Customer Reviews

Hoover U8130-900 WindTunnel VS Bagless Upright Vacuum, Red

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

After spending (money) for a vacuum, I expected all my past vacuum woes to be history. I was disappointed after bringing this vacuum home. The hoover replaces my '96 Eureka 7 amp bagged vacuum that did fine for my apartment and smaller house, but I wanted something that was more powerful & trapped more dirt/pollen, etc. I started looking at the windtunnels, but decided not to go with them when I read review after review about the belts breaking too often. In comes the beltless V2 to the rescue. Add the fact that it has 2 brushes & 2 intakes, and I was sold. After 2 months of owning this vacuum, here is my verdict:

The good:

* Good job overall. The nap on my carpet is a lot better after vacuuming with the v2 than after vacuuming with my old vacuum. But that's to be expected.
* Headlight helps find dirt you might have missed.
* Stretch hose saves space on the unit & is convenient to use.
* Longer power cord than most vacuums.
* Switch to turn off the beater brush. I have alot of hard floors, and this a big help. All vacuums should do this.
* Soft wheels. I don't have to worry about it scratching my wood floors.
* Dust cup is easy to empty, and the HEPA filter is easy to clean by giving it a few twists while still in the cup.

The bad:

* Will not pick up my cat's hair. White cat hair + dark blue carpet = lots of noticable cat hair on the floor. The v2 pushes most of the hair instead of picking it up, even at the highest height! I need to "pop a wheelie" over the hair & pull the vacuum towards me to pick up most of the hair. Very frustrating. Luckily my cat stays in one room, or else I would have returned the vacuum the first day.
* Won't pick up cat litter. I use Arm & Hammer clumping cat litter. When I push the vacuum over the carpet with any cat litter on the floor, the brushes shoot the litter in different directions before the suction can pick it up. What I don't go through for my cat.
* It marks the walls! A cardinal sin in the vacuum industry. Hoover should know better than to make a vacuum that's edges mark the moulding around the floor. Why, hoover, why?
* Hair gets tangled in brushes more easily than other vacuums. Maybe because it has two brushes, maybe because it's more powerful, or maybe because my wife is losing a lot more hair lately, but I've had to pull tangled hair off the brushes at least 6 times in the two months since I've had the vacuum. And if I don't pull it off soon enough while it's running, the room becomes rich with the aroma of burnt hair.
* Dust cup could be bigger.
* Had to replace the headlight bulb after 2 weeks. Maybe I bumped it too hard. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on that one :)

Overall, I enjoy using the vacuum. I don't think it's worth the price Hoover is charging, and I suspect it may drop soon. If I hadn't already had to take a Dirt Devil back to the store I may have taken this one back to. Sometimes I just wind up settling for things. I think this is one of those times.

We have gone through one cheap vacuum after another. Our latest vacuum (a Bissel Cleanview Bagless 12 amp) clogged repeatedly. We have three dogs, one cat, a woman with very long hair, and three children. My husband gave me the Windtunnel V2 for Christmas.

The first time that I used the V2, I was amazed at not only how much dog hair and debris it picked up but the large amount of fine dust trapped in the HEPA filter. The old vacuum had been missing the dust. My carpet lightened immediately. The vacuum *is* slightly hard to push, but I need the workout anyway. It was nothing I couldn't handle. My 11-year-old is able to use the vacuum without too much difficulty; my six-year-old (who really wanted to because he thought it looked cool) cannot. Upstairs, we keep our old Bissel. One day we misplaced the cup and carried the Hoover upstairs. It picked up tons of dirt the Bissel had been missing.

Some positives:

*Noticeable difference in carpet after one use.
*The crevice tool does a great job along the moulding; powerful suction.
*Has never clogged despite vacuuming up copious amounts of pet hair.
*Love being able to turn the brushes off to do my tile/wood floors.
*Front edge is very 'flat' and the handle leans back far enough to allow me to get under furniture better (like China hutch).
*Attractive. Love the fluorescent green bristles.
*Collection cup is easy to remove, empty and put back.
*The hose stays put when not using attachments. The attachment end of the hose on my Bissel popped off all the time.
*The holders for the tools are well-designed so everything stays put.

