( 49 reviews )
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Posted: Jul 28 2009
This is a pretty good vacuum with decent suction and the self propel makes it easy to use. My wife wont let me buy anything else ever again. But there are two things you should know about. The first is to never pick it up by the handle, but to use the recessed grab area just below the handle. Its intuitive to pick it up by the handle, but you'll damage the on/off switch if you do that and it wont work anymore. They tell you this in the directions and even put a sticker on it telling you not to do this, but I see my wife doing it all the time. The second is that you can expect to put a new self propel drive belt in about every six months if you use the vacuum frequently. The belt stretches and after about 6 months worth of use the self propel will either not work well or stop working altogether and you may get a yummy burnt rubber smell. Good news is the belts are only a couple of bucks for a package of two. Bad news is you have to take out four screws, wiggle off a panel and it can be a little challenging to get the old belt off the spindle and then work the new one on. Comparing the size of the six month old stretched belt with a new one, you'll see that the old one is considerably larger than the new one. You'd think they could use a belt thats a bit better made and would last longer, or use a different mechanism. I see an awful lot of bad reviews from people saying the self propel quit working and the unit smelled burnt, so it seems its a common issue. We've owned three of these and the latter two came with 3 year warranties, although if you bring it in for service with a bad belt you'll get charged for the service call. Bad belts are the owners responsibility. We still have two of them working but on one the wire that actuates the self propel forward and backward (you can see it once you lower the handle) is attached to a slim plastic part and that part broke off about 2 months out of warranty. So with about 5 minutes of belt replacement a few times a year and a little care around how you pick it up and move it, you can get a lot of life out of one of these, and the self propel really makes light work of the job. I only took one star off because I think Hoover could do a better job of designing it or making a heavier duty reinforced belt that would last at least a couple of years.
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Posted: Jun 28 2009
I bought this vacuum more than two years ago at a dicount at Big Lots--under $100.00. I wondered if there might be something wrong with the model but decided to take a chance since vacuuming is very hard on my back and we just moved to a house with lots of carpeting. After the small bit of assembley at first try the self propel did not work. I took the handle apart to investigate and believe I found some sort of switch that wasn't on or plugged in or something... put it back together and walla!!...worked like a charm. The self propel belt burned out after about a year and it was tough but I managed to replace it myself after ordering the correct size on line...seemed like it wouldn't stretch that far but I did get it on and have had no more trouble with that. The roller brush also snapped but that was easy to fix. The suction tube gets clogged from time to time when I try to tackle something that really needs a shop vac but I have to say it really does a great job on our dirt and pet hair and though I have had to tinker with it from time to time for the price I paid I am happy with it because it does such a great job and I can vacuum the whole house without a sweat and without breaking my back. I'm a woman but my dad taught me long ago not to be afraid to roll up my sleeves and get a little dirty... most things can be fixed simply and last twice as long.
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Posted: Apr 8 2009
I've had this sweeper less than a year and this morning it totally died after emitting a burning motor smell. It will not turn on. This is the end of a long line of problems with this sweeper. It weighs too much and is top heavy, always tipping over. The hose developed a tear at the junction and has had a series of duct tape repairs for months. The on/off switch broke when it was only a few months old and I've been forced to plug/unplug since then to use it. Very annoying. (I did take the handle apart and 'fix' the switch a few times but it didn't last. I'm no engineer but it looks like a ridiculous design in there - basically like a light switch that toggles off and on as the outer switch is moved up and down. The plastic 'finger' doing the toggling just wears out.) I've had a series of Hoover self propelled vacuums and the quality of this one was noticably poorer than that of its ancestors. The only positive thing I can say is it had good suction. I'm going to try a different brand this time around. And Hoover, if you're listening...stop the slide into cheap crap. Too many companies wrongly think that's the route to survival these days.
