What Does Anyone Think Of The Hoover Turbopower 2?

[jmurray01]

I saw this thread on my mobile phone and was absolutely fuming that I couldn't put my Tuppence worth in! But now I can.

As you may know, I own two Turbopowers - A 1994 Turbopower 1000 U2812 and a 1999 Turbopower 2 U2016, both of which I love dearly. Which do I prefer ? Now that's like asking a father to choose his favourite child - Ain't going to happen.

Where do I start ?

The new Turbopower range was quite possibly the best model HOOVER ever made.

Lets think, before the Turbopower, we had the original Turbopower which was a dirty fan which meant great carpet cleaning, but as for using the hose (either fitted via a converter or on the Total systems, permanently fitted) the suction was absolutely awful.

And of course, as Benny rightly said, they weren't the most durable of machines.

The new Turbopower range (initially the Turbopower 2 Autosense [short lived - replaced by the 1000], Turbopower 2 [basic] and Turbopower 1000 [with Autosense]) was revolutionary.

It had the brilliant activator brush roll which was known to be quite possibly the best yet, the carpet cleaning was poorer than the original, granted, but still damn good and what's more, the hose suction was immense!

Plus it was a very attractive cleaner and had the practicality of large dust bags with the option of "Use Twice" bags or in later years, Permabag.

Skipping forward in time briefly, the Purepower (the Turbopower's successor, a word which I use VERY loosely...) is widely known for its poor build quality, above all, its shoddy upright mechanism which allows the cleaner to lean further and further back with every use, until it eventually collapses and requires replacement.

The Turbopower 1000, 2, 3 ranges did not have this problem AT ALL, or at least not in my experiences.

Neither my Turbopower 1000 or Turbopower 2 have the slightest flicker of leaning.

Another problem with Vacuum Cleaners of the Turbopower's time was poor handle quality, well, low and behold the new Turbopower range didn't have that problem either.

So lets add this all up, great suction, great looks, great build quality, easy and inexpensive maintenance, impressive longevity...

Hmm, not too bad...

 

[turbo500]

"The new Turbopower range was quite possibly the best model HOOVER ever made"

There is so much wrong with this statement, I don't know where to begin.

"The new Turbopower range (initially the Turbopower 2 Autosense [short lived - replaced by the 1000], Turbopower 2 [basic] and Turbopower 1000 [with Autosense]) was revolutionary"

Hardly. Hoover were all behind the times. By the time the Turbopower 2 was launched in 1992, Electrolux, Panasonic and (to a lesser extent) Hitachi had been making high performing, clean air machines with strong hose suction and (in the case of Panasonic and Lux) on-board tools.

Don't get me wrong, I do like the Turbopower 2 very much, but by no means do I agree that it was the best Hoover upright made.

 

[jmurray01]

For all round performance, I would say it was the best.

It was the first HOOVER to have the mixture of good hose suction and good carpet cleaning, everything else had been one or the other.

I'm not saying other manufacturers hadn't made cleaners as good/better, but in terms of HOOVERs, I believe it was the best.

 

[jmurray01]

Oh I see what you were getting at! I meant revolutionary for HOOVER, not generally speaking.

I should have worded it better.

 

[alexhoovers94]

Well....


The only thing that was actually revolutionary on the Turbopower 2 (in my opinion) was the "Autosense device"
Call me biased but I would have a Turbopower 2 over any of the clean airs on the market at the time, they were the easiest to use and clean really well for what they were in my opinion.

I wouldn't not say it is the best Hoover upright ever made, the best Hoover upright ever made would have to be the turbomaster; I would have to suggest.

 

[turbo500]

Hi Jamie - ah, ok, I'm with you now.

Hoover's first clean air upright was the Convertible/Dial A Matic from the 1970's, which IMO out-performs a Turbo 2 hands down.

"Call me biased but I would have a Turbopower 2 over any of the clean airs on the market at the time"

Sorry Alex, I disagree. Although good, I'd sooner use a Panasonic 50 series cleaner. They were cheaper, had better suction power and groom the carpet pile better - the activator was never designed to go in a clean air machine. They also have the added feature of beater bar controls, cord rewind and a headlight.

 

[jmurray01]

The truly best HOOVER upright was the Senior/Ranger in my opinion for the carpet cleaning abilities, but I'll still be saying in twenty years time that the best all rounder for daily cleaning is the Turbopower 2!

Can't beat the Autosense feature either, it gives you the power you need, when you need it

 

[turbo500]

I'm with Alex, you can't beat a Turbomaster.

