Recommended For:
- Bare floors
- Low-pile Carpet and Rugs
- Stairs (carpetted or hardwood)
- RV’s, Vehicles
- 50 minutes of cleaning (about 2500 square feet)
One of the features that most cordless vacuums didn’t get from their corded predecessors is a detachable hose. This vacuum is essentially the Air Cordless 3.0 Upright but in a hybrid lift-off form.
The Hoover Air Cordless Lift is essentially a more powerful 2-in-1, which normally comes in a stick form-factor.
You get the battery life, dustbin volume, versatility, and light weight of a bigger cordless vacuum without most of the sacrifices most 2-in-1 vacuums make.
What’s the bottom line?
You get a 2-in-1 bagless upright with two batteries capable of running for 25 minutes each. You can convert the canister into handheld mobile cleaning unit that could clean vehicles, upholstery, or anything you can reach.
Bare floors and low-pile carpet are fine but don’t expect much with thicker carpet.
Can this completely replace a corded vacuum?
In general, probably not, but consider this:
If you have majority bare flooring and think you can vacuum your home in 50 minutes, then this vacuum easily would work as your only vacuum. Bare floors are so much easier to clean than carpet.
If you have a lot of pet hair and carpet or find you bring in a lot of debris from the outdoors, this vacuum may need to make a few passes.
The more frequently you vacuum, the better off you will be with cordless vacuums. Letting dirt, dust, and hair build up and then trying to vacuum it all up with a cordless will be frustrating. You will have frequent clogs, mainly hair getting wrapped around the brushroll. You will need to empty the dustbin more than once per cleaning.
Overall just think about what volume of cleaning you typically do. If you purchase this vacuum and find that it can’t meet all your needs, there is no doubt that it can come in handy and satisfy majority of them with more convenience than a corded vacuum.
Features
- 50 minutes of runtime
- Easily lift off the vacuum body for more mobile cleaning
- Using the hose/wand is easier than with the Air Cordless 3.0 Upright
- Rotating Brush can be toggled on/off
- Lightweight (lift canister is about 7-8 lbs)
- Boost mode for extra power
- Washable filter
- 5 year warranty
- 3-hour Charge Time
Concerns
- Heavy pet hair on carpet will give this vacuum some trouble
- Be sure to keep both batteries charges to get the full runtime
Suction
Aside from runtime, suction is the major pain point with cordless vacuums.
Being a full-sized upright, the Air Cordless Lift brings more to the table than most cordless vacuums. For example, with the Dyson V6 and V8 cordless series, the problem isn’t suction, but more of where do you put all this stuff it’s sucking up? The Air Cordless Lift has a large dustbin so that this isn’t an issue.
But how does the suction compare to the Dyson cordless stick vacuums?
The suction of the Hoover Air Cordless Lift isn’t as good as the Dyson V8 and higher-end V6 models, but it gets a lot of other things right. Dyson cordless vacuums can only run for about 5 minutes on boost mode, which far underperforms when compared to the Air Cordless Lift.
What it really comes down to is are you vacuuming on bare flooring or carpet?
Carpet Performance
With anything but low-pile carpet, do not expect a deep clean. That goes for the Dyson cordless series as well. You may find yourself having to go over heavy pet hair several times. As with any vacuum, larger debris that could get caught in the tubing should not be vacuumed, which is true for cordless or not.
Bare Floor Performance
Bare floors are not an issue for this vacuum. Larger debris may take a few passes, or you can simply pull out the hose and spot clean what the upright can’t pick up.
For example, you probably don’t need to try to vacuum up the 100 Cheerios you dropped on the floor when a broom would be much simpler.
Overall you will find that this vacuum is weaker than a similarly priced corded vacuum, but the added convenience of a cordless vacuum makes cleaning more often much easier. You might find your vacuuming more often and have cleaner floors if it’s less tedious to get started vacuuming.
This is a great video review of the Hoover Air Cordless Lift, and the user claims he vacuums his entire house with the Air Cordless Lift.
