Bosch BCS122GB Unlimited Serie | 8 - Rechargeable Cordless and Lightweight Vacuum Cleaner for Multiple Surfaces with Two Interchangeable Power For All Battery Packs and Quick Charger,White

Product Information

While both machines last quite a while between charges when I choose the normal and eco settings, I rarely use them. Instead, my and many others’ default settings are boost or turbo, which creates the strongest suction but drains the battery the fastest. When it comes to suction, the Unlimited 7 proved to be a bit of a lightweight in our tests. A good vacuum cleaner isn’t only about the suction, but power in this regard certainly helps. On its most powerful setting, the vacuum only measured 11kPa. As you can see from our chart below, that’s only just over one-third of what a Dyson V15 Detect can manage (before it cuts out), and its similarly priced rivals are all more powerful even in low-power mode. When emptying the dirt container, it’s crucial that you can carry the dirt from the device to the dustbin as easily and as cleanly as possible. Every manufacturer has its own system. Some work well, and others don’t. We have little doubt Bosch has specified a lower torque brush bar motor to save power and increase runtime but – like the ineffective normal power mode – it’s a false economy. We would happily trade a couple of minutes of Turbo runtime for a brushbar that cleaned consistently without slowing or stopping. It’s not an issue we have experienced with Bosch’s premium competitors either. That alone lets down an otherwise excellent carpet-cleaning performance. Bosch claims that this filter system that the air is 99.9% clean when it gets out of the device. And indeed, when you pull out the filter, you can see that it catches a lot of dirt and small particles.

We measured between 66 and 72 dB while testing the BOSCH Unlimited Series 8 cordless vacuum. This volume is tolerable, and you can still have a conversation while vacuuming. With these standard tests, we aim to compare different vacuum cleaners and offer you the best possible advice. But the best thing about the exchangeable battery is yet to come. The highlight is that you can use the same battery for many other Bosch tools, too. We’ll talk more about that later. How big and heavy is the Bosch Unlimited from the Series 8? In constant use, we got single-battery run times a fair bit longer than Bosch’s claims. These ranged from a truly staggering 89 minutes on normal power mode with just a detail tool attached, to a fairly respectable nine minutes on Turbo power mode with the floorhead running. An hour and half of cleaning from a single battery is our new vacuum cleaner runtime record by miles – and you get two batteries. Three hours of vacuuming anyone? No, us neither.Both floorheads of the Dyson V15 did a great job of limiting the hair wrap issue. Its High Torque 2.0 floorhead also features a row of fangs, which help send most of the vacuumed hair into the dust cup instead of letting it end up on the roller. Thanks to that, it is unnecessary to spend minutes cleaning the roller after each cleaning session. We used the Unlimited BCs122GB on stairs with both the tube attached and with the floorhead connected directly to the cleaner body. Both worked well and, if you have straight steps, the tube gives extra reach and you can support it with your other hand. For more complex stairs, shortening up the system and using the floorhead directly works well.

An essential advantage of cordless vacuum cleaners is the "2-in-1 function". It increases versatility in use enormously. Now you can also use it to clean your car. The Bosch has two power levels, normal and Turbo. To summarise, let’s call these settings ‘poor’ and ‘properly effective’ respectively. On carpet, a little more was left behind. I measured 96% of the spill collected, though a visible dusting remained after the first pass. I found it was best to employ the upholstery brush, as the velvety bristles had just enough agitation to gather the remnants from our short pile carpet.The Unlimited 8’s filter, on the other hand, has a fine mesh canister with a pleated filter inside. The producer advertises that this filter system can trap 99.9% of dust and dirt, like HEPA filters. It isn’t washable and can be rinsed by twisting the red handle on top, called Rotation Clean. The Unlimited 8’s filter can be rinsed by twisting the red handle on top

Emptying the collection bin is a fairly old-school endeavour. It sits at right angles to the extension wand, so this needs removing before the bin can be extracted from the handheld unit. The filter is then lifted out, leaving just the cup full of dust to be tipped into the bin. On the downside, it has few of the features that are slowly becoming absolute essentials on a cordless vacuum. While I could live with the clunky emptying (and actually, I’m slightly taken by it), I would find it hard to introduce a vacuum into my household that doesn’t comb hair tangles out of its floor head. We would have much rather seen the normal mode offer twice the suction and half the runtime. That would give you about half an hour of ‘normal’ cleaning with the floorhead per battery. As it is, with its two batteries, the Unlimited BCS122GB offers over two hours of not very much at all on normal mode. The Bosch Unlimited has a size of 130 cm (51.2 inches) from top to bottom. That’s about the same as most other cordless vacuum cleaners on the market. Most people can vacuum comfortably with this size. There are no unnecessary additions, buttons or edges. The device’s design contains everything it needs for its actual task - no more, no less.

A decent enough cordless vacuum cleaner but rivals offer more for the same price

For one thing, you have to disassemble the device entirely whenever you want to empty the container because the individual parts are arranged that way. We would have expected a better system from the traditional company. The Dyson V15 has a single HEPA filter that is washable to extend the life and maintain the performance of the unit. Bosch Unlimited 8’s noise level is measured between 67 and 71 dB, which is tolerable, and I could still have a conversation with my wife while vacuuming without raising my voice. This volume is quieter than many of its premium cordless competitors, including the Dyson V15, which produces 71 to 76 dB of noise. Display Screen Even using normal power mode with the motorised floorhead we got around an hour’s worth of cleaning. That is truly outstanding run time. Turbo mode with the non-motorised tools delivered around 14 minutes. At 65dB, the BCS122GB competes with some of the market’s best low-noise and ‘silence’ mains cleaners. You won’t disturb the neighbours even during midnight cleaning sorties.

The brush is 25 cm (9.8 inches) wide, and its roller has a width of 21 cm (8.3 inches). That size is entirely sufficient for cleaning. We even reached the corners and got under most of our furniture. The Dyson V15 still shines brightly on both low and high carpets with the High Torque 2.0 floorhead. The only issue I initially had was finding it a little challenging to push the machine on my high carpets. But then I adjusted a slider on the floorhead, and everything was okay. Hair Yet the 18 minutes runtime (nine minutes x 2) on the Turbo mode gives you ample high-power floor cleaning to rival any current mains-powered cleaner. The cleaning performance on hard floors was outstanding. It just took a little longer with the lentils and the oat flakes because it pushed a few lentils in front of the brush at first.

The Bosch Unlimited 7 gets many things right, but doesn’t keep pace with the latest cordless stick developments

At its best, the BCS122GB offers staggering good cordless cleaning. But at this price, we would expect a more polished all-around performance. Verdict Unfortunately, we experienced that the emptying function of the Bosch Unlimited from the new Series 8 leaves a lot to be desired. While being cordless and having a direct floorhead is undoubtedly the ideal scenario for stair cleaning, we again missed having a small turbo tool for these duties. The main floorhead is a little unwieldy and a small tool would have also allowed us to clean the carpeted step verticals. The Bosch Unlimited 8 has two vacuuming settings: normal and turbo. Likewise, the Bosch Unlimited 8 features three cleaning modes: eco, auto, and boost. In Turbo and Boost modes, these vacuums will, of course, have the most suction, making them the best cleaners they can be. Those are also the settings I used for my tests. Hard floors The bin itself takes a little getting used to as it releases from the cleaner by tipping forward and away. Emptying is as simple as pulling out the filter unit and tipping out the contents.