Hoover HandiVac 14.4V Wet and Dry

Does a mediocre job – Having previously commented on the great performance of the Breville BHV9 (twice) we were most disappointed to find this model had been discontinued when we needed to finally replace our worn out unit. So we purchased a Hoover HH3220 which in January will be 2 years old. It does not have the suction and "pick up" ability of the Breville.and the… Read more

filter is a lot harder to clean. You have to be careful if sucking up sweepings from a polished floor.The air passes out a side exit and if you are not careful you will blast and scatter all your nicely swept gatherings back over the floor. I feel the battery will not last much longer. A friend had a Breville that she said had a distorted case and wouldn't close properly so was throwing it out. I offered to try and repair it for her but she had already purchased another brand. By soaking the case in near boiling water, I was able to put it back into shape so once again I have a good working BHV9 hand vacuum cleaner which I think, although second hand, will outlast the Hoover

GREAT VACUUM - VERY GOOD BATTERY. But very poor charger ** Easy to hack ** – This was a freebee, which was part of a Godfreys package. This performed REALLY REALLY well for over 18 months. Then, like many other reviewers, my battery gradually started dying. Eventually would run for 30 seconds max. Looking at the charger capacity, this is only 150mA @ 18V. I haven't measured the ACTUAL charging current, but the no… Read more

load output at the docking contacts was 34V.

This is essentially a trickle charger.

But the Ni-Cad battery capacity is 1,300mA.

This pack is not been charged fully, due to an under-rated charger.

THEORETICALLY, A "WELL MAINTAINED" NICAD BATTERY WILL LAST FOR ABOUT 500 CHARGE/DISCHARGE CYCLES.

If charged fully once a week, this is about 9.5 years.

To investigate the poor battery life, I removed the 12-cell pack and cut off the protective cover & peeled off the heavy insulation protection layers.

All cells were about 1.1V. There were no faulty [shorted cells].

THIS IS AN INDICATION OF A VERY GOOD QUALITY BATTERY PACK, after 2 years of very light charging.

This is contrary to the opinion of other reviewers who are unfairly "blaming the battery pack".

To a non-technical person though, this is a very fair comment to make, of course.

To provide an occasional boost from a higher capacity charger, WITHOUT having to pass a higher current through the docking station contacts, I dismantled the vacuum completely.

Then drilled a 6.5mm hole in the body.

I then wired up a chassis-mount RCA phone socket with heavy gauge red and black wires.

I passed this through the hole & mounted securely.

Then I connected these 2 wires together with the vacuum's battery charging wires.

Finally, I connected the battery to the new DOUBLE-FEED charging cables .

To fully charge via the hard-wired feed, I soldered-up a new RCA plug with heavy R&B wires, & connected to a higher power 5A battery charger.

The pack drew 2.6 Amps! - I ran at this current for 30 minutes, then reduced the current to 1 Amps for another hour, to bring the battery fully back to life.

After 90 minutes, the pack voltage was 16.5V.

I checked every cell. All were about 1.37 volts. PERFECT!

I turned on the still dismantled vacuum. WORKED PERFECTLY, as I expected.

Finally, reassembled the vacuum & re-installed the battery.

This was a bit harder to re-install because of the 2 new, thick charging wires, as I expected.

Re-tested the vacuum with bag connected - Performed as if BRAND NEW!.

I can now use the 150mA trickle charger on an ongoing basis, to make sure the battery is semi-topped up, after use.

But, every week or so, I'll give a boost charge for 60 minutes at approx 1.5A, to ensure the cells are fully charged.

I now expect this vacuum to LAST ANOTHER 9-12 YEARS before the battery will begin to deteriorate.

Since we can't post photos, my "now nerdy" profile pic is the dismantled vacuum without battery.

Left side has the RCA socket & 2 heavy wires, joining up in the middle, with the thinner original wiring from the right side containing the motor etc...

This hack is quite simple, but MUST be performed by a qualified person, since rechargeable batteries can be quite dangerous & EVEN EXPLODE, if mishandled, or shorted.

They can also EXPLODE or have their life shortened to less than 500 cycles, if overcharged using a NON-MANUFACTURER APPROVED charger.

For my hack, I now limit the charging current to 1.6 Amps maximum.

And I limit the charging time to 1 hour, using a mechanical timer on the mains input, feeding the charger.

At these conditions, the battery will reach approx 45 degrees C

A Handivac is exactly what it is – Recently purchased to replace my very old hand held one. What a difference 14.4 v makes even from 12v. The suction is very powerful - its wonderful to pick up dog hair a grass seeds in the carpet. Have dogs in my house constantly and found the power to pick up everything they bring in fantastic. It also does around the skirtings which my full… Read more

size vaccumm cant easily get to.

I clean it out regularly which is quick and easy. This helps to keep the suction strong all the time. Running time seems to be excellent - did as I was told and let it run totally down before re-charging- great advice for battery memory.

The attachments are great and help with getting cobwebs up high, skirtings and tight spots. As a back up to my big vacuum it is wonderful. Doubt I will use the wet option - Slurpex is the best for that.

