Alfawise AR182 BLDC Review

We’ll have a look at the Alfawise AR182 BLDC, a budget cordless stick vacuum option for folks looking for a cost-effective option.

Looking at the spec sheet, it has a lot of suction rated at 18,000 pascals. Like other brands such as Dyson and Roidmi, it’s got interchangeable tools that provide it with good versatility.

The airflow tests I did reveal that this vacuum in its highest power setting is equivalent to the Roidmi F8’s lowest setting. But cleaning tests reveal that the brush roll makes up for the lack of airflow, and it scored high in most of the cleaning tests.

Cheap Cordless Stick Vacuum by Alfawise

Alfawise AR182BLDC

The AR182BLDC is one of the least expensive cordless stick vacuums available. It boasts of a large 0.8-liter dust cup capacity, which would be bigger than a Dyson V10 and V11! Suction is decent, but the agitation makes up for the low-end airflow. For a budget cordless vacuum, the performance is surprisingly excellent. It scored high on nearly all of the cleaning tests, except for the large debris tests where it just pushed the Cherriors forward because of the low clearance. This vacuum also did well with picking up embedded dirt, scoring 96.05% with the embedded coffee on medium pile carpet test. However, like most options at this price range, it does not have a sealed system, and allergens will seep through the exhaust.

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Pros

Cons

Introduction to the Alfawise AR182 BLDC

The design of the Alfawise AR182BLDC looks similar to the Dyson V8, but the finish is a notch below, which is what you’d expect from a product at this range.

Taking it out of the box, this vacuum is slim. The quality of plastic that Alfawise used is decent, but you won’t mistake it for a Dyson for sure.

I’d still put the Roidmi ahead of this when it comes to fit and finish, but you get what you pay for.

The Alfawaise AR182BLDC has a two-tone white and gray finish with lots of red accents. It has a similar design to the Dyson V8, but with a larger dust cup.

Looking closely at it, Alfawise squeezed out extra real estate thanks to the smaller middle filter.

It’s got two filters inside: foam and a cloth filter. Both of these parts are washable. Unfortunately, like all of the vacuums in this price range, it does not have a sealed system, meaning fine dust and allergens will get back out through the exhaust.

If you have allergens, you may want to consider spending a bit more for something with a sealed system such as a Roidmi F8, Shark ION P50, or a Dyson V8.

Please watch the video below for more details about this vacuum.

How does the Alfawise AR182 BLDC Clean?

Like the Roidmi F8, the Alfawise AR182 BLDC comes with two brush rolls, a soft roller bar, and a standard bristle brush.

Soft roller

The design of the soft roller brush is similar to the Dyson. However, the clearances around it are tight, so don’t expect it to clean large debris. Around the brush are seals that help it perform well at picking up the surface and embedded dirt.

Hard Brush Floor Tool

The hard brush floor tool is Alfawise’s standard brush attachment that has soft and stiff bristles. I’d say that it is a good design because it scores high in the deep cleaning tests I did thanks to the seals around the brush roll. However, the width of the brush is a bit lacking.

These brushes are interchangeable, depending on whether you need to clean carpet or hard floor.

The difference between this product and the F8 is the clearance of which the main floor tool has.

It doesn’t have much clearance to clean up only stuff as large as Quaker oats. It will struggle with large stuff such as Fruit loops.

Since the tool has a low profile, Alfawise put in three small openings to fit large bits of dirt in front of the tool.

These ridges are quite effective in the tests I did, at least for a pile of Quaker oats and coffee.

Cleaning Tests

To see how effective the Alfawise AR1828 BLDC, I put it through a series of tests to see how well it picks up the surface and embedded dirt.

I tested it on both hard floors and carpet on 50 grams of Quaker oats and ground coffee beans.

Here are the results

Hard Floor Cleaning

It did a superb job cleaning Quaker oats picking up 98.8% of it. Some of it got caught on the wheels, but a majority was inside the dust cup.

Cleaning finer bits of dirt such as coffee won’t be an issue with this stick vacuum.

I was pleasantly surprised by how well this cord-free stick vacuum picks up dirt on bare floors. There was some snowplowing, which is to be expected since the floor tool has a narrow opening.

When you compare it to other stick vacuums like the Jimmy JV51, it pales in comparison.

But it was still able to do well, at least with cleaning Quaker oats and coffee grounds, where it could pick up close to 99%.

