Shark PowerDetect Transformer Review

Design and features

• 2-in-1 design
• Clever second bin
• Very easy to use

It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a Shark plug-in vacuum cleaner. In fact, it was back in 2022 when I took a look at the Shark NZ860UKT. That cleaner, like many before it, had Shark’s innovative Lift-Away mode, whereby the main bin and vacuum motor can be removed, turning the cleaner into a kind of cylinder cleaner.

Lift-Away mode is useful for getting under furniture or into tighter spaces, but its limitation is that you’re still tethered to the cylinder and can only clean as far as the hose will reach. And, there are now more companies that offer similar tech, such as the Vax LiftOut Multi Pet-Design.

The Shark PowerDetect Transformer is designed to do something different. I’ve got the fetching green version on review, but there’s also a blue version if you prefer.

Externally, it doesn’t look that different from previous Shark uprights. And, in many ways, it’s not that different.

There’s an 8m power cord, which wraps around the two nodules at the back of the cleaner when not in use. That’s a fairly standard cable length, but it means that you should be able to clean a floor with a single well-placed power socket, or perhaps two at most.

There’s a large 1.3L bin on the front, which is easily big enough for a whole home clean. It’s a pretty easy-to-use cleaner, too. Power it on, lift the handle back and the vacuum’s easy to push around, despite its considerable 8kg weight.

It helps that this model has an automatic mode, which uses its sensors to adjust brush-roll speed based on floor type and vary power based on the level of dust detected. If you prefer, you can override and set the mode automatically: deep pile carpet, short pile carpet or hard floor mode.

To aid dust detection, the floor head has a blue light on the front, similar to the one provided in the Shark PowerDetect Speed Clean and Empty Pet Pro IA3241UKT. It genuinely helps to identify areas that need a more thorough going over.

Here, Shark has its DuoClean floor head: a finned floor head for agitating dirt on carpeted surfaces, and a roller for picking up dirt on hard floors. Of course, the floor head is anti-hair-wrap.

This head takes Shark’s anti-odour capsules, releasing a pleasant smell as you clean. I really like these capsules and my house smells fresh after each cleaning session.

Adding an automatic power mode alone would make this vacuum cleaner stand out from its plug-in competition, but the real changes start to happen when you remove the bin.

Doing so turns the Shark PowerDetect Transformer from an upright cleaner into a stick cleaner. Unlike Shark’s Lift-Away cleaners, there’s no hose and you can move as far as the power cord will let you.

In stick mode, the Shark PowerDetect Transformer is far more nimble and easier to use than Lift-Away cleaners. So, what about dust, where does that go?

Cleverly, there’s a 0.2L bin in this mode, which is ideal for smaller jobs, such as cleaning out a car or using the floor head to get under a sofa or sideboard.

In stick mode, the Shark PowerDetect Transformer uses its secondary, less powerful vacuum motor. In effect, it’s a completely different tool, a true plug-in stick vacuum.

When connected to the floor head, you get the same automatic modes, but the manual modes loses the more powerful deep pile carpet option. 

Handheld tools can be used with the wand attached, so you can clean without bending down or even for higher up around the tops of walls. 

Or, you can remove the wand and use the provided tools in true handheld mode, getting right where you need to.

Shark provides a crevice tool, upholstery tool and mini motorised pet tool in the box, and there’s even a handy bag to put them in.

However, the main bin also has two clips on it for attaching two tools, so you can take these where you want.

It is possible to empty the mini bin by hand, but it flicks up on a spring and is hard to empty cleanly.

Fortunately, there’s a better option. Leave the power on, clip the bin back on, and the primary motor takes over and automatically empties the little bin into the big one.

Once the big bin is full, you can empty it by pressing the eject button to open up the flap at the bottom.

In the larger bin section, there are two filters, which can be removed and cleaned to maintain suction power.

Don’t forget, you need to clean the filters in the handheld section, too. It’s an extra job, but the overall flexibility is worth it.

Truly, there’s nothing else quite like the Shark PowerDetect Transformer: it really is a supremely powerful upright vacuum cleaner when you need it, and a lighter, more flexible stick cleaner for other jobs.

Performance

• Cleans brilliantly
• Powerful handheld mode

I typically test vacuum cleaners by measuring their power in air watts (AW), measured at the handle. With the Shark PowerDetect Transformer I could do that, but as handheld mode uses the smaller motor, the overall power rating is lower than you might expect: 123AW is still powerful, but other cleaners score more highly here because they use a single more powerful motor.

Even so, with 123AW on offer, the Shark PowerDetect Transformer is very powerful. Lining up a column of rice, I found that the crevice tool could suck up grains from 2.4cm away. That shows that handheld jobs, such as cleaning out a car or the bottom of a wardrobe, should be fast.

Going back to the full power upright mode, and running my real world dust collection tests, I was impressed with the power on offer.

Starting with my carpet test, I added 20g of flour to the floor and then ran the Shark PowerDetect Transformer through the middle forwards and backwards. As the clean lines show, this vacuum picks up dust edge-to-edge.

Completing the test, 99.8% of my dust was collected, which is phenomenal.

I then moved to the edge test, adding 10g of flour to carpet tiles. With edge detect, the Shark PowerDetect Transformer’s floor head can adjust suction to improve edge performance. Overall, a 95% collection rate shows that’s true.

On a hard floor, 20g of rice were collected with none spilling out. A perfect result.

I also combed cat hair into the carpet, and all of this was removed with a single pass. 

That left the human hair test. Putting strands down on the floor, I let the Shark PowerDetect Transformer collect it all, and then inspected the floor head: not a single strand was wrapped around.

I measured the Shark PowerDetect Transformer at 71.7dB, which about where I’d expect a plug-in upright to be: loud enough to here, not too loud as be annoying to use.

Should you buy it?