You will find it quite heavy because of how sturdy and powerful the motor is but I have used it for around 5 - 15 minutes for quick clean-ups and its fine.

I am really fussy about quality and value for money and this unit ticks all my boxes.

So pleased I purchased this unit and would recommend it strongly to anyone considering buying a hand held vacuum.

Very handy – I keep it in the kitchen. Quick to clean up any spill wet or dry. The extension gets in the corners. It's good for a run around in the sun room where the wood heater is & where the wood is kept. Suction is great. I just reach for it without even thinking about it. Have had it for a long time & hope it's one that will keep on going.  Show details

Decent – The suction is good for using on spills on the floors and especially a good vac for using in the car. The battery lasts almost long enough for me to vacuum my whole car, seats and floor mats thoroughly (it ran out when I had one last floor mat to vacuum) can get around the gear boot and handbrake with it too  Show details

Does the job – The suction could be a little stronger, but maybe I just think that because I have two fluffy cats and therefore a lot of cat hair to suck up. Has lasted well over the six months that I've had it.. Would definitely recommend, I bought one for my mum too!  Show details

Good while it worked – Just out of the 2 years period and can't claim warranty. Worked for a good year, maybe year and a half. Battery has completely died now. Item will have to be binned. Show details

Dislike this product – From the day i went to the shops and purchased this handy vac i thought it was to good to be true and i was right its a total waste of my money. The product has the most unpowerful suction. I would not even recommend to any one i know.  Show details

Great for the car – We have a big problem with tiny needle like leaves in out street every autumn and if they are wet they stick to your shoes and then all end up in the car - this has been super for sucking them up off the carpet. I got it specifically because it is a 'wet and dry' style vacuum. Its got enough power to suck em up and its pretty easy to empty too but… Read more

its easier if I wait for them to dry. Battery like is OK, could be better but overall its been excellent.

Hopeless battery life – I have bought 2 of these, the second a few years after the first one which I took to my bolthole. In due course its battery ffailed which was not pleasing but acceptable as replacement was on the web for $50 (not from Hoover). However, the second one which is a newer model with wet and dry has proved to be bad value as the battery has failed after… Read more

maybe 3 years and the only source is the Hoover site at a ridiculous price.My suggestion - do not buy as they obviously have batteries with a poor life time.

Loss of suction after 5 months of use – It used to work well but it is noticeable that the suction is not as good as how it was 5 months ago. I only use it once in a while in small areas in the lounge room and in the car as we have a bigger vacuum which we mainly use. It is easy to use, light-weight and not very noisy. It is a wet and dry vacuum but I haven't really tried using it with water.  Show details

Great for my car and carpet edges – We bought this product about one month ago to use for car cleaning. We did not want to unpack the standard vacuum cleaner and plug it in via an extension chord just to vacuum the car. I have found that while it is only 14.4 volts, it is strong enough to suck dust and little pebbles [2mm] from the car floor.  Show details

My Favourite Household Item – Received this a a christmas gift after hinting to santa that I needed an upgrade, as the old black and decker was slowly dying. Santa decided to get the biggest Voltage he could find and what a differebnce it makes. get about 10 minutes of use, but it's strong suction makes light work of kid mess and birdseed that would otherwise take over my… Read more

house. Best thing is that the kids can operate this one themselves, so I'm needing to do it less and less. The frame/holder and tool storage is super handy so parts SHOULDN'T be lost on this model.

Handy and works very well – This handy vacuum cleaner works well for picking up small debris when I'm not in the mood for a big clean. For a household with kids, it is handy for picking crumbs in the car, under the dining table or just little mess around the house. Requires little cleaning and maintenance.  Show details

Requires long charge, and doesnt run for long – I probably won't recommend this for any serious use, it turns out that i need to charge it for almost 24 hours atimes, for just a few minutes run, i have abandoned the machine, and only use the window cleaner squeegee that came with it, that is the only item i found useful.  Show details

Good for cleaning cars, great for kids car mess! – The price for this Hoover vacuum is simply worth it. It is not pricy so anyone who’s looking for an affordable one that’s worth every penny. This is for you. The suction power of this handheld vacuum is good enough to get all the food crumbs left by my kids in our car. It is easy to remove the dirt collected as well after every car clean.  Show details

Rubbish – Great when i bought it, was a powerhouse. 6 months later it turned into a gutless machine that lasts 5 minutes and uses power all day and night charging and thats more power than charging a mobile phone constantly! I wouldnt have used it more than 25 times before it went bad.  Show details

I love it! – I like cleaning and this is a must for me. It is handy, not big but quite strong. Perfect for the car clean and little area where it needs vacuum. I wash them after using. Easy to clean/ dry it. Never had an issue and I am very happy with it.  Show details

Perfect for little spills – With 2 young kids there are always little spills or crumbs to clean up, this is a very handy little handivac just for that without getting the big vacuum cleaner out. It's easy to use, a little bit heavy for it's size but easy to turn on and comes with handy attachments. The downside is that the battery life is very short and after every use it has to be recharged.  Show details

Designed For Failure – Th battery began to fail after about twenty recharges. Th battery pack voltage after being fully recharged, would register 14.8v. After 30 seconds of operation this would drop to 14v or lower producing very little power, so making the unit effectively useless. Bagging (in a sealed zip-lock bag) the battery pack and placing in the freezer for 10… Read more

hours, then thawing out for one hour, before recharging, restored the battery capacity to perform as new.

