Tineco A10 Hero Review

Tineco Stick Vac Models
Ever heard of Tineco?  No?  Well, neither had we, but it turns out this is the same company that manufactures the very popular ECOVACS robotic vacuums.  They are now trying their hand at another popular vacuum configuration - the cordless stick vac.  There are currently four models of Tineco stick vacuums – the A10 Hero, the A10 Master, the A11 Hero, and the A11 Master.  In this review we are looking at the A10 Hero which is the most affordable of the four models.

 

Consumer Ratings
Consumer ratings for the vacuum are not widespread and we only see them on Amazon (see table below).  Typically we prefer to gather scores from a larger number of retailers, but this was simply not possible with the A10.  There were a total of 195 ratings with an average score of about 90/100 or 4.5 stars out of 5.  This is a good score.  You can compare it to the scores of other stick vacuums in our stick vacuum ratings table, or you may wish to view all vacuum ratings in our Vacuum Cleaner Finder application.  

Source	Consumer Rating	# Ratings
Amazon.com	4.5 stars out of 5	193
Amazon.ca	5 stars out of 5	2

 

Pros & Cons
Our testing and analysis, combined with other owner comments, has provided the following common pros & cons:

 

PROS
- Reasonable battery life
- Good on carpet and bare floors
- Two power modes
- Very lightweight
- Easy to empty
- Easy to clean dust canister
- Has a HEPA filter
- Trigger lock is handy
- Swappable battery (but the A10 only includes 1)
- Less expensive than a Dyson
- Pet hair pickup is good

 

CONS
- Small dust canister
- Non-powered tools are compression fit
- Cleaner head lifts off floor when vacuum laid horizontal
- No bare floor cleaner head
- Steering is only average
- No wall mount
- Edge cleaning with cleaner head is weak

 

What Are Owner’s Saying?
Most owners are pleased with the battery life of the A10 Hero.  Our tests show the battery life (run time) sits somewhere just short of the Dyson V7.  There are some folks however who wish the battery had a longer run time.  In our experience this is pretty much normal for any cordless vacuum today (that people express wanting more run time).  Battery life expectations are often higher than today’s machines can provide.  Also, sometimes owners will run a cordless unit like this on Maximum power and expect 20+ minutes of run time.  This level of performance is not likely.  The quoted run times are almost always for the most favorable of conditions, such as Low Power Mode with a Non-Motorized Tool.

 

Folks really like the vacuum for small area cleaning, such as an apartment or a modestly sized home.  Some people with larger areas and more extreme cleaning (like 3 kids and 2 dogs) have indicated that the A10 Hero is not really up to the task.  We would not recommend this vacuum or any cordless unit for that kind of cleaning.  Cordless units today are best for smaller areas and lighter cleaning.

 

We found the suction power to be respectable (for a cordless stick vacuum) in both Low and Max power modes.  Many owners feel similarly, however there are also a number of comments that in Low power mode the vacuum does not generate enough suction to do quality cleaning.  It is not clear whether this is the result of higher expectations or units that do not perform as well as others.

 

With respect to noise, some say it is loud while others say it is quiet.  We would say that it is neither.  It is about average.  In Low power mode it is not as quiet as the Dyson V7 or V8 but there are plenty of vacuums that are louder.  Many are also fond of the LED lights on the front of the cleaner head.

 

 

Folks really like that the vacuum is very lightweight and easy to move.  We concur.  It is probably one of the lightest vacuum cleaners we’ve tested to date.  Owners are pleased at how well it maneuvers and also how the low profile cleaner head can get into tight areas.  We did find however that you cannot lay the unit completely flat and continue vacuuming.  Doing so lifts the cleaner head off the floor (we have an image of this further down in the review).  In addition, it is so light that sometimes when pushing forward while turning we found the machine mostly moving forward – it doesn’t turn as well as we would like.

 

There are a few complaints that the dust canister is small – and it is.  If you do lots of cleaning you will have to empty it frequently.  On the other hand the dust canister is easy to empty and very easy to completely remove and clean should you want to.

 

Some people have found that the non-motorized tools sometimes fall off while you are using them.  This is the result of using compression fit tools and it is a little disappointing that Tineco designed them this way.  It would have been better if the non-motorized tools snapped into place but they do not.  The mini motorized tool does snap into place however. 

Many owners also like:
- The trigger lock which allows you to run the vacuum without having to keep constant pressure on the trigger.
- The unit's cleaning capability on both carpet and bare floors.
- The lightweight handheld unit (good for vehicle interiors).
- The vacuum’s ability to pick up pet hair.

 

However there are a few complaints about the inability of the vacuum to do quality edge cleaning.  Indeed this is the case when using the main cleaner head.  You would likely have to take out the crevice tool to get up tight against the baseboards of your home.

 

You can read more A10 Hero owner comments on Amazon.

 

What’s in the Box
Someone certainly took some time in planning the packaging of this vacuum.  It is very well organized and packed.  Not that packing is that important, it is just that the packing of this machine kind of stood out.

