Cordless Vac advice and comments

AutoNova said:
Hey tom p., please make sure to use this tomorrow and let me know what the battery life is like, I went to HD and looked at them tonight. Will be waiting on your evaluation!!
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Ugh, it's real cold here. Don't know how much outdoors tinkering I will be doing. That's some big-azz battery so I don't think you need to worry about a short life. The battery for my cordless Ryobi hedge trimmer is only 2/3 the size and 12V. That battery has a remarkable life out in the field (no pun intended :o )...maybe an hour of use between charges.



We'll give it a spin. The battery was nearly dead when I tried it prior to putting it on the charger. The suction is quite good but a lot of air blows out the side vents and it is a bit noisy but not objectionable.



More to come...
 
When I looked at the vacuum at HD I could not figure where in the hell the dirt goes? Is there some type of release in the back?
 
the dirt or liquid will be trapped in the front plastic section (picture 4). That little filter is on a bayonet style mount and I guess you remove it and dump the crud out. haven't had time to review the manual.
 
rjstaaf said:
DeWalt has this 2 gallon corded/cordless shop vac that I have been looking at for some time. The battery is extra but, it appears that if you already have a 12-18v DeWalt cordless tool you can use those batteries with this unit. Anyone have or used one that can comment? I have had pretty good luck with DeWalt cordless tools and am hoping this is of the same quality.



http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/tool_detail.asp?productID=6220



http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=221830-70-DC500



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I can't speak for the Vacuum, but Dewalts Batteries tend to not hold their charge well after a few years of on and off use.
 
Review:



The Ryobi "Tuff Sucker" 18v Wet/Dry Vac

For years, we have had a small cordless hand held vacuum in the kitchen to keep the counters and floor tidy and to dig out food and debris from the kitchen throw rug. Black and Decker came out with the “Dust Buster� years ago. I wore out one and bought another, even though I was never too happy with it. The newer version is powered by two 3.6-volt batteries that B&D uses in many of its tools. The batteries, which look like 12 gauge shotgun shells on steroids, do an OK job of powering the vacuum, but they run down quickly. Perforce, the Dust Buster is cradled in a large clumsy recharger that needs to be plugged in all the time.



Now, along comes a better cordless hand held vacuumâ€â€�a lot better and wet/dry too. Ryobi, a respected maker of medium-priced power tools, has come out withâ€â€�(are you ready for this?)â€â€�the “Tuff Sucker.â€� While the Dust Buster is powered by 7.2-volts, the Tuff Sucker is powered by 18-volts. This is real power. Indeed, the standard of the industry for cordless drills, drivers, saws, etc. For example, I have an 18-volt, ½-inch Bosch drill that can drive screws through 2x4s, with ease, all morning without a recharge. So, imagine the reserve power of this battery that only drives a low resistance fan, albeit at a high rpm. The Tuff Sucker runs for a week or more of daily use without the need to remove and recharge the battery. No cradle is necessary so, while the Tuff Sucker is larger than the Dust Buster, it takes up less counter space. Not surprisingly, the Ryobi vacuum is heavy at 4 pounds; the battery weighs half of that.



If you want a small hand held cordless vacuum in the kitchen, the Ryobi Tuff Sucker 18v Wet/Dry Vac is awesome. About $50 at any Home Depot, Lowes or other hardware store that sells power tools.
 
well, the battery is now fully charged and it works well. I wish I could report that she could suck the chrome off the trailer hitch, etc. but that doesn't appear to be the case. i was hoping for Shop Vac performance in a small pkg but I guess that was overly-optimistic on my part.



Don't get me wrong, it's much nicer/beefier than any other dustbuster I have seen. I'll work with it a bit more. i suspect the battery will last the average user many weeks before needing a charge.
 
I also have the 18 volt Ryobi Tuff Sucker and I'm very happy with it. Plenty of suction! I use it to keep my car matts clean, use it almost every day and the battery seems to last quit a while. I'll be trying it on a wet car matt this weekend, will post the results,
 
AutoNova sez:





Tom, what happened with the tuff sucker to this point? Thumbs up or down?
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I'll do a follow up post.



I am not a fan of dustbusters and frankly, I think they suck. :D This Ryobi is gonna be the best dustbuster available. It will never replace the shop vac and still struggles with the serious winter gravel in the car...it just can't deal with it...I am not surprised.



