Are you looking for a top-notch Dyson vacuum, but unsure where to start? Today’s comparison is a head-to-head comparison of a Dyson upright and a Dyson stick: Dyson Ball Animal 3 vs V12.
If you want a laser-lit Dyson sitck without paying top dollar, the Dyson V12 is your best bet. It comes with some headline-making features like the Laser Slim Fluffy floorhead and an onboard piezo sensor that can continuously detect what’s getting sucked up. The only compromise is its dust cup is on the small side, so it may not be suitable for large houses.
The Dyson Ball Animal 3 is known for its powerful suction and high-quality filtration, both are something pet owners are always looking for. But if you’re after a versatile vacuum that makes cleaning stairs and other hard-to-reach areas in your home easy, this model isn’t the best choice, since it’s quite heavy and cumbersome. Also, it’s quite expensive but doesn’t have many bells and whistles.
Dyson Ball Animal 3 vs V12: Comparison Chart
Dyson Ball Animal 3 vs V12: Differences
By a score of 3-1, the Dyson V12 defeated the Ball Animal 3. Surprisingly, the V12 has a better overall performance than its rival, even though its maximum suction power is significantly lower. In addition, it is lightweight, easy to maneuver, and comes with many accessories. Its dust cup is quite small so it may need to be emptied several times during cleaning.
Cleaning Performance
Winner: Dyson V12
Suction Power And Floorhead
With a maximum suction power of 290 AW, there’s no denying that the Dyson Ball Animal 3 is the most powerful vacuum to come from Dyson so far. It outstrips its predecessor, Ball Animal 2, with a suction power of 227 AW. With the boost setting enabled, the Dyson V12 produces 115 AW of suction, which is behind the Dyson V15 (230 AW) and Dyson V11 (185 AW).
Another important factor affecting the cleaning performance of the vacuum cleaner is the cleaning head.
The Ball Animal 3 comes with a Motorbar floorhead, which has a slider used to raise or lower “gates” to produce stronger or weaker suction. The far left position is for vacuuming hard floors, the center setting is for cleaning low-pile carpets, and the rightmost position is for deep cleaning high-pile carpets. This feature contributes to resolving one of Ball Animal 2’s major flaws – unchangeability suction. Better yet, its Motorbar floorhead also features anti-twist technology.
On the other hand, the Dyson V12 can be combined with two floorheads: the Slim Fluffy Laser cleaning head and the Motorbar cleaning head. Its Motorbar cleaning head, or multi-surface floorhead, is essentially the same as Ball Animal 3’s Motorbar cleaning head, but without the “gates” and anti-twist technology. Meanwhile, the Slim Fluffy Laser, featuring a soft roller, comes into play on hard floors.
Hard Floor
With the Slim Fluffy Laser and boost mode enabled, the Dyson V12 was a superstar on my hard floor. It could easily pick up everything in just one pass, including larger ones like cereal and even fruit loops. The green laser isn’t a gimmick. It is really useful in areas with lots of shade due to furniture.
The Dyson Ball Animal 3 was also able to remove the majority of the debris. Initially, it just pushed large debris around instead of sucking it up. Then, by adjusting the slider to raise the gates, the vacuum could remove everything. The wider nozzle allowed it to cover the same area faster than the V12, but it struggled to reach tight areas. Also, it would be better if it had headlights or other dirt-detection mechanisms like the Dyson V12’s laser.
Carpets
As for the Dyson V12, with the auto mode enabled, it could pick up everything on both thick and thin carpets with the Motorbar floorhead. In boost mode, it struggled to pick up large debris and was a little challenging to maneuver on thick carpets.
The Dyson Ball Animal 3 was really a bomb regarding deep cleaning carpets. I’m sure most, if not all, of the small-to-large debris was completely removed. But once again, I had to adjust the motorbar to get the right suction setting. If the suction is too high, the unit will suction itself right to the carpet and push some of the larger debris in front of the cleaner instead of capturing them.
