Hitachi CV 790

...eventually we opted for the Hitachi CV790. It cost about £40, which seemed eminently reasonable, it was fairly lightweight (4.2kg, apparently) and Hitachi was a name we knew as producing reliable, well-built products.

* Appearance *
I have to admit that the appearance of a vacuum cleaner isn't the most important thing to me! Nevertheless, this model is a reasonably attractive purple-blue colour. Other than that, there's nothing ...
...use *
Using the Hitachi CV790 is very straightforward. The plastic extension pieces with the main vacuuming attachment make a rigid tool long enough that I can stand fully upright when cleaning, so there's no backache. The extension pieces snap together or pull apart without any problem.

It's fairly noisy - but no more so than other vacuum cleaners we've had. Perhaps slightly less so than an upright.

* Emptying ... more

We've had a variety of vacuum cleaners over the years. A couple of uprights - effective but heavy, and awkward for the stairs - and about three of the canister type. All of them had disposable bags, which were easy enough to change, but we found it was sometimes difficult to find replacements. The more popular types would be out of stock, the less popular types unavailable other than by special order!

About five years ago, having struggled for a while with an elderly vacuum cleaner whose suction got progressively worse and worse, we decided to splash out on a new one. We didn't want to spend a vast amount, and were so fed up of the bag-buying problems that we decided to buy a small canister machine which didn't use disposable bags.

There was plenty of choice in the larger electrical shops; eventually we opted for the Hitachi CV790. It cost about £40, which seemed eminently reasonable, it was fairly lightweight (4.2kg, apparently) and Hitachi was a name we knew as producing reliable, well-built products.

* Appearance *
I have to admit that the appearance of a vacuum cleaner isn't the most important thing to me! Nevertheless, this model is a reasonably attractive purple-blue colour. Other than that, there's nothing much to distinguish it from any other small canister model. The body comes in two parts: the motor in one end, the dirt collected in the other.

* Instructions *
There was a small instruction manual which covers all operation of the machine. However we haven't needed to use this, since it works as expected, and so far nothing has needed to be repaired.

* Facilities *
There's a good long section of hose, with extra snap-on plastic extensions and three different attachments. The standard wide floor-cleaning tool has a switch to move its brush up or down - the brush should be down for vacuuming carpets and rugs, up for smooth floors. Since we have a wooden floor, this was potentially useful, although I haven't actually discovered much difference when I forget to flick the switch!

In addition there's a thin attachment for cracks and crevices, and a small brush one for furniture. I don't think I've used these more than a couple of times, since I tend simply to remove the main floor attachment and use the end of one of the hose parts for furniture or the edges of rooms. Nonethelesss, they might come in useful one day. The lack of other attachments isn't a problem at all, from my point of view, and probably contributed to the low price.

On the machine itself, there's a carrying handle well-placed at the top, in the middle, which makes it balance when lifted. This folds back for storage, and seems to be very strong. On the back is the normal off/on switch, which can easily be operated by foot or by hand, and another switch which retracts the electrical cord inside the vacuum cleaner. In addition there's a little window with a 'full' indicator: when the machine needs to be emptied, this shows red.

* Ease of use *
Using the Hitachi CV790 is very straightforward. The plastic extension pieces with the main vacuuming attachment make a rigid tool long enough that I can stand fully upright when cleaning, so there's no backache. The extension pieces snap together or pull apart without any problem.

It's fairly noisy - but no more so than other vacuum cleaners we've had. Perhaps slightly less so than an upright.

* Emptying *
This is where we're less than impressed. Pulling the machine in two to isolate the part with the dust is rather awkward; there's a bar on the top which has to be pressed down, while pulling the two body sections apart. Ideally this needs three hands! The hose also needs to be removed from the dirt section, although that's simple enough with a twist and pull. When this is done, you can see some dark grey fabric; this is the dust filter. Before doing anything else, this entire part of the vacuum cleaner needs to be taken outside. I speak from experience :-0

The filter is held in place by some rather flimsy plastic, with a great deal of dust sticking to it on the inside. The whole thing needs to be shaken without dislodging the filter: this is not easy, and clouds of dust are liable to pour into the air. When you have just vacuumed your house, this is no fun!

After shaking to ensure that as much as possible of the dust and dirt is in the end of the vacuum cleaner, the filter needs to be carefully removed, so that the dust can be emptied into a bin. Then the filter has to be brushed, or banged against a tree, or otherwise freed of as much dust as possible, so that it will be effective for the next time. This is time-consuming and dusty work! I believe it's possible to wash the filter, but haven't yet tried this - it would need to be dried very thoroughly before re-using, and I usually only remember to empty the machine when it's clearly over-full and not working very well.

* How effective is it? *
When the machine is empty, it cleans extremely well. The power is only 1300 watts, but rugs almost lift off the ground with the suction, and the main attachment reaches up to the edges of walls pretty effectively. It's also light enough to carry up and down stairs while cleaning them. When it becomes fuller, the suction becomes weaker, but that's true of any vacuum cleaner.

* Minor problems *
Other than the nuisance of emptying it (which is probably inherent in most bagless vacuum cleaners) the only two problems we've noticed are

(1) the section with the motor gets extremely hot very quickly. After using it, I leave it to cool down for about ten minutes before retracting the electrical cord.

(2) the fullness indicator isn't terribly helpful. It shows almost full when there's very little dirt in it, and completely full when it's only about half full. We now don't take much notice of this, emptying it instead when the suction ceases to be effective.

* Cost and availability *
There is such a wide range of vacuum cleaners that it's hard to predict what is available at each store. Larger electrical shops and online shops either stock this, or one of the slightly higher versions of the same thing. The cost seems to have remained at about £40.

* Summary *
For an inexpensive and effective vacuum cleaner, it would be hard to beat this. It cleans as well as any vacuum cleaner we've had, despite being so small and light. Next time we'll choose one with disposable bags - however this one has lasted five years so far without any sign of deterioration, so all in all it seems like good value. 

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