Shark Rotator Lift-Away ADV DuoClean Engage Upright Vacuum with Self-Cleaning Brushroll – Silver

I never thought much about vacuum cleaners – the whole point of them is just to get dust from one place to another, right? It wasn’t until this past weekend when I walked by an actual vacuum dealer and repair shop (that was still in business and apparently booming) that maybe there’s something more to it than the old canister on the ground and an obnoxious set of tubes, pipes, and a floor tool that liked to eat computer cords under my desk.
The Shark Rotator Lift-Away ADV DuoClean PowerFins Upright Vacuum with Self-Cleaning Brushroll, besides being named like a race car driver listing his sponsors after winning a race, is Shark’s latest midrange, upright vacuum that promises their strongest suction yet. Whether it’s truly an upgrade from their previous models or not, the Rotator ADV made me question whether canister vacuums have finally become obsolete.
– Unboxing, Initial Impressions
The Rotator ADV ships mostly assembled with just a few quick steps needed to lock the wand, hose, and tube into place to assemble into the standard upright vacuum cleaner. The vacuum’s plastics feel sturdy and the locking mechanisms between each of the various components feel strong. I was not as worried about premature wear on these as I was for an older Shark vacuum – though my time with the Rotator ADV is limited so far, it feels the company’s engineering and quality control significantly improved in the last two years.
My only major gripe lies in a simple design choice. With three included attachment heads (crevice tool, duster, and pet hair remover), the vacuum base only has two posts to put these away. The third tool must reside elsewhere, which is not a huge issue but still annoying as there seem to be a couple points where a ridge could have been cut into the plastic body to store the third tool.
– Cleaning Performance
As a corded vacuum, I expected strong suction from the motor and good pull from the carpet tool, but I didn’t expect the vacuum to nearly run away from me. The carpet tool pulls a lot harder than expected given its relatively narrow width compared to canister vacuums. At maximum suction I rarely ever needed more than a single pass over even the most trafficked carpets to get them clean, and the deposits in the dust cup were equally shocking with just how much got pulled out of a small area. You will reach the “max fill” line on the dust cup much sooner than you expect, which isn’t a bad thing with how much power this vacuum has. The wand has an adjustable suction power slider, which has no impact on the floor tool’s drum speed and will only affect the wand tools.
The crevice and dusting tools work as well as expected, but the pet hair tool will be the stuff of dreams for dog owners. The bristles and suction work nearly as well as the floor tool alone, but in a much more concentrated area. I would strongly advise testing this tool on an inconspicuous area of your furniture or rug before hitting it with max suction – even on a berber carpet I thought I was going to pull up a strand!
– Maneuverability & Noise
The “Rotator” moniker is indicative of Shark’s pivoting floor base. Once engaged by tilting the body back from the base, the floor tool has a unique pivoting mechanism that allows the head to rotate about 45 degrees either direction, making turning the vacuum while cleaning much easier. I found the pivoting head meant I could get closer to corners and further under furniture than with a traditional canister vacuum’s floor tool, and it made maneuvering around furniture feet and other obstacles a breeze given the weight of the vacuum.
A nice feature of the vacuum is that when the canister and motor are disconnected from the floor tool, there are no air intakes to be obstructed on the base of the motor. You can carry the base by the dust cup’s handle, and put the vacuum down on flat surfaces for short periods when cleaning with the wand. I found this very useful for cleaning my carpeted stairs using the pet hair tool on low suction. Otherwise I generally simply disconnect the wand and extension tool from the base with the push of a button when cleaning HVAC registers and shelves as the hose is fairly long and easy to move.
I found the vacuum’s noise to be on par with other canister vacuums; that is, you’re going to have trouble hearing much else besides the motor while the Rotator ADV is on. It’s by no means awful but I’m sure pets won’t appreciate the noise and anyone who needs to get your attention while vacuuming is going to need to flag you down first.
– Emptying & Maintenance
Emptying the dust cup could not be easier. One click to remove the dust cup, and another to release the swing door. It opens away from the user so it doesn’t risk dust getting all over your clothes, and the conical hair filter is easy to reach and remove stuck debris.
With the dust cup removed, the vacuum’s primary filters are exposed. Shark recommends cleaning the foam and cloth liners about once a month, rinsed without soap and then air-dried. There is also a HEPA air filter for the intake that needs a little more work to get to, but is still pretty easy to access and only needs to be cleaned or replaced annually. Unlike Shark’s smaller stick vacuums, these filters are not dirtying as fast despite the relatively tremendous suction power the Rotator ADV is delivering.
