The DeWalt is really a tool meant for small messes, like drywall dust, sawdust, and wood shavings. In our other test, the DeWalt vac sucked out 2 gallons of water in 11 seconds—more than twice as long as it took the next weakest vacuum (the cordless Greenworks vac). That lines up with the DeWalt vac’s given CFM number—indicating suction—of 31, which is half that of the Greenworks vac. This isn’t an extremely high-powered tool, but it really is convenient to use. This wet/dry vac (aka “shop vac”1) has a large capacity and a powerful motor for sucking up debris.
Therefore, it should be safe to use Ridgid 18V batteries with an adapter on Hyper Tough 20V MAX power tools. But you might consider disassembly your Ridgid 18V battery to ensure that there is an over discharge protection circuit. There are plenty of other wet/dry vacuums available, most notably from Shop-Vac, a company so well known for its wet/dry vacuums that its name has become synonymous with all wet/dry vacs. In most ways, Shop-Vac models are going to deliver the same thing as the Ridgid vacs. However, on the 12-gallon model, the accessories are bunched at the upper rear of the vac, instead of stored on each caster, and we’ve found they get knocked off much easier this way. The Shop-Vacs models’ availability is also a little more scattered, so you may not be able to get one in an emergency at a place that is as convenient as Home Depot.
This vac makes the most sense if you already have some other tools (and batteries) in the DeWalt 20-volt line up. If you’re just starting out, however, you’ll need the kit that comes with the battery and charger; this raises the cost quite a bit and, we think, really compromises the value of this tool. But the good news is that this vac also works with an outlet, so it’s still an option, even if you may or may not be adding other DeWalt tools in the future.
Two of these cordless electric push mowers, both from Ryobi, receive higher Overall Scores than the top-rated gas push mower, a Honda. The adapter above is a do-it-yourself hyper tough tools adapter, so you will need to provide the circuitry to make it work. It has been reported that the Ridgid 18V batteries do have built-in over discharge protection.
For the cordless vacuums, we tested run time by installing a fully charged battery in each vac and using it until the battery drained completely. We made sure to run this test while the vac was in active use and not just sitting there running, in case the battery drain increased when the vac struggled with larger cleanups. At my house, I also have my own workshop, which I keep clean with a wet/dry vac. I’m also a serial renovator, so a wet/dry vac is always at my side while I’m installing bookshelves, replacing windows, relocating kitchen cabinets, and pulling up old floors.
A few brands, including DeWalt, Makita, and Milwaukee, sell battery mowers that run on 18- or 20-volt batteries that also power their hand tools, such as drills and circular saws. This means that it will be really hyper tough tools easy to interface any other brand’s 18V/20V lithium ion battery pack with some Hyper Tough power tools. The diameter of the hose is also much smaller than that of the hoses on the larger wet/dry vacs.
Performance among our tested models is improving for both self-propelled and push battery mowers, and they offer more value, Trezza says. Several highly rated battery push mowers from Snapper, Ryobi, Skil, Greenworks, Kobalt (Lowe’s), and Atlas are priced at or below similarly rated gas models from Toro and Troy-Bilt. The top-rated Honda gas push mower has competition from an electric Ego push mower with the same high ratings—and the same for predicted reliability.
Through the course of testing and using the vacs around the house during a small renovation, this became our go-to vac, even though it does sometimes have a high-pitched whine. The Greenworks vac normally costs around $200, which we think is a fine price, given that it comes with a battery and charger. The HD1200 has enough power to clean up the type of debris that could damage your home vacuum. On our test, it sucked up the entire pile of workshop debris in 15 seconds (the cordless models all took over a minute).
So the DeWalt vac might not clean as fast, but with that kind of run time, there’s no need to rush. The hose stretches out to about 5 feet—2 feet less than the hose included with either of the Ridgid picks. But because the vac is so easy to maneuver, the shorter hose isn’t a distraction.
If you can’t find our pick or you just want a more powerful option, we also like the Ridgid 14-Gallon NXT Wet/Dry Vac HD1400. This vacuum has more capacity and a more powerful motor than the 12-gallon HD1200, but the identical hose should suck up the same debris. User reviews for this model, like those for our pick, are extremely positive.