A few negatives:

*The hose is way too short (but you can buy a longer one).
*On/off switch seems 'cheap' for such a nice vacuum. The fit between the handle and top part of the vacuum is not as tightly sealed as one expects in a well-made product.
*While emptying the HEPA filter is easy, lots of dust ends up back in the air, resulting in a few sneezes from this allergic vacuumer.
*A bit loud with the brushes on; quiet when they are off.
*Dog hair doesn't just dump out of the cup. I have to scoop it out.

Those are all fairly minor things I can live with. It's not a $500 vacuum cleaner. I did a lot of research before selecting which V2 model to buy, and this seemed like the best value. Instead of getting the $30 'power' brush, I recommend picking up a nice handheld Dirt Devil. It's portability is convenient. That was the only noted difference I could find between the red one and the green one. The black one has a few extras, such as a longer hose, powered hand brush, and a year longer warranty, but that didn't seem worth the extra price.

Amazon had the best price on this, as long as the shipping remains free.

I'm in the relatively unique position of having tried three brand-new Hoover wind-tunnels at home in the last 3 months, trying to find the "perfect" one. The previous two were the windtunnel U5750-900, a red bagless design (the "V1" of this cleaner), and the U5456-900, which is a blue design w/bag, similar to the earliest windtunnel cleaners.

This one is my favorite of the three. It does away with several annoyances I had with the previous models (the oldest style being the most annoying), while introducing several new features. In comparison to those two older models, there are these improvements in my experience:

- No belt (direct drive), so no burning smell when belts get old or damaged.
- Dual agitators (deep cleaning quickly)
- Dirt bin allows you to rotate the HEPA filter to shake dust off it inside the enclosed compartment (less dust flying around when cleaning the filter than in the last bagless).
- It has a better cord and tools storage arrangement and one less filter to clean (no separate filter on the motor cooling vent) than the previous bagless model.
- It has an agitator off/on button (good for cleaning hard floors) and turns the agitator off automatically when the cleaner is in the upright position.
- The screen before the HEPA filter seems to catch much more of the carpet-fuzz and pet hair than in the last bagless, so the HEPA doesn't end up quickly fuzz-coated.

A few small negatives: it is harder to push (no front wheels) than the previous two models and some people may want the self-propelled version instead. A powered hand-tool is not included (it was included in the previous two). And it's slightly louder than the previous bagless.

But those shortcomings are pretty minor. I'm going to be keeping this one...

I purchased the green V2 and had to take it back to the store because the extremely short hose (for attachments) came off the unit. I plan to purchase another V2 that has an extra flex hose attachment - making it easier to use. Though there are several cons with this vacuum, I will try it again because I think it is a very effective cleaner. We have dogs that shed so much each day that you could knit a small sweater with the stuff every week. This vacuum pulled up dog fur and lint like nothing I had tried to date.

The down side:
* No easy way to empty the cleaner without getting the fine dust back into the air (messy-yuk. If you have allergies, you might be better off with a bag unit).
* Very hard to push around and heavy to lift up and down stairs(if you need the work-out, this is for you).
* Doesn't do as well on hard floors (even with the brushes off - silly placement of the off switch). A floor attachment like on a canister unit would work better, but this isn't usually available on uprights.
* The cord wrap system never stays in place.
* The flex hose is way too short and not well designed (broke off on ours)
* Very loud - wear ear plugs!

The upsides:
* Picks up dust, fibers, and pet fur very effectively
* Powerful
* Bagless feature saves on trips to the store for bags and the clear cup lets you see at a glance when you need to empty (rewarding to see the gunk you are getting rid of).
* Good storage placement of the attachments
* The small brush unit is powerful for a non-motorized attachment (works on suction) and the crevice tool has awesome suction.
* Bends fairly flat for easy cleaning under furniture.

When our two year old Eureka went dead, my wife told me we needed to get a new vacuum cleaner. The fugle shopper that she is, she didn't want to spend a lot on a new vacuum. As I usually do before a purchase, I research the quality and effectiveness of various vacuum cleaners both online and in stores. I knew that I wanted a bagless cleaner and the Hoover windtunnels was always the recommended brand. Even a [store] salesman recommended this model over a higher priced Kenmore.
I told my wife that we could either by a[less expensive] vacuum cleaner every other year -- which requires continual purchases of vacuum bags -- or we can spend a little more for a good bagless vacuum cleaner that will last five or more years.

We bought the WindTunnel V2 (U8130-900) and we do not reget spending one penny of the price. We immediately saw the difference in the cleaning power of the wind tunnel. They are a little heavier then other upright cleaners, but its performance more than makes up for the extra weight. Since most of the uprights are 12 Amps, I know the the amount of Amps does not disclose the amount of suction power a cleaner has. Hoover has a numbering system that gives you a rating of the suction power. The higher the number the greater the suction. This allows you to compare the cleaning power of all of its models. The highest I've seen so far is a rating of 31. The V2 has a rating of 29.0 -- plenty of power. It also is beltless, no more burning smell because your belt is not properly turning; or having to go search for a store that sells the right belt for your particular brand and model. As mentioned in most review of this model, its canistor is large enough to hold plenty of dirt and allows you to dispose of the dirt from one side without removing the HEPA filter which is housed in the opposite side of the dirt container. The handle is well designed with its power button within reach of your fingertip. It also has an oval opening at the top of the handle that allows it to be lifted. The handle reclines parallel to the floor which makes cleaning uder furinture a little easier. It also has a switch to turn of the beater brushes while cleaning the floor. Although my vacuum cleaner is fairly new, 5 Sept 02, and has not been battle test by time, I do know the various filter prevent any dust or odors from being released. This makes for cleaner air, which is good for any alergy victims or thoughs who have babies and small children about the house.

The only things I wish Hoover would have added are the power hand brush, an extra hose and a retractable power cord. The handbrush can be purchased as an accessory and comes with the higher WindTunnel V2 model which cost [a bit more]. The higher V2 model is essentially the same vacuum cleaner except that it comes with the powered brush and can be used with or without a bag; I assume the bag would provide added filtration. The power brush also comes with a lower model that is not a V2 and has a suction rating of 27. The extra hose would be handy for dusting high spaces, cleaning stairs, or getting around the interior of your vehicle. Since I have to nit-pick to find a few cons, it says a lot about this vacuum cleaner.

In conclusion, I recommend this vacuum cleaner to those who could afford to put up the money for it. If the WindTunel's quality is as good and long lasting as many people have told me, in the long run it should save you money -- no bags, no belts, and no [lower priced] vacuum cleaners ever few years. it's enough to make a husband want to vacuum; it has in this family.

PROS: Great Cleaning Power
HEPA Filter
No bags or belts to buy
CONS LOUD, LOUD, LOUD
No 1-800 customer service
Roller on-off switch not easily accessible

I bought this vacuum after trying out a friend's Windtunnel that worked very well. I decided to go with the V2 after much research because of the beltless feature. I unpacked the vacuum put it all together (VERY easy, even my husband could do it). I vacuumed my living room with my old vacuum and then with the new one and got up so much dog hair, dust and carpet fiber! I thought this thing is awsome, but a little loud. After vacuuming the whole downstairs of my house I just couldn't take it anymore, the thing was shrieking like a banshee! I tried changing the hieght settings and it didn't help. It must be the gear system because it only does it when the brush rolers are on.

I called customer service this am (another problem - no toll free number and the website's no help) and explained the vacuum was whining loudly - is this normal? She states " Well the gears do whine a little bit." I said " NO, this is very loud." She says "Yes it is a little loud." Needless to say, I returned it this morning.

Also, while the on-off brush feature is nice, it is hard to get to. It is down on the front of the vacuum with the carpet height adjustment, and both swithches are recessed in to a hollow, so you can't use your foot. So you have to bend over every time you go from carpet to hard floor.

If you can live with the loudness and bending over, this vacuum cleans great! But this wasn't the vacuum for me!

I strongly recommend that you do NOT purchase a Hoover V2 bagless vacuum cleaner. I own a model U8132-900. Purchased it at Sam's Club nine months ago.

The drive shaft mechanism of this machine is poorly designed. Some genius at Hoover decided to marry metal drive rods with plastic inserts on the ends of the agitator brushes. Over time and with resistance from your carpet, these metal drive rods cause the plastic inserts on the agitator brushes to crack and wear down. As a result, the metal drive rod ends no longer fit snugly into the agitator brushes so the brushes will no longer spin.

What good is a vacuum cleaner if the agitator brushes do not spin after only 8 months of use? This design flaw will continue to haunt you because even after the plastic inserts are replaced you will face the same problem again after a period of use.

Don't make the mistake that I did - DO NOT PURCHASE THIS VACUUM CLEANER. The design is flawed at the most important part of the vacuum cleaner - where the drive mechanism meets the brushes.

I'm going to go back to Kenmore - my last Kenmore lasted 15 years and I only had to replace one belt. Avoid Hoover.

As soon as I am through writing this I am returning my V2 to the store. I have used it 3 times and it has become clogged twice. The blockage occurs in the clear base. I called Hoover and they instructed me to open the base to clear the clog. I did this and it happened again. They said it might be a loose gasket and I could take it back to the store or take it to an authorized service dealer. Well, since I paid over $$$ and it is brand new, it is going back to the store. I am also very dissapointed in how hard it is to move across the carpet. Like pushing a truck! Also, the switch to stop the brushes for non carpeted areas should be located near the off/on switch at the top of the handle. This vacuum is not kind at all to people with any back problems! Lastly, what is the point of all that filtration? Since you have to empty the collection cup, you end up putting a cloud of dust in the air as you empty it in the trash can. This is true of any brand of bagless vacuums. Do the manufacturers really think we will take the cup outside every time it has to be emptied? When I take back this vacuum, I will be looking for a selfpropelled with a bag.

This is the best vacuum I have ever owned! Cleans 10 times better than my old vacuum. It really delivers on its promise to clean deep down. The dual agitators seem to sift through and lift each fiber of my carpet. The dirt chamber is easy to clean and the HEPA filter comes with a non-stick coating which makes dust and dirt slide right off during cleaning! The attachments are neatly stored in a covered compartment which keeps them out of the way until needed. I am so pleased. Worth every penny!

We purchased this vacuum in December of 2003. I admit, it works great...for a VERY short period of time. Within 4 months it started to get harder and harder to push, began spitting out more than it picked up and started STINKING up the whole house the minute it was turned on. Finally, the rollers refused to turn. We took it to a Hoover dealer to get fixed under the warranty and found out that the stench was from the plastic on the rollers melting away along with dust and hair. (There is my husband and I with a baby and 1 dog-not a whole lot of hair to pick up). They replaced the brushes and we brought home a like new vacuum. Six months later, the same problem has begun to happen. I called Hoover and they stated that it is "normal for parts to go on a machine and need to be replaced". That may be true, but it shouldn't happen within 5 months of purchase, and then again another 6 months later. I have HAD IT with this vacuum, we purchased an extended warranty at the time we bought this vacuum, but IT ISN'T WORTH the TIME or EFFORT of getting it fixed again. I am afraid the same issue will just pop up again later on. I am glad that Hoover told me this was "NORMAL" because that just solidified my choice to go out and purchase a new vacuum that isn't a Hoover product. As long as I am not smelling burnt hair, unclogging the ducts with coat hangers, and picking up dust and hair AFTER I have vacuumed, I will be perfectly happy. Trust the majority on this, this product is HORRIBLE and Hoover doesn't seem to think that there is a poblem as long as people continue to buy their $320 product....