 

 

With your Tineco A10 Hero you get:
- Handheld Component (with filters)
- Wand
- Cleaner head
- Mini motorized tool
- Combo dusting brush / upholstery tool
- Crevice tool
- Tool bag
- Owner’s Manual
- Quick start guide
- Charger
- Docking station

 

Battery & Power Modes
Like the Dyson V6, V7, and V8, the Tineco A10 has 2 power modes: Low and Max.

 

The A10 Hero is powered by a 21.6 V 2000 mAh Lithium Ion battery.  These are the kinds of batteries that provide what is often referred to as “fade-free power”.   This means that the battery will provide virtually the same power all the time (it doesn’t fade while the battery is drawn down) but then it just stops.

 

The battery on the Hero can be removed.  This is a feature that many folks wish the Dysons had -  none of them do.  We’ve seen this feature on several other stick vacs (Shark IonFLEX 2X for example) and it is popular.  The idea is that this enables you to use multiple batteries – so when you are using one, the other is on charge, and when one is exhausted you just slap in another.  If you have 2 batteries for example, you will then effectively double your run time.  We should point out that the A10 Hero only comes with 1 battery and if you want another you will have to buy it separately.  Tineco also has another version of the A10 called the A10 Master that comes with 2 batteries (see it on Amazon). 

 

 

We also like that the Hero has three charging lights on the battery pack (similar to the V8 and the V10, the V6 and V7 only have one).  Multiple charging lights indicate how much charge remains on the battery while you are vacuuming, and they also give you an idea how much charging is left to do when the battery is on charge.  With one light you have no insights into any of this.

 

Battery Life
This is a contentious area with most stick vacs and also one that can be confusing to consumers.  The A10 marketing materials state the following:

 

- Run time of 25 minutes in Low Power mode
- Run time of 7 minutes in Max Power mode

 

This is true, however the vacuum will not run this long when using motorized tools (the cleaner head or the mini motorized tool).  The figures quoted above are for non-motorized tools such as the combo tool or the crevice tool.  Most manufacturers seem to use a similar approach when discussing their vacuum’s run times.

 

We ran the A10 Hero in both Max mode and Low mode and with both motorized tools and non-motorized tools.  The following table provides our test results and also provides some comparison to the Dyson V7 and the Dyson V8:

 

 

You will notice that the vacuum has a shorter run time when using a motorized tool/head.

 

Recharging
Recharging the battery takes about 5 hours – that is from a completely depleted battery to a fully charged battery. 

 

We do notice that the manual states “Do not charge the battery over the time suggested, which may cause heating, deformation or burning”.  This seems a little odd as I imagine most folks simply plug the battery in and do not watch the time that carefully. 

 

Cleaner Head
The cleaning path width is stated as 10.4 inches.  This is actually the width of the entire cleaner head.  We’ve measured the width of the suction channel and it is about 9.25 inches.  This is about average for a stick vacuum.  Stick vacs often do not have the same size cleaner head as a full size upright or canister vacuum.
 
We like the row of 5 small LED headlights on the front of the cleaner head.  It does help when vacuuming in dim areas or under furniture.  The cleaner head itself also has a low profile so it easily slides under low furniture.

 

However we have noticed that you cannot lay this vacuum flat without the cleaner head actually lifting off the ground.  This is a surprisingly strange design and it was unexpected.  If you have to get under very low furniture and you try to lay the vacuum flat you will run into this and it can be annoying (see below).

 

 

The brushroll in the cleaner head has 3 rows of bristles.  One is short and stiff while the other two are a little longer and softer.  The brushroll is easily removed, one twist of a screwdriver unlocks the brushroll for cleaning.

 

 

Suction
The manufacturer states that the power output in each mode is as follows:

 

Low Power Mode = 25 air watts of suction
Max Power Mode = 110 air watts of suction

 

This places it somewhere between the Dyson V7 and the Dyson V8.

 

 

 

EDGE CLEANING
The A10 did not perform particularly well in our edge cleaning test.  We’ve done this test with other stick vacuums and full size vacuums.  The stick vacs rarely perform as well as the full size units.  You can see a video of the edge cleaning test below.  We used chili flakes placed up tight against a baseboard.

CARPET CLEANING
We ran some tests with what we consider small-to-medium sized debris (powdered Froot Loops, chili flakes, flax seeds, split green peas).  A specific amount of each debris type was weighed with a scale and they were then all mixed together and laid out in a 5.5 ft long line.  The vacuum was run over it in a 10 second pass.  The amount of debris collected by the vacuum was compared to the amount of debris originally laid out, resulting in a “% pick-up”.  Video below shows a sample 10 second pass on Max power mode:

Results and comparisons to the V7 and V8 are in the table below:

 

All-in-all we feel the A10 performed fairly well on the small-to-medium sized debris on our low pile carpet.  Note: Some of our more astute readers may notice the V7 performing better than the V8 on this test (Low Pile Carpet with Small-to-Medium sized debris) - despite the V8 having more suction.  Further testing concluded that this was the result of the V7 cleaner head working better under these circumstances than the V8 cleaner head (see V7 vs V8).

 

A quick test was done with larger debris (full size Froot loops) and the vacuum performed as well as the Dyson V7.  Both machines did a good job on the larger debris on low pile carpet.