It did not do as well in cleaning Cheerios since the gap is so small that the tool plows it forward. Even if you try and lift the cleaning head, it will wedge between the soft roller brush and the tool’s inner frame. There isn’t much space.

The low clearance makes it impossible for the Alfawise AR182BLDC to clean large debris like Cheerios. As you’ll see in the photo above, it’ll just snowplow large dirt as such.

Carpet Cleaning

The results were almost the same on the carpet as the Alfawise AR182BLDC picked up 98.2% of Quaker oats and 94.6% of coffee grounds of low pile carpet.

I also did a deep cleaning test on mid pile carpet, and it did surprisingly well, picking up 94.8% of coffee grounds on the medium-pile carpet.

Here’s a before and after screenshot of the deep cleaning test I did on medium-pile carpet. Most of the stuff you see are stains from the coffee grounds. Despite the low suction, the cleaning head is a good enough agitation and seal to pick up embedded dirt from carpet.

I really wasn’t expecting too much from this budget stick vacuum, but it really exceeded expectations.

How long will the Alfawise AR182 BLDC run?

To test run time, I just turned on the vacuum until empty and recorded how long it ran.

I did the tests with the main cleaning head attached, and these are the results.

It didn’t run as long as the Roidmi F8 or the Dyson V10, but it’s decent since it doesn’t have as large a battery as the other two vacuums I mentioned.

Noise Level

I used a sound meter to measure how much noise this vacuum produces around two feet away.

It isn’t very noisy at low power, topping out at just a touch below 66 decibels. It’s a bit louder on the max setting but still less noisy than the Roidmi F8 I tested in a previous review at just over 71 decibels.

Maintenance Costs

The main thing to keep tidy on any vacuum is the filter. The AR182BLDC has two such filters that you need to wash regularly. There’s a cloth filter, and the main foam filter – both of these are washable.

One grip I have with this product is you’ll need to clean the main foam filter often as it soaks up dirt quite fast.

This is how the filter looks like after all the cleaning tests I did.

It is filthy, to say the least, but all cord-free vacuums at this price range will have the same issue, so it’s not a big deal. If you want better filtration and spend less time cleaning filters, you’ll have to spend more.

Quality and Ergonomics

Being a budget cord-free vacuum, the plastics that Alfawise used for this vacuum is decent. I like this product because the attachments lock in place, so there’s little risk of the plastic cracking.

One plus of using cheaper plastic is that it’s lighter. With the primary tool, wand, and body, this product weighs just 3.08 pounds, making it one of the lightest stick vacuums available.

However, with the motor and dust cup at the handle, this product will be top-heavy. It’s manageable, but you can feel the weight on the arm and wrist when cleaning areas high up.

The swivel steering is decent, but it isn’t as smooth as higher-end brands like the Shark and Dyson.

Another quirk would be the plastic wheels behind the main floor attachment. Dirt will stick on it and may affect how it smooth it rolls of hard surfaces.

The LED headlight provides added visibility and is a big help when vacuuming dim areas under furniture.

Tools and Attachments

The Alfawise AR182BLDC comes to these attachments.

Does the Alfawise AR182BLDC provide good value?

This product is one of the best budget stick vacuums I’ve tested. It performed surprisingly well in the cleaning tests that I did, scoring really high marks in nearly all of the cleaning tests, scoring 95% on average.

Except the Cheerios tests, it was superb in cleaning small to medium-sized debris.

There are some issues with dirt getting stuck on the two large plastic wheels at the back.

The swivel steering wasn’t as smooth, and the quick-release lock requires a little force to remove.

Filtration is another weak point, as the foam filter will get soaked with dirt after just a few days. So frequent cleaning is a must to maintain the performance.

But you’ve got to remember that this vacuum costs below $100 and cordless vacuums at this price range will have these issues.

5 Reasons why you should consider the Alfawise AR182 BLDC

Click here to learn more about the Alfawise AR182 BLDC.

The verdict

I was pleasantly surprised at the performance of this vacuum as it scored high in the cleaning tests. This budget stick vacuum is an excellent option for people looking for something cheap that will do the job.

It’s got decent power and agitation to clean small to medium-sized dirt. Don’t expect it to clean Fruit loops or anything similar to its tight clearance.

Despite not having as much suction as more expensive options, it has good agitation to clean embedded dirt.

The quality of plastic that Alfawise used is decent but not top-notched, but that’s expected at any vacuum at this low price point.