Henry the Workhorse (Numatic HVR200-22)

Member Name: beko1987

Product:	Numatic HVR200-22
Date:	04/10/05 (2424 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Reliable, Easy to Maintain, Cost Effective

Disadvantages: No On-Board Tool Storage

Well, I suppose this review is about 2 Henry's really. The first one is my old house one, which is still in the garage because I don't want to throw it away, it still works perfectly. I bought it 3 years ago (you can check the age of Henrys and other Numatic cleaners by looking at the serial number - the first 2 numbers is the year it was made - 2003/03) and used it both domestically and commercially everyday and it proved flawless.

In the box, you get:

Henry
A pack of 10 spare bags
a pack of small tools comprising of Upholstry, Crevice, Dusting Brush and a small plastic pipe used to connect the tools directly onto the hose without the metal bent end
3 tubes - 2 straight and one bent, to hold
Floor tool - these have changed now, mine has 2 pedals and is square. The new ones are more rounded and have a longer neck
Hose.

Henrys generally arrive with the bag already in, so you can start hoovering, but I advise you to check first just in case. Henrys can be used bagless but I like my filter to stay clean and so prefer bags!

Our old vaccum was an old AEG Vampyr that I rescued out of a skip. (I collect vaccums, restore them and sell them) that worked reasonably well, but was very long nad heavy. Review coming soon! I plugged henry in, and got to work.

One thig here, the cable is INCREDIBLY long. I could hoover the whole house from the powerpoint in the landing, or hoover my car from the powerpoint in the utility room. Plus the hose is very long too.

So, starting to vaccum, it worked very well. The pile was lifting with the standard tool, and all was good. Henrys have a good reputation for not loosing suction even when the bag was full, and numerous times I have found myself having to cut the bag out of the machine because it has filled rock solid and started to fill the tubes. I suppose Numatic could have put a bag full indicator on Henry, but that would have meant more to go wrong, and that is one of Henrys strenghts, there is nothing muh to go wrong with him.

After cleaning the floor, I moved onto the tools. The first one was the Dusting Brush. This has to be my favourite tool, as it has horsehair in it, mixed in with stiffer plastic bristles. This makes it very soft, and I could clean my old picture frames and the computer with ease. Then I got the crevice tool out and cleaned my crevices (oo-er). Finally I went to do the stairs and sofa. The Upholstry Tool comes in 2 bits. The first bit is the main tool itself, which is great for stairs and the like, although it is very hard to move without reducing the suction, this is possible by twisting the black plastic ring on the bend end. The second part of the tool is a stiff bar of bristles that slide onto the tool. This is great for getting hair off chairs, car upholstry and other things like that.

After a good time cleaning, it was time to put him away. I wound the cable up by winding the reel on his head, this is very smooth and easy, be carefull to slow down towards the end otherwise it could crack your hand!, and put him in the cupboard for another day.


One or 2 things to note about Henry.

The newer models (2001+) have rubber rear wheels. These are great for cornering, which I will go into more detail in a minute when I review the new model further down.

Secondly, nothing clogs henry up. At home, I have picked up rubble, plaster, concrete dust, paper, cat food, leaves etc with henry, and it goes without a trace.

New Henrys come with a charcoal filter. This is more efficient than the older ones, as it eliminates smells and filters better.

The hose screws onto the front of henry, therefore making it impossible to pull off whilst cleaning. It's also handy for catching him if he decides to go downstairs, as he should just pull back up.

He is VERY ROBUST. I was cleaning the car one day, when I got called to say my friend had been involved in a car accident. I live on a private road, and had henry plugged in through the catflap, so the front door was shut. Without a second thought I threw the hose down, jumped in and drove off, unaware that Henry was infront of the bumper, as I had pulled him around the front of the car. He got smacked and flew about 10 feet into the garage wall, and sustained only a gigantic scuff mark from the bumper, which cleaned off with T-CUT, and a graze from the garage wall.

The cable automatically unwinds. The cable reel is very light, and if you plug him in without fully unreeling him he unreels as you go.

Well, thats it for Henry at home, lets talk about Henry at work!

Right, I work for a well knows Hotel, in the Confrence and Banqueting Dept. We have 9 rooms, 2 are enourmous, and split into two. Theres also corridors and the like. We took delivery on the 22nd of Sept of a brand new 2005 Henry. The contents of the box were the same as the older Henry, except we got a nice fabric Henry shopping bag, which I took home and is hanging on the back of the kitchen door! The setup etc was the same, and it was time to get to work.

I had to clean the big room. There had been a party the night before and my god was it a mess. The tables, chairs etc had already gone, and it was a mass of popped baloons, streamers, food, broken glass in one corner and generall tat. I plugged Henry in and started work.

The new Henrys have a enw style Floorbrush, and it is a vast improvement. It is slightly more rounded at the edges, and has a long plastic cuff that connects to the pipe, making it slightly taller. It sticks to the floor lovely, and works better than the old ones I think.

I had cleaned a corner of the room, and my god was it now clean, when I couldnt go any further. To my surprise, the cable had run out. Yes readers, shock horror, the cable in new Henrys is shorter than older ones!. So, a trip to the cupboard and a 40m extension later nad I was good to go.

Henrys hold 9 litres of rubbish, and I had filled Henry up before I was halfway across the room. As I was at work, and Henry not being mine, and under a maintanance contract et al, I took the bag off, replaced the filter and carried on. I was expecting dust to come through the filter, but was plesantly surprised. I had to empty him again, and did so into a bin bag. THe charcoal filter worked superbly, and no dust had gone through it at all. We now use him bagged, having taken delivery of some more, but if I had to use him bagless again I would.

Sadly, working in a hotel means Henry isnt cared for the same way my one at home is, and after a mere week he is already scuffed and scratched, but he still cleans and is lovely to use.

Now, the next BIG thing on new henrys is the TwinFlow motor. Basically, there is a green switch on the back of him that switches the motor to 750w or 1100w. Personally I think this is a bit of a gimmick, as I have yet to come across a situation where I need less power, but I was proved wrong when my collegue flipped the switch to make him quieter when he had to clean near clients. It still got all the bits up, so I was proven wrong!

Well, I hope you enjoyed that review, look out for my one on my new Hnery Xtra, which I will write later!

Sam

**********EDIT**********

Blimy, I forgot to mention the rubber wheels. The smell of tea wafting up the staird distracted me...

At work, in the bar/foyer area is a large expanse of black marble. The old Henry we had (gotten rid of because some stupid fool sucked up alot of water with it and it undestandably went pop, had the normal plastic wheels, and when you have 3 rooms to service in half an hour you find yourself running about, and running with henry in tow on the marble and then turning to go to a room often involved Hnery doing a sliding tackle on someone as he carried on. With the rubber wheels this doesnt happen. He normally just turns and follows you, although once, and comically he just stopped, then fell over! (guess you had to be there!

Right, finished now!

Summary: Easy to use, lots of hidden features, durable in both commercial and domestic applications

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