Hoover Whirlwind Pets Upright - review & pics

[madabouthoovers]

Along with the Vax Zoom I bought today, I also brought back another Argos exclusive called the Hoover Whirlwind - Pet. This is more commonly known as the Hoover Smart - Pet.


Its aimed at the budget end of the market for those who cant afford anything in the premium range including Dyson, Miele and Sebo, and cost me £74.99.


The Smart Pets sells for £80 in Sainburys and Tesco recently had them on offer for £50 but they had all sold out when I went there to look.


 


I have many multi-cyclonic bagless vacs, and some dual cyclonic ones, but until now, only had the Bissell Cleanview  as an example of a single cyclonic upright, and I wanted to obtain a few budget single cyclonic designs of upright for the collection. Now I know that these type of vacs need more filter maintenance but as  a collector, I need to have examples of all types of filter methods for uprights, ie bagged, bagless multi-cyclonic, bagless dual cyclonic, and bagless single cyclonic.


 


The Hoover Whirlwind is a single cyclonic upright which has an internal pleated filter in the bin and a protective mesh shroud around it to stop larger fluff and debris clogging the filter too quickly. Many Vax models use this method but don't have the mesh shroud around the pleated filter.


This vacuum really is at the cheapest end of the upright market and after watching a video by Roger  (Ibaisaic) on the Smart Pets ( link below - a very good video as well, so thanks Roger - love all your vids), I was quite impressed and bought the Argos version of this vac.


Its very sturdy and for a budget vac its very easy to push along despite its 2100W powerful motor. Its fairly loud but no louder than the Dyson DC14, and the brushroll is very good with nice stiff bristles.


Made in PRC like all Hoover-Candy stuff these days, but I am still impressed with the quality of the plastics, and the action of the pedals is good and precise.


It has the power switch on the base as a pedal and the handle release pedal is on the opposite side. The hose is short and not a stretch hose either - only 1.5 metres so its ok for upholstery and that's about all. It has a turbo tool and a mediocre dusting brush, but the dusting brush is attached to the vac in a position between the cable wraps so it falls off easily.


The internal bin filter is the HEPA filter and it has a thin material post motor filter under the bin.


I'd give this vac 8/10 on performance, which would have been higher if the hose and cable were longer. I would rate 7/10 on quality, as its well built for a cheap vac but the dusting brush could be better,  and 6/10 on filtration as I can see that the main bin filter will require regular cleaning, and the post motor filter looks cheap and not very substantial, and nor is it sealed.


The overall rating I'd give this cleaner for the price its on sale for of £75, is 7/10, and as I'm very fussy where vacs are concerned, this is very respectable. Its not a bad China made budget vac from Hoover-Candy here, and yes - I'd recommend it as a good buy.

[this post was last edited: 8/9/2013-12:09]

 

[madabouthoovers]

Here it is compared to the Vax Zoom which I review in another thread ( see link below for the Vax Zoom ) :



http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?21855_15#bott

 

[hi-loswitch98]

This model is also known as a verison of Hoover 'Hurricane' too.

 

[madabouthoovers]

Yes, it is and it amazes me that various different versions and colours of it are available for a hugely varied price range with some models selling for nearly £150. They are all essentially the same platform.

 

[hi-loswitch98]

Something most people don't realise. Such as in Argos, there are 3 models based on your cleaner. Your is the middle range one, there's a basic version & a top version which is £10 more.

 

[madabouthoovers]

More Pics

Anyway, here's some more shots of the Whirlwind, showing the Hoover-Candy model in different poses.


The rear view, showing the cable wraps and dusting brush which is apt to keep dropping off, also note the air pressure relief valve just under the lower cable hook (by the plug) which opens and hisses loudly if the filter becomes too clogged or there is some other blockage:

 

[madabouthoovers]

Showing the famous Hoover roundel - though this should really read Hoover-Candy as the original Hoover company no longer exists, with the UK version being owned by Candy of Italy, and the US version owned by TTI, who also own Vax UK.

 

[madabouthoovers]

Here are the extension tube and long crevice tool, not bad quality either - just a shame the hose is so short

 

[madabouthoovers]

This is a shot of the Base of the cleaner - it has a nice brushroll with good stiff bristles and this really does raise the pile well, if a little noisily. Again, seems good quality and well put together - I'm impressed!

 

[madabouthoovers]

Here is the main filter - a basic canister pleated type that needs regular cleaning to remain efficient - and something that most owners of these type of filters neglect, then wonder why the vac wont pick up any more. It has a mesh shroud to help keep the larger fluff and hairs away from the filter's vanes, so that the filter only has to absorb the fine dust particles. Its a good idea to get this type of shrouded filter instead of the other type of vac like the Vax Power 3 which does not have a shroud, making cleaning the filter canister a real nightmare of a job. This filter is washable and Hoover say that it should be washed after 5 bin empties, although I think it should be washed after EVERY bin empty as they get dirty very quickly.


