gmerkt
New member
Probably not the worst ...
...because I haven't worked on an example of every vacuum cleaner made. However, I've got quite a bit of experience on Hoover products made within the last 20 or more years. So I will say the following is low on the list of Hoover quality. That is, a Model U5252-something or other "Breathe Easy." Not entirely sure, but this might've been Hoover's last gasp of using direct induction technology. Looks like Hoover was milking their last drop out of the Elite design, albiet with very many mods.
Obviously a lower-end machine that was pretending to be otherwise, fairly flimsy construction. But I must say that the job of a vacuum cleaner is to vacuum up dirt, and even if cheaply made they do that job, well, good on 'em. In the case of the Breathe Easy, it wasn't doing the job and no fault out of the ordinary could be found. The direct induction fan had selective channels, one for the agitator area and the other for the hose. There was a selector switch on the floor nozzle that allowed for switching to hose mode, which flipped a cover over the vacuum port in the nozzle. Bad fit, lots of leakage there, a bit where the bottom plate attached, and other places. Result, poor suction.
This was a machine that I took back a few years ago from one of my daughters. Her husband complained that their vacuum (the one under discussion) was not good, had no suction, etc. I took a refurbed vac over to them out of my inventory and took the Breathe Easy back. I quickly went over it, did a basic clean-out and decided it wasn't too bad and that I'd save it for the next time they were complaining. I was wrong.
Not long ago, my son-in-law complained again that his current vacuum lacked suction. My first thought was, "Oh no, here he goes again with imaginary problems." They went on vacation recently and we decided to go over and clean their house for them during the absence. We were over to take care of their cat, take the mail in, etc, anyway. In the course of this project (another story altogether), we used their Hoover Tempo bagless, which was also a dog. The son-in-law was right; it didn't have much suction. I pulled the filter out and dashed it against the fence many times. That didn't make much difference; it must've been full of imbedded small particles. Even after that, it had poor suction. The Hoover Tempo bagless isn't much of a machine either, as the filtration surface is small. The bagged Tempo is a much better machine; uses same Y bags as more expensive models.
Son-in-law claims I gave them the Tempo when I took the ailing Breathe Easy off of their hands, but I have no recollection of it. Anyway, it's a dog too, so this time, I left them with a Hoover Bagged Windtunnel SP that I just refurbed. I've got a bunch of these and they have terrific suction. Of course it's heavier but I don't think they ever vacuum upstairs anyway.
...because I haven't worked on an example of every vacuum cleaner made. However, I've got quite a bit of experience on Hoover products made within the last 20 or more years. So I will say the following is low on the list of Hoover quality. That is, a Model U5252-something or other "Breathe Easy." Not entirely sure, but this might've been Hoover's last gasp of using direct induction technology. Looks like Hoover was milking their last drop out of the Elite design, albiet with very many mods.
Obviously a lower-end machine that was pretending to be otherwise, fairly flimsy construction. But I must say that the job of a vacuum cleaner is to vacuum up dirt, and even if cheaply made they do that job, well, good on 'em. In the case of the Breathe Easy, it wasn't doing the job and no fault out of the ordinary could be found. The direct induction fan had selective channels, one for the agitator area and the other for the hose. There was a selector switch on the floor nozzle that allowed for switching to hose mode, which flipped a cover over the vacuum port in the nozzle. Bad fit, lots of leakage there, a bit where the bottom plate attached, and other places. Result, poor suction.
This was a machine that I took back a few years ago from one of my daughters. Her husband complained that their vacuum (the one under discussion) was not good, had no suction, etc. I took a refurbed vac over to them out of my inventory and took the Breathe Easy back. I quickly went over it, did a basic clean-out and decided it wasn't too bad and that I'd save it for the next time they were complaining. I was wrong.
Not long ago, my son-in-law complained again that his current vacuum lacked suction. My first thought was, "Oh no, here he goes again with imaginary problems." They went on vacation recently and we decided to go over and clean their house for them during the absence. We were over to take care of their cat, take the mail in, etc, anyway. In the course of this project (another story altogether), we used their Hoover Tempo bagless, which was also a dog. The son-in-law was right; it didn't have much suction. I pulled the filter out and dashed it against the fence many times. That didn't make much difference; it must've been full of imbedded small particles. Even after that, it had poor suction. The Hoover Tempo bagless isn't much of a machine either, as the filtration surface is small. The bagged Tempo is a much better machine; uses same Y bags as more expensive models.
Son-in-law claims I gave them the Tempo when I took the ailing Breathe Easy off of their hands, but I have no recollection of it. Anyway, it's a dog too, so this time, I left them with a Hoover Bagged Windtunnel SP that I just refurbed. I've got a bunch of these and they have terrific suction. Of course it's heavier but I don't think they ever vacuum upstairs anyway.
