I've been waiting for years for a small battery-powered vacuum that I can use as an actual vacuum for small remodeling tasks around the house without it spewing dust everywhere and clogging the filter 10 seconds after it starts.
So far every cordless vac from Milwaukee, Dewalt, Makita or Bosch suffered from the same set of issues:
Finally, Metabo has released the AS 18 L vacuum that can be equipped with bags! And it can clean the filter with a press of a button! It's not HEPA, but it sounds like it has decent filtering capability nonetheless. Performance is pretty decent - you get 75 CFM from a lightweight cordless vac that you can take anywhere. And it has a shape of a box! With systainer cut-outs, so you can stack (but not lock) them on top! All accessories, including the hose, can be stored inside. It sounded perfect to me.
I thought that my wait was finally over and the ideal cordless vac is here. I almost bought it, but when I started looking for replacement bags, I couldn't find any US dealer that sells them... Without a bag, I'll have to deal with the mess in the dust bin and hit that button to unclog the filter every minute or so. Which is far from ideal.
Is my search for an ideal cordless vac completely hopeless? Is there something that I'm missing and there is a great vac out there that will keep the filters clean and contain all the dust inside the unit?
Dewalt now has a "Flexvolt dust extractor" with automatic filter cleaning, but no bags. But at least filters get cleaned automatically. It's too new, so no reviews yet, but so far it looks like it's the only cordless vac to consider buying.
So far every cordless vac from Milwaukee, Dewalt, Makita or Bosch suffered from the same set of issues:
- Extremely poor filtering, so dust goes everywhere
- Impossible to equip with a bag, so filter gets clogged instantly reducing performance to nothing. Cleaning the dust container is no fun either
- Crappy non-stackable design that's inconvenient to carry or store
- Poor performance (40 CFM or less)
- Poor or no on-board storage for hose and accessories
Finally, Metabo has released the AS 18 L vacuum that can be equipped with bags! And it can clean the filter with a press of a button! It's not HEPA, but it sounds like it has decent filtering capability nonetheless. Performance is pretty decent - you get 75 CFM from a lightweight cordless vac that you can take anywhere. And it has a shape of a box! With systainer cut-outs, so you can stack (but not lock) them on top! All accessories, including the hose, can be stored inside. It sounded perfect to me.
I thought that my wait was finally over and the ideal cordless vac is here. I almost bought it, but when I started looking for replacement bags, I couldn't find any US dealer that sells them... Without a bag, I'll have to deal with the mess in the dust bin and hit that button to unclog the filter every minute or so. Which is far from ideal.
Is my search for an ideal cordless vac completely hopeless? Is there something that I'm missing and there is a great vac out there that will keep the filters clean and contain all the dust inside the unit?
Dewalt now has a "Flexvolt dust extractor" with automatic filter cleaning, but no bags. But at least filters get cleaned automatically. It's too new, so no reviews yet, but so far it looks like it's the only cordless vac to consider buying.
