Milwaukee 18V Cordless Wet/Dry Vacuum 0880-20

I recently upgraded my cordless tool set to the Milwaukee M18 line.  So far I have been very impressed by the Milwaukee line of tools, so I decided to finally get my first cordless vacuum.  I have used some other cordless vacuums in the past like the Dewalt and Ridgid, but this is mine.  I have to say this is my favorite.

The Wet/Dry vacuum is shaped like a toolbox.  On one side of the vacuum is the inlet and on the opposite side is the blower.  On the left hand side of the vacuum is a storage place for the 1-1/4 hose.  The hose, when not extended, is around 23″ and when extended it reaches roughly 65″.  Well it can stretch a little farther, but by the time you stretch it farther you will be pulling the vacuum.  One good thing about this vacuum is the hose locks into the vacuum, so you will not pull out the hose by stretching it.  On the top of the tool is a nice carrying handle and access to the on/off switch.  One thing this doesn’t have which I have seen some people complain about is a power cord.  Some people like a power cord in case they want extended run time.  Personally I don’t want a power cord on a cordless vacuum.  The cord would just be one more thing to get in the way and this really isn’t designed for cleaning the whole jobsite.  It’s designed to carry with you and help those small cleanup jobs or after a punch list item task is complete.  We ran the vacuum a couple different times to see what run time we got out of the tool and we averaged about 13 minutes of continuous use.  One note is that the unit weighs 11 lbs. 6 oz with all the tools and the battery.

To insert a battery or access the supplied tools (Crevice tool and Wide Nozzle), you unclip the two latches on the front and open the top.  Both tools are held in place by clips so you don’t have to worry about them sliding around.  One cool feature is you can have the top open and still turn the machine on or off.  The battery slides down and locks into place.  You can use any Milwaukee 18V slide battery to power this vacuum, Lithium-ion or NiCd.

The two gallon storage tank is at the bottom of the vacuum.  To access this compartment, just undo one latch in the front and one in the back.  The replaceable filter is also located here.

I would like to say I use this everyday, but I don’t.  However I do have two kids, so my wife snagged this from me and she uses it everyday to clean up after them.  It does get a lot of use and has been awesome.  The couple of times I was able to take it away from my wife and use it, it was great.  I really like the toolbox design and the weight of the vacuum.  Not too heavy where I don’t want to carry it around, but not too light where every-time I use the hose it just drags the machine around and it falls on its side.  As you can see by the video below, it is powerful.  Sucking up the nuts and bolts is cool, but what really impressed me was the ability to clean wood shavings from carpet.  I was working on the porch the other day.  We have a 5×3 rug or rugget as my 3 year old calls it.  I cut a couple of 2×4 over the rug ( I wasn’t thinking) and the shavings went onto the carpet.  Well after walking all over it and grinding it into the carpet, the vaccum was able to pull it all out quickly.

All in all if you are looking for a cordless wet/dry vac, you have to look at the Milwaukee M18.  I love this tool.  Who would have thought I would get excited by a cