Hoover WindTunnel Air Pro Upright, UH72450

 

Avg. consumer rating = 73/100 

The Hoover UH72450 generally retails for between $180 and $230 so it is not at a particularly low price point.  Consumer ratings are ok but not stellar.  The vacuum generates powerful suction, has HEPA filtration, is very maneuverable, includes a turbo tool and carries a lengthy 5-year warranty.  But the lack of height adjustment creates some problems for folks with thicker carpet and area rugs.

First we want to highlight just which vacuum is being discussed here.  The Hoover Air Pro is very similar to another Hoover machine, the Hoover Air Steerable.  And there is consumer confusion between the two vacuums.  The differences are as follows:

	Air Steerable	Air Pro
Weight	13.0 lbs	14.4 lbs
Tools	Combo	Combo & Turbo Tool
Dust Canister	1.3 litres	1.5 litres
To Use Hose	Hose Door	Air Valve

Consumer ratings for the Air Pro were found on 4 retail sites and over 700 ratings were found.  This is a good sample size and, as a result, the average score of 72.7 out of 100 (or 3.64 stars out 5) should be fairly reliable.  Rating scores are reasonably consistent from source to source with the exception of Best Buy.

 

A review of comments provided the following common vacuum likes and dislikes:

PROS
- Very maneuverable
- Easy-to-empty dust canister
- Strong suction
- Long warranty
- Not too loud
- Easy to Assemble

CONS
- No height adjustment
- Can require a bit of effort to move on carpet
- Turbo tool does not store on-board the vacuum

A common complaint for the Air Pro is that the strong suction at the nozzle combined with the lack of nozzle height adjustment make vacuuming some carpet and most area rugs difficult.  The nozzle tends to clamp down on the floor making it difficult to push, or in the case of a rug the nozzle sticks to the rug and pulls it up off the floor.

One owner reports that a potential solution for this problem is to turn the hose/floor knob (air valve on side of vacuum) to about 1/3 of the way to "hose”.  This sends some suction through the hose and away from the floor nozzle.  One may have to experiment with moving the air valve to find the right level of suction.

You can read some owner reviews for the Air Pro on Amazon here if you wish.

The following short videos are produced by Hoover in an effort to help address common questions or problems with the vacuum.  Some are useful while others (like turning the brushbar off on carpet) seem to be compromises.

1) Nozzle sticking to the rug

2) Brushroll not spinning

3) Insufficient suction at hose

Powered by an 11 amp motor the Air Pro uses WindTunnel 3 technology.  Hoover is somewhat vague about this particular technology but the “3” apparently stands for 3 channels of suction.  They also indicate that normal WindTunnel technology only has one channel of suction.  However the only details we can find relate to the image below which seems to show blue, pink and yellow suction channels.  Exactly how this is achieved and why this is better is unclear.

 

 
The vacuum uses multi-cyclonic technology to remove debris from the air stream and has 12 cyclones.  This technology provides no loss in suction as the dust canister fills (as opposed to a bagged vacuum where suction can drop as the bag fills) and it helps to keep filters cleaner longer.

The  WindTunnel Air Pro gets top marks from owners for its maneuverability.  The nozzle has a swivel neck and it turns with the flick of the wrist.  Surprisingly a number of folks report that this approach provides easier movement than Dyson’s famous ball technology.  The vacuum weighs in at 14.4 lbs and while it is marketed as lightweight we find 14.4 lbs to be just slightly below average weight for an upright.  The body of the vacuum can recline horizontally which really helps when cleaning under low furniture and it has a telescopic handle so owners of different heights can clean comfortably.  A telescopic handle when lowered also makes for easier storage (fits easier in the closet).  A built-in handle adds convenience when moving the machine up and down stairs.

 The vacuum features a no scuff bumper on the nozzle which ensures the walls and furniture do not get scraped or banged when you clean.  The nozzle has a cleaning path width of 11.5 inches which is actually quite narrow for a full size upright but it is neither a pro nor a con and it depends on the kind of cleaning you generally do.  A narrow nozzle may make for additional work when cleaning large areas but it also helps when maneuvering around lots of furniture and getting into tighter, narrower areas.

A few tools are included with the UH72450:
- combination crevice tool and dusting brush
- wand (plastic)
- turbo tool

The combo tool and wand store on board the vacuum but the turbo tool does not.  This causes some consternation with consumers as they wish they could easily access the turbo tool when they need it.  The turbo tool is useful for cleaning stairs, upholstery, mattresses, pet hair, etc and it has an air driven brushbar.  This means the brushbar is spun by vacuum suction and not by a motor.  These types of tools are generally not as effective as those that use a motor and the bushbar can sometimes stop if one presses down too hard.

The brushbar in the nozzle of the UH72450 is powered by a motor.  A switch near the vacuum handle allows one to turn the brushbar on and off.  Generally one wants the brushbar on when cleaning carpet and off when cleaning smooth surfaces.  Also, an air valve on the side of the vacuum allows you to direct the suction of the vacuum to either the hose or the floor (see image below).  The brushbar on this vacuum will automatically shut off if it is obstructed.  This is a very useful feature and is designed to help save the brushbar motor.

Like so many popular vacuums today the UH72450 is bagless.  It has a clear dust canister that is detached from the vacuum when full, emptied into a trash bin and then reattached.  The canister is very easy to empty and a release lever opens the bottom door allowing the dust and debris to fall out.  The capacity of the canister is 1.5 litres.

As highlighted by so many owners the vacuum does not have height adjustment.  This means you cannot vary the height of the nozzle above the floor.  With the Air Pro this results in the nozzle sticking to area rugs and it can also make the machine hard to move on carpet.  There is no way to change the gap between the floor and the nozzle but it is possible to reduce the suction at the nozzle (via the air valve) thereby relieving the stickiness, but it comes at a price – the suction and thus cleaning power is reduced.  The vacuum does not have the ability to adjust suction via motor speed.

Cleaning reach is quite respectable and the machine has a 30 foot power cord and a 12 foot hose.  3 feet of additional reach is provided by the wand and tools.  Altogether these give the WindTunnel Air Pro an overall reach of some 45 feet.  Also, bear in mind that the power cord in this unit is manual wrap – it is not auto-retract.  Many vacuum owners dearly love “power cord auto-retract” and look for it when making a purchase.

The vacuum uses two filters.  One filter can be found in the top of the dust canister and can be washed with clean water and reused.  The filter under the dust canister is a HEPA media filter and it cannot be washed.  To clean it you simply take it out and tap it over a dust bin to release the loose debris then place it back in the vacuum.  It must be replaced when it gets too fouled although Hoover state that it should last for the warranty period of the vacuum – which in this case is a lengthy 5 years.  You can read more about HEPA filtration in our article entitled “HEPA Filters” if you wish.  Both filters should be cleaned at least every 2 months (and more frequently with heavy vacuuming).

Some assembly is required after you unbox the WindTunnel Air Pro but it is simple and quick.  There are 5 main pieces: the vacuum base, the dust canister, the handle/extension-wand, the combo tool, and the turbo tool.  The vacuum carries a 5-year parts and labor warranty and is ETL listed.  ETL is a group that performs electrical and reliability tests on products to ensure they meet US product safety standards.

Manual
If you want to learn more about maintenance, features and troubleshooting you can view the Hoover UH72450 manual.

Video Instruction Guide
The video instruction guide is produced by Hoover and is excellent at covering and discussing the basics of this machine: You can find it here.