When I saw that Hoover had brought the Constellation back out in mid-2006, I was skeptical at first and imagined they had significantly altered (and subsequently cheapened) the design from the original machine. Imagine my surprise that the same basic design remained but was slightly modernized to fit the requirements of the 21st century household! At that point I thought I would pick one up and give it a try for myself.
The first thing I noticed about the machine is that it still retains its durable all-steel housing like its predecessor. Aside from Metropolitan and Air-Tec/Black Knight I do not know of any other manufacturer that produces a metal-body canister model now that Air-Way is no longer around, and especially not at this price. Just for the construction alone the machine is already a great value.
As with its predecessor, there are no wheels. The exhaust is located underneath the machine, propelling it on a cushion of air. The final filter (yes, this is a HEPA machine and the bag is made of a Filtrete cloth material) doubles as an exhaust diffuser, so the machine hovers easily on both bare floors and carpets. One thing I did notice, however, was that there is a downside to the downward exhaust; it tends to blow dust around especially if it is light (i.e. cat hair). The durable stretch hose is long enough for most above-floor cleaning tasks, and unlike most other cleaners available today, the attachments are of good quality. The bristles on the floor and dusting brushes, as well as the upholstery brush insert, are nice and long. No short "scrub brushes" here to potentially damage furniture.
The suction is very powerful and the turbine nozzle, with its unique reverse-chevron pattern, is surprisingly aggressive on carpets. Even so, adding a power nozzle would make this machine perform even better; it is such a simple machine that there is no reason why a power nozzle could not be added, something that is normally standard equipment on most full-sized canisters. The bare floor brush is one of the best I have used, and glides along effortlessly. The bristles are staggered in the front (a feature I wish was more common) to pick up crumbs and other debris. Due to the lack of a power nozzle I would only recommend this machine if you have mostly bare floors; in that case I would highly recommend.
Date Purchased: 12/06
Price Paid: $160
Recommend: Yes |
Pros:
All-metal construction, hovers on both carpet and bare floors, powerful suction, good bag capacity, quality attachments, relatively quiet, excellent value for the price.
Cons:
No electric power nozzle or power nozzle outlet which is standard on most full-size canisters, so may not be the best for carpets. May blow dust around due to exhaust configuration. |