 

BARE FLOOR CLEANING
The A10 performed remarkably well on our tile floor (for a cleaner head with a rotating bristled brushroll).  Many cleaner heads with rotating brushrolls cause quite a bit of scatter on smooth surfaces, however we found little scatter with the A10.  See the video below with small-to-medium sized debris:

It is not perfect on large debris however, and some of the larger debris gets pushed forward on a smooth surface.  This is not that uncommon and frankly we’ve seen worse.  This problem is something that the Shark DuoClean technology was designed to deal with.

 

PET HAIR

We also did a quick pet hair test.  Long white dog hair was ground into the carpet and we used the A10 on Low power mode with the mini motorized tool.  Pickup was good but it did sound like the motor in the tool was straining and the brushroll slowing while we were vacuuming – something we haven’t always run into with motorized tools (typically something you find with a turbo tool).  In addition, there was quite a bit of tangling in the brushroll.  You would have to clean the brushroll frequently when doing this kind of work.

 

Noise Level
We tested the A10 Hero in both power modes using a digital noise level meter.  The meter was placed three feet in front of the cleaner head with the vacuum in the upright position and running.

 

Peak decibels in Low Power mode hit a maximum of 70.0 dB
Peak decibels in Max Power mode hit a maximum of 71.5 dB

 

We were a little surprised that the unit was almost as loud in Low Power mode as it was in Max Power mode.  In contrast (in a similar test) the Dyson V7 in Low Power mode hit a maximum of 65.0 dB and in Max Power mode it hit a maximum of 74.0 dB.

 

We did feel the A10 Hero had a bit of a high pitched whine which we did not particularly like.  However the unit all-in-all is not what we would call a loud vacuum cleaner.

 

2-in-1 Vacuum
This is a 2-in-1 vacuum in that it is a stick vacuum and a handheld vacuum.  To use as a handheld you simply have to disconnect the wand.  Tools can be attached to the end of the wand or to the end of the handheld unit.

 

The A10 Hero handheld unit is very lightweight at only 2.87 lbs.  It is also small.  As a handheld it is very easy to use and to handle.

 

In stick vac mode (with the wand and cleaner head attached) the A10 Hero weighs just over 5 lbs.  This is a very lightweight vacuum, and it shows in just how easy it is to lift and move around.

 

Tools
The vacuum includes three tools:
- Mini motorized tool
- Combo dusting brush / upholstery tool (non-motorized)
- Crevice tool (non-motorized)

 

 

The motorized tool is particularly useful when dealing with pet hair, and it can also be attached to the end of the wand for cleaning areas the main cleaner head will not access.  The combo tool and crevice tool are fairly generic and do the job.

 

While the mini motorized tool “clicks” into place, the non-motorized tools do not.  They are what we call “compression fit” – they have to be pushed on and pulled off.  This approach sometimes results in tools that fall off while you are working, or tools that are hard to remove.  We would have liked to see ALL the tools “click” into place.

 

Dust Canister
The dust canister is rather small and has a capacity of 0.4 liters.  If you are doing a lot of cleaning you will have to empty it frequently.  It is easy to empty and uses the generic approach which is a button that opens the bottom door.

 

We were impressed with how easy it is to remove the entire dust canister and clean it.  It comes off with the press of a button and easily comes apart.  It is a snap to put it back together and with one click it pops right back onto the vacuum.

 

Filtration
The A10 Hero has two filters.  There is one pre-motor filter (in the dust canister) and one post-motor filter (at the back of the handheld unit).  Both filters are rinsable in water and can be reused (do not put back in the vacuum until they are completely dry!).

 

 

The post motor filter is a HEPA filter which is a nice feature as it helps trap the likes of pet dander, dust mites, mold spores, etc.  These are the kinds of filters useful in households with members suffering from asthma or allergies.

 

However, we did not notice in any of the literature that the A10 Hero has a sealed system.  HEPA filtration is often much more effective when combined with a sealed system.  You can read about this in our article on HEPA filtration.

 

Warranty & Other Features
We were pleasantly surprised to see a trigger lock feature on the A10.  This has been on the wish list for quite a few Dyson stick vac owners for years.  Dyson has never implement this.

 

The trigger lock on the A10 allows you to simply lock the trigger in the ON position so you do not have to constantly apply pressure with your finger to depress the trigger.  It is a simple enough feature but useful for those doing lots of repetitive vacuuming.

 

Dyson feels that releasing the trigger from time to time extends the vacuum run time – which is true.  However detractors of this approach point out that it can get tiring holding the trigger down for long periods of time.

 

The A10 also comes with a docking pod.  This is essentially just a large piece of plastic with inserts that hold the handheld unit, wand & cleaner head, battery, and tools.  This pod sits on the floor.  We would have liked to see a wall mount instead – but a wall mount may not hold all of the tools/attachments.

 

 

The Tineco A10 Hero carries a 2-year limited warranty.

 

Vacuum Cleaner Manual
The Manual is reasonably good.  It covers all the basics and has good instructional images. The end of the manual also provides warranty information.  You can see a copy of it here: Tineco A10 Hero Manual