I was ambivalent about buying this based on the reviews that I have read. I will say up front I do not have a Waterpik that sits on my counter top and plugs into the wall socket. I had one once and will never own one again. You pull on the hose and the unit travels across the counter. No I found that I like the cordless ones better. I have own the Waterpik WP-360W. It was OK but the battery pretty much had to be charged every week if used daily. It held just enough water to get the job done, it was hard to fill with water under the bathroom sink and I got about 3 years use from it until the unit stop charging due to corrosion where the charger plugs into the unit(This is because water spills on the connection).
I then bought the Panasonic EW-1270AC. This was fine for travel but it had allot of problems like the water cap always falling off, water leaking out when you needed to store it in the suitcase(always had to keep it in a zip loc bag to prevent the remaining water that was always there even after emptying in sink), the tip always falling on the floor as the way it was to be stored should have held the tip better. Allot of germs on the floor. Plus the batteries were not rechargeable. So even after reading the reviews on the new Waterpik Cordless Dental Jet I bought one. For the life of me I could not understand why so many negative and mediocre reviews on this unit. But I figure it could not be that bad as it was the number one seller of cordless water jets. Here is a little contrast and compare on the reviews and my unit the WP-450 Ultra;
1. It is so loud it will wake anyone sleeping. Coffee grinder loud!
** Yes I guess it is loud as it is near you ear while using! But not that loud to me(i.e. I am a bit hard of hearing) My woman says it is not that loud and she has great hearing**
2. The reservoir is so small it runs out in 10 seconds.
** Maybe this user has a leak in his unit. I use mine for about 30 seconds until all food is removed and I still have half of the water left. And yes I am using the High pressure setting. **
3. The tip is so mobile (rotates all over the place), you can't control it.
** Mine doesn't. Of course I have only had it a month. **
4. It is poorly designed, too large, and difficult to hold (Can't imagine if you have small hands).
** I thought it was well ergonomically designed. I have nerve damage in my hand that makes it hard to hold on to things and get tops off of bottles but I had no problem holding the WP-450 Ultra. I think it is most excellent! **
5. Poor battery life, long charge time, no charge indicator. After two uses I needed to recharge! (yes I let it charge up initially for 16 hours!).
** I have only charged my unit for 8 hours and have been using once a day for a month. I has not slacked off one bit in pumping the water out. **
6. Expensive, Poor Value: Price is ~70% higher than the WP-360
** Yes that is usually the case for older models. They usually do cost less than newer models as the cost of production is higher than years ago. It is actually 61.4 % higher in cost. The old unit uses Ni-Cad batteries as the new one uses more expensive L-Ion or NiMH batteries hence the higher cost and the L-Ion battery can hold a charge longer. **
7. Poor Reservoir Capacity -only 120 ml or 20% less than the already-tiny WP-360's 150 ml
** I do not know how you can say that. I fill my units up to max and the new Water Jet holds twice the amount of water then the WP-360. Also I had to use a paper cup the fill up the old WP-360 **
8. Terrible portability, large/inefficient size, ungainly ergonomics
** Well it is not touted as a travel water jet just a cordless one for home use. The Panasonic however is a true Travel/Portable unit as advertised. **
9. Weak water stream.
** You've got to be kidding. It has two settings and is way better then the WP-360 and about the same pressure as the Panasonic model. Are you sure you have it charged up? **
10. Very bad. Main problem is the tip won't stay fixed, it keeps rotating, so it sprays water everywhere but your teeth.
** I have not observed this problem. My tips stays right where it should. I will report back if this changes. **
11. The reservoir is so small that it empties before you are ready to stop using it. It should be at least 2 1/2 times the size.
** I have to wonder what you are using this for. I use mine to remove the food particles from the gums and between teeth. When things stop coming out of the mouth am done. My dentist says I have the best gums of any patient he has in his practice and I only use this once a day before bed. **
It appears that the problem with the old WP-360 was the fact that the charger contacts on the front would get water inside no matter how careful one was and the metal from the charger was different from the metal that took the charger. What I observed on the WP-360 was dissimilar metal corrosion. What I observed on this new water jet was the charger contact is now enclosed in plastic and has been moved to the back of the unit where their is less chance of water getting in to the charger contacts.
Allot of people keep going on about the old WP-360 in this post about the batteries not holding a charge. I think most people probably keep the unit charger plug in while not in use. This will lead to what is called a memory problem with Ni-Cad batteries. Ni-Cad batteries should never be keep on a continuous charge as that will lead to the memory problem mentioned. It is best to have Ni-Cads discharge completely and then recharge them. L-Ion / NiMH batteries do not suffer from this problem that I know of, but it is always better to only charge any battery after it loses its charge. Continuous charging on batteries will lead to shorten battery life.
If I experience any problems with the Waterpic Water Jet WP-450 Ultra I will amend this review. I just can not understand all these bad negative reviews. If the unit was so bad why would it be the number seller when I bought it? No I do not work for Waterpic but I have used their products for years and have not had that many problems which is why I guess they are still number one in Oral Irragtor sales. I hardily recommend the WP-450 Ultra if you are looking for a cordless (not Travel sized) waterjet. This is hands down better then the old but still selling WP-360. - Oral Irrigator - Oral Hygiene - Water Pik - Cleaning'
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