DEWALT DWV010 HEPA Dust Extractor with Automatic Filter Cleaning, 8-Gallon

I've used this for 2-1/2 years now, and really love it. It's great for lead dust and plaster dust -- a necessity in this old house -- and when it's not doing that, it can be used as a dust extractor in the shop.Positives: Very effective self-cleaning HEPA filter, rated for lead dust extraction. The self cleaning is just great with plaster dust, I haven't had a clog yet. It's light weight and easy to carry despite its bulk. Suction isn't the highest because of the HEPA filter -- you're going to get more from a standard shop vac, but this has a different purpose, no need for a cyclonic extractor or such when you use it for dust extraction. If you just want a shop vac, get a shop vac! The automatic run feature works well. And it's much less expensive than comparable units, or at least it was when I bought it.Negatives: Don't be fooled by the bargain price, the tool set is ridiculously expensive. It's still a bargain, but less so. DeWalt sells a wide range of hose adapters, which is a plus, but doesn't make it easy to figure out which ones you need -- why can't the industry standardize this stuff? It's really noisy, with a high pitched squeal -- use ear plugs, not strictly necessary but more comfortable. Stowing the hose -- it wraps around the unit and is secured by elastic -- is a bit of a bear, and I end up taking it off and carrying it separately. The hose accessories (but not the hose and the adapter that goes on it) are friction fit and tend to fall apart while you're using them.These quibbles aside, it does exactly what it should, and for that reason and its bargain price, I'm giving it five stars. A smarter person than I will find the right kind of adapter and use conventional shop vac accessories rather than buying their overpriced wand and brush kit.

I'm not sure why people say that this thing doesn't have good suction. This thing is as good as I could hope for without a 4" dust collector system. I use this with my DeWalt 12" sliding compound miter saw, DeWalt table saw, and a Milwaukee 5" random orbital palm sander (requires a rubber fernco to connect). The suction is best on the sander; leaving only a small trace of dust that settles on the work surface with no visible airborne dust and my nostrils are clean at the end of the day, even without a dust mask. The suction is sufficient for the table saw and miter saw, but tool function and design causes some dust to not be collected. I've worked in a professional shop with a powerful cyclone system, and this DeWalt system performs just as well.My only complaint is that automatic start only works if you plug the power tool into the dust collector. Well, the vacuum and both of my DeWalt saws are rated at 15 amps, which means that I constantly trip breakers when I plug the saw into the vacuum to use the auto start feature. I have to run the vacuum and the saw off of different outlets attached to different breakers. There is a switch to manually turn on the vacuum, but a remote or something would be nice considering the high draw of these tools.Lastly, I had a ton of trouble knowing which adapters were required to attach this DeWalt vacuum to DeWalt tools. Just to help some other people out, the 2-1/4" adapter fits inside of the 2-1/2" table saw dust port, the twist lock built into the end of the vacuum hose fits right onto the dust port on the miter saw, and I used the 35mm angled adapter with a rubber fernco to attach to my Milwaukee 5" random orbit sander.

Its a decent dust extractor. I bought it to replace my Dustless Technologies dust extractor that died. Pro's...1) The dual filters clean themselves. 2) If you don't want to use a vacuum bag, you don't have to. I always do, we use it most often for catching plaster dust. If I was only using it for saw dust, I might not waste money on the bags. 3) It has a tool activated port. When I use it with corded tools, this is a great feature. Alas, most of my tools ae cordless now, so I only use this feature with my large miter saw, table saw and planer. 4) If all your tools are DeWalt, it has a nice quick connect on the hose. What I don't like...1) It is very heavy empty, and more so full. 2) Only the front wheels turn, the back are fixed. This seems to cause confusion for one of my employees. 3) The hose has a proprietary connection, and it is very stiff and unwieldly. When I use it with the DeWalt cordless drywall sander, it make the sander feel heavier because the hose works against your movements. 4) The suction isnt as powerful as a shop vac, so even with the DeWalt brand vacuum attachment (sold separately of course), we often need to either bring a shop vac as well or pre-sweep, vacuum and then mop behind this machine. The Dustless Technolgies machine had a lot more suction power.

I'm very happy this this unit on the whole. I was worried because several of the reviews on here mentioned that the suction was not as good as they were expecting. Personally, I find that the suction is just as good, or even better, than the comparable sized shop vacs. I think that this should be the case, though, when you are buying a HEPA vac to help ensure that you are getting as much dust as possible. The self cleaning filter mechanism works well, though it leads to a very brief (less than a second) loss of suction when it 'thumps' the filter. The Power Tool Actuation feature also works great, allowing you to connect a power tool (such as a sander) and having the vacuum automatically turn on when you turn on the power tool. I do wish that this vacuum came with some attachments, and not just the adapter for attachments, which is included. I actually have not been able to easily find DeWalt vacuum attachments for this model, though the adapter looks like it would fit standard vacuum accessories (1 1/4"?) When you compare the price of this HEPA vs other HEPA vacuums with the same features though, this is still a great deal.