OTOH, I think it would be quite useful around the house for more modest tasks.



If you need a dustbuster (apartment dweller, for example), this would be the one. i can't say anything much more favorable than that...It will not replace the shopvac but is a very hi quality unit. I question if I spent $50 wisely. :nixweiss
 
My uncle has that dewalt, and its supposed to be very good at sucking up drywall dust. its both cordless and corded, so you get your choice between what you need. Imo, for 99 bucks, its not a bad deal if you dont wanna hook up the cord and just vaccuum up quickly.
 
I think if you're going to be doing any serious detailing and if you're mobile you definately will need to invest in a generator for your power source and at least a shop vac.
 
The Ryobi Tuff Sucker is great around the house and probably the most powerful cordless vacuum available at this time as far as handheld goes. I have not had the opp to try it on my car to this point, it would probably do ok.

I would love to invest in a generator, what is available that is reasonable and can be put in a car and does not require a pick=up?
 
foris2 said:
I think if you're going to be doing any serious detailing and if you're mobile you definately will need to invest in a generator for your power source and at least a shop vac.
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95% of all business and homes have an available power source and most people would appreciate you not firing up a generator. If you do a lot of work on large parking lots though, a generator is a good investment.
 
I don't have a generator. I have a couple of decent vacs I can use if no power is available, a rechargable Euro (works fine for a few months, but the battery pack only lasts about 5-6 months) and a 12v Campbell-Hausfeld that resembles a hand held Dirt Devil.
 
rjstaaf said:
DeWalt has this 2 gallon corded/cordless shop vac that I have been looking at for some time. The battery is extra but, it appears that if you already have a 12-18v DeWalt cordless tool you can use those batteries with this unit. Anyone have or used one that can comment? I have had pretty good luck with DeWalt cordless tools and am hoping this is of the same quality.



http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/tool_detail.asp?productID=6220



http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=221830-70-DC500



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Guys, my dad just got one, and it sucks up drywall dust with no dust coming out the other end. This vacuum comes with a cord, but it is also cordless. Its pretty powerful corded, and it has a hepa filter(25 bucks, quality wet/dry reusable paper filter) inside. Like I said, its great vacuum if you want a corded and cordless in one.
 
I just bought one of these from home depot for $99. Here's a quick mini-review:



http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/t...?productID=6220



What I like:
  • Both corded and cordless. (now I don't need to watch an extension cord as it drags around the vehicle)
  • It's a wet/dry vac.
  • It's got great power (I used it to vacuum up glass chips from when the rear-window in our zx2 was replaced).
  • No power difference between corded and cordless.
  • I needed a shop vac anyway...so I killed two birds with one stone.



What I don't like:
  • It's particularly bulky...so If you're doing a small car it may be awkward. (it was bordering on being a PITA when doing the escort's interior)
  • It could have more attachments...but then again it's a 'shop vac' so I wasn't expecting too much.
  • Does not come with battery (which are expensive, but if you have other cordless DeWalt tools this is a non-issue as it was for me)



I would definitely recommend this purchase especially if you have other DeWalt cordless tools and/or are in need of a shop vac.
 
where did you purchase the battery for it? When I was at HomeDepot, I didn't see them.



Also, do you have a sense how many cars you could vacuum with it before the battery is dead?



thanks.
 
I actually had an extra battery from when I bought a cordless drill (they were doing a special promotion) but I think I've seen them in the hardware department (that area that is usually caged off and where the other power tools are). You have to look though, since they sort of blend in with everything.



Um, as far as how many...that would also depend on the battery...



They have two kinds: regular and XRP (extended runtime performance). I lucked out and happen to have an extra XRP. Anyways, I would guesstimate one could do 3-4 cars easily before the battery even begins to fail (figuring about 15 - 25 minutes per car) with a regular battery and probably 4+ with an XRP.
 
reevis said:
Anyways, I would guesstimate one could do 3-4 cars easily before the battery even begins to fail (figuring about 15 - 25 minutes per car) with a regular battery and probably 4+ with an XRP.
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I took a look at the deWalt the day I purchased the Makita. It looked like a nice unit. The Makita simply doesn't have the chutzpah to get the job done when the cars are loaded with winter debris. I do like the Makita for small jobs around the house - - it does well at that.
 
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