Far from being a substitute, broom, handheld or vertical vacuum cleaners are the perfect complements to home cleaning thanks to their versatility and high availability. Within the wide range of vacuum cleaners of the Spanish manufacturer, Cecotec analyzed the new Conga RockStar 900 Ultimate, one of its most complete and powerful models.
If you already have a robot vacuum cleaner at home it may never have gone through your head to get hold of a broom-type wireless handheld vacuum cleaner, it's logical because after all, both products do the same function: vacuuming and even your robot do so without having to do the least effort.
But if you think about it there are many occasions when the robot vacuum cleaner is very limited, it is not worth starting to collect those crumbs that have fallen to the ground after the meal, you also can not climb it on top of the sofa to remove dirt between the cushions, use it on high surfaces or put it inside the car to clean the upholstery.
It is in this type of circumstance that a cordless broom vacuum cleaner like this Cecotec Conga RockStar 900 Ultimate that we analyze today takes on all its meaning.
I have to admit that I am a believer in this type of product, there is a before and after one of them entered my life and there is no day I do not use it. No lint resists me and I have learned to be very demanding when it comes to performance. On paper this Conga RockStar 900 Ultimate by Valencian Cecotec has everything you need to meet my high expectations: a variety of accessories, power, autonomy... will you be able to live up to it?
Specifications that surprise and place you in the top range
The first thing that catches the eye of Cecotec's RockStar 900 is its futuristic design, in the Dyson model line but somewhat more discreet, which in my opinion favours it. It also highlights the volume of the vacuuming unit, it is somewhat larger than I imagined, but without being unmanageable with one hand, something fundamental.
Inside the box, all accessories arrive unarmed (except dust and air filters), even its 3000 mAh and 29.6 V Lithium-Ion battery that attaches and decouples from the main unit quickly and easily, just slide it until you hear the 'click' of the part that doubles as a button for removal.
The independent battery one of the differentiating elements of this RockStar 900 from Cocotec concerning its direct competition, for example, Dyson only offers this feature in its most advanced model, the V11. This allows us to charge the battery without having it attached to the body, which makes the task much easier, we can also replace it in case of degradation over time, or even have a second unit to double the autonomy without having to wait for the recharge time.
The vacuum unit together with the battery has a total weight of 1855 grams and inside it incorporates a digital brushless motor of 600 W with a suction power of 200 aW and pressure of 26 KPA, technical data that on the paper place it well above the vast majority of models of its price segment (this version can currently be obtained in the Cocotec store for 229 euros)and even at the level of the most advanced and expensive models.
On the back it has a circular LED display backlit in blue in which we can see the active operating mode and the battery status in the form of a percentage. One aspect that has not finished convincing me at all, I would certainly have preferred to show the remaining time expressed in minutes as other models like the Roborock H6 do.
Correct filters and maintenance with the industry-line capability
It has two air filters, one at the air inlet responsible for capturing dirt, and another at the outlet that is performed a second filter to purify the air of possible allergens. With this system, Cecotec ensures that up to 99.9% of the air particles are filtered.
Both filters can be removed for cleaning and replacement. The first is located inside the waste tank fitted to the inner part responsible for separating the large particles, this piece is made of plastic and metal and can be washed with water. To access these filters, press the Clear button at the top. The second filter, the particulate filter, is located on the back as a beautifier of the LED display and is removed by making a small turn.
The waste tank has a capacity of 600 ml, although the actual capacity is quite lower as you can see by the outer maximum filling mark. However, it is sufficient to perform a couple of vacuums without emptying it, although it depends clearly on the level of dirt.
The advantage of cyclonic vacuum cleaners, besides not carrying a bag, is that they are not affected by their performance even if the depóstivo is too full, something that happens with sledge vacuum cleaners.
For emptying it has a spring on the front that allows opening a lid through which to remove the debris without having to come into contact with dirt, at least on the paper, since most of the time you have to help a little with your hands, especially.
Indicate that the tank can be completely emptied by removing the filters, but cannot be completely separated from the unit, making it difficult if we want to perform an in-depth cleaning to remove that fine dust that inevitably sticks to the interior walls.
Accessories to give and take
The assembly is entirely made of plastic, the grey parts and the battery without being premium transmit good sensations, even the hinges of the shell cover and the filter are quite solid, not so the hard plastic of the tank, certainly the weakest part in the face of possible shocks with which it is advisable to be careful.
