Hoover WindTunnel Canister Vacuum, Electronic Bagless, S3765-040
by Hoover
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Hoover WindTunnel Canister Vacuum, Electronic Bagless, S3765-040
Customer Review: Edited - After two years down from 5 stars to 1 star!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I had to change my review. I wish I could drop 4 of the 5 stars off!!
I'm not one to write many reviews unless a product is outstandingly good or bad. This one falls into the bad category.
My previous vac was a Rainbow water-basin system. Being an electronics geek it wasn't too difficult after TEN years of running the Rainbow vac to replace the points and service the motor myself. My wife and I sold it to a very happy customer. We then purchased this Hoover windtunnel bagless HEPA canister vacuum. Let's explore this further.
"Windtunnel" - Yes, this vacuum really sucks. I mean that in a good sense. It's no Rainbow vac but it really does pull in the dust and dirt that others (my 12-amp Bissell) missed.
"Bagless" - Okay so there's no "bag" but there is a $16 filter cup that must be replaced equally as often as a few bags working out to being equal to the cost of one filter cup. But they say it's washable! Well, technically speaking it is. Does it work well after that or last as long until the next washing? NO! In our 1800sq/ft house and three little kids with carpet and hardwood floors we go through four filter cups a year - another $64 + shipping in filter cups.
"Canister" - a plastic bin that isn't treated to counter static making dumping the bin a messy dusty job.
"HEPA" - Sure it has a costly round HEPA filter on the exhaust port which gets quite hot. No, these aren't washable. If you know anything about HEPA filtering you know these aren't to be washed. Go ahead and try but you'll either clog it or severely hamper it's filtering capability.
Not quite two years later the vac has died. I've never had a vacuum die after just two years of use. What ever happened to those vacuums that ran for decades? My mother-in-law has a Kenmore vacuum that is from 1978. Put in a cheap bag, vacuum, empty cheap bag, buy another cheap bag. Changing the bag is no more messy than dumping the canister on this Hoover.
$200 for a vac every two years? Hardly a good deal. Support from Hoover? Not worth even the time it took to write this review. I only gave it the stars I did because, while it was working, it worked well. Even when it worked though it was not a good value considering the costly filter cups you had to buy every four months.
Pro = performance
Cons = costly filters, messy dust/dirt canister, poor build and reliability
Customer Review: BEST VALUE EVER - far better than the Dyson I returned to get this one
Summary: 5 Stars
I am no domestic diva! In fact, I suck at all this domestic stuff, so for me to love a vacuum is just the craziest thing!
Originally I wanted a Dyson and finally got one, but was not impressed by one thing - the brush was not belt-driven, so it was really not rotating well consistently - it was air-powered (at that time - about 2006). Not sure if they changed that. I certianly let them know how disappointing that was to me - a deal-breaker, in fact. I returned it after giving it a fair shot for about two weeks, but that darn brush was just not powerful. Every claim they made seemed valid though, so I could understand someone liking that vacuum if the power brush is not a great concern for them. For me, it was a high priority.
This is the first canister vacuum I've ever had and I will NEVER get an upright again. After 20 years using uprights, I had no idea that it was possible to clean all the way under my bed! And getting around table legs and tight spaces - dreamy! :) Years later, I am still so thrilled with my Hoover, I can't give it a high enough rating. Now, to be fair, I've had only ONE problem with it - the hose got clogged this week (new dog sheds like CRAZY). Hubby disassembled the whole darn hose, handle and all and had to take it to a vac repair guy to put it back together. (I'm challenged with that new dog and a hubby who doesn't know his mechanical limitations, AND I STILL love this thing!)
I have this model saved in my Amazon account because I truly never want to buy a different vacuum. When hubby told me he thought he had ruined my vacuum, I was heart-broken, thinking it might not be available anymore.
PROS - BEST PART is that powerful power brush! Next best thing - awesome extendable handle! Really - I didn't know I would ever vacuum without bending over. I'm tall for a woman and I love that I can stand straight up while vacuuming. My 9-year old daughter is short in comparison, and she loves making the handle as short as possible to help out mom once in a while. She NEVER would have been able to use our old upright! Lightweight - Convenient large carrying handle for use on three levels in our home - Super suction - Long cord - DURABLE!
CONS - never going to want to buy another vacuum again in life. Might have to buy a second one now just to be sure I can replace mine with the same thing later when needed.
TRULY WONDERFUL!
Customer Review: A Super Sucker with ony minor drawbacks
Summary: 5 Stars
I have never done a review of an item before but but I spent so much time researching this vacuum cleaner purchase that I decided to. The other reviews were very helpful so I wanted to give something back. Please understand this review covers the machines ergonomics and functional aspects. Since the machine is new in our home I can not address how well the vacuum will perform after extended periods. First let me say that this purchase came after a lot of research. I compared most brands on the market and and narrowed the field to the hoover and the Dyson. After a trip to the local store I ruled out the Dyson due to its cumbersome design, high price and the series of steps necessary to use the wand and accessories. What a pain!. In addition the beater brush area is very high on Dyson the and would be very difficult to get under furniture and cabinets. Now that said, let it be know that my wife if a vacaholic. The vacuum runs every day in this house. For the last several years we have used a $400 Panasonic machine and we thought it was doing a good job. We were wrong! A first cleaning with this new hoover has returned several cups of dust and dirt from EACH room!!. Really!.This hoover finds dirt that the Panasonic didn't know existed!. The beater bar is very aggressive it will actually pull the head along if you don't restrain it. At this point I think I will just list the pros and cons as that is easier for the reader. The Pros far out weigh the cons on this machine and I think with a few simple changes hover will have the ultimate machine in this line. We are very pleased.