– Weight & Storage
One downside to the Rotator ADV’s design is that the weight is concentrated in the motor base, which does lend itself to some weight and thus difficulty in maneuvering while using the floor tool as the center of mass is usually ahead of the pivot point. Leaning the vacuum back further alleviates the maneuverability issue but makes holding the vacuum a little more fatiguing. Granted, there is little need to push the vacuum at all when the brushroll is engaged since it will pretty much pull itself along.
Another issue I have (though truthfully both items in this section are little more than nitpicks) is that the cord is not retractable. While easy enough to wrap around the posts on the vacuum base, I would have preferred a little more consideration in the design or even a detachable, locking power cord to make room for another wand tool post and eliminate a potential failure point from the cord fraying or otherwise becoming damaged at the point it connects to the vacuum base. Either way, the vacuum stores easily in a closet, taking up little floor space and tucking neatly away behind coats or other hanging garments.
– Bottom Line
It’s a vacuum, and a very good one at that. The Rotator ADV is a powerful, maneuverable vacuum that leaves little to be desired between its strong cleaning power, convenient maintenance, and general versatility. I had long thought that canister vacuums were the only way to get properly clean floors and upholstery, but Shark has usurped that notion with what is finally replacing my decades-old mentality, and indeed, my canister vacuum altogether.
That kind of paradigm shift means only one thing: the Shark Rotator Lift-Away ADV DuoClean PowerFins vacuum comes highly recommended!

I’m finding more use with this purchase , it’s built to last .
Easy attachments make doing the carpeted steps , easy and quick,

The new Shark Rotator Lift-Away ADV Upright Vacuum with DuoClean PowerFins and Self-Cleaning Brushroll offers an excellent combination of impressive cleaning power, intelligent design and outstanding flexibility.
The Shark Rotator Lift-Away is a convertible model, which functions both as an Upright vacuum and as a Canister vacuum.
The central component of this vacuum is the motor housing unit with the dirt collection canister on top. Shark refers to this as the “Pod”. With the Pod installed on the base unit which has the roller brushes and wheels, the vacuum operates as an Upright model. The Lift-Away Pod is easily detached from the base by stepping on the release lever, whereupon the vacuum operates as a Canister model which can be carried by the large, top handle.
The hose, handle, extension wand and dirt cup are each easily detached from their respective mountings with convenient release buttons or latches, and they all simply snap back into place.
The dirt collection cup opens from the top for cleaning the filtration screen inside. For emptying, it is opened from the bottom by a simple press of the release button, whereupon the hinged bottom swings open and dumps the contents into the trash.
The base unit houses two brushrolls. The front brushroll is the self-cleaning brush. Rather than bristles, this brush is constructed of what appears to be microfiber, and does an excellent job of cleaning on both carpets and hard floors. There is a “comb” molded into the housing which cleans the microfiber roller on a continuous basis. The rear roller has an array of vinyl fabric and fiber “fins” which serve as the “beater” bars. This unique configuration performed extremely well on our carpets and rugs, as well as on our tile floors. Shark touts that pet hair will not wrap around these brushrolls, as occurs with conventional bristle brush rollers. That claim has proved to be absolutely truthful!
The vacuum power / cleaning power of the Shark is very impressive. Vacuum power may be quantified in inches of mercury, or water lift (sealed suction). Some manufacturers refer to the peak horse power of the motor. Most often the airflow, measured in cubic feet/minute (CFM) (probably the best and most useful measurement) and / or the air watts is listed. Some simply state the wattage of the motor or the amperage of the complete unit.
Shark does not provide much information pertaining to the power of this vacuum. The only data provided are watts and amps. The Shark and Best Buy websites both list the vacuum as being 10 amps. That does not appear to be accurate. The label affixed to the motor housing lists the amperage as being 8.0 amps. That amperage value applies to the complete unit, including the vacuum motor as well as the brushroll motor(s) and the LED headlamp. Calculating from the wattage of 910 watts (websites), at 120 volts (VAC), the vacuum draws 7.58 amps. Other, comparable vacuums list amperage ranging between 10 and 12 amps, with many rated at 11 or 12 amps (12 amps is the maximum amperage which UL allows for a vacuum). It is not possible to accurately quantify the cleaning power of the Shark vacuum or to conduct a valid comparison to other brands or models of vacuums, based on an analysis of empirical data. That data has not been furnished by the manufacturer. However, based on direct observation, the Shark appears to demonstrate very powerful suction and cleaning power.
