LG Kompressor Lightweight PetCare Upright - LuV250C

 

Avg. consumer rating = 73/100 

The LG LuV250C is a compact bagless upright vacuum cleaner.  It is popular with some owners but not with others.  It is well designed and it has strong suction, a motorized brushbar, a long power cord and an easy-to-empty dirt canister.  It also uses LG’s Kompressor technology which allows the canister to hold up to 3 times more debris.  Some owners comment however that the exhaust air can blow dust away from the nozzle.

The LuV250C vacuum cleaner is manufactured by LG, a Korean firm best known for manufacturing LCD TV’s and mobile phones.  But recently the company has started producing vacuum cleaners with some good results.  This is a bagless upright vacuum cleaner and it is very easy to assemble - there are no parts to be screwed together.  All parts simply snap on securely and it takes just a few minutes before the vacuum is ready to go.

The LuV250C is powered by a 12 amp motor.  There are actually two motors in the LuV250C – the main motor for suction and a smaller secondary motor that drives the brushbar.  Suction generated by the unit is quite strong both at the nozzle and at the end of the hose/wand assembly. There is no suction control however and this may be problematic for delicate vacuuming like curtains.

Consumer ratings for the LuV250C are a mixed bag.  Some owners really like the machine and feel it is an excellent vacuum cleaner for the money while others cite issues with exhaust air blowing debris away from the front of the vacuum, and there is also a comment highlighting too much play in the handle.  We have tested the vacuum ourselves and didn’t find these items problematic.  It should probably be noted that this machine has a pretty small ratings sample size at this time (12 ratings) so it is difficult to conclusively judge it from these.  Please see ratings in the table below:

Source	Consumer Ratings	#Ratings
Abt	4.25 stars out of 5	4
Amazon	3.2 stars out of 5	4
Bed, Bath & Beyond	3 stars out of 5	3
Vann's	5 stars out of 5	1

 

Comments from owners indicate the following likes and dislikes:

PROS
- Well designed
- Motorized brushbar with on/off controls
- Washable filters
- Reasonably long power cord
- Not too heavy
- Strong suction
- Easy to empty dirt canister
- Adjustable handle makes vacuum easier to store
- Kompressor technology works well
- 5 year warranty

CONS
- Some owners complain about exhaust air blowing out the front and “chasing” dirt or hair away
- Pet brush does not store on board (but other tools do)
- There is some play in the handle

The vacuum has a unique feature – LG’s Kompressor technology.  This approach involves using a wiper blade in the dirt canister.  The wiper rotates and compresses the dirt and dust allowing the canister to hold up to 3 times more dirt compared to a canister without this technology.  We’ve seen a lot of comments related to the Kompressor technology in LG’s other vacuums and almost all consumers like it.  In our tests we found that it does indeed work and it also makes canister emptying a little less messy because the debris is compacted.

The dirt canister itself is remarkably easy to remove – it only requires the click of a button near the top of the canister to disengage it from the vacuum.  It can then be carried and emptied into the trash.  The unit is bottom-empty and a button on the side of the canister releases the bottom door.  The canister just clicks back into place on the vacuum when you’ve finished emptying it.

This LG upright is effective on both carpet and bare floors.  It has a motorized brushbar with an on/off switch conveniently located near the handle on the upper part of the vacuum body (right beside the vacuum power on/off switch).  With the brushbar OFF the vacuum is capable of vacuuming bare floors and our tests indicated it did a fairly good job.  With the brushbar ON the machine also works well on carpet capturing both small and large debris.  Motorized brushbars are usually preferred to those that are driven by the vacuum suction.  They tend to be more powerful and are generally better at cleaning carpet.  There are 5 different height settings on the LG LuV250C and these are changed via a dial on top of the nozzle.  You do have to bend down to reach the dial.

A few tools come with the vacuum and these include a combination upholstery brush and crevice tool, and a pet hair tool.  The combo tool attaches to a clip on the side of the vacuum and easily converts from crevice tool to brush.  A pet hair tool with an air driven turbine (brush) is also included and it is good for cleaning stairs and pulling up pet hair from upholstery and cushions.   There is no place to store the pet hair tool on-board the vacuum however.

All the tools attach directly to the telescopic extension wand at the end of the vacuum stretch hose – the wand is made from aluminum and about 2 ft long.  The combination tool attaches via friction but stays in place well.  The pet hair tool clicks into place.

The stretch hose has a reach of about 8 feet and combined with the 2 ft long telescopic wand this provides a full cleaning reach from the vacuum body of some 10 feet.  Specifications vary for the hose length on this unit but we’ve measured it and found it difficult to stretch past the 8 foot mark.  A 10 foot vacuuming reach works fine for dealing with ceilings and most nearby areas but some may find it limiting on longer staircases for example.  The reach of the power cord is quite good and it is a full 30 feet long.  There is no auto-rewind for the cord but it stores conveniently on the back of the unit and has a nice quick release feature.

There are two filters on the LuV250C - a pre-filter and a HEPA filter.  Both are very easy to access, remove and replace.  They are also both washable.  They are in place when the vacuum is unpacked and an additional pre-filter is also included.  The pre-filter sits atop the dirt canister and is easy to clean – you unsnap the top portion of the canister and take the filter out, shake it and then wash it along with the filter frame.  When the frame and the filter are both completely dry you simply put them back in.  The HEPA filter is located just below the dirt canister and it too is easy to remove, clean and reattach.

The vacuum is not too heavy and it is also compact so it stores easily.  The telescopic handle can be collapsed which makes the vacuum shorter and easier to fit in a closet. LG indicates that the vacuum is ultra light-weight, but at 16.5 lbs it is really about average for an upright.  It is the lightest Kompressor vacuum in the LG stable but there are other brands of upright that are lighter.  Having said that, the machine is light enough to easily carry and it also maneuvers well. 

This machine also has brushbar motor overload protection so if the brushbar is stopped or slowed for any reason (obstruction or tangle for example), the brushbar motor will be shut off thereby stopping it from potentially burning out.  To return to vacuuming one needs to remove the obstruction and press the red reset button located on the vacuum nozzle.  There is also thermal overload protection which will shut the main motor off if it gets too hot, usually as the result of an airflow obstruction.  If this is triggered then it is necessary to unplug the vacuum, remove any obstructions or clogs (probably a good idea to clean the filters as well) and wait 30 minutes before turning the machine back on (giving the motor time to cool). 

The LuV250C has a 13.5 inch wide cleaning path (about average for an upright), and it carries a respectably long 5-year parts and labor warranty.  The vacuum usually retails somewhere between $200 and $300 USD at the time of this writing.

Vacuum Cleaner Video
Following is a Vacuum Cleaner Advisor video showing some of the vacuum features.

Vacuum Cleaner Manual
You may wish to read more about the vacuum and maintenance.  It is available in the LuV250C manual.  Please note this is a very large file and can take a while to download.