feature that they should have on more bagless vacs as although one can see the level of dirt in the bin, you don't always realise there is a blocked filter or hose, and many people are tone deaf to the change in motor noise when the motor is fighting a blockage.


No Purepowers nowadays feature a bag full light, although they do have pressure relief valves on the back of the bag housing.
 
Have to admit I'm a fan of the early PurePowers ( not the crap Hoover call PurePower today)

I have the first gen Green Autosence back home in storage in OZ, they where such a better built quality back then.

Picked up this limited model U3250 made entirely in Translucent Blue on ebay the other week for 99p. It came off the assembly line in Between April 27th and May 3rd 1998

I have two of these now the other one has 90th Anniversary Edition marked on the door back instead of the PurePower Light.

Cheers
Mark

ozhoover++12-2-2013-00-56-45.jpg
 
Purepower by another name

Is this one of yours, Alex (I too am looking at the carpet)? This is what replaced the permabag Purepower cleaners, when the Hoover Vortex went on sale.

Actually, this is is the second attempt at such a cleaner. The first was 1200 watts and had the original letting. Both models were supplemented by a version of the Alpina, which too had the same permabag. What was interesting was that although both Alpina models had the hose port in the same place, the original model had an elbowed hose end to facilitate 360 degree cleaning, where as it's replacement featured a straight connecter. None of these cleaners were ever refereed to by Hoover as 'Purepower' or 'Alpina', but this is essentially what they were.

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If anyone has not seen this yet, here is a very brief video I made showing the Autosense working before I set to work cleaning it.



I wonder why the cleaner delays for a second or two before turning on after pressing the on switch, odd, although Ryan's (U5096 on YouTube) one does that also.

 
I presume the delay is due to the way the circuitbaord is programmed, as the motor speed will be controlled electronically by the autosense device, and it may need a short time to prime the circuitry?


 


I notice Agro-s has released a new Purepower, but its called the Enigma, and its even higher wattage at 2200W! - and its £199.99!!


 


I presume that with the other "new" models they are going to be in the new catalogue next month, then marked down "save 50%". They are all out of stock which is nothing surprising.



http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1427307.htm
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I do have to give Candy credit at keeping the now very dated Purepower design, modern, I mean look how old my Purepower Autosense looks and then look at that new Argos one, I mean it looks very modern in comparison, although, I know which one I would pick!
 
Ty for bringing "new" line to attention

Lordy, Hoover have wasted no time in tarting up old machines in a new paint job. Still doesn't make a machine "new" though in my eyes. The Purepower you have Alex probably has a bag indicator light which this model, like so many Purepower's before it still has a blanking plastic plate over where the original use to be.

And the name "Enigma" does nothing positive for the Purepower. Makes me think of the name, "Enema."

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it told the user whether the carpet was clean

In theory, it did. But in practice, the autosense was just a nifty marketing gimmick. For starters, the autosense was operated by a microphone located at the opening into the bag housing, so there was a slight delay in the autosense picking up the sound of the grit, by which time the user had likely moved on anyway.

Secondly, it did not increase motor power for debris that did not make a sound, such as dust or pet hair which arguably need more power than surface crumbs.

Using the autosense, what one ended up with was a carpet that was cleaner in some areas than it was in others - rather like a dust based patchwork quilt. Also, because the cleaner ran in low power 80% of the time (unless the user over-rided this with the boost button), it meant that the base model TP2 was actually a higher peforming cleaner than the TOL Autosense which made the TOL models a waste of money.

My godmothers parents (who lived opposite my godparents) bought a TP1000 to replace a Turbopower U2194, but they always complained that it was rubbish unless you left it on boost all the time. Using the boost feature on constant caused it to burn the motor out after a few years and it was replaced with a DC01. I'm sure the same could be said about many other Autosense cleaners too.
 
Well, precisely, Alex - one has to leave a lasting impression on one's neighbours, dear. Mrs. Barker-Frinch at number 32 will be green with envy at your Turbopower 1000 against her Turbopower Freedom ;).

But, of course, the point being that whilst the autosense feature is a funky feature and the cleaners are certainly worth collecting, for your average consumer it provided no real advantage over the base model and was infact lower performing in day to day use.
 
was infact lower performing in day to day use.

However the user was instructed to out the cleaner is "boost" for hose use and the Autosense boost button provided more suction power than the standard versions, I believe that the boost setting ran at a higher RPM than the standard models so it would of given you more suction for the tools on an Autosense model.


where the Purepower is concerned it doesn't make a huge amount of difference where "sticking to the carpet" is concerned between the medium and low setting.
 
Alex, I am afraid you are incorrect about the power of the motor on boost; as Turbo500 says, the boost setting offered power equivalent to that of the standard model. Use the cleaner in autosense mode and you are alternating between two settings, neither of which was as powerful as the standard cleaner. The standard cleaner should really have been as powerful as the lowest setting on the autosense cleaners, thereby truly raising the power when grit was present and even more so when the boost button was pressed.
 
Well, I have a standard 800 watt Turbopower 2 and an Autosense 800 watt motor and the Autosense model on boost sound higher pitch than the standard version when it is in boost.
 
Sorry, forgive me, I stand corrected, I just compared the standard and Autosense Turbopower 2 800 watt and they sound the same with the Autosense in boost.


 


 
 
Another advantage of the autosense was that it saved energy, running the TP1000 at about 800w on low, 900W on medium and 1000W on boost.


On the older 800W model, the economy mode would likely have used 600W, with the medium at 700W and boost at 800W.


 


I will agree that Autosense was a very funky feature, and more appealing to male buyers than female ones I suspect without appearing sexist. A woman just wants a vac to switch on, suck up and switch off again. Its younger men that want the gadgets lol - Alex?
 
Well you can't blame Hoover - every other brand were doing LED lights on something and BMW car brand had preset LED lights on their dashboard. It was all "the rage" to have a rainbow of colours on a slider or a push button system that showed lights.
 
God they aint very quick at delivery are they? Cant wait to see the Purepower Autosense roar into life on your landing carpet lol
 
Indeed, well, it was free so I guess I shouldn't complain.
The chassis and the undercarriagw set me back £26 £2 less than I paid for the whole vac!
 
Its crazy the price they charge for spares - no wonder so many people just throw a vac away for want of a simple part - a part which the likes of espares will charge through the nose for. (unless its a TP2 brushroll, then you've got no hope!)
 
Well I might persuade my Brother to buy it because he loves me.

I never realised how hard it is to replace the belt on a Hoover Purepower though.
 
How hard it is to replace a Purepower belt? You only have to pull a knob off and undo 2 screws, and then you can pull the brush out to replace the belt. That's an easy one. Try replacing the belts on a clutched DC07/DC14, and I mean both of them where you have to dismantle the clutch to get the clutch to brush belt off.
 

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