Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right (the first time). We’re currently testing a selection of Milwaukee’s Air-Tip products, which are specialized vacuum tips for tight spaces and extended reach. Senior staff writer Signe Brewster has been using the vacuum for a year and a half. She said that aside from having to replace a ripped filter—which bit the dust (pun intended) while sucking up chunks of concrete and limestone—she continues to use the Ridgid HD1200 without issue. Last, we’ve placed vacuums in the hands of a number of Wirecutter staffers, and we continue to get their feedback. Also, debris needs to take a tight right turn as it exits the hose and enters the vac canister.
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 hyper tough battery 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.
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).
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.
We suggest contacting the seller directly to respectfully share your concerns.
It became an invaluable tool and was relied on far more than initially expected. It was especially useful for quick clean-ups of minor messes, like drywall repairs and smaller amounts of sawdust. With this little vac on hand, it was nice to not have to lug around the full-sized Ridgid canister just for some little dusty piles. The DeWalt vac has a wide utility hyper tough tool set nozzle and a crevasse nozzle, both of which are smartly stored on the tool (the crevasse tool slides into the handle of the vac). There is also a clip the hose fits into, so it’s out of the way when stowed. One of the distinctions of the Ridgid vac is that the hose actually clips to the vacuum and the wand attachments, creating a very stable connection.
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 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.