Meet Henry And Hetty, Vacuum Cleaners
By Benjamen Johnson
Who can clean your house up with a smile? Henry and Hetty (Henriette) vacuum cleaners from Numatec. Never seen the likes of these two before? They need 240V to work, so unless you live in Europe or a similar-powered country, you’re stuck with faceless vacuum cleaners.
Both Henry and Hetty come with a two stage motor. They start in the economy setting and when you need more power you push the red switch for hi power mode. A “Triflex” filter and a “Hepaflow” dust bag filter and collect the dirt. What’s really neat is they have a built-in hand-cranked reel to store the 10-meter cord rather wrapping up the cord or using a spring recoil mechanism prone to breakage.
Pricing for either vacuum starts at $120. The base models come with standard accessories like hose, tubes, and nozzles. As they get more expensive you get turbo brushes and Microtex (Allergen) filtration. If you don’t like Henry or Hetty, you could always check out James, Charles, or George.
Henry [Numatic]
Hetty [Numatec]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
March 9th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Odd fact… these are used by the McLaren F1 team crew in the pit garages.
I’ll see if I can find the photo.
March 9th, 2010 at 1:55 pm
Why would yo have to be in Europe to have 240V do they run off 50 cycle 240?
March 9th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
I have to say they are the worst hoovers ever, And i have had to put up with a henry hoover in a few workplaces. one was a summer job cleaning an office and two more where they were used as dry workshop vacs
March 9th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
My rigid Stainless may not be as cool looking, but i think i will stick with it……….
ShopMonger
March 9th, 2010 at 3:43 pm
The crank-to-wind cord thingy is kinda’ cool, but a way of dealing with the hose (while leaving it connected) would be cooler. Also, need some way of storing the accessories (which I tend to misplace) onboard.
March 9th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Here’s a link:
http://www.gizmodiva.com/home_improvement/hetty_pink_vacuum_cleaner_keeps_you_smiling.php
WOW! $170 for this thing.
March 9th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
I’ve seen a few of these in Canada. Usually for office cleaning. they work great for drywall dust, but I may have seriously shortened their operating life.
I’d love to meet some hands on info on these guys
http://www.industrialvacs.com/Attix_12_AS_PE_2_XC_Super_Quiet_Wet_Dry_Vacuum_p/302000588.htm
wonder if they’re worth the very hefty price tag… the xtremeclean option looks worth while.
March 9th, 2010 at 7:17 pm
I used to have the henry in the UK whilst i was a plumber there. Ours took a beating and never let us down in over 6 years. Never used bags in it and quite often filled the thing with water when sucking pipes dry. They may look like a kids toy but they are far from it. The cord winder is a great feature and never failed once. Im sure it’s still going strong to this day as i left it in UK.
March 9th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
I think I’ve owned my Fein 15 years or more. A really good can vac will be with you forever.
March 9th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
I’m sorry. I have to say it. These things suck.
Now that that’s out of my system, I’d say they likely can be used anywhere on 220 to 240 VAC - usually doesn’t matter if it’s 50 Hz or 60 Hz. And as long as there are no electronic speed controls, most vacuums will even run off DC (if you happen to have high voltage DC around). Just don’t try to shut them off with the built in power switch. (vacs usually have universal motors which like DC just fine, but AC power switches will often arc badly with DC).
March 10th, 2010 at 9:07 am
I’m also sorry but have to say it: these things look really gay. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
March 10th, 2010 at 9:12 am
@MeasureOnceCutTwice: Aren’t they supposed to suck?
March 10th, 2010 at 4:57 pm
@ Old Coot, ok, maybe the pink one, but otherwise they’re kind of cheery.
As to variable suction, I have an older Craftsman wet/dry vac that has a slide rheostat for power that still is working fine, I don’t use it all the time, but the variable suction does come in handy for some tasks where you don’t need, or want full power.
March 10th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
@ Audra: good one….
March 10th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
This may be the crack talking, but I swear I’ve used one of those things when I worked at a Krystals back in the late 80s.
March 11th, 2010 at 9:23 am
WOW! Isn’t that purdy. If you store them next to each other do you get little dust busters?
March 11th, 2010 at 9:24 am
So if you’re using it to clean up drywall dust does it look like an elephant snorting coke?!
March 14th, 2010 at 1:34 am
We used them at a banquet center and they run off 110. I like them plenty of power
March 15th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
I’m concerned that the Pit bull needs a special kind of proprietor…these dogs, no matter how ’supportive’ still have teeth, are nevertheless creatures with no moral concepts and once they DO bite, won’t let go. As in all creatures…some have a tendency to be far more suseptable to instinctual behavior and time and time once again, this breed tends to complete just that.
July 5th, 2010 at 11:10 am
[...] via Amazon Numatic Vacuums via Amazon.co.uk (Amazon’s UK Portal) Product Info via Numatic Ben Johnson’s post over at ToolMonger This entry was posted in Vacuums & Dust Collection and tagged Numatic. [...]