This type of filter setup is the most basic in the bagless range, and requires the most maintenance.

 

[madabouthoovers]

This is the exhaust filter in its housing - its a very thin material filter that can be washed, but the main HEPA filter on this vac is classified as the pre-motor filter cartridge shown in the previous pic.


 


All in all, I do like this vac, its nice and easy to push along despite being a 2100W motor and does a good job on carpets. Its negative points are 1. Cable is only 6 Metres  2. Hose is only 1.5 Metres and non stretch type, so not suitable for stairs  3. It requires very frequent pre-motor filter cleaning to remain effective.


For the price of £74.99, this is budget territory and vacs in this price range usually do require more filter maintenance, and have shorter cables and hoses - so if you can live with this then this is a very capable vacuum

 

[ralph123]

Just say no to bad vacuum designs...

Consumers should reject outright any bagless that isn't at least dual cyclone. Manufacturers need to quit peddling this junk. Single cyclone is far inferior to bagged. Either buy a bagged model or upgrade to something with at least dual cyclones. It is insulting for companies to make a product that requires you to scrape filth off of a filter to function properly. A cheap bagged model is more efficient and hygienic than these pleated filter models.

 

[madabouthoovers]

The problem we have in the UK now is that Bagged uprights are near enough extinct in the budget price range, there are very few available now. The better bagged models are usually made by Miele and Sebo, or Bosch/Siemens and many people cant afford to buy the cleaners and then the bags which can be expensive too.


Single cyclone are not my personal preference either and I only bought these as I wanted some examples of them for my collection.


These budget vacs are simply cheap throwaway models for most buyers, who buy them and use them till they clog up, then chuck them and buy another one. This is the same in the US as it is here in the UK. I have read about many people who throw out cheap bagless vacs using this filter method simply because they don't want to be bothered cleaning filters.


Single cyclonic is still popular because it is cheap, and as long as it still sells, then Hoover, Vax, Bissell etc will still make vacs that use it. If buyers of these vacs look after them properly, then they make bargain vacs.


 


Bagged budget vacs are still available but getting the bags for them is harder now, as the old fashioned vac repair shops have now largely closed down and getting bags is now an internet ordering and postal affair, which many people cant be bothered with, and many people still don't have internet access to be able to buy bags for the best price, and have to rely on phoning the manufacturer and paying through the nose for bags to be sent by post.


 


James Dyson when he launched the DC01 in 1993, changed the vacuum market for ever, and people think that because a vac is bagless it will be like a Dyson - but they would be wrong, as bagless vacs range from needing lots of maintenance to needing very little maintenance dependent on the filtration, and also dependent on price.


 


We have to accept that while many of us still prefer bagged - the buying general public are all screaming for bagless, and all this was because of Mr Dyson.

 

[ralph123]

Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with bagless being sold. I have a problem with single cyclone bagless - it's absolutely filthy. Dual cyclone should be the minimum acceptable bagless period. Consumers should not have to put up with cleaning pleated filters and screens.

TTI ought to provide a lifetime supply of dust masks to anyone who buys one of these.

 

[parwaz786]

Steve, if you love this then try the Argos Value Range bagless upright! (pet one has more power and suction) it lifts rhe carpet good, and I blocked the duction channels underneath on my ptolibe in ky display puc and WOW it lifts tge carpet better than any Dyson and you kniw me and my opinion of Dysons! Its loud but powerful

 

[beko1987]

I was going to say Argos value! Looks very similar too

 

[sebo_fan]

The Argos Value upright is the same as Vax Essentials upright.

The mesh filter over the HEPA filter cone idea was first used on Vax's Widetrack model - I had that and the whole thing was messy and a pain to clean. Then I bought a red Hoover Alyx - the original model that Adobe or Genie then went onto selling at ASDA. Then confusingly, Hoover bought out another new Alyx with a new body taken directly, again from Dirt Devil in the U.S, which by now had been supplied by TTI.

Its very confusing when Hoover Europe buy in vacuums from TTI given that Hoover Europe are owned by Candy.

 

[eurekaprince]

I guess Eureka lost the copyright to the brandname Whirlwind. The North American division of Electrolux sold many Eureka Whirlwind models over the past two decades. I even think the name was used for one of Eureka's very early uprights.

 

[sebo_fan]

Well, on the basis that our Hoover products aren't sold in the U.S with the exception of the Hoover Studio cylinder vac that even carries a different name, it isn't an issue because Eureka don't sell here. We have Electrolux instead and even that company used the name "Powerplus" on their cylinder vacuums that was previously used for the Hoover uprights based on the Senior...