DEWALT 20V MAX Hand Vacuum, Cordless, for Wet or Dry Surfaces, 1/2-Gallon Tank, Washable Filter, Portable, Bare Tool Only (DCV517B)

This is a very convenient wet/dry vac (YES, you can use it with non-flammable liquids). It is nicely portable, and the hose can be popped out of the "snout" for more close-quarters vacuuming. I can hold it with one hand, and use a finger to work the power switch. Works good as a car vacuum. Seems to run for a nice long time with the 5Ah batteries I typically use. I have a Craftsman full-size corded wet/dry vac, and its attachments work fine with the DeWalt hose. The HEPA filter is some form of "plastic paper" that can be brushed off, washed, dried, and re-used.The DeWalt seems to have almost as much suction power as my Craftsman (that thing can suck the chrome off a trailer hitch). The DeWalt is not as noisy as my Craftsman, but it is loud--that is a consequence of its suction power.The only downside as others have shown/mentioned, is that you have to be mindful of the left- & right-side exhaust. That airflow can move the dirt you are trying vacuum up.

I picked this up on sale for less than $70. Of course, as are all DeWalt tools, it is great! I have never bee a big fan of the yellow and black, but the quality and reliability is certainly worth the little lack of visual appeal. This one is a gift for my son. I have one already and it works great for the small cleanup jobs.

I'm an old tool guy and I own a few Dewalt 20v cordless tools, and I have owned and own other brands as well. I've also owned several cordless hand vacs including recently the Shark and Dustbuster. I've been putting this Dewalt hand vac through its paces for the last five days and this is what I've come up with.First, I'd like to address some of the negative comments such as it being loud, or heavy. I really hadnt noticed it being any louder than any other ones that I've owned. It might be slightly, but its a more powerful vac with larger motor and 20 volts compared to 7.2 volts that most other hand vacs are rated at. You definitely wont be needing to use earplugs as someone suggested in their review...LOL. So when I first turned mine on after getting it, I was expecting something really loud, it wasnt, I just busted out laughing.As far as some saying its heavy. Yes it is a little heavier (maybe a few ounces), but please keep this in mind. Most of the other cordless hand vacs on the market are only 7.2 volts battery packs, including the two other ones that I mentioned. This runs on a 20 volt power pack thats more than twice the power of the others, so its going to be a little heavier, it has a larger capacity power pack. But, the trade off for those extra few ounces is that you get a much better performing vac, more powerful suction and much longer run times in between charges.Another reviewer mentioned the small debris canister, well its a half gallon capacity, (which is large for a cordless portable hand vac), much larger than most of the other cordless hand vacs on the market. Any larger than that, you might as well use a full size vacuum cleaner, its a portable cordless hand vac, not designed to vacuum a whole house. I've vacuumed my 4 door GMC truck, my Jeep Wrangler YJ, my wifes Mazda CX5, and my workbench work area without needing to empty the canister.Oh, and heres the one that really got me laughing once I tested mine. A couple of people said that the side exhaust vents blows the debris all over the place before you can vacuum them up. Well the vents shoot straight out of the side of the machine horizontally, not downward as one said. The only way the vent would blow the debris around is if you hold the vac sideways on its side (pointing the side vent downward). If you do that, the nozzle is then vertical and not going to vacuum very well due to the horizontal design of the nozzle. So those results would have been from user error.Another reviewer mentioned that the on/off switch is difficult to use. Well, if you'll notice in my 3rd photo, I have four fingers and a thumb grasp around the handle, so you just move one of your four fingers a half inch and flip the switch, its really that simple. If this 61 year old guy with arthritis can easily do it, I'm sure anyone else can too. So, for me its been the best performing cordless hand vac that I've ever owned, and I've owned quite a few over the decades. I highly recommend, it will be the last cordless hand vac that you'll ever need.

Happy with the performance of this vacuum, those reporting it has no suction must have a defective product or unrealistic expectations.First the cons: it's bigger than your standard cordless, but it's built for a wider range of uses. It's a bit loud for a battery vac, but more important that it works. The debris container is not as large as maybe it should be, and it has a lip on it which traps small debris when emptying the container. You'll have to turn in right upside-down and give it a shake in many cases. it would have been nice if the sides of the bin were straight. The filter is quite large and good, but that means the folds are quite deep and trap a lot of dust. Cleaning the filter really good can be a little difficult without air tools depending on the type of debris, shaking it works to get a lot of it out but sends a lot of dust into the air. Definitely do this off customer site and make sure it's clean to start with. There is no blower option in this model which would have been nice.The best thing is it uses Dewalt 20V batteries so if you have some of these for your tools you are all set. That means unlike most cordless vacuums when the battery has reached its end of life, you don't need to throw out the vacuum, you just get a new battery. The batteries are very good unlike the cheap crap in some cordless models and they have enough power to provide a lot of suction with the motor in this relatively small package. It's bigger than your typical cordless vacuum, but it works well with standard 1.25" attachments so it's more versatile and works well on stairs and cleaning in the tight areas in vehicles. The battery also lasts long enough to get larger jobs done (>30min on new pack), so it can save time. As with all bagless vacuums clean up is messy no matter what the manufacturer says. Needless to say, keep the filter clean for best performance. Overall this is a very portable unit, that has very good performance.Since it uses Dewalt 20V packs that should make it compatible with the new super capacity FlexVolt packs. You would be emptying the bin more than a dozen times before draining a pack like that, maybe 50 times. Still using a spare regular 20V pack is probably more versatile and economical for most people.The inexpensive accessory kit Shop-vac 9064300 1-1/4" Household Cleaning Kit is directly compatible and is useful, but there is no place on the Vacuum to carry any additional accessories, you you'll need a little pouch or bag to keep them in.Overall a great battery operated small vacuum, and a great addition to the Dewalt 20V system.

Works great! Small and portable and comes in handy for many projects