Choosing a small, hand held, cordless vacuum

[Ellen Benkin]

My latest Black and Decker cordless vacuum has bitten the dust (pun intended) and I want to get something that will last for more than 1 year -- which seems to be the lifetime for the B&Ds. I've looked at a Makita which uses a rechargeable battery (yet another item for the recharge shelf) and costs at least $99 for the whole package. Has anyone had any experiences with this one or can anyone recommend another model?

[Larry Edgerton]

Same experiances with B&D dustbusters. 1 year and out. So I am listening.....


I did buy a Hoover commercial shoulder plug in vacuum that my wife claims is the best gift I have ever given her, and I have given her new cars and two new homes! It is a great little vac.

Larry

[Bernie Kopfer]

I have the Makita vac using the 18V battery system. Best handheld vac I ever used. Lots of suction and LONG running. The attachments allow cleaning the whole floor w/o bending over. Only downside is that the internal collection system is a bit frail and not easy to clean. Big plus is that it gives me an excuse to buy more Makita stuff since i have the batteries.

[Greg Portland]

My latest Black and Decker cordless vacuum has bitten the dust (pun intended) and I want to get something that will last for more than 1 year -- which seems to be the lifetime for the B&Ds. I've looked at a Makita which uses a rechargeable battery (yet another item for the recharge shelf) and costs at least $99 for the whole package. Has anyone had any experiences with this one or can anyone recommend another model?I have not found a dust buster that actually keeps the fine dust in the machine. Supposedly the Dyson handheld works pretty well but that is $$$. There are complaints about short battery life but that is the case with any handheld... expect 2-3 minutes of vacuuming per charge. The corded Eureka looks like an economical option.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I have the Dewalt cordless vacuum that can run on 12-18V Dewalt batteries or 120V electric cord. It's a bit weak, especially on battery power. It also runs down a fully charged battery in about 10 minutes. It's only good for localized spot work.
Jeff :)

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[Greg R Bradley]

I don't think you are going to find anything Black & Decker cordless that will hold up. It is mostly consumer level use, which seems to mean that it lasts just long enough for the typical 1 year warranty to expire.

The Makita cordless vac is great, for what it is. I don't think it is likely to be your best choice unless you already have Makita LXT tools. The bare tool is about $70 including the extension tubes and floor unit. It works great on smooth floors. I wouldn't be using it on bare cement floors like a shop.

Makita LXT battery is $70-$95 by itself so it lasts FAR longer than a B&D consumer level unit.

I see you are in Los Angeles area - Tools-R-Us in Montclair is having their Makita event this week, Nov 7-13. Their Makita section of the store is around 800 square feet.

[Ellen Benkin]

Thanks for the response. I am thinking about going to Tools-R-Us this weekend. They had the kit for $99 and I assume the sale price will be "considerably" lower.

[Greg R Bradley]

I paid $59.88 at the Fall Sale last year.

[Jim O'Dell]

I have a Makita that came with my first cordless drill. 7.2 volt. Worked great. Needs a new battery. It's only 26 years old!!! Drill still works too. I mainly used the vacuum for when we went to dog shows. I could vacuum up the cut dog hair from our grooming set up in about 2 minutes, carry the vac over to the trash, twist the end and empty the screen filter. Jim.

[Ellen Benkin]

Including the battery and charger?? That would be quite a deal.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

OKAY, get your flamethrowers ready! I have the Craftsman 19.2v battery vac. The ONLY reason I got it is because I have the other Craftsman cordlesss stuff. I can only say it's probably better than the B&D. I have lights, drills, recip saw and the trim saw. I like that line ONLY because I can find a battery for it at 11pm at the nearest K-mart. They aren't bad tools, but they are far from great. Good enough for me 75% of the time. If I had to use them heavily, I have corded tools.

Flame on! I can handle it! LOL

[Chris Tsutsui]

Kyle it makes perfect sense to get the tool that uses your batteries. I have Craftsman stuff as well and I actually have no complaints for their 20V lithium ion 3 piece set (drill, flashlight, circular saw).

I used to have a dust buster that I put in a new rechargeable sub-c battery pack left over from my electric RC cars. But then it sort of became obsolete once I put my shop vac on a rolling cart and it's connected to power that's on a reel on the ceiling.

I just flip on the switch and clean up an area and there's more suction than any dust buster.

For the House, I've been contemplating the electrolux ergorapido they sell at Costco for like $89. I'm waiting for a coupon or sale. It'll be used to pick up spilled cereal from the kids and things like that, and my back isn't what it used to be so i'd like to stand and suck that up, or remove the dustbuster and use it as a handheld on upholstery and things like that.

Ok, that's enough talk about house cleaning from me for the day...

[James W Engle]

My dewalt does ok and the battery lasts more than 10 minutes but I prefer to use it corded if possible. I do the whole boat on one charge and its filter lasts a long time. Not the best suction compared to normal shop vac but it does work.

[Russell Sansom]

My wife found a new in box B&D vac from, like, 15 years ago and it was excellent. Still, they're flawed in just about every possible way.

But our Dyson is hands-down the best miniature vac I've ever had. It has it's annoyances ( have to hold the trigger all the time, no lock ) but is more of a vacuum than a dust pump like the B&D's.

Let's face it, miniature vacuums are incredibly challenged. The physics are simply against them. Has there EVER been a good miniature vacuum?