Hoover WindTunnel Canister Vacuum, Electronic Bagless, S3765-040
by Hoover
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List Price: Our Price: $231.99 You Save: $118.00 (34%) Availability: Usually ships in 3-4 business days Buy Used: from $119.95 (click here) Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Hoover WindTunnel Canister Vacuum, Electronic Bagless, S3765-040
Customer Review: Reasonably good vacuum at a great price
Summary: 4 Stars
We bought this because it is the closest match we found to our previous vacuum which is no longer manufactured. In some ways it is better than my previous one, in some ways less good. Here is my review:
WAND--Adjusts to various lengths! At last, a wand that is the right length for me!
HANDLE--Has molded area on underside that chafes skin, and my hand slides off the end of it.
HARD FLOOR TOOL--Much better than it looks at first sight. It gets around and under almost anything.
CARPET FLOOR TOOL--Very powerful. Excellent for pile rugs/carpet. Will eat small and/or soft rugs even on low suction. Very large and heavy. The mechanism that holds the wand upright in this tool does not hold well--the slightest touch causes it to release.
HAND POWER TOOL--Fun! Handy for quick-cleaning rugs/carpet under furniture.
VARIABLE SUCTION--Very useful for different surfaces.
CANISTER--Small and maneuverable. Built-in tool caddy holds only 2 smallest tools (plus dust filter brush).
CONTROL BUTTONS--On Button is not labeled "on"! It is also the Suction Control button--and is marked as such, and there is a separate Off button. The Floor/Carpet control button is between the other two. Just plain stupid design. I am constantly pressing the wrong buttons.
DIRT CUP--Easy to empty. Tiny.
DUST FILTER--Papery material and has to be gently washed and air-dried. Impractical. I'll probably end up buying a second one to use while the other dries.
CREVICE TOOL--Half-length and half-useful.
DUSTING TOOL--It is not! It is a small hard surface tool with short rigid bristles, not a dusting tool with soft bristles. There is no dusting tool.
FOOT OPERATED RELEASE CATCHES--There are two and neither is sturdy enough to stand up to average use by average people.
Overall, a good vacuum. I don't expect to ever find a "perfect" vacuum.
Customer Review: A vacuum that makes you work for it
Summary: 1 Stars
I had an old Hoover upright for more than 20 years that required only a bag change every other cleaning or so and maybe a rubber belt about once a year, if that. This new one has more suction and makes less noise, but for a single cleaning of a small condo it required - not one (OK, fine), not two (a bit of a pain), not three (getting ridiculous), but four (totally unacceptable) - empties of the dirt cup. If you do it inside, expect a cloud of toxic dust that you get to breathe and which will settle out over your just vacuumed area. Every time I emptied it, I had to reach in pull out some debris or other from the cup and peel off a good bit of whatever stuck to the filter. In short, emptying the dirt cup is an inconvenient, dirty and thoroughly unpleasant task, but because the capacity of the cup is inadequate by a factor of at least four, you are forced to empty it over and over and over again. This is a fatal design flaw of the product. It's like having a car with a gas tank so small that you have to stop and fill it every 100 miles.
In addition to being a slave to the dirt cup, you can look forward to cleaning the filter. Mine got so dirty in the course of one cleaning that I assumed it needed to be done and tried it. They give you a tiny brush - cleaning it with that is another time consuming, dust spewing, labor intensive chore that you get to do for your cleaner in addition to your other cleaning chores. If you don't fancy brushing your filter, you can run it under cold water. I tried that. The water turns the dust into a paste and forces it deep into the crevices of the filter. It takes hours to dry and is still dirty. You can always buy a new one for about $7.00. Finally, at least once a year, you're supposed to clean yet another filter - the exhaust filter. Had I known all this, I would not have bought it. I want a cleaner that works for me more than I work for it.
Customer Review: Good eclipses the bad
Summary: 4 Stars
Bottom of Dirt Cup handle was broken when I received it. I looked in the box and found small pieces of plastic. Also, I could see a depression of the handle in the box and saw where the foam had deformed. I think the packaging works most of the time, but if you have a rough handler (I shipped ground) you could have the same problem. I noticed someone else had a review with same issue.
I called the local Hoover service location (Seattle) the next day and brought it in to show them. They gave me a semi-used Dirt Cup and Filter and are having a new cup shipped to me - all under warranty. To me that's good customer service!
