The Shark Rotator Freestyle Pro (SV1112) is a cordless, bagless, upright vacuum cleaner. Due to its lightweight and maneuverable design and cordless operation, it is suitable as a main vacuum cleaner in smaller homes and apartments for regular cleaning and cleaning in emergencies. The two-speed rotating brush and LED headlights are there to help you clean various dirt off bare floors and carpets. Today, we will present you with the Shark Rotator Freestyle Pro review and offer you a full detailed explanation of its tech specs and features.
Before we begin, we want to remind you that Shark makes some of the best vacuum cleaners on the market. If you remember, the Shark Rotator Professional Lift-Away (NV501), the Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional Upright (NV356E), and Shark Rocket Professional (NV480) are also upright, affordable vacuum cleaners for carpets and bare floors. We recommend you read our Shark Rocket comparison reviews and buying guide to make sure you understand how Shark vacuums work and which model is the best for your needs.
Do You Need the Shark Rotator Freestyle Pro Vacuum Cleaner?
One of the first things you need to decide is whether you need a bagless upright vacuum cleaner or a canister vacuum cleaner with a replaceable bag. To make the difference between them clearer, we recommend you to read our full guide on how to buy a vacuum cleaner depending on your needs.
Since the Shark Rotator Freestyle Pro is an upright bagless unit, you should know what to expect from it. Moreover, you should also take a look at our Shark vacuum comparison guide. You will find that the Shark Rotator Professional Lift-Away (NV501) is a serious competitor for the Rotator Freestyle.
Shark Rotator Freestyle Pro Vacuum Cleaner Review
The Shark Rotator Freestyle Pro (SV1112) features a two-speed brush roll, optimized for carpets and bare floors.
The unit is powered via a Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery, providing 12 minutes of operation at full brush roll speed and 17 minutes at lower brush roll speed.
Changing between the modes is simple:
- Press the power button once to turn on the full speed mode. This mode is for the deep cleaning of the carpets. The brush roll will spin quickly to agitate and loosen deeply embedded dirt and debris, which are then removed via the airflow.
- By pressing the power button for a second time, the bare floor setting is turned on. The brush roll will spin slowly to help vacuum all of the surface debris on carpet and bare floors.
- By pressing the power button for a third time, the Shark Rotator SV1112 vacuum is turned off.
When it arrives, you must assemble the unit. You can do this easily and smoothly, especially if you follow the instructions to a tee, which we highly recommend.
Shark Rotator Freestyle Pro Vacuum Cleaner Tech Specs and Features
Although you need NiMH batteries for this vacuum cleaner, the charging station is used as a permanent storing/docking station. The charger is intelligent enough to prevent battery damage when the unit is stored in the charger.
When fully drained, in order to protect the battery, the unit simply shuts off. To fully charge the drained battery, the unit must be left in the charger for at least 4 hours. The initial charging can last for up to 7 hours.
- This unit provides premium pet hair pickup throughout the home. It compares well with other vacuum cleaners under $100 for hard floor cleaning, carpets, pet hair removal, and more.
- This unit is powerful and lightweight, portable, and versatile.
- Optimized for carpet and bare floors.
- It features powerful LED headlights on the nozzle.
- Spots hidden debris throughout your home.
- The XL-capacity is an essential feature, together with the easy-to-empty dust cup.
- The unit provides extended cleaning without interruption.
- Unit dimensions: weight 7.5 pounds (~3.4 kg), 10 inches (~25 cm) wide cleaning path, LxWxH 9.6 x 10.5 x 46 inches (~24.4 x 26.7 x 116.8 cm).
Although NiMH batteries don’t have memory effect, at least not as NiCd batteries, it is good practice to periodically fully discharge the battery and then to fully charge it.
What Else Should You Know about the Shark Rotator Freestyle Pro (SV1112) Vacuum Cleaner?
The Shark Rotator Freestyle Pro (SV1112) is a great cordless vacuum cleaner for pet hair. The brush roll is equipped with a raised cutting guide that easily cuts pet and human hair, threads, lint, and other similar debris. And if required, you can easily remove the brush roll from the unit and clean it.
Shark SV1112 is designed for dry dirt only. We recommend you to empty the dirt cup after each use or as debris approaches the MAX FILL line. Dirt cup is cleaned quickly and easily.
You can achieve air filtration by using a washable mechanical filter. The air filtration is good, but not HEPA grade air filtration. The filter is washable using cold water. Be sure to properly dry the filter before returning it into the unit.
The cleaning head also features LED headlights for cleaning in low light conditions, especially behind or under furniture. The headlights help spot the dirt, but also items that you should not vacuum (smaller toys, socks, and similar objects which can jam the unit).
Shark Rotator Freestyle Pro Vacuum Cleaner Review: Verdict
The Shark SV1112 is a good cordless, upright vacuum cleaner. One can find several issues easily like a relatively short operating time when the brush roll is used at max. speed, the lack of a hand-held unit (this is a true upright vacuum cleaner, not 2-in-1 unit), NiMH battery and not a lithium-ion battery, etc. Nevertheless, the Shark SV1112 is popular because it is a reliable, low maintenance unit and although it could be cheaper, it is still a rather affordable unit, especially when found on sale.
Final Thoughts
One of the issues regarding the Shark Rotator Freestyle Pro SV1112 is that you might have a hard time finding it on the market, as it is a rather old model. No one says you cannot get the renewed version at a very affordable price, but the stocks are low. As an alternative, we recommend the Shark Navigator Freestyle Upright Stick Cordless Bagless Vacuum for Carpets, Hard Floors, and Pet Hair. The Freestyle SV1106 Shark Navigator also features an extra-large, easy to empty dust cup, a 2-speed brush roll, and excellent maneuverability.
Shark Navigator Freestyle Upright Stick Cordless Bagless Vacuum for Carpet, Hard Floor and Pet Hair
Check out this model too and make the best choice for your needs and your family. As for the Shark Rotator Freestyle Pro, we hope our review helped you get a better understanding of this product. Feel free to share your experiences and opinions on this unit in the comment section below in case you ever used such a Shark vacuum model! We would love to hear from you, especially if you are a Shark vacuum cleaners’ fan and you have a couple of these devices at home!
With a degree in engineering, Kathryn Hansen loves to write about how things work. Having her own dilemmas on how to pick the best vacuum cleaner for her large family (with a handful of furry four-legged members as well), Kathryn decided to help others in the same situation. After all, vacuum cleaners are critical to a healthy lifestyle and people have a hard time choosing the best one for their needs.