There are two settings on the power switch. Position I is marked “Hard Floor” (also recommended for small area rugs). This mode appears to slow the rotation speed of the front, microfiber roller. Position II is marked “Carpet”, and both rollers operate at high speed. An LED “Brushroll Indicator” light is located on the top, right of the base unit. The LED is illuminated solid green when the brushrolls are functioning normally. Solid red indicates a jammed brushroll, and flashing red indicates an overheating condition. The handle has a two position Suction Control slider, marked “MAX” and “MIN”, which bleeds off some vacuum airflow when moved to the minimum setting.
Cleaning power is among the most significant criteria for evaluating a vacuum cleaner. It is because of the cleaning power of the Shark that I like it a great deal, and my wife is less enthused with it. Not only does this vacuum demonstrate powerful suction, but in the Upgright configuration, the brushrolls are extremely aggressive and produce high traction on carpets and rugs. Therefore, the vacuum cleaner pulls forward strongly, and requires effort to pull back towards the user. I don’t mind the upper body workout and strength training exercise, however my more diminutive wife found the required level of effort to be excessive, energy sapping and tiring hard work. The product weight is 12.3 lbs, according to Shark. I weighed it at 14.9 lbs (not including the air-powered, pet brush). The weight is not as light as most stick vacuums, but is not as heavy as some upright and convertible vacuums. It is essentially in the mid-range of vacuum weights.
When vacuuming small area rugs, even at Power Setting I (Hard Floor), and the Suction set to “Minimum” the vacuum lifts and displaces the rugs. It is necessary to hold small rugs or mats in place, in order to vacuum them. On all carpets and rugs, the Shark pulls forward strongly, and resists being withdrawn back towards the user. The vacuum operates with minimal effort on hard floors. The issue of requiring excessive effort could probably have been mitigated by including a “carpet height adjustment” feature on the Shark vacuum. In fact, every upright vacuum that we have previously owned featured a height adjustment, which accommodated bare floors, low pile carpets and high/thick pile carpets.
Maneuverability in the Upright configuration is very good. The union between the Pod and the base unit swivels and pivots, allowing the vacuum to be steered to either side. The depth of the Pod unit limits vacuuming underneath furniture with less than approximately 12” of clearance.
The base unit measures 12” wide. The Power Fin roller measures 10” wide, and the microfiber brushroll measures 9.5” wide. Thus, the effective cleaning path is 9.5” wide, which is slightly more than most stick vacuums, but is a few inches narrower than many other upright vacuums (typ. 12” -12.5”).
The electrical power cord is a generous 25’+, and can be coiled over lugs on the right side of the Pod unit for storage. There is also a molded hook on the rear of the handle, for securing the cord when using the vacuum in Upright mode (strain relief). The front, LED headlight provided adequate illumination. The dirt cup has a stated capacity of 0.89 quarts, which is small as compared to many other vacuums, however we vacuumed our home with room to spare in the canister.
The cleaning tools, for use with the corrugated, 6’ stretch hose, with or without the 27” metal extension wand, include a Crevice tool, a 4” wide Pet multi-tool / dusting / upholstery brush, with detachable brush and a Self-cleaning pet power brush, with a 3.5” cleaning path, which is powered by airflow (turbine power), rather than an electrical motor. Convenient tool storage is provided on either side of the Pod unit for two tools. The power brush must be stored separately.
There are four levels of filtration on the Shark Rotator Lift-Away vacuum. There is a conical “Lint Screen” within the dirt cup, which catches larger debris. Beneath the dirt cup, above the motor are a rinsable Foam filter and a rinsable Felt (fabric) filter, which prevent particulates from entering the motor, and the exhaust stream. The exhaust air receives a final filtration from a rinsable HEPA filter. This results in the air being discharged from the vacuum being clean and well filtered, which is important for health reasons, and also prevents redepositing dirt and dust back into the home. I like that all of the filters are rinsable for maintenance purposes. Although the filters will ultimately require replacement due to their inevitable deterioration and wear, it is both convenient and economical to extend their use through the cleaning regimen prescribed in the Owner’s Manual.
The printed Owner’s Manual is clear, concise and comprehensive, and provides ample, clear directions for the use and routine maintenance of the Shark vacuum.
