Because battery packs are the biggest cost of cordless tools, most of the best deals involve large combo kits, or tools with free or very cheap additional batteries. I’ve wanted the Dewalt cordless/corded vac for a while now, and when the large orange store had a special buy for $87, I jumped on it. I ended up finding a deal to buy the vacuum with a 5Ah XR battery pack, charger, and tool bag, which brought the battery kit down to half price. I decided to go with that deal so I could have a high capacity battery that would run the vac longer and a charger so if I didn’t have my other tools I would be able to charge the battery.
Below is my initial review after using the vacuum up around my basement shop, and vacuum out the cat fur from the coils on my refrigerator (yes this needs to be done periodically, they are very furry!):
My first thoughts after unboxing the vacuum were how well thought out the design is. I like the way all of the tools attach the body so you don’t have to carry a bag of vacuum tools around or lose any parts. The floor attachment clips into a recessed spot on the front, the crevice tool slides into the top handle, the hose wraps around the back and clips onto the side, and the cord wraps around the handle.
I also like the fact that a Gore HEPA filter is included instead of a cheap paper filter. It does not come with an extension wand, probably because it’s designed as a lightweight hand held vacuum, but more on that later.
Some of the reviews I read about this vacuum stated it lacks suction power, but I disagree. After using the vacuum a couple of times, I found it had more than adequate suction for a small, lightweight vacuum, even running on battery power. Does is have as much power as my full size contractor vac? No, but it is unrealistic to expect it to. It did a good job cleaning up sawdust and other small debris in my workshop, and easily took care of the cat fur on the refrigerator coils. I even switched over to the blower port to blow off the inner coils that could not be reached. So far, it seems like the perfect vacuum to clean up after small jobs where a larger vacuum would be inconvenient to bring along.
Pros:
- Small and light!
- Tools "nest" nicely on the tool.
- Cordless and corded - very versatile.
- Gore HEPA filter is easy to clean.
Cons:
- No extension wand or brush attachments.
- Lip on the inside of the "bucket" makes it a little difficult to empty all of the dust.
Notes:
- Tested with a 20v Max 5Ah XR battery. This is one of the larger capacity batteries in their line, so I may get better results than if I used a 1.3Ah battery that comes with most combo kits.
- I plan on updating my review after using this for a while and with different battery packs.
In my next post I'll show you a quick modification I did to carry extra tool(s).
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