I bought this DeWalt cordless vacuum as I was sick of those other brand vacuums which have a built in non replaceable battery causing you to need a whole new vacuum almost yearly as the cheap built in batteries eventually stop holding a charge. Rather than keep throwing away and buying new vacuums so often, I wanted one with a replaceable battery.

I saw this DeWalt cordless vac which uses the same removable lithium ion (or nickel) batteries as my DeWalt drill and is also sold without a battery and charger which was perfect for me since I already have them. Not only are the DeWalt 18 volt batteries 10-100 times the power of the average cordless vac's cheap built in batteries, they can be replaced when they die. I got my drill with a lithium battery since they have a much longer life before no longer holding a charge, need no monthly maintenance like nickel batteries, hold their charge for over a year without having to recharge and are much lighter for the same power.

These 18 volt DeWalt batteries are made for heavy duty power tools like wood and metal saws, power hammers to destroy concrete, drills, and more, so running a cordless vacuum is a walk in the park for these powerful batteries.

Like all DeWalt products, this vacuum is very well made in every way. It is user friendly, has an ingenious design to use as a regular portable vac or a 2.5 foot hose can be pulled out to reach tight spaces, and is very solidly made.

Two great features about this vacuum are that it is a wet/dry vac so you can also clean up liquid spills, and secondly it has a HEPA filter to trap even the smallest particules in the filter. The HEPA filter can be cleaned with water which makes it easy to clean and long lasting. I was surprised that cleaning the filter after using the vacuum for lots of stuff got it looking brand new again, spraying it with the shower is what cleaned all the groves in the filter the best. The HEPA filter locks into place by turning it and goes against a rubber seal so air can't bypass the filter.

The tank is 1/2 a gallon and also seals against a rubber seal so that liquids that were sucked into the tank don't leak out. The tank locks securely into place with a large clamp at the back.

The suction is very good for a portable vacuum, probably 5 times the suction of the other cordless vacs I had, which isn't surprising since it uses the same powerful battery as DeWalt heavy duty tools. It is more noisy than most portable vacuums but that's in large part due to how powerful it is. It is very good at picking up almost anything, I even filled a glass of water and used the removable hose to test it's wet capabilities and it emptied the glass to the last drop even though the angled nozzle can't reach the bottom, I turned the glass upside down and not one drop came out.

One thing that could be improved is a switch that's easy to acces with a finger while holding it by the handle. The switch is on top of the vacuum under the handle but since it's large you can still extend a finger while holding it from the handle to flip the switch. Having the switch directly under the handle would have made it easier to turn on and off with one hand.

Literally hours after I ordered this vacuum online, I saw a cordless Dyson at the mall that looked great and does have a removable battery. For a second I thought the Dyson looked much better than the DeWalt vacuum but after trying my DeWalt and the Dyson demo at the store I much prefer the DeWalt because:
-The DeWalt's suction is MUCH more powerful than the Dyson, probably 5 times more powerful
-The DeWalt is a wet/dry vac (dyson is dry only)
-The DeWalt has a built in extendable 2.5' hose and nozzle
-The DeWalt has a hepa filter that can be cleaned in water, ensuring no dust comes out of the vacuum and the filter should last for years since it is rugged and can be cleaned in water
-The DeWalt's battery likely lasts over 30 minutes of use, the Dyson only lasts 6 minutes
-I can swap the DeWalt's battery with my DeWalt power tools

If you're sick of buying a new portable vacuum each time their non replaceable battery die, get this DeWalt vacuum. Even if you don't already have DeWalt products that use the same batteries, it will still end up much cheaper getting this vacuum kit with a battery and charger than replacing a cheap vacuum nearly yearly. I would recommend avoiding the kit that comes with a nickel battery and getting a lithium battery and charger, the advantages of lithium batteries are well worth it.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 80