viper1963's Full Review: Black & Decker CHV1400 Bagless Handheld Cyclonic V...
In a manly man’s garage you will find a wet and dry vacuum as well as a portable vacuum to clean his prized possession, his car or truck! In my garage, the Dust Buster commands a nice little area all to itself next to my cordless power drills. It has its own power receptacle too!
I won an older Dust Buster during a Christmas holiday party my former company threw and it was used sporadically over the last six years until one day it wouldn’t take a charge any more. So I looked into the possibility of replacing the rechargeable batteries and found it would have been cost prohibitive for me to send the thing in and get it repaired. Such is the life for a disposable world!
While shopping at OSH, I saw the Black & Decker CHV1400 14.4 Volt Dust Buster on sale for $39.99 down from $59.99 so I popped it into my shopping cart.
BLACK & DECKER DUST BUSTER CHV1400 SPECIFICATIONS
Volts – 14.4
Air Watts – 25
Capacity – 23.7 Ounces/700ml
Wall Mount Charger – 120v AC only input charger
Replacement Filter – VF100
Warranty – Two (2) years
Accessories Included:
Vacuum
Crevice Tool
Upholstery Brush
3-Stage Filtration system
Wall Mount Charging Base
USE AROUND THE HOUSE
I use my Dust Buster mainly in the garage after working on my wood projects to pick up saw dust and dead insects like moths that die during the week in my garage. Once a week it is used to vacuum my car as well. The Dust Buster is easy to hold and maneuver as you aim for any dust bunnies in the corners or crevices of whatever you are vacuuming. It is not meant to be used to vacuum water or other liquids.
VARIABLE SPEEDS
You have you choices on speeds depending upon the nature of your clean up. Setting 1 is your low speed and setting 2 is your high speed. Be aware Black & Decker’s test method for use time is based upon setting 1 and will allow you to use the vacuum for approximately 15-17 minutes before it will need to be recharged.
For those of you who do not wish to touch the dirt the Dust Buster picks up, not to worry! Your hands will never touch the debris. You depress a button; remove the debris holder and dump the dirt! Easy!
The EZ Clean Wheel allows you to rotate the filter 180 degrees to make sure your Dust Buster is operating at its highest level at all times.
On-Board Accessory Storage is a handy built-in storage compartment for your Crevice Tool and Upholstery Brush and is located on the bottom of your Dust Buster. You won’t even notice it is there! Unlike past models, you invariably would loose all of the accessories that came with your Dust Buster.
Three-Stage Filtration System – This device will trap dust and debris inside the unit. In my experience no dust ever left the Dust Buster. Once it was sucked up it was gone!
THE CHARGER BASE
Black & Decker includes two flat-head screws and dry wall fastners for you to use. If you are going to mount this unit on drywall, choose a comfortable height within easy reach. Drill a small pilot hole for the plastic fastners and then hammer each fastner into the pilot holes. Screw the screws into the fastners and attach the Charger Base making sure you do not crimp the cord. There is a small cut out for the placement of the cord to the side of the unit.
Plug the device into any 120 volt outlet and let it charge for at least 16 hours. The unit comes charged but its use cannot be guaranteed as a full charge is required for the unit to operate according to specifications.
CHARGING TIME
Exact charging time is not specified by Black & Decker. But they do say to place the Dust Buster back onto the charger so that it will be ready for your next clean up. You do not have to be worried about over charging because the unit cannot be over charged.
The rechargeable batteries can even be user replaced! Unlike past models where you had no choice but to send the unit in for replacement.
AIR FILTER
You can wash and reuse the air filter. Black & Decker recommends you clean it every 6-9 months BUT if you constantly use it in dusty environments, it would be best to clean it sooner. The air filter must be dry before you can use the vacuum.
THE BOTTOM LINE
While cleaning my car, I calculated I spent about fifteen minutes vacuuming the front and back seat areas of my compact car. It did a fairly good job of picking up grass clippings and other debris that you would normally bring into your car.
The vacuum was not heavy but you had to maneuver the vacuum in certain areas to fit the crevice tool in small pocket areas of your car.
For the work bench, I love how it picked up saw dust from my projects and around my table saw, drill press and work bench. I still have to sweep areas under my bench but that is reduced to a quick sweep rather than a ‘move the bench and tools’ sweep.
This is my fifth generation Dust Buster and it appears every time I need a new Dust Buster they come up with really good ideas on the newer models. I hate the fact that we live in a disposable world so when I heard the user can replace the rechargeable batteries, I was happy. But then what is the likelihood Black & Decker discontinues the battery when it comes time for me to replace it?
THE MISSES
The air filters were not available at OSH or I would have bought several boxes of air filters. This is the only thing about retailing I dislike. Many stores carry the item but not the accessories that go with the unit. So the consumer is stuck purchasing the accessories through the manufacturer. What an inconvenience! I call that bad retail merchandising on the part of the retailer.
Cyclonic action filter system means more power longer because dirt won FTt stick to the filter. 14.4V motor provides power for all cleaning jobs. Quic...More at doitbest.com
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