As for the accessories, the Conga RockStar 900 Ultimate can not be more complete, this is all that includes:
Fixed 63-centimetre tube
Large motorized brush with two interchangeable rollers: sponge for hard and bristle floors and silicone for all types of surfaces.
- Small motorized brush for upholstery
- Special textile brush
- Wide, narrow furniture nozzle
- Hose
- Elongated brush
- Junction elbow
- Wall charging base
The fixed tube and motorized brushes have a click anchoring system, while all other brushes are placed under pressure as in conventional sledge vacuum cleaners.
All the elements, except the fixed tube that has a metal coating, are made of the same plastic as the vacuum unit and its quality is more than acceptable, I do not think that you will cause problems in the long run.
The Conga RockStar 900 range has several versions, which we have analyzed is the "Ultimate", but on the Cecotec website, you will find other versions that differ only by the number and type of accessories, being the vacuum unit the same.
For example, the "Ultimate ErgoWet" version is the most complete as it includes a telescopic tube and a mpe accessory that in addition to vacuuming allows cleaning with water. This accessory can be purchased separately and is fully compatible with the Cecotec Conga RockStar 900 Ultimate from this analysis.
To vacuum simply press the trigger, and unlike other models, it is not necessary to press it continuously, it works like a switch: press to turn on, press again to turn off.
Outstanding performance
Once in motion, you have to select the vacuum mode, as conga RockStar 900 Ultimate previously commented it has up to four different cleaning modes, which are selected by alternatively pressing the button located under the screen: Low, Mid, High and Auto. Depending on the results, and the recommended type of use is different, this has been my experience:
Eco (Low): it is the lowest suction power and the one that allows the greatest autonomy allows as we will see in the next section. I was pleasantly surprised by its suction level, with the long tube plus the narrow brush can maintain the suction of a euro coin, and even make it ascend to the entrance of the tank.
This power is more than enough for dust, crumbs, lint, hairs, even large... in short all the dirt that can be deposited during the day to day, more if you have children like me, on the floor of a house, even more. As for the noise level is the more moderate, even discreet, except when using the motorized brush, a theme that I will play a little later.
Medium (Med): It is assumed to be the most balanced power level, which should be used consistently. The power jump is substantial, just put your hand on the air inlet with your hand to perceive it. In this mode, the coin ascends like lightning into the tank, showing its power.
Turbo (Hight): It's the power stop, 200 watts of suction at full capacity. The noise is already annoying (above 80 dB), although the power requirement is such that the battery lasts only a few minutes, which makes it bearable.
This model serves only to remove the most embedded dirt, the one that is inserted inside the fabrics, into mattresses and upholstery, and that we do not see with the naked eye. A fine ash-coloured powder that scares to see when we open the reservoir, if you live in a city it's scary to see the air so highly polluted that we breathe even inside our homes.
Finally, it is important to do a nuance concerning noise, which you should take into account: motorized brushes rotate very fast, which is good for lifting dirt more persistent, but in turn generate an extra noise that attaches to that of the engine results in a combination that at certain power levels (almost 90 dB) can be annoying, especially if we expose ourselves to it for an extended period of time.
Vacuuming with the fixed tube and the large motorized brush is very comfortable since all the weight falls on the brush and we simply have to hold the vacuum unit and move it. When we use it with hand vacuum cleaner it is somewhat more uncomfortable to handle as we must hold the weight with one hand, especially if we want to suck up high areas. In these cases, it is advisable to help both hands to make it more manageable.
Battery life is undoubtedly one of the key aspects of any broom-type wireless vacuum cleaner, and I have to say that at this point the Conga RockStar 900 is well compliant.
One of its great advantages is that all power modes are useful. In this type of vacuum cleaner, it is normal on the part of manufacturers to include a low power mode to be able to advertise a long autonomy, but that when it comes to truth is useless in the face of the low suction power, luckily as we have seen this is not the case.
In the lowest power mode, the range is extended up to 80 minutes, using the large motorized brush and extender tube, more than enough time to vacuum a floor of 120 square meters without any problem.
It's surprising that unlike other models, the use of motorized brushes doesn't significantly affect autonomy, so you don't have to worry about it.
The battery charging time starting from zero is just under two hours (about 100 minutes approximately according to our tests). The ideal in any case for this type of vacuum cleaners is to make use of the wall mount for charging included, in this way after each use we only have to leave it embedded in it to charge the battery and we make sure that it is ready for the next use.