There was a decent amount of long hair on the edges of the V12’s roller, as it wasn’t equipped with anti-hair-wrap technology like the Ball Animal 3’s, but it was fairly easy to cut off and pull out.
Design And Usability
Winner: Dyson V12
Weight And Maneuverability
The Dyson Ball weighs around 17 pounds and is fairly hard to lug around the house. Dyson asserts that the machine’s ball-shaped mechanism makes navigating it simple, but many users may disagree. It is probably not an option for homes with many floors or those with mobility limitations.
The Dyson V12, on the other hand, weighs about 4.6 pounds with the soft roller and around 5.3 pounds with the motorized cleaner head. This is significantly lighter than the Dyson V11 or V15 and is among the biggest selling point for this model.
Attachments And Storage
| Dyson Ball Animal 3 | Dyson V12 |
|---|---|
| Motorbar cleaner head. Tangle-free turbine tool. Combination Tool. Stair tool. Pet groom tool. Tool holder. | Motorbar cleaner head. Laser Slim Fluffy cleaner head. Anti-tangle hair screw tool. Combination tool. Docking station. Wand and Wand clip. Charger. Crevice tool. |
The Dyson Ball Animal 3 is a bit bulky, so it will likely take up quite a bit of space in your storage area. But it can stand upright on its own and also makes the most out of its bulky footprint by providing onboard storage for some attachments, but not all.
There is a docking station that comes with the Dyson V12, but you don’t have to install it to store and charge the vacuum. You can give it a charge by directly using the included charger and lean it against the wall when not in use. But the wall-mounted dock delivers a handy solution to store the vacuum and keep it charged. It also has two slots for attachments, and you can put two other accessories, such as combination and crevice tools, on the wand clip.
Range
The Dyson Ball Animal 3 is a corded vacuum that can run continuously for as long as you like, but the length of its power cord and hose will be a limitation. It features a 35-foot cord and a 15-foot hose. So it gave me about a 50-foot range, enough to cover everywhere without switching outlets. Its power cord must be wrapped manually since it has no automatic cord retraction system.
On the other hand, as long as its battery isn’t depleted, the Dyson V12 can go anywhere with you. And how long the battery can last usually depends mainly on the vacuuming setting you choose.
| Cleaning Modes | Dyson V12’s battery life |
|---|---|
| Boost | ≈ 9 mins |
| Auto-Med | ≈ 24 mins |
| Eco | ≈ 41mins |
| Charge Time | ≈ 236 minutes |
I found that with the auto mode turned on, I could vacuum three bedrooms with a combination of carpets and hard floors. If you believe you may need longer battery life, you have the option of buying an extra battery to swap out when the original one runs out.
Dust Cup Capacity and Filters
Winner: Dyson Ball Animal 3
The Ball Animal 3’s dust canister is large, at 1.2 liters, and it is easy to detach and reattach. To empty it, all you need to do is press the red button on the cup’s handle to open the bottom door. Like with many bagless vacuums, I found myself having to reach into the dust canister to remove things that got stuck inside, but it rarely happened.
Another con of the V12 is the dust cup capacity. It comes with a 0.35-liter cup, which is just enough for a one-bedroom apartment. So if you live in a larger home, emptying the dust cup frequently is inevitable.
Remember to put the dust tank as deep as possible in the trash can – something you do need to be careful about with a bagless vacuum. Otherwise, dust and dirt will spread around and make a cloud of dust as you empty it. The emptying mechanism remains the same as in the V15 or the V11 – Pull the red lever back and forth several times to ensure everything is removed. I also had to stick my finger in to pull the entire contents out several times.
The Dyson Ball Animal 3 has washable pre-motor and post-motor filters, which should be washed monthly to maintain the machine’s optimal suction. The post-motor filter (inside the ball mechanism) is HEPA grade. It can trap 99.9% of dust particles and many allergens with a diameter of 0.3 µm, so it is very useful for people with asthma.