I vacuumed the whole house with it because I was amazed how much "stuff" showed up in the Dirt Cup. I've never had a bagless before but this vacuum seems to do a much better job than our old Kenmore Progressive. It took up a little too much up from our wool carpet so we're going to keep the suction low and if need be use a different vacuum in that room.
The main 'power nozzle' agitator attachment doesn't hold a right angle when we pick it up so it's a little awkward to lift - just have to reach lower on the handle. Love the little 'crevice' agitator attachment for stairs. The roller moves using the air flow and has no motor.
Canister is a little bulkier than I had expected but the relatively high handle allows for easy pickup. Can't say that I'm as impressed on dirt floors, but it probably works as well as most. Attachment wand, hose etc. appear to have good connections. I mention this because we had two faulty connections (one covered in warranty) in our Kenmore wand which made us shy away from the newer model of the same make. My wife liked it better than her mothers $800 Miele.
Bottom-line: I think that for regularly carpeted house (e.g., no wool, burber) this could be an exellent vacuum and so far it's the best we've owned in 25 years.
Customer Review: What a dream machine!!
Summary: 3 Stars
I've been using the HOOVER WindTunnel Bagless Canister Cleaner with Powered Nozzle for a few weeks now and I have to say..... This is THE nicest vacuum I've EVER owned. Everything's easy to opperate since ALL the controls are right there on the handle (ie. off switch, power suction controll, and Carpet Brush on/off switch)! Not to mention it's THE most user friendly and quiet of vacuum's I've owned. In one press of a bottom you can go from easily vacuuming pet hair infested carpetting to vacuuming bare flooring in the SAME stroke! What's even cooler (I had to test it's limits just to see) is the built in edge groomer! I can vacuum up to 2inches from the wall or base board and it'll pick up all and any particals that aren't heavier than a marble (the closer the vacuum gets to the edge of the wall it'll deinfately pick up heavier objects than a marble)!! The powered hand tool is just the neatest thing you could come across, it removes pethair from uphostery that my other vacuums couldn't (at least not without harming to the material first). However; I for see a few set backs such as the bagless hepa canister needing to be capable of holding about 2x the current amount (which will come in handy if you have to vacuum more than 3 rooms at a time). Another issue is the powered nozzel could use a stronger hold for keeping the handle upright when not in use. Not to mention, after prolonged use I've noticed the handle controls seem to faulter so you may need to replace or have the handle matenanced. Other than that, I definately recommend this vacuum to anyone who wants an lowercost easy to use, compact most-in-one vacuum. Especially if they have more than one type of surface to vacuum and have a few furry critters hanging around their home. Although I love the two furballs at my house, up until now it has always a pain to clean their favorite areas on the rug or sofa.Customer Review: Great vacuum, minor glitches
Summary: 4 Stars
This is one great vacuum with a lot of power, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who wants a bagless vacuum that does not cost a fortune (like the Dyson ones).
Some feedback for the engineers at Hoover:
1. The hose is attached statically to the canister, i. e., if one rotates the the pipe/brush piece vertically while vacuuming, the hose will crunch up and not righten itself. This can become so bad the only way to fix this is to detach the hose to straighten it out manually. I have seen some German vacuums where the hose was attached to the canister so that it is able to actually rotate. You rotate the handle, the hose rotates, too.
2. This vacuum is constructed to use the power-brush as the standard cleaning implement. It is very heavy and bulky, which makes it quite a schlepping job to move it, and it certainly does not enable one to clean in corners or under furniture.
3. The power-brush and handle are constructed so that one can lock the handle upright within the brush as a stand (as in the product picture shown). That lock is not a very stable one, if there is only a little but of pull from the hose, the handle will fall down with a loud crash, obliterating any china or vases in its way.
4. The power cord sometimes does not fully retract.
Finally -and this is no remark about this particular product-, you should consider whether a bagless vacuum really is for you. I purchased it because I wanted to get rid having to hunt for the right bag, and also b/c I wanted to save some money. However, it is quite messy to empty the dirt container. There inevitably is a plume of dust (somewhat off-setting the fact that this vacuum filters up to the HEPA anti-allergen standard), and your hands will get dirty from the muck in it. I may actually go back to a bag vacuum the next time around.