Benny - well said - I couldn't agree more. Buyers only know "half" of the story where Air watts is concerned. But I don't think knowing "what level of air watts is required for certain cleaning,"is required since that would be impossible to gauge. Homes are different both on sizes, traffic from people, pets, lifestyles etc. It would be impossible to statistically state to what extent suitable air watts would be justified for each task, and before you know it, it could translate to buyers wanting to know, as pedantic as it seems, the levels of water used in a kettle to make it economically viable. Those with 3kw kettles and that daft Tefal One Cup are dreaming if they think their products are eco-friendly, even if brands promise it. 

IMHO Air watts is a by word from Dyson - and it only appeared in the UK under the marketing that everyone now wants to get into the act of. 

Noise levels are something that can only be trusted with half way too - if they are tested in a room that is void of noise, then fine, but brands like Hoover claim 79dbl is "quiet" when the machines they claim are quiet, aren't really and the tests that brands reveal aren't always consistent either. Really, it depends on your own choices, but there should be more outlets in the UK other than John Lewis where you can test run a few machines before you buy.

Um.. well it isn't Argos fault - its the manufacturer who supplies the stats and the prices at the time of the purchasing. I only know this because I moaned to Argos a few years ago about the pricing of one of their dishwashers I was going to buy. Argos purchase models and appliances from the brands and use the prices as they see fit. Argos also take into consideration what other companies are doing, such as Comet, John Lewis et al - therefore they either offer a competitive pricing structure or a "lead in, brand new" pricing. 

The best thing about Argos is that sometimes you don't get what you actually purchased - mate of mine bought a JVC budget micro hifi a couple of years ago that cost £99-99 and got a premium JVC unit that Argos was also selling at £399! Sometimes the companies misplace the products under the wrong product code and it also happens with a lot of other appliances, including vacuums. 

Also the "cheap tat" that someone else referred to here at Argos isn't Argos own - some of the bagged cylidner vacuums are a mix of Eureka cylinder vacs from the U.S under the Proaction & Russell Hobbs tag, to Argos Value who rebadge Vax appliances that aren't always available in the UK. Case in point - Argos Value bagless upright is based on the Vax Essentials upright, sat underneath it in the website - you can clearly tell, despite the colour changes - model numbers are pretty similar too.

Sorry, but I couldn't disagree more. For me, it's all about air-watts generated. Look out how well the Hoover Junior and Turbopower perform and they only use 300w and 410w respectively. My Panasonic 47 has incredible suction power and that only use 700w max. Infact, it has stronger suction than my mother's 1800w Electrolux.

Just look at old Numatic cylinders as a prime example. 800w and you know how much suction they have.

On another note, I also have to disagree with you about the Argos Value range. I'd sooner pay £35 for a cheapie, Argos Value bagless vac than pay £100 for pretty much the same machine but branded "Vax" or "Hoover" (the Vax Power and Hoover Whirlwind range are virtually identical in design). The bagged cleaners are actually not half bad, especially for the price.

Ah but Chris, you're falling into that trap already that "air watts" is the same as motor watts - if you refer to the old Hoover uprights that use the actual wattage power of 300w and 410w, there are not air watts and if there was a way to find out what the air watts were these days with these old vacuums, they wouldn't be very much from the hose. Also don't forget that of the Hoover models you do mention, those are upright by design only. I can recall from my own Hoover Junior U1104 that the suction through the hose wasn't that good, and a bit better with the convertor on my older Junior U1012 upright. 

As Benny pointed out, air watts only goes so far -it is pointless taking into account air watts where bagged vacuums are concerned anyway as the dust eventually clogs the bag and the suction is reduced. This also occurs as well with the Vax/cheap branded bagless vacs with the "regularly clean" filters for extra maintenance of power - air watts can't be trusted unless they have been put into a vacuum that offers constant suction all the time, and we all know what brand uses that as a heavy advertiser.

As you know not all vacuums are made the same - the Numatic has an excellent sealed suction system and likewise with Sebo, it depends on the actual way air flow is maintained as well as minimising air leakage through performance that produces the power, not just the motor alone. 

Lastly, as the previous owner of an Argos Value bagged upright, they're good at what they are designed to do - but getting the bags and belts for it can be a complete nightmare! Getting drive belts off the high street was impossible. I don't like to shop for everything online but that's an issue you have to do because Argos eventually get rid of stock like consumables as well as running out on a daily or weekly basis. The bagged upright is fantastic value, but you do have to do a lot more assembly than the cheapest mass-brand bagged vacuum that Argos sell and because of its exclusivity, I often had to buy two packs of dust bags to keep me going. It was cheap to buy, but to maintain for a medium sized home with 3 people sharing, not really that cost effective. If the bags had been larger on capacity, then yes I could well have seen it as an economical purchase; thus the Panasonic upright that Argos sell is far more reliable, not just in terms of performance but for the fact that nationally and locally, there are far more widespread parts, bags and filters - as well as having a larger dust bag capacity.

Well, as I did say in my post originally - its how airflow is maintained, how well sealed the vacuum is and if it has sealed suction. However, Benny even if a vacuum cleaner is well built, the air watts can't be trusted because they diminish as soon as the bag or filter gets clogged up with dust.

Where other confusion can often happen between global consumers and buyers is that the old adage that the higher wattage a vacuum cleaner's motor has, the better suction it will produce. This then leads to the three type vacuum cleaner processes;  dirty fan, clean fan and tandem air. I recall there were other threads on here regarding dirty fan vs clean air.  

In so far as a dirty fan vacuum cleaner producing a better "cleaning action," versus high powered clean air vacuums, the use of air watts to suggest that one is better than the other would probably show that the air watts is lower from a dirty fan compared to that of the higher motor built into a clean fan system. Yet... when you think about it, we, as buyers and consumers are only going by our own experiences - thus air watts can't really be trusted as law.

It would be fine if all vacuums maintained suction all the time when or if bags got to their fullest, or if that paper pleated cone filter in a cheap bagless brand never clogged. Air watts could therefore be more trustworthy and consistent. It appears to me air watts has been overused and is thus a false promise - a bit like "lifetime filters."