Which Henry Vacuum Is Right for You? 11 Models Compared

If you've seen a vacuum with a face, it was almost certainly a Henry. Numatic International launched the round, smiling canister in England in 1981, and says more than 20 million have been sold. In the US and Canada, NaceCare Solutions sells the 120-volt versions. EZvacuum carries eleven Henry vacuum models: six Henrys, two Hettys, plus James, Charles and George.

They look alike, but they don't all do the same job. The short version: for an apartment or a smaller home, start with the Henry 160. A bigger home suits the Henry 200, which holds more and reaches further. Lots of carpet points to a Henry Extra, pets to the Henry Petcare, and allergies to the Henry Allergy. Charles picks up water, and George also shampoos carpet and upholstery.

The details are below. Specs come from NaceCare and its US distributor for the 120-volt models sold here. Numatic's UK pages describe 230-volt machines, so some of their numbers (cord length, motor watts) won't match.

What every Henry has in common

All eleven are canister vacuums that take 1-1/4 inch tools and Numatic's HepaFlo bags. The standard Henry and Hetty models and the two Henry Extras share one motor: 680 watts, with 100 inches of water lift and 120 cfm of airflow. NaceCare rates it for more than 2,000 hours and lists it at 47 dB(A). The cord has a manual rewind, and the tools and wand store on the machine.

On those models, filtration is the HepaFlo bag plus a TriTex filter, which NaceCare rates at 99.97 percent at 0.3 micron. Two of the compacts add a third filter: the Petcare gets a charcoal filter for pet odors, and the Allergy gets an H13 HEPA filter.

Why Henry has a face

The smile started as a joke. At a trade show in Lisbon in the mid-1970s, Numatic founder Chris Duncan and a salesperson chalked a smile and a pair of eyes onto one of their machines and called it Henry, according to Wikipedia's history of the brand. When Henry launched in 1981, it was the first Numatic machine with a name on its lid, and the black lid looks a bit like a bowler hat.

Later machines got names and faces of their own. Hetty is pink and has eyelashes, while Charles and George are the bigger wet-and-dry models. All eleven in this guide wear the face, so the choice comes down to size, tools and filters (and color, if that matters to you).

Henry 160 or Henry 200: compact or full size?

The number tells you the size. The 160s are the compact models, with a 1.6-gallon (6 L) bag and a 26-foot cord. The 200s are full size: the bag holds 2.5 gallons (9 L) and the cord is 33 feet. Both have an 8-foot hose. The motor, airflow and sound level are the same, so a 200 doesn't clean harder than a 160. It needs emptying less often and reaches further from the outlet.

The 200s start in power-saver mode each time you switch them on. Flip up to high power for deep carpet or a stubborn patch.

The tool kits are close. Both sizes come with a combination floor tool for carpet and hard floors, a crevice tool, a soft dusting brush, an upholstery tool and a stainless steel wand set. On the 200s the wand set has a bend in it and the upholstery tool has a slide-on brush.

Pick a 160 for an apartment, a condo or a smaller house with carpet and hard floors. Pick a 200 for a larger home or long cleaning sessions.

Henry or Hetty?

Hetty is Henry in pink. The Hetty 160 matches the Henry 160, and the Hetty 200 matches the Henry 200: same motor, bag, cord, hose and tools. NaceCare pitches the Hetty 200 at homes with hardwood floors and less carpet, but on paper it's the same machine as the red Henry 200. Pick whichever one you'd rather look at.

Mostly carpet: Henry Extra

The Henry Extra is a standard Henry with two more floor tools in the box: an air-driven turbo floor tool and a hard floor tool. The turbo tool has a brush that the vacuum's own airflow spins, so there's no brush motor and nothing extra to plug in. It's the tool to reach for on rugs, carpet and pet hair. The Extra comes in both sizes, as the Henry Extra 160 and the Henry Extra 200.

If most of your floors are carpet, the Extra makes more sense than the standard Henry of the same size. In a home that's mostly wood and tile, the extra tools matter less.

Pet hair and pet smells: Henry Petcare 160

The green Henry Petcare is a compact 160 set up for pet owners. It comes with the same air-driven turbo floor tool as the Extras, plus the combination floor tool, a crevice tool, a dusting brush and an upholstery tool. Its filtration adds a charcoal-activated MicroFresh filter to the bag and TriTex filter, to cut down pet odors.

It has the 160's 1.6-gallon bag, 26-foot cord and 100 inches of water lift. NaceCare doesn't publish a motor wattage, hose length or sound level for the 120-volt Petcare, so we haven't listed them.

Petcare or Henry Extra? Both have the turbo tool. The Petcare adds odor control. The Extra adds a hard floor tool and also comes in the full-size 200, which suits a larger home with pets.