The Dyson V12 also has a HEPA-grade filter on top, which is also easy to access. You should wash it monthly as well, or whenever the LCD shows a maintenance alert.
Utilities
Winner: Dyson V12
Display Screen
When the V12 is turned on, its LCD screen shows the estimated remaining battery life as a countdown timer adjusting dynamically depending on the vacuuming mode used. Most notably, the screen shows a column chart of the vacuumed dust particles according to four sizes: 10, 60, 180, and 500 microns.
The Dyson V12 has a piezo sensor that can detect the smallest changes in particle size or density. Once changes are detected, this sensor will send signals to the floorhead to automatically adjusts the suction power to accommodate the analyzed dirt type. Then it also transfers the particle data to the LCD screen and shows vacuumed dust and dirt by quantity and size, as mentioned above.
Alternative Configuration
Like most cordless vacuums, a big selling point of the V12 is its ability to easily and quickly transform into a handheld vacuum for cleaning the stairs, upholstery, and inside the car. The V12 did a great job cleaning my car, and this is the area where its compact design and lightweight are most useful.
As for the Dyson Ball Animal 3, it is a breeze to deploy the hose and wand for a 15-inch longer reach. Simply slide the wand out of the handle, push the button on the hose to adjust its length, and leave the vacuum completely upright. From there, you can attach add-on tools to tackle specific cleaning tasks.
On/Off Control
The Dyson Ball Animal 3 doesn’t have many buttons or switches – there are only two buttons: one to turn on/off the vacuum and one to turn on/off the roller (for vacuuming hard floors). These buttons are located on the body, meaning you’ll need to bend down to turn the roller brush on/off every time you switch from carpet to hard floor and vice versa.
Instead of having a pistol-like trigger system to turn the vacuum on/off like the V15, the V12 is equipped with a power button. To my mind, this button is a great change since it removes the wrist/hand pain issues. Just push the button once to turn the machine on and press it again to disable it. but you need to remember to turn the vacuum off to save battery when it is not in use. You also need to use your free hand to press the button each time, so the V12 isn’t a one-handed machine like its other siblings.
Quick Rundown Of Dyson V12
- Dyson’s lightest intelligent cordless vacuum. Reveals invisible dust..Special feature: compact
- 30% more power.¹ 60 minutes of run time.²
- Power button operated for continuous cleaning.
- 24% lighter than the Dyson V15. Engineered to be ergonomic, effortless, and easy to use. Converts to a handheld vacuum for cleaning cars, stairs, and upholstery.
- Intelligently adapts power based on debris detected. LCD screen shows total picked-up particles on-screen as you clean.³ Also displays power mode, maintenance alerts, and remaining run time to the second.
Quick Rundown Of Dyson Ball Animal 3
- The best cleaning performance of any upright de-tangling vacuum¹
- De-tangling technology. Automatically clears wrapped hair from the brush bar as you clean.
- Ball technology. Navigate around obstacles with a simple turn of the wrist. For easy, precise maneuvering around your home.
- 3 cleaning modes. Select the right cleaning mode for the right task. Optimized for a variety of tasks, for complete control over your clean.
- Engineered for larger homes with pets. Removes dirt and pet hair around your home. Easily tackles big messes.
Product Videos
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References:
- Dyson V12: https://www.dyson.com/vacuum-cleaners/cordless/v12
- Dyson Ball Animal 3: https://www.dyson.com/vacuum-cleaners/uprights/ball-animal-3
Victor K. Giles is a leading consultant and expert in vacuum cleaner technology with over a decade of experience. As a mechanical engineering graduate in the University of Michigan, he specializes in product development, design optimization, and performance analysis. Victor collaborates with manufacturers and educates consumers, making her a sought-after guest speaker at industry events. His work has been featured in renowned publications, and he shares his expertise on his blog, “The Vacuum Teria”. Victor’s passion for cleaner, healthier living spaces drives his to help clients choose the best vacuum solutions for their needs.