Hoover Windtunnel 2

[hvrvaclvr]

Howdy! I haven't posted on here in forever, but I still lurk! But I just had to post this. Today I got a NIB Hoover Windtunnel 2 Extra Reach, for only $45! The serial number dates it to May 2006. How can a vacuum that is so terrible be amazing at the same time? I know these are likely one of the reasons that Maytag had to sell off Hoover. It's super heavy and bulky, yet flimsy at the same time, make that make sense. It has mediocre suction, yet it's a beast at cleaning. I vacuumed my bedroom, and these pictures are what it pulled out of my bedroom carpet. I vacuumed it yesterday with a Hoover Hushtone, and few days before that with the Dyson Gen5. It's literally only me that lives here, and my only pets are snakes.

Yet the wintunnel pulled out a bunch of fluff and hair, and what you can see in the pictures, a sand-like material. I can only assume that the sandy stuff is Dyson Zorb powder that has been left in my carpet since I used it in June of last year. This carpet gets vacuumed once a week, and it doesn't get much traffic, being in my bedroom, since using the Zorb, and moving in for that matter, with Dyson's, Miele, Sebo, other Hoovers, and Sharks. I'm amazed that it pulled this much stuff out of the carpet that has been missed by the other vacuums, and even my carpet scrubber.

Leave it to Hoover for making a terrible yet still somehow good product. Now, this is going to be retired to the vacuum room as a collection piece only because I don't trust it to hold up to being used more than a few times, given how old/fragile it is.

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[blackheart]

Hmm

You got quite a deal on it. While I don't have much love for those machines they are interesting. Congrats.

 

[huskyvacs]

Nice find! That's a rare one. I think someone here has one in green, I forgot who it was but it was a few years back.

 

[niclonnic]

HVRVACLVR

What a nice find! This is indeed a rare model. There aren't very many videos on this particular machine. Even so, it shares its name with the more modern TTI Hoovers, making it even harder to find videos of the Maytag WT2 models. I've never owned one myself, though. So I've found it to be a pretty fascinating piece of Hoover history!

HSN did a presentation of the WindTunnel 2 Complete (lime green) model back in 2007. In addition, there was also a bagged version of this vacuum; the feature set was nearly identical to its bagless cousin, save for a retractable cord and the utilization of self-sealing "W2" bags.



It's a good thing you're relegating this vacuum to being a collection piece, as I found out about a major flaw with it: the "self-cleaning HEPA filter." In the past, I have taken a look at reviews on Amazon, and customers stated that this claim is simply not true. Apparently, the filter clogged very quickly and had to be cleaned off manually; so much for "self-cleaning!" This isn't just their opinions; one YouTuber was displeased with his WT2 Extra Reach (identical to yours) because he had to manually clean the filter every so often using a flathead screwdriver. At the time of this video's publishing, it was the 3rd time he'd had to clean it himself in less than a year.

 

[amtraksebo1997]

Nice Find!

I've been wanting one of the bagged models ever since I saw Performance Review's video on one where he tried (and failed) to repair it. I'd also relegate it to being a collector's piece, as I have with my Dual V and Lift Off 3554, though I'd still like to be able to take them for occasional drives.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

I have a green one.

They're very powerful, especially on wool carpets.  Whenever I'd use it, there was alot of wool picked up. Not the 1st cleaner I'd save in a fire, but, a very 'aggressive ' machine.

 

[amtraksebo1997]

gottahaveahoover

In that case, it sounds like it's too aggressive lol

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Yes.

And, most of the rugs in my house are wool Chinese rugs.


 

 

[dysonman1]

The electronics in the Windtunnel II were terrible. I gave away a brand new one, used only once, where the electronics failed and the filter failed to turn. I don't know if Ryan ever did anything with it.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Yes, Nick,

 It's very aggressive. But, it does work very well. I've never had any problems with it, ever. It once belonged to Joe Kassock. He didn't like it. I DO like that red color, too.

 

[huskyvacs]

Oooh wow yeah wool area rugs are very touchy with vacuums. No vacuums with nylon bristles. I learned the hard way and accidentally ruined one of my wool rugs with the vacuum. I was like "ooh wow look at all this dirt"...didn't realize at the time it was little tiny fibers being burned off from the brushroll spinning through them!

I use a vintage Electrolux Silverado now with the chrome power nozzle. It has softer brushes that are easier on the fibers. I also use a metal tonged carpet rake to fluff the fibers up more and gently beat them with the rake and then vacuum again to get deeper dirt. Little bit more effort, but it's been working well. After a good shampoo it brought most of the fibers back up, but you can tell it's a bit "thinned" in spots.

I find many wool rugs at thrift stores horribly filthy. Not crazy about wool but when I have a use for one and like the pattern I'll get one. They were a big thing in 2008-2010