Allergies: Henry Allergy 160

The blue Henry Allergy filters in three stages: the HepaFlo bag, a TriTex filter and an H13 HEPA filter. It's the only machine in this guide with a HEPA filter. NaceCare's US distributor rates the system at 99.97 percent efficiency, and the Henry Allergy is on Allergy UK's Seal of Approval list, the British Allergy Foundation's scheme.

Along with the combination floor tool you get a FreeFlo hard floor tool, plus a crevice tool, a dusting brush and an upholstery tool. The bag holds 1.6 gallons, the hose is 8 feet and the cord 26 feet, and it runs at 45 to 47 dB(A). It's the one to choose for dust allergies, asthma or a home with pet dander. For more on how bags and filters affect allergies, see why HEPA vacuum bags and filters matter.

James: 13 pounds and a long cord

NaceCare sells James as a commercial vacuum, and on paper its motor matches the standard Henry's: 680 watts, 100 inches of water lift and 120 cfm. NaceCare rates it for more than 2,250 hours. The bag holds 2 gallons, and the 33-foot cord wraps around the handle for storage. James weighs 13 pounds, the only weight NaceCare publishes for any of the dry models.

James starts in AutoSave economy mode at the push of a button, rolls on rubber-coated wheels and cleans a 12-inch path. The kit is short: a combination carpet and hard floor tool, a wand and a hose. Filtration is a HepaFlo bag and TriTex filter, which NaceCare rates at 98.6 percent at 0.3 micron, and NaceCare lists it at 49 dB(A).

James suits smaller spaces with low-pile carpet and hard floors, and anyone who wants a 13-pound machine to carry between floors. Its warranty is different from the Henrys' (see the warranty section below).

Spills and wet messes: Charles

Charles is the wet-and-dry member of the family. It picks up water as well as dust, and a ball float shuts off the suction to keep water out of the motor. It's the machine for a spill, a sink or drain, the garage or a workshop, and it does everyday dry vacuuming too.

It's a bigger machine than a Henry: 4 gallons of dry capacity, an 8.2-quart wet tank, a 42-foot cord, a 9-foot hose and a weight of 19 pounds. Its 1,200-watt, 2-stage bypass motor has the same 100 inches of water lift as a Henry, with 95 cfm of airflow, and NaceCare lists it at 61 dB(A). The tank is plastic, so it can't rust.

The kit has a dry floor tool, a wet pick-up floor tool, a crevice tool, a round dusting brush and an upholstery brush. For dry pick-up, Charles takes a HepaFlo NVM-2BH bag and a TriTex filter, and NaceCare rates its dry filtration at 98.6 percent at 0.5 micron, with or without a bag.

Carpet and upholstery stains: George

George does what Charles does and adds spray extraction. A 30 psi pump sends cleaning solution from a 1.6-gallon tank through a trigger wand with a spray line, and the dirty water comes back into a 1.6-gallon recovery tank. That lets you spot-clean carpet, upholstery and car seats, then switch to wet pick-up or ordinary dry vacuuming.

It has the longest tool list in the family: a carpet extraction tool, a 4-inch upholstery extraction tool, a wet scrub and pick-up floor tool, a dry combination floor tool, a crevice tool, a dusting brush, the trigger wand and a 10-foot hose. Like Charles, it has a 1,200-watt, 2-stage motor, a 42-foot cord, a ball-float shutoff and a weight of 19 pounds.

Pick George if you want to spot-clean carpet and upholstery yourself. If you only need to pick up water, Charles has fewer parts to store.

The Henry family side by side

Figures are NaceCare's for the 120-volt models. "Not published" means no US source gives that figure. On a phone, scroll the table sideways; the model column stays in place.

Which Henry fits your home

• An apartment, condo or smaller home with carpet and hard floors: the Henry 160, or the Hetty 160 in pink.
• A larger home, or long cleaning sessions: the Henry 200, or the Hetty 200 in pink.
• Mostly carpet and rugs: the Henry Extra 160 for a smaller home, or the Henry Extra 200 for a larger one.
• Pet hair and pet smells in a smaller home: the Henry Petcare 160. In a larger home with pets, look at the Henry Extra 200.
• Allergies, asthma or pet dander: the Henry Allergy 160.
• Small spaces, low-pile carpet and hard floors, and a 13-pound machine: James.
• Water spills, sinks and drains, the garage or a workshop: Charles.
• Stains on carpet, upholstery or car seats, plus wet and dry vacuuming: George.

Still stuck between two? Tell us which models and a little about your home through our contact page, and we'll explain how they differ.

Bags and filters for each model

Every Henry, Hetty and James takes the same HepaFlo NVM-1CH bag, and Charles and George take the larger NVM-2BH. Filters split by size: the 160s use an 11-inch TriTex filter, while the 200s, James, Charles and George use TriTex filter 604165.