Attachments
- 2-in-1 Crevice Tool and Dusting Brush
- Pivoting Dusting Tool
- Turbine Mini-brush (sold separately)
The attachments are typical for an upright with a detachable hose. But what it’s missing is the air-powered mini brush which helps clean upholstery and carpeted stairs. You can optionally buy one which will attach to the hose. Get one of these if you have trouble vacuuming hair and dust off of furniture or car seats.
Stairs
With the lift-off capability, this vacuum is excellent for stairs. You won’t need any extra attachments if your stairs are hardwood. As I mentioned in the previous section, if you have carpeted stairs you will want to purchase the mini air-powered brush. This helps add some agitation to get debris loose from carpet fibers.
Battery & Runtime
- 25 minutes per battery
- 2 Lithium Ion batteries included
- A single charging station
This is where the Hoover Air Cordless Series blows other cordless vacuums away. Fifty minutes of runtime is excellent and is one of the longest runtimes on the market.
As long as you keep the batteries charged with the single charging station, you can clean your entire home with this vacuum.
If you have another Air Cordless Series vacuum, you can also interchange those batteries and charging station with the ones included with the Air Cordless Lift. This is not true for the Hoover Linx or any other Hoover cordless that isn’t in the Air Cordless Series.
Filtration
None of the Hoover Air Cordless vacuums are HEPA filtered.
The filter is made of foam and the outer material is mesh. It should be washed after every 4 or 5 uses, according to Hoover. You can consider one use being completely discharging the batteries or about 50 minutes.
If you suffer from allergies, COPD, or asthma, I would recommend looking for a HEPA filtered vacuum. Unfortunately, this isn’t a common feature in cordless or bagless vacuums. The Dyson V6 & V8 Absolute cordless stick vacuums are HEPA filtered. They are much smaller than the Air Cordless Lift and aren’t a true alternative in terms of features.
At this point, it’s difficult to recommend a HEPA filters cordless upright since there aren’t any options at this point. If you’re looking for HEPA filtration, and I mean the best filtration on the market, Miele canister vacuums are what you want.
Pet Hair
As I mentioned before, the thicker the carpet, the worse the performance will be with cleaning things like pet hair.
The main thing to be aware of is clogs. Hair getting wrapped around the brushroll can eventually lead to motor failure. Clogs occurring in the piping system also strain your vacuum motor.
If you’re vacuuming heavy pet hair, keep an eye out for clogs! Clean the brushroll after every use.
Regular Maintenance & Clog Removal
- Wash the filter after 4-5 uses (One use would be completely discharging the batteries)
- Let the filter dry for 24 hours (you have 2 so alternate while the other is drying)
- As always, keep hair from building up on the brushroll.
Customer Reviews
The elephant in the room with this vacuum is the big question: can it fully replace a corded upright vacuum?
Users that compare the Air Cordless Lift to the Dyson V6 and V8 cordless vacuums report that it doesn’t keep up regarding suction when cleaning carpet. The Dyson V6 and V8 stick vacuums are some of the best cordless vacuums on the market when it comes to suction.
I think the answer to the question is “No.” All things considered, the Air Cordless Lift can’t keep up on carpet. The other features it has are excellent and everything you would want in a cordless vacuum: great runtime, large dustbin, versatile attachments, lightweight.
Users with pets complain of clogging, and this is very common in cordless vacuums. The suction and filtration systems are just smaller than corded vacuums. The power isn’t there to force all that debris through the piping, so clogs build up.
Warranty & Customer Service
The Air Cordless Series vacuums all have excellent warranties.
You get 5 years of battery warranty and 5 years vacuum warranty.
Compared to most other cordless vacuums this is one of the best warranties around.
Specifications
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Form Factor | Upright, with Lift-off canister |
| Bagless | Yes |
| Cordless | Yes |
| Wheels | Soft (bare floor friendly) |
| Brush Height Adjustment | No |
| Battery Type | Lithium Ion |
| Multi-Floor Option | Yes |
| Charge Indicator | Yes |
| Weight | 12 lbs |
| Runtime | 25 minutes per battery |
| Filter | Washable |
| Charge Time | 3 hours |
| Warranty | 5 years |
| Model | BH51120PC |
| Battery Voltage | 20 |
| Brushed Edge Cleaning | Yes |
| Nozzle Width | 11 inches |