Rowenta X-Force on the water: battery vacuum cleaner for boat, ship and yacht

A cordless battery vacuum cleaner was needed for the sailing boat. It had to be lightweight and not eat up much storage space. The hose of our old on-board vacuum cleaner alone took up as much space as a beverage crate. I was also fed up with tangled cables that wouldn’t rewind. Enough of bumping a floor vacuum against table legs and edges. But are the battery and suction power enough? After half a year, I can say that the effort was worth it.

The ROWENTA RH9878 X-Force 11.60 comes on board

To be honest, I was initially willing to buy a Dyson because of the design. The models are simply stylish and their marketing leaves the impression that there is nothing better than a cordless vacuum cleaner from Dyson.

On the other hand, the units are simply much more expensive in comparison and more inflexible in detail than the ROWENTA RH9878 X-Force 11.60 *. I’ll explain exactly why in the following paragraphs. The Rowenta cost us 279€. This is a great price for this ingenious household appliance. Meanwhile, we have two of these devices: one at home, a second on the ship.

A removable and replaceable battery

The ROWENTA RH9878 X-Force 11.60 * has a removable battery. This has several advantages at once:

• If the battery is empty, I can simply put a second battery in the vacuum cleaner and continue vacuuming. This is only important when used at home, because for the ship one battery lasts several weeks.
• When charging the vacuum cleaner, it is enough to charge the battery, the vacuum cleaner does not need to be near the outlet.
• If a battery should ever suffer from old age, I can buy a new battery and change it without having to take the vacuum cleaner to the manufacturer.

90-degree foldable suction base allows easy vacuuming under couches and tables

With just one click, the suction tube can simply be folded down in the middle. This allows me to get under the couch without having to crawl along the floor myself. This is by far the biggest advantage of the ROWENTA RH9878 X-Force 11.60 *.

Originally, I was afraid that the suction power would be lost when the suction tube was folded down. This is not the case.

Battery runtime

Rowenta states a battery lifetime of 45 minutes. In reality, the vacuum cleaner manages this time – even after half a year in use. With one battery, I can clean the entire lower floor of our apartment building of about 160 square meters and the stairs to the upper floor. In the process, I vacuum tiled floors, parquet and long-pile carpets in equal measure. On the ship with 2-3 times a week vacuuming, the battery and the suction power is enough for a 3-week trip.

Long pile carpet, parquet, tiles – suction power without switching modes

In the suction foot of the ROWENTA RH9878 X-Force 11.60 * is a rotating roller. This roller collects dirt from different floors and transports it into the suction tube. This is the first major difference from a conventional vacuum cleaner, which works exclusively with negative pressure.

This roller literally “combs” the long pile carpet to be cleaned and gets out some dirt that our normal vacuum cleaner would not have noticed. This is super practical, for example, even with long hair or pet hair.

But the roller has another advantage: switching between a smooth floor and carpet or upholstery is no longer necessary. I clean the living room at home and can switch from tile floor to cowhide or long pile carpet without interruption. And small carpets, the cowhide or floor mats no longer stick to the vacuum cleaner, as with an ordinary vacuum cleaner. There is nothing to hold on to – a huge pro in everyday life. The old vacuum regularly “ate” the floor mats of the salon stairs.

If there is a heavy object on the floor (for example, a large piece of glass or a thick pebble) and the normal suction power is not enough, we can press the turbo trigger and the vacuum cleaner will continue to suck with enormously increased suction power.

Emptying the tank

Emptying the container is quite simple. Open the container, take out the dirt, wipe dry once with a cloth. Every three months, you can also blow through the container once with the compressor, so that the filter remains clean.

From floor to hand vacuum cleaner

With just one click, the suction tube can be removed and we get a powerful hand vacuum cleaner. The inlet of this “handheld vacuum„ then has a bristle brush on the vacuum. I use this regularly for baseboards, the car, upholstered furniture – or for bread crumbs in the groove of the salon table.

Also ingenious: As a handheld vacuum cleaner with brush, the device is perfect for cleaning computer keyboards, notebooks or PC cases.

All links marked with * in this post are Amazon affiliate links. This means that if you purchase through these links, we will receive a commission. Nevertheless, this review is real and not bought. I could recommend any other cordless vacuum to you, but I love the ROWENTA RH9878 X-Force 11.60 and wouldn’t want to be without it.