Cutting the cord and roaming freely on the various floors of the house is one of the main reasons to buy one of the best cordless vacuums. We’re big fans of these vacuums, not only because we don’t like being hindered, but also because we love how versatile, lightweight and easy-to-use them are.
Cordless Vacuums and Black Friday
FYI, if you’re looking to buy a cordless vacuum cleaner, now might be an ideal time to start shopping around. Black Friday deals are still a few weeks away, and we expect some great Black Friday vacuum deals to come soon. If you’re willing to splurge, you might even see some Black Friday deals on Dyson vacuums. For more affordable options, we’re also expecting plenty of Black Friday shark vacuum deals. Both brands are extremely sought-after cordless vacuums and deserve a look.
While cordless vacuums are great, one of the keys to our testing—and one of the first things we see in any vac spec—is runtime. Runtime is how long a battery can last before needing to be recharged. There’s nothing more annoying than a vacuum that stops working while you’re vacuuming upstairs, or when you’re almost dumping crumbs into the dust bin of a parked car. Of course, these are trivial issues compared to some, but it’s still a problem when a vacuum cleaner that isn’t connected to mains dies on you during a cleaning task.
There are some vacuum cleaner brands that sell separate batteries, which means you can buy an extra battery and give yourself double the amount of available power. Some even come standard with a backup battery, effectively turning 60 minutes of runtime into 120 minutes.
It sounds like a dream: solving the vacuum cleaner puzzle. But what is the truth of this? Well, let me share…
Oh, the cordless vacuum cleaner. They come in very different shapes, sizes and colors, some of which are more technical than other simpler but equally effective models. Those pricier ones usually have more features, which makes sense, and some have more battery power and/or more battery options.
Take the Dyson V15 Detect as an example. As we found out when we tested it for our Dyson V15 Detect review, there’s a lot going on with it. For example, it has a high-torque cleaning head that adjusts power to suit the type of floor you’re cleaning when used in automatic mode; smart. It also has a Laser Slim Fluffy cleaning head, which has a soft brush bar to ensure hard floors are not damaged. What’s more, it features a Class 1 laser diode (so safe for humans and pets), mounted at a 1.5-degree angle and 7.2mm off the ground, which projects a green light in front of the cleaning head to highlight tiny dust particle. There is also a colour LCD display showing the level of dust collected and remaining run time.
In short, it’s a feature-rich device – so it requires a lot of power. Dyson claims the battery will last up to 60 minutes on the lowest power, Eco setting, and that’s what we found in testing: it lasted 59 minutes before needing a charge.
While 60 minutes may sound like a lot, some people may need more. While it’s possible to replace the battery to double your run time, it will cost you extra — making an already very expensive vacuum even more expensive.
Of course, if you end up getting a second battery, then you’ll want to make sure it’s always charged so you can quickly replace it if the vacuum dies during cleaning. You also need to figure out how to remove the dead battery and replace it with a new one. This may or may not be a huge problem for you, but it’s always worth some preparation.
I was also testing the Miele Triflex HX2 Pro cordless vacuum recently. It has slightly lower specs than the Dyson above, but it’s a very sturdy, versatile, and capable model that adeptly handles any small debris in its path.
Unlike the Dyson, it comes standard with two batteries. Miele claims 60 minutes of runtime per battery, so apparently two batteries will give you 120 minutes of runtime. As important as that sounds, if you don’t compare the Miele HX2 series beforehand, you might feel like you’re getting a good deal.
However, things are not that simple. In short, you’re paying £200 more for this extra battery compared to the Miele HX2 Cat&Dog, which only has one but is cheaper. You may find this to be a reasonable compromise since you won’t need to hunt and buy an extra battery.
I found that on the HX2 Pro, when switching between the “Eco” and “Max” settings, I didn’t get anywhere near 60 minutes of runtime. In that case, I was lucky to get 35 minutes. You’ll be closer to hitting the max run time at the “min” setting, but it won’t help if you have some really heavy cleaning to do.
That’s where a second battery can come in handy, but unfortunately when I put in a new one, I found it wasn’t charging; not ideal as it means I’ll need to reschedule the vacuum until it’s done.
Also don’t think it’s a quick process. The Miele HX2 model typically takes 4 hours to juice; the Dyson V15 Detect takes 5 hours. If you’re like me and find the second battery in a medium clean state, you’re going to be waiting a long time.
Of course, it’s just my user error, but it’s something you need to be aware of if you want to understand the benefits of the dual-battery vacuum approach. In theory, it’s a good option, but you’ll need to plan ahead — and have deep pockets — to make it worthwhile.