This is a small 18 volt hand held vacuum. It is generally sold as a shop/garage tool but is a great tool for small spills around the house. I use it in and around the house, especially when the kids make a mess. It just makes cleaning up messes a lot easier than hauling out the vacuum or my carpet cleaner.

How it works.
The unit is composed of 5 pieces. The main body, the front plastic piece that houses the debris, a black plastic insert the holds the filter, a small cloth-like filter, and the battery.
The main body connects to the battery and the front plastic piece. This houses the fan. The front plastic piece holds the debris. There is no bag, you just take off the front piece and dump the debris. The battery is attached on the back of the unit. There is a black plastic insert the fits inside the front plastic piece and the filter also attaches to this insert. The cloth like filter is attached to the black plastic insert and it keeps dust from going into the fan unit.
There is a fan in the back that blows air through the unit. You pick up debris through a small hole in the front. The debris goes into the front piece and falls down the sides. Any dust is stopped by a cloth-like filter. It is a simple design.
This unit can pick up both liquids and solids.

How well does it work?
This will not replace your vacuum anytime soon. It is only for small spills, which we get a lot of. With that said, it works very well. The suction is very strong and will pick up almost anything. It just does not have a lot of capacity and the head is not very big so it will not clean a large spill very quickly.

Ergonomics
It is well balanced and easy to hold. I think anyone could use this comfortably.

How much usage does it get?
A LOT. With kids constantly making small mess, we use it a lot. If you are single and do not have kids over then you probably will not get much usage out of it. I occasionally use it for my car but I prefer using a vacuum instead because it does the job faster and better (since I have a powerful vacuum.) I also can see this being particularly useful for someone that spends a lot of time in the garage.

How does it compare to an upright vacuum
I would compare the suction to an ordinary upright. But keep in mind that the mouth is much smaller so even though the suction is good, it will take longer to clean the same area an inexpensive vacuum could. It is not as powerful as a Dyson or some of the nicer vacuums and shopvacs.

What have I used it for?
-Cleaning up of cereal, crackers, other food particles on the floor that my children leave.
-Quickly cleaning my couches, chairs, or parts of my truck.
-Picking up spilled water on both carpet the Tile.

About the Ryobi 18 volt system.
This system is awesome. You use big battery packs that are interchangeable with different Ryobi tools. I have a Drill, reciprocating saw, flashlight, and this tool. They all use the same batteries and are all powerful tools. In the case of my drill it is almost too powerful for some simple household chores (you just have to be careful when you use it.) If you aren&#146t careful when drilling in screws then you will strip the head.

Capacity: It can hold 4 ounces of water. Capacity for solids will vary depending size.

Battery life
I charged the battery and then turned it on. It lasted for 8.3 continuous minutes before it started to slow down. It took 14 minutes until the power was so low that it would not be very usable.
In my house it generally lasts anywhere from 1-2 weeks before I have to swap batteries (depending on usage.)

Cleaning the unit
Everything except the motor and battery can be washed under water. This cleans them the best. The motor and battery just need to be wiped down with a cloth.

Problems and Durability
I have had no problems or durability issues with this unit.

Dimensions, weight, and capacity.
Length: 17.5 inches
Weight: 3 lbs 13 3/8 ounces
This unit can hold up to 4 ounces of water.

Summary
This is a handy little vacuum that gets a lot of use in my household. Before the kids started to take over it was only used sparingly. But now with children running around and creating havok is gets a lot more use. You can use if on both liquid and solid spills. The capacity is not very much. It also does not clean a large area very fast. But for what it is designed for it works very well. It ended up being a good investment.

My other Ryobi 18V tools.
Ryobi 18V drill
Ryobi 18V flashlight
Ryobi 18V reciprocating saw
Ryobi 18V Hedge Trimmer.
Ryobi 18V reciprocating hand sander.

Recommended: Yes