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The Dyson V8 is the most fun I’ve had with a vacuum cleaner, it’s also the most expensive one I’ve ever used. Dyson’s 2017 iteration of its signature cordless vacuum cleaner promises more suction strength than its predecessor, the V6, and double its battery life.
As of launch in 2017 in Singapore, the Dyson V8 Fluffy Pro retailed at $999 and the Dyson V8 Absolute Plus at $1,099 (the Absolute Plus had more accessories, including a direct-drive cleaner head for deeper carpet cleaning).
Here's what I liked and disliked about it.
Dyson V8 Fluffy Review
Dyson V8 Charging Time
You’ll either love or hate the way the Dyson V8 looks, with its exposed innards and bright colors. Red indicates parts you can manipulate, like the red trigger and the attachment points. The blue parts, like the filters, can be cleaned. Nothing about the Dyson V8 is superfluous.
Because the Dyson V8 takes 5.5 hours to fully recharge, Dyson recommends you plug it in and leave it, which made me worry about increasing my power bill. However, Dyson tells me that the V8 is clever enough to stop charging once it’s done, and doesn’t draw any power once idle.
Dyson V8 Weight
The Dyson V8 weighs 2.6kg, the same as a light dumbbell, which sounds daunting when you think about hauling it through the entire house. For my part, I found it to be fine once I got the hang of it, but heaviness is subjective and I can’t say it’d be a comfortable weight for everyone.
Using it as a handheld cleaner was also fine for me. The one body part that did get tired wasn’t my bicep, but my finger. Continuously holding the trigger down to activate the vacuum got tiresome — it would have been nice to have a trigger lock of some kind.
Dyson V8 Absolute Plus comes with a direct-drive cleaner head, for people with deep carpets or pets.
Dyson V8 Attachments
The Dyson V8 offers a lot of tools for the cleaning aficionado. I tested the Dyson Fluffy Pro, but Dyson recommends the Absolute Plus, which comes with a direct-drive cleaner head, for people with deep carpets or pets. The soft roller cleaner head is likely the one you’ll use most of the time, and it’s highly maneuverable. It can rotate parallel to the ground (but the canister gets in the way), and smoothly to the sides, making it easy to get to those tough spots.
The other attachments give you quite a bit of flexibility to reach into odd spaces and get the cleaning that you want doing, and there’s even a mini motorised tool that you can use to clean beds with. Unfortunately, the Dyson V8’s instruction manual doesn’t contain a description of each attachment and what it’s best used for. I couldn’t find any descriptions on Dyson’s website either, I had to email Dyson to find out.
Dyson V8’s suction power is thanks to the V8 digital motor, which spins at up to 110,000 times a minute to suck air and debris in.
Dyson V8 Suction power
For a complete sweep of my 1,400 square foot flat, I averaged a cleaning time of 20 to 25 minutes, which is under the Dyson’s maximum run time (just vacuuming, no dusting). It also means that if you have a bigger place than mine, you should probably not get the V8.
The Dyson V8’s suction power is thanks to the V8 digital motor, which spins at up to 110,000 times a minute to suck air and debris in — that’s five times faster than a Formula One car engine. Since the V8’s digital motor is more powerful than the V6’s, I feel confident in saying that you won’t find the V8’s cleaning ability to be lacking.
Instead of roaring like other vacuum cleaners, the V8 runs with a diminished, higher-pitched whine that’s supposed to be 50% quieter than its older vacuums. It’s not whisper quiet, but you can almost have a conversation over it. If you hold your face near the back of the V8, you’ll find a cool breeze blowing there. That’s where the air that’s being sucked in is ejected, and through a HEPA filter no less, which means the air going out of the V8 is likely cleaner than the air that’s going in.
Dyson V8 Fluffy Battery Drain
After weeks of using the various attachments, I’ve noticed that each has its various quirks. The soft roller picks up debris best when moving forwards, not back. It can suck in things it rolls over, but not so much things at its very edges. The combination tool is good for brushing dust, but its suction is stronger when you pull the bristles back.
There were hard to reach debris that also resisted my efforts to get them, but turning the V8 to maximum power helped to resolve that — I wish the vacuum could be set to max strength all the time, but the battery drains in mere minutes when you do.
How often to clean Dyson filter?
Dyson recommends you clean the filter once a month. The soft roller cleaner head, as well as the main canister, can also be disassembled and cleaned. Some people might find cleaning the vacuum a hassle, but I appreciate that the V8 is built for maintenance; cleaning the cleaner is both meta and satisfying. Disassembling the various parts was surprisingly easy, and so was putting them back again.
For most people, S$999 to S$1,099 is a lot of coin to drop for a vacuum cleaner. If you’ve been blessed by the gods of fortune and can drop that amount without hesitation, then I think you’ll find the V8 a good vacuum cleaner.
For those who need to chew on it more, here’s what I’d think might make the V8 worthwhile: Convenience and power.
Dyson V8 Convenient
With the Dyson V8, I’ve performed more acts of random cleaning, whenever I’ve had a few spare minutes or spotted some dirt lying around. The V8 makes it easy; unplug, vacuum, plug it back. No fumbling with power cords or lugging around a vacuum involved. The V8 doubles as a handheld, which is great for dusting, and also for cleaning the car, something I usually have to pay to get done.
You can get other cordless vacuums for the same convenience and cheaper price, but the Dyson V8 also has power, with enough suction for most filthy needs. A ‘Max’ switch is there to dial up the power for when you need more.
If you enjoy cleaning like I do, then the V8 is a tool that makes it a little more delightful. And if you don’t, well, maybe the V8’s convenience — and the price you pay for it — will encourage you to do it a little more.
The model that has been reviewed is no longer available for sale, but you can get the Dyson V8 Slim Fluffy for $509 at the official Dyson store at Lazada.
This article was first published on Hardware Zone in July 2017.
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