Products with battery required operation should have reliable batteries that support the products operation. Replacement batteries at reasonable prices should be made available by the manufacturer for their product, and should be available from the retailer selling the product. It may be viewed that failure to supply a reliable and replaceable battery pack, is by design or failure purposeful obsolescence. This manufacturers products should be considered skeptically.

Wouldn't hold the charge for a minute – I bought this from Godfries. It was on special. This worked well only for few months. We only used it to clean the kitchen bench. The battery is useless. You would have to keep it plugged in all the time and still would not hold the power for 1 minute. Just garbage  Show details

Don't buy one of these – As with the other reviewers, I bought the vac about a year ago. The battery won't hold a charge anymore. I should have stuck with my gut and not bought the one pushed by the Godfrey's salesman. Now I need to find a replacement battery or buy a new one.  Show details

Problem Solved – After years of searching for a mini hand vacuum cleaner with a very thin crevice tool to clean out my extremely narrow sliding door tracks Godfreys at Firle Plaza actually used a hot torch to custom narrow the existing crevice tool to fit. Black & Decker stopped making the existing one I used & no other hand vacuums existed anywhere. When the… Read more

salesman at Godfreys saw my frustration, he worked out a way to make it fit. Using a hot blow torch he melted the tool (slightly) & squeezed it to narrow it. I am so happy with the service I will be recommending them to everyone I know. It now fits beautifully with more suction than ever before with the old B&D one. Service like this just doesn't exist anymore!

Love this product. Use it daily – This is an extremely useful product especially for minor spills and children's scraps after meals and snack times. It handles broken glass, crumbs, window grooves and for quick clean ups. Additional attachments improve its effectiveness especially cleaning up wet spills and the small brush attachment for hard surfaces.

Handy for small clean ups – It is light and easy to use, but feel that the suction is not as strong as it claimed. it is noisy for its size and the battery life is too short, so recharging often is required. The price matched what I had paid for and would recommend it for quick short clean ups.  Show details

DONT BUY ONE! – Worked fine for about two months, with limited use, and then over the next month the battery slowly died until it wouldn't even start at all. Total waste of money, can't get a replacement battery, and Godfreys Noosaville where I bought it didn't want to know about it. I see from the other reviews that the battery was the main problem, Hoover needs to do something about it!  Show details

Very poor battery life! – Bought this item a couple of years ago and within 18 months the battery was showing signs of deterioration to the point now where I have to leave it and the charger switched on all the time. When I go to use it, the battery lasts for about 1 minute. My previous hand held vac lasted for at least 10 years and was discontinued when I went to… Read more

replace it, so ended up with the Hoover - big mistake. Wish I had looked up Product Review before purchasing.

Battery is Terrible, But – My Battery Died within a year as well. I read about a trick on the internet where you can spark a NiMH Battery with a Car Battery Charger. positive to positive, neg to neg. I took the battery out of the HandiVac. Sparked the leads a few times with the battery charger. Doing this has made the battery charge again.

Battery is terrible – This vac worked ok as a hand vac at the start, although it was not good enough to do the car floor satisfactorily. The battery performance over time is terrible and a real disappointment. Mine does not even turn on anymore. A waste of money in many ways. Avoid it!

Good for the jobs it was made for – Had no issues with its performance for 2-3 years. Now battery wont hold a charge which is a bit disappointing but found a replacement battery for around $40. Will install myself as Godfreys quoted $70 and had to be sent away. Does what it was made for and will have to watch the recharging in the future. Just another add. Sourced a new battery in Granville NSW. $46 installed myself. Works like new.

Good When The Battery Is Ok – Good for the first six months then the battery life drops from 15 minutes to 5 minutes. We used to use it for a quick clean of two bedrooms with tile floor but now it can't even finish one. We understand the battery life will be shorten after a period of time but 6 months is just not reasonable. Not recommended. Thanks.

Mighty Machine – I purchased this Item about 6 months ago and having used it many times since then, it is now time to give my opinion. I've Purchased various Brand and Models of Hand Held Vacs over the years but, I have found that this one has been the very best of them so far. It has an amazing amount of power and can be used for a lot longer single use, (before… Read more ·  1

needing to re-charge) than anything before it. Due to extensive Health problems and being unable to manage my Housework a lot of the time, this mighty machine is a saviour in between times when I just need to whip it around certain messier areas in the kitchen, laundry, toilets or small messes made by Homer our rescue dog and Bart our newly rescued kitten. As I've stated before in my Reviews, I have no hesitation in commenting on negatives if they're due, likewise praise for a Person, a Product, or a Service and for my needs, I cannot find anything of a negative nature with this Product.