Dewalt 2 Gallon Cordless Wet/Dry Vac

Yesterday I got a new toy and I'm simply in love. It's one of those things like Tivo or the internet that makes it hard to imagine your life before it. Yes, I'm in love with a vacuum cleaner. What makes it special? It's a cordless vacuum cleaner. Not like a Dustbuster, this is like a portable Shopvac.

DeWalt makes a 2 gallon cordless/corded wet/dry vac. They call it the DC500. I call it ten pounds of cleaning fury. Now, I've used Shopvacs before. The problem with them is that they've already got one cord: the hose. The second electrical cord is just an added complication, another thing to get tangled. A cordless wet/dry vac is always at your side, ready to whisk your messes off to the land of fog and ghosts. Too poetic? I find myself becoming a neat freak when I'm working because this thing makes it so easy.

The DeWalt DC500 uses standard DeWalt 12 or 18 volt batteries, like you'd use in your cordless drill or reciprocating saw or angle grinder or any of the other DeWalt tools you may have. That's one catch: that this vacuum doesn't come with it's own battery or charger. All well and good if you happen to be a household that's commited to DeWalt. Ryobi fans, Black and Decker fans, Makita fans... I feel your pain. This baby is a no-brainer if you've got a bunch of DeWalts around and I'd say it's almost handy enough to pick up a battery and charger just for it (maybe a used one on eBay). The battery plugs into a watertight compartment in the back of the unit.



Now even though this vacuum will operate cordlessly, it includes a cord in case you want to roll that way. I was thinking I'd never use the cord because cordless was so cool, until my battery ran out and the charger was all the way across the house. I'm happy to report that the suction is equally strong corded or not.

The only option to trick out the DC500 is a HEPA filter. Out of the box, the standard filter is good for 99.7 percent of drywall dust. With the 25 dollar HEPA filter, the vacuum will eliminate 99.97 percent of particles as small as three microns. I'm not sensitive to dust at all so I can't tell if that extra .27 percent is worth 25 bucks.

As cool is this wet/dry vac is, there's a couple things that would make the next revision even better. Mainly, if I'm plugged in beacuse I've got a dead battery, I want that battery to be charging. Build in a charger, guys. Second, the suction is fine but it isn't "pull the carpet off the floor" strong and sometimes that's what I need. The yellow and black color scheme is classic and should be left alone.

Readers of this blog know I do a lot of work in abandoned houses and areas without electricity. In the past to vacuum I'd string a 50 foot extension cord from an inverter hooked to the battery of my truck. Or I'd give a cursory sweep and call it a day. With the DC500 those abandoned houses will be a lot cleaner.

DeWalt DC500: $99 dollars @ Amazon