Shark PowerDetect IP3251 stick vacuum with Empty station blows Dyson away (cleaning review)
The Shark PowerDetect IP3251 stick vacuum with a Clean and Empty station is the most powerful cordless stick vacuum we have tested. It has an innovative, self-empty station with an air freshener and a stack of features others have not yet considered.
Back to our headline. We regarded the $1599 Dyson Gen5detect as the most powerful vacuum and were taken with its colour readout measuring the detritus it collected. It was our reference machine—not anymore. See our tests later.
Shark has been making some excellent, well-priced stuff. It competes well with the more well-known brands.
Australian Review: Shark PowerDetect IP3251 stick vacuum with Clean and Empty station
Note: This is not the lower cost, lower power, $799 Detect Pro with Auto-empty.
Website | Shark Clean Company site Product page Manual |
Price | $999.99 but seen for $889 |
From | Shark Online, Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Bing Lee, Myer and David Jones |
Warranty | Two year |
Made in | China |
Company | SharkNinja is a pioneer in small household appliances and cleaning. Its headquarters are in Needham, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. Mann&Noble is the exclusive distributor for SharkNinja in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Malaysia. |
More | CyberShack cleaning appliances news and reviews |
We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.



First Impression – Pass+
I don’t usually get effusive, but this thing sucks big time – in the nicest way. It has Eco, Auto (DirtDetect), and Boost for up to 380 air watts. By comparison, the Dyson Gen5detect has Eco, Medium/Auto, and Boost, topping out at 262 air watts. You can feel the Shark’s power compared to Dyson and see the visible results in their respective dustbins.
Shark has a self-empty station that also reverse-cleans the vacuum by blowing clean air into it to dislodge dust. Alternatively, you can manually empty the dustbin by pressing a lever on the vacuum body.
It is well-made and will last the distance, but, as one of the panellists said, it is a little plastically flashy.
This is not intended to cruel Dyson’s sales. It offers a wider range of brush accessories; its warranty and after-sales service are second to none.
But having put the $999 Shark through its paces, I can say without fear of contradiction that this is the new king and becomes our new reference device to measure others against.
Inbox
- Cleaner
- Vacuum tube
- Large power head
- Small power head (hand tool)
- Dusting/velcro heard
- Crevice tool
- Cleaning base and two extra tool storage attachment
- Fragrance Puk (optional to use)

We will start with our panellist’s comments
We tested the device using four different homes and panellists. We reproduce their comments, good or bad.
- I can’t get over how much power this has – way more than my Dyson V12
- It pulled stuff out of our carpets and rugs that my Dyson V10 never did.
- The DirtDetect auto-boost feature is excellent.
- The indicator lights go from deep purple (very dirty) to white (clean), so you get a visual indicator as well.
- Works under standard cupboard overhangs (head is just the right height – Dyson isn’t.
- Detachable battery can be separately charged (but the cleaning station needs mains power anyway).
- The flexible vacuum tube helps get under my furniture.
- Well-made, if a little plastically flashy.
- Fantastic self-empty station also cleans the vacuum by ‘blow-back’.
- Light and manoeuvrable
- Great front and side edge cleans with IR detectors and indicator lights
- I like the concept of two rollers – it picks up larger detritus (like Kellog’s Nutrigrain) without effort. My Dyson V15detect won’t pick up big stuff.
- Great for pet and long hair.
- Odour neutraliser puk is interesting.
- Move over, Dyson – it is more than strong competition; it’s the new king of clean!
Summary
- Excellent: Power for hard floors and carpets is beyond the others
- Average: Big cleaning station footprint
- Could Improve: A little big for use in the car.
Shark PowerDetect IP3251 smarts
Dyson Gen5detect has a piezo sensor to detect and count particle size and auto-adjust suction. Interesting but not really useful;.

Shark has
- DirtDetect: Adjusts suction based on how dirty the floor is.
- FloorDetect: Detects floor type and uses more suction on carpet
- EdgeDetect: IR detectors on each side of the power head boost suction on one side near the edge.
- LightDetect: Brightens headlights when entering dark areas
- DirectionDetect. Vacuum efficiency is the same when pulled backward as when pushed forward.
- DuoClean Detect power head: It has two rollers that work equally well on hard floors and carpets. It has impressive hair pickup and patented teeth that collect larger debris on the reverse stroke.
- QuadClean power head: The front roller is fluffy microfiber (for surface dust on hard floors), but it also has firmer bristles to really dig into deep-pile carpet and pull out hair and ingrained dirt.
From a sensor and intelligence perspective, this has way more than any other stick vac.

Tests – Exceed
We use a 100g combination of sugar, sand, rice, rolled oats, and Kellogg’s Nutrigrain. We measure the vacuum’s effectiveness using a Dyson Gen5detect. Only, as you read in our torture test, this out-cleaned the Dyson by a significant margin. All tests are in Auto mode.
- Hard floor: 97% – near perfect.
- Carpet short pile: 93%. Multiple passes increased this to 95%. Well above average.
- Carpet medium pile: 87%. Multiple passes increased this to 93%
- Long pet and human hair: It does a good job due to the teeth on its anti-tangle roller.
- Combo dusting and Crevice brush: Excellent with loads of power.
- Edges: The low-profile main brush fits under most cupboard overhangs, and the power boost is excellent.
- The ribbed bristle roller brush ‘beats the carpet’ and gives superior results over a ‘fluffy’ roller.
- It is not a wet/dry vacuum.







Torture test
As a torture test, we vacuum the ‘Lamington’ feature rug to gauge its effectiveness on shag pile.

