Hoover WindTunnel Air Bagless Canister, SH40070

How does the Hoover WindTunnel SH40070 compare to the more expensive Dyson DC39? I have an opportunity to compare the two similar vacuum cleaners with the Hoover at less than half the price point of the Dyson.

Here’s the situation: We still have our working Dyson upright purchased nearly 10 years ago, so when we decided to replace it for home use (the upright can’t get through tiny walkways and such), we went with Dyson again. We bought a canister model, the Dyson DC39.

At half the price point, Amazon gave my wife and me the opportunity to own and review the Hoover SH40070.

Both vacuums are nearly identical in build quality, features, size, attachments, ease of assembly, and suction power. Both are better for hard-wood floors. Both require more effort for carpets in part because they’re both so light.

However, at half the price point of the Dyson, the Hoover appears (if its engine lasts) to be a better buy, not only because of the price but because it has a larger, more effective fabric attachment (we use it on our couch and it is far better than the Dyson’s smaller attachment).

Another huge advantage of the Hoover: Its telescopic handle works more easily and it glides and angles effortlessly. In short, the Hoover has better ergonomics.

To sum up, here’s what I like:

1. Fun and easy to use.
2. Great suction on hardwood floors.
3. Extension is long so I don’t hurt my back (I’m six fee tall)
4. Easy to remove main brush so if string or rubber band gets caught I can remove it myself
5. Bagless
6. Plug retracts with a push of the button
7. Attachments go under couch, bed, etc.

What’s It Not Ideal For

Area rugs and carpets. You have to work harder with a light canister whether it be Dyson or Hoover.

Conclusion

At a price point of about 40% of the Dyson and easier to use and more effective overall, I wish I had waited to get the Hoover.

Ordered this vacuum off of amazon to replace my old vacuum. I am quite happy with it having used it for about a week now. Our condo is a mix of laminate floors, medium-length carpet, and area rugs (about 2/3 laminate though). This vacuum does an excellent job on all of these surfaces – after using it for the first time, I had to empty the canister twice, and go over everything as it was picking up so much stuff our old vacuum has left behind. The amount of suction plus the spinning brush work very well on out carpets and area rugs (even the flimsy rubber backed ones we got from walmart – just need to put one foot on the mat when vacuuming these so they don’t move).

Other people have noted problems with the length of the cord. Our condo is 1300 sq feet and I can do the entire condo from 3 plugs. Not a big problem for me.

Some other reviewers thought it was too hard to push on carpet. Even with maximum suction on our medium length carpet, it requires fairly minimal effort. Maybe the equivalent of sliding a half-gallon of milk across a table? Hard to think of a better analogy.

The other thing I noticed people complaining about was that it didn’t work well on hardwood floors. I’m not using any special attachments, just the normal head without the carpet brush turned on, and I’ve had no problems. It will suck up pennies and dimes (but not quarters) off the laminate floor.

One downside is the telescoping handle. It takes too little effort to collapse it back down. The result of this is that simply pushing the vacuum forwards is generally enough force to collapse the handle all the way back down to it’s shortest setting.

The other problem I’ve had is with this vacuum overheating. When I’ve used it for longer than 10-15min straight on carpeted surfaces, the motor for the vacuum (but not the carpet brush) just stops, and you lose all suction. After you turn the vacuum off from this point, it won’t turn back on again for a few hours (until it’s cooled down). This is kind of annoying – I’m not sure if this is just my vacuum or something common to this model.

The problem seems to be that a large amount of heat generated from the motor for the vacuum is dissipated out of the bottom of the unit. Hence when using it on medium-length carpet, the carpet acts as a insulator preventing the heat from escaping, leading to the motor over-heating. This has happened twice now. It should have been designed with better heat venting, or at least to sit higher up off the ground to allow heat to escape easier out the bottom.

EDIT: realized what the problem was and as such changed review to 4/5. Vacuum was now overheating with even minimal use so I figured something must be plugging the tubing somewhere. I took it completely apart again… except this time I noticed that I could get into the very centre of the canister (you just twist one of the inside pieces off). Wrapped around the red filter piece was about a grapefruit-sized piece of my fiancee’s hair. Removing this lead to the vacuum operating with no problems. Morals of the story: 1) this vacuum sucks up two-foot long hair better than my old one, 2) If someone with long hair lives where you will be vacuuming, check and clean this inner red filter piece frequently to ensure optimal function.