We don't list the Petcare's 11-inch MicroFresh filter or the Allergy's H13 HEPA filter on the site. Contact us and we'll check the right replacement for your machine. If you'd like odor control on a full-size model, our MicroFresh odor control filter (604170) is listed for the Henry 200, Hetty 200 and Henry Extra 200.

See every Numatic bag on our Numatic vacuum bags page and every filter on Numatic vacuum filters. Hoses, tools and other spares are under Numatic vacuum parts.

Warranty: handled by NaceCare

NaceCare Solutions, not EZvacuum, handles warranty repairs and replacements on all eleven machines, so please contact NaceCare for anything the warranty covers. Coverage depends on the model:

• Henry 160, Hetty 160, Henry Extra 160, Henry 200, Hetty 200 and Henry Extra 200: a 10-year domestic warranty from NaceCare for household use.
• Henry Petcare 160 and Henry Allergy 160: the warranty is handled by NaceCare. Check NaceCare's terms for these two models.
• James: a 5-year commercial motor warranty from NaceCare. NaceCare's policy ties the 5 years to genuine HepaFlo bags.
• Charles and George: a 2-year motor warranty from NaceCare.

If you use a Henry for commercial cleaning, NaceCare's commercial terms apply instead of the domestic warranty. Keep your EZvacuum order confirmation in case NaceCare asks for proof of purchase. NaceCare's warranty policy is at nacecare.com/warranty (opens in a new tab).

14-day return policy

You can return a Henry family vacuum within 14 days of delivery. Vacuum cleaners fall under the equipment terms of our Refund Policy, so the longer return window for bags, belts and filters doesn't apply to them. Return shipping is your responsibility. A restocking fee applies to vacuum returns, and shipping charges may be deducted, as set out in our Refund Policy.

If your vacuum arrives damaged or isn't the model you ordered, email us right away at support@ezvacuum.com so we can sort it out.

Quick answers

Is a Henry a good vacuum?

For a bagged canister, it has a lot going for it. The standard Henrys have a 680-watt motor that NaceCare rates for more than 2,000 hours, a big bag for their size and a 10-year domestic warranty, and they run at 47 dB(A). Numatic says it has sold more than 20 million. What a Henry doesn't have is a motorized brush roll: the vacuum's airflow spins the turbo tool on the Extras and the Petcare. If your home is wall-to-wall deep carpet, think about whether a canister suits you.

Who makes Henry, and where?

Numatic International, which started in Somerset, England, in 1969. Henry launched in 1981, and Numatic builds the family at its factory in Chard, Somerset. NaceCare Solutions sells the 120-volt models in North America.

What's the difference between Henry and Hetty?

The color. Hetty is pink with eyelashes, and Henry is red. The Hetty 160 and Hetty 200 have the same specs and tools as the Henry 160 and Henry 200.

Is Henry a HEPA vacuum?

Only the Henry Allergy 160 has an H13 HEPA filter. The standard Henrys, Hettys and Extras use a HepaFlo bag and TriTex filter, which NaceCare rates at 99.97 percent at 0.3 micron.

Can a Henry pick up water?

Not the dry models. Henry, Hetty, the Extras, the Petcare, the Allergy and James are for dry dust and debris only. Charles picks up water, and George picks up water and shampoos carpet and upholstery.

Do Henry vacuums need bags?

Henry, Hetty and James are bagged machines, and all of them take HepaFlo NVM-1CH bags. Charles and George take NVM-2BH bags for dry work, though NaceCare rates Charles's dry filtration with or without a bag.

Which Henry is the most powerful?

Charles and George have the biggest motors: 1,200 watts and 2-stage, against 680 watts in the standard dry models. Water lift is 100 inches on every model NaceCare lists it for, and the standard Henrys move more air (120 cfm against 95). The bigger motor is there for water and extraction work.

Are any of them cordless?

No, all eleven plug in. Cords run from 26 feet on the 160s to 42 feet on Charles and George.

See all eleven machines

• Numatic Henry 160 (HVR 160-11) in red
• Numatic Hetty 160 (HET 160-11) in pink
• Numatic Henry Extra 160 (HVX 160-11) in red
• Numatic Henry Petcare 160 (HPC 160-11) in green
• Numatic Henry Allergy 160 (HVA 160-11) in blue
• Numatic Henry 200 (HVR 200A) in red
• Numatic Hetty 200 (HET 200A) in pink
• Numatic Henry Extra 200 (HVX 200A) in red
• Numatic James (JVP 180) in blue
• Numatic Charles (CVC 370) in blue
• Numatic George (GVE 370)

Or browse the whole family on our Henry vacuum cleaners page.