Battery powered hand vacuums

Does anyone make a good battery powered hand vacuum?

My brother bought one more than 25 years ago but it only worked for one or two years and then the built in NiCd cells stopped keeping a charge. It had holder that charged the NiCd cells whenever the vac was in the holder. I think the charger overcharged the NiCd cells.

Are battery powered hand vacuums now made better than the ones made

25 years ago? Are the chargers better at not overcharging the cells? Do any of them have removable battery packs like most cordless drills? How long can I expect the battery pack in a battery powered hand vacuum to last?

Can anyone recommend a brand and model? Thank you in advance for any help.

Reply to
Daniel Prince
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Does anyone make a good battery powered hand vacuum?

My brother bought one more than 25 years ago but it only worked for one or two years and then the built in NiCd cells stopped keeping a charge. It had holder that charged the NiCd cells whenever the vac was in the holder. I think the charger overcharged the NiCd cells.

Are battery powered hand vacuums now made better than the ones made

25 years ago? Are the chargers better at not overcharging the cells? Do any of them have removable battery packs like most cordless drills? How long can I expect the battery pack in a battery powered hand vacuum to last?

Can anyone recommend a brand and model? Thank you in advance for any help.

Reply to
WW

I have a dirt devil extreme power. Must be 6-7 years old. I never leave it in the charger, except to recharge overnight. I'm not an everyday user, but has worked well for me.

Greg

Reply to
gregz

I have a dirt devil extreme power. Must be 6-7 years old. I never leave it in the charger, except to recharge overnight. I'm not an everyday user, but has worked well for me.

Greg

Greg... I have a dirt Devil deluxe That is about 12 years old. When I replaced the batteries about 3 years ago I found there was a space for one more battery. As new had 4 batteries, total 4.8 volts. Now has 5 (in series) Now 6 volts. That really improved the performance. WW

Reply to
WW

I doubt you're going to find a cordless handheld with sufficient suction to handle all by the smallest and easiest of cleaning jobs. This isn't a hand-held, but I thought I'd run it past you. It's excellent quality, but it's NOT cheap.

You should be aware that just in the same way that car engines are rated according to the number of cylinders they have and the horsepower they produce, vaccuum motors are rated according to the number of "stages" they have and the "inches of water lift" they produce.

Your typical Hoover canister vaccuum cleaner will have a single stage motor and will produce about 30 inches of water lift at sea level. Wet/dry "Shop-Vac" style vaccuum cleaners and rental carpet shampooer's will typically have a single two stage vaccuum motor that'll suck a column of water up 55 to 60 inches high. Your typical entry level commercial carpet shampoo'ers will have either a single three stage vaccuum motor or two two stage vaccuum motors piped in parallel, and that will give you about 80 to 90 inches of water lift. My carpet "extractor" has two three stage vaccuum motors connected in parallel, and you can buy "truck mount" units that use a small 8 to 13 hp gasoline engine that drive up to eight three stage vaccuum motors. Truck mount units will suck a golf ball through a garden hose. You need that kind of suction when you're parking your truck in the driveway and cleaning the carpet on the second floor hallway of the customer's house. The length of the hoses involved means you have to have a very powerful vaccuum in the driveway to get a respectable amount of suction and air flow in the hallway.

Pro Team is a company headquartered in Boise, Idaho that makes commercial vaccuum cleaners. One thing that's popular in commercial cleaning equipment, but not in residential cleaning, is a "back pack" vaccuum, like this:

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You wear it like a back pack; and that's helpful in commercial cleaning where residential style vaccuum cleaners just won't work. Vaccuuming up popcorn under the seats in a movie theatre might be an example of where a back pack would work much better than a canister vaccuum. Vaccuuming up accumulated dust while standing on a ladder in a museum is another.

Pro Team makes a cordless backpack vaccuum cleaner that uses a 36 volt lithium ion battery pack to provide 14 amps DC to the vaccuum motor which delivers 70 inches of water lift. So, that would be way more suction than your garden variety Hoover canister, but not quite as much as your average Shop Vac wet/dry vaccuum cleaner.

But, commercial cleaning equipment is way more expensive than your typical residential equipment. That's because commercial equipement is made to be used 8 hours per day, 5 days per week by the employees of cleaning companies who aren't going to be gentle with it cuz they don't own it. Residential vaccuum cleaners are made to be used once or twice a week by someone who has to pay out of their own pocket for repairs if they damage it. You're probably looking at between $500 and $1000 for this Pro Team cordless backpack:

'Commercial cleaning with ProTeam backpack vacuums, canisters, hipstyle and upright vacuum cleaners'

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It's got a powerful motor in it, so it weights about 20 pounds, which is just as much as an upright or canister corded vaccuum cleaner.

Reply to
nestork

No, they all suck.

Pun aside, without resorting to expensive components that would push the pr ice point of a cordless hand vacuum out of the range of 95% of the intended market, there is no way to make a decent unit. They use cheap NiCd batteri es and commodity DC brushed motors.

Reply to
dennisgauge

I picked up an Electrolux Ergorapido Ultra 2 in 1 stick vac (

Reply to
Art Todesco

I've had a couple of Dust Busters over the years. The one I had 20+ years ago was great, powerful and lasted a long time. The ones I've had more recently tended to lose power much sooner and just weren't as powerful.

My biggest issue with Dust Busters is the terrible job they do of filtering the exhaust. I never used one near food items, kitchen tables/counters, etc. I could smell the dust coming out and didn't want it all over my food/tables.

I no longer use a battery powered vac and rely on this for many tasks. I also have an upright for the floors and rugs, but the Sanitaire is my go to vac for the vehicles, stairs, cobwebs, etc.

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It replaced the Eureka Mighty Mite that I used for close to 30 years and have now given to my son.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

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