Pros:
-Incredible suction and very aggressive beater bar.
-Excellent design with a all the controls at your fingers.
-Easy and quick access to wand and tools.
-Automatic cord recoil
-hand held suction powered beater brush
-No bags
-Ease of use
-Nice flexible hose
-convinient handle for carry.
-easy to empty dust bin
-Nice looking machine
-Good value for the price.
Cons:
-Not all the tools store on the unit.
-No electronic dirt sensor.
-brush and wand attachments are small are poorly designed.
-Brush has very short stiff bristle that not serve well on blinds, ceiling fans. etc
-The cord is bit stiff and doesn't seem to match the quality of the rest of the vacuum.
-Dust bin has to be emptied some what frequently.
Customer Review: Best of the Best!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've owned about 5 vacuums before this model.. from the cheapies to the ultra-expensive, this one beat them all. Unlike most reviews that are for products people have tried once or twice, I've owned this vacuum for 3 years now and it's just as amazing as the first time I used it. I'm even thinking about getting a second and storing it for fear that one day I'll be without it and will have to settle with another inferior model. The things I loved about it... the convenience, the POWER, the overall design, the quietness compared to any other brand or model, and even the "looks".
The Convenience was obvious from the beginning.. one canister to empty simply enough without ever using a bag or spending a dime on accessories, the seperate Hand-Unit that actually Extends a long distance to get completely under all beds, including KingSize beds. It's very lightweight, and agile enough to take anywhere where other vacuums are too bulky or tough to manuever.. this one has them beat.
The Power.. surprised me to no end.. the amount of dust and hair and grime you collect was simply stunning. But the Biggest surprise was the Hand-unit's Power.. (Word of advice) when you activate the hand unit, HANG ONTO IT! It's so powerful it was actually Pullng me into rooms like an SUV on Nitro.
The quietness.. for those of us that are the observers in a household and go nuts at the scream of vacuums that make the cackles on the back of your neck stand up, I was stunned at how quiet (with POWER) this vacuum had. I could honestly talk at a normal voice or even a soft tone and someone standing next to me would be able to hear what I said. It's so UNannoying, it's heaven.
The only downside I have to the vacuum is not much of a beef, and doesn't really effect everyone, but if you vacuum up kitty-litter, (as some owners have to deal with) eventually the filter will clump up after about 5 or 6 months.. thankfully it's cleanable and doesn't need a replacement every time, but of course you have to scrape out each individual rim of the filter and that can take some patience, as well of course you have to set it aside overnight to dry before reinstalling or any dirt will cake back into a wet filter.. other then that, you couldn't ASK for a better vacuum.. I'll never switch to another brand or model because this was simply the best of the best.
Customer Review: Vacuums good - but awkward to use
Summary: 4 Stars
This was my first cannister vac after many years of uprights...I chose a cannister this time because we have a lot of hardwood floors and I wanted something that would clean everything (carpets, upholstery, stairs, curtains, wood floors) without having to continually pull out hoses etc. I was disappointed...although it makes an excellent job of cleaning, I find it very awkward and bulky to use. It won't just pull over it's own cord - you have to bend down and lift it, and it doesn't glide well over my carpets - you have to lug it around. The brush head is bulky and heavy and I can't control it very well, so it bangs into my furniture legs. The cord isn't long enough to allow it to do all the way up the stairs, and it's very heavy to carry in one hand while you vacuum the stairs. The brush head & pole fall down very easily while it is standing - smashing into my furniture and breaking glasses & china. The tools are advertised as being 'on board' but the tool I use the most - the powered hand tool - does not store anywhere (I solved this problem by sewing a fabric bag that attaches to the handle to carry the tool). It could just be that I'm not used to handling a cannister - but I've had this thing now for several months, and it's not getting any easier to use. Consequently it only comes out once every couple of weeks for deep cleaning, and I do my daily vacuuming with my wonderful Dirt Devil Dynamite.
It's probably a great vacuum if you are used to cannisters...
Update - Sept 2006. Well, it wasn't long before this vacuum got relegated to 'upstairs use only' (I only vacuum upstairs 2-3 times a week, as opposed to daily vacuuming downstairs). I bought a Dyson for downstairs - I owned a Dyson many years ago when I lived in England and loved it - but was put off by the high price when they finally came out in the USA. Several months ago I finally took the plunge and bought one (and I'm very happy with it!). Unfortunately, I still hated using the Hoover so much that most of the time I just took the Dyson upstairs anyway. I still think that most of my problems are because I can't get used to using a cannister vacuum, so don't let my review put you off if a cannister is what you want - this machine really does a great job of vacuuming, it's just that I personally find it really awkward to use.