As fate would have it, we had tested the Tineco A30S cordless stick vacuum cleaner and Roborock H5 cordless stick vacuum cleaner the week before and ran the reference Dyson over the rug after, so we had three good benchmarks. As expected, the lower-cost vacuums only picked up surface detritus, and that is fine for the price. The Dyson picked up finer dust and dirt. See the image below.
We were gobsmacked when the Shark PowerDetect IP3251 picked up nearly a full dustbin replete with fake Christmas tree foliage, screws, wire ties, and fine dust. It put the Dyson to shame!
To be fair, we thoroughly cleaned the Dyson (we only use this as a reference device anyway) and replicated the test on a short-pile carpet with similar results. Dyson picked up around 87% of the test sample and Shark 95%. Shark then went over the Dyson sample and picked up more, but the reverse was not so.
Tech specs
- Vacuum motor: 850W DC
- Motor head motor: 120W DC
- 380 Air Watts
- Battery: Model XBATR640EU 21.6V/3.75A/81W approx. A$150
- Charges via Clean station or optional 24.8V/1A/25W DC charger
- Dustbin capacity: 700ml
- Empty station capacity: 2-litres
- Fragrance pack: $24.99
Weight – Not light but not too heavy – Pass+
The body and battery weigh about 1.9kg. It is 36cm long (the same as Dyson), has a vacuum tube (570g), and the power head (1.34kg), totalling 3.8kg.
It has good forward motion and equally good back motion. Its DirectionDetect design ensures the same vacuum efficiency, forward or backward. You may think this is a gimmick, but other vacuums with power heads are only meant for forward cleaning.

Edge Clean and overhangs – Pass+
The power head is 65mm high and fits nicely under standard cupboard overhangs. It also has IR detectors on both sides to direct more vacuum power to the edge.

Under-furniture – Exceed
The vacuum tube can open back on itself or to any angle to get under furniture. The vacuum won’t easily stand by itself (nor will Dyson), but you can use this to stand it up.

Controls
There is an on/off button and a trigger button (for hard floor, carpet / low pile, thick carpet/area rug), and an auto-detect mode.
Lights – front and rear
The rear lights turn white once the area you are going over is clean. This is amazing when cleaning carpets, as you can’t see the dirt. Dark to light purple shows more dirt.
Powerhead – Exceed
It is unique, with a fluffy 20cm front edge roller and a bristle-ribbed rear roller. These bidirectional rollers pick up fine dust and detritus in both directions.
Pet and long human hair or fur is removed with teeth without wrapping around the roller.

Battery life – Up to 70 minutes BUT
The 21.6V/3.75A/81W can last 60-70 minutes in lab tests on Eco with the crevice tool. Don’t blame Shark—everyone markets the longest possible runtime.
Over four weeks, times on DirtDetect with the power head, it ranged:
- Short pile Carpet: 20-25 minutes (the panellist stated this improved after three cleans when the lights remained white).
- Mix 30/70 mid-pile and hard floor: 35-45 minutes
- Hard floor only: 45-50 minutes
- Max mode carpet and hard floors: 12 minutes
The battery is removable and can be charged away from the dock (optional charger required).
Charge time was approximately 3 hours on the dock.

Minor Issue
It had no issues on hard floors. Panellists commented that it would occasionally stop unexpectedly on feature rugs, probably because it detected a tube jam. It was reset by switching off and on.
The vacuum became heavier to push on feature rugs and required two-handed operation—one on the vacuum and one on the vacuum tube. Again, this is the same as Dyson.
Maintenance – Pass +
Over the years, I have learned how quickly cordless stick vacs lose power due to dirty filters and dust in the cyclone tubes. Every cordless needs regular attention, but this one, perhaps less so.
Interestingly, it does not use Cyclone tubes like most others (Dyson, Tineco, LG, Samsung, etc) but the same direct airflow system as the Shark Wandvac WV203 – hand vac with attitude. In theory, that accounts for the extra suction power.
The empty and clean base eliminates the need to stick my hand in the dustbin to get out debris and hair or remove the cyclone. It cleans it well and then blows air through the dustbin to get every scrap. The base holds 2 litres, and the vacuum holds 700ml. Shark claims 45 days, but that depends on how dirty your floors are.
Over four weeks, using it every two days, the base bin once needed emptying. An indicator light tells you when, and it is easy.
Filters are all washable:
- HEPA (around the motor)
- Dustbin
- Base under the large dustbin


CyberShack’s view: The Shark PowerDetect IP3251 has ‘weaned’ me off the uber-expensive Dyson
I have reviewed/used every Dyson vacuum cleaner since the V7 (which it still sells) to the Gen5detect. They are premium vacuum cleaners and have had the best overall performance until now. You would be happy with any model from V12 onwards.
Shark has out-teched, out-powered, and out-through Dyson’s thousands of engineers, who, like Apple, roll out a slightly upgraded model year after year. The last real innovation was the dust/particle counter and dust light, fluffy head in 2021.
It leaps to the top of the pile as our reference vacuum and is the most usefully innovative you can get.



The Shark PowerDetect IP3251 ratings
70/100 is a pass mark.
- Features: 95 – Bidirectional dual rollers, clean station, DirtDetect, and more.
- Value: 95 – At $500 less than the comparable Dyson, it is a bargain
- Performance: 95 – A good 20-30% more cleaning efficient than a Dyson Gen5detect
- Ease of Use: 95 – a self-empty clean station makes this a breeze
- Design: 90 – Fantastic Plastic but well made and should last the distance.
Shark PowerDetect IP3251 videos
Shark PowerDetect IP3251 stick vacuum with Clean and Empty station
RRP $999.95 but look for bargainsBrought to you by CyberShack.com.au