The Shark Rotator Lift-Away vacuum is covered by a 5 year manufacturer’s warranty. The warranty does not cover the filters or brushrolls. SharkNinja pays the shipping charge for returning defective vacuums for warranty repair or replacement, however, SharkNinja charges a $24.95 fee to ship the repaired or replacement unit back to the consumer. There are references to the possibility of being “upgraded to VIP warranty service options”, however there is no further explanation included.
I am hopeful that the vacuum proves to be durable and reliable, but of course, only time will tell. This is our first Shark vacuum.
The Shark Rotator Lift-Away vacuum is powerful and flexible. It demonstrated very strong cleaning performance in both Upright and Canister configurations. The strong vacuum power, coupled with aggressive, high-traction brushrolls requires a high level of user effort on carpets and rugs when operated in the Upright configuration. The cleaning efficiency is excellent. This vacuum is demonstrative of a very intelligent design, particularly in the manner of easily reconfiguring the various component parts which provides for excellent flexibility for use as either an upright or carried canister unit. Other than finding the required level of effort to be increased due to the lack of a height adjustment feature, the Shark is an excellent performer. Its purpose is to clean thoroughly, and it most certainly does deliver very efficient and effective cleaning!

I really had high hopes for this product. I currently have one of Shark’s robot vacuum and absolutely love it. I have also had a Shark Rotator in the past as well.
I will start with what Shark did right. This unit is extremely modular; meaning it comes apart in many ways to need different needs. I do love that the wand is built into the handle, keeping it out of the way but also making it easy to access. This wand does have much more suction than any of my past vacuums. I used the attachment with the bristles to dust my house and it worked great! The unit features a high and low suction switch so you can control the amount of suction on the fly. It also comes with a great upholstery/pet power brush tool. This has a rotating turbine to help loosen and remove pet hair and stuck on debris. I found this to work well.
Another feature is that it can lift away off of the base. This allows you to take the vacuum in hard to reach areas as well as stairs. The downside to this is that I found the vacuum canister to be quite heavy.
I have 3 dogs so I was excited to see how this does with dog fur and dirt. One of my dogs is part Husky and is currently in shed. This unit did indeed pick up the pet hair without tangling in the brush.
Now for the cons.
The canister looks huge like it could hold quite a bit of dirt and hair. This is NOT the case. If you look at the canister, about an inch up from the bottom there is a max fill line. I filled it to the line just vacuuming a 8×10 bedroom. This vacuum will need to constantly be emptied. I will say that I did not notice the fill line when I first used the unit and I filled it quite a bit higher than the line without any issues. If you have multiple shedding pets like I do, you may have to dump it more than once vacuuming the living room.
Most vacuums have roller adjustability for different pile and carpet heights. This is another thing this unit lacks which ultimately lead to my poor review of this product. It does have a switch at the bottom where you can choose hard floor or carpet. This seems to more so change the speed of the rollers but not the height of them. I have a medium pile carpet in much of my home. This vacuum was almost unusable on my floors!! There is an indicator light on the head of the vacuum that monitors the functionality of the rollers. It is green if they are working properly, red if they are not spinning or bound up.
This is where I encountered a HUGE problem; the rollers would bind and not spin on my carpet! Right out of the box the first time I turned it on the indicator was red and the rollers would not spin. I struggled with this for some time before resorting to the manual. This is obviously a known issue as there is a blurb about it in troubleshooting. I have attached a photo of the verbiage. Basically it says if there is no blockages than it may not like your carpet and to try vacuuming on low suction. So I tried this. It did work… sorta. Even on low suction it still stopped rolling 3 times in my small living area. If I did get it to work on high suction it would bind at lead 7 times in one room. On low suction I do not feel it cleaned super well like it did on high. This means to even get it to somewhat work, its pickup power and cleaning effectiveness is significantly reduced. Anytime the red-light comes on you have to shut off the machine, adjust and turn it back on. This is a huge hassel and becomes time consuming!
For this reason alone I would not recommend this unit to anyone with anything but low pile carpet. It will frustrate you more than it is worth!
My husband thought that since it has this issue on carpet, maybe it will work great on hard floors. Unfortunately this was not the case. As with most vacuums, on hard floors it tends to blow much of the dirt and hair around more than picking it up.
I did use it in my daughter’s room which has a lower pile and it did work as it should.
All in all this will probably be moved to my closet and I will continue to use my cheap vacuum and my Robot vacuum only to pull this out when I need to use the attachments.