I much prefer using the more basic T2's without Autosense. Although an interesting feature, I always found the autosense to be more annoying and not very accurate

 

[jmurray01]

"Hoover's first clean air upright was the Convertible/Dial A Matic from the 1970's, which IMO out-performs a Turbo 2 hands down." Yep, I know, but it doesn't have the great hose suction of the Turbopower 2 which makes it a brilliant cleaner for daily use.

 

[turbomaster1984]

Wow Jamie you have used a DAM?

What colourway?

 

[jmurray01]

"I much prefer using the more basic T2's without Autosense. Although an interesting feature, I always found the autosense to be more annoying and not very accurate" I understand what you mean, but in my opinion the Turbopowers without Autosense were very loud, or at least mine is.

With the Autosense feature when you're not picking up much dirt the wattage is dropped to the minimum meaning it not only saves energy (which I'm not too bothered about) but makes it very quiet too and makes the activator more effective due to it spinning slower.

 

[jmurray01]

"Wow Jamie you have used a DAM?

What colourway?" Was that sarcasm or a genuine question ?

Since I don't know I'll answer - No I haven't, but from what I've heard the hose suction wasn't as good as the Turbopower 2. Another thing the Convertible lacked was onboard tool storage.

 

[turbo500]

"With the Autosense feature when you're not picking up much dirt the wattage is dropped to the minimum meaning it not only saves energy (which I'm not too bothered about) but makes it very quiet too and makes the activator more effective due to it spinning slower."

The problem with Autosense, is that it only senses larger particles that actually make a sound when they go up the vacuum. What about pet hair or dust? I want that removed from my carpet just as effectively as the sand, grit and crumbs.

Also, if it's energy saving you're worried about, get a TP1 at 410w

 

[turbomaster1984]

Was not sarcastic at all just wondered where your experience to comment about the suction came from.

 

[jmurray01]

I just said I wasn't worried about it

Anyway, I have my Ranger for efficient vacuuming. All 400 Watts! Blows any modern "Eco Friendly" vacuums out of the water, eh ?

 

[vintagerepairer]

Jmurray, I must correct you on one point, which is that you said the Turbopower 2 Autosense was replaced by the Turbopower 1000 Autosense. This is not so. I don't have the brochures to confirm what I am about to tell you so bear with me as my memory really isn't what it could be. I know for sure that the TP2 and TP1000 went on sale together, so we're alright there. As I remember it, there were two cleaners in the TP1000 range and both of them were duplicated in the TP2 range, the only difference being that the TP2 motor ran at 800watts and the TP1000 at 1000watts.

If I may be allowed to quote myself from another message, Hoover were the market leaders in doing things for the sake of it. I think that is what I said and if it isn't, it is at least what I mean. Such was the similarity of the TP2 and TP1000 cleaners, one could almost imagine a scenario where two Hoover designers fell out with each other over whether the cleaner should have an 800watt motor or a 1000watt motor, and to settle the matter a higher authority rolled his or her eyes, banged their heads together, and told them to make one of each and stop moaning about it. I joke, yet I can think of no other reason for the two ranges, though I have to stop and remind myself that in the UK Hoover led its self to it's slow & painful death over those airmiles, and you can't find reason in anyone who did the likes of that.

One thing I would like to suggest is that the TP1000 may have been intended to be Hoovers flagship model, as this was the cleaner which featured in the television commercials at that point in time. For me the TP2, TP1000, and TP3 were far superior to a lot of the competition, especially the Electrolux Contour ranges.

 

[turbo500]

just wondered where your experience to comment about the suc

there's a lot of that floating around these parts. I actually thought the Convertible/DAM had quite strong hose suction - enough to effectively remove dust, dirt and pet hair from ones crevices anyway .

Speaking of which, Jamie, have you used a TP1 either with or without the hose at all?

 

[jmurray01]

Thanks for clearing that up Benny.

I thought what I said about the Turbopower 2 and Turbopower 1000 regarding Autosense was correct going from memories of what I read in my Turbopower Information thread, but my memory must be missing a beat again... Wouldn't be the first time!

 

[jmurray01]

"enough to effectively remove dust, dirt and pet hair from ones crevices anyway ." MY crevices are very clean, thank you very much...

Ha ha, I needed a laugh tonight, thanks for providing it

 

[turbo500]

MY crevices are very clean, thank you very much...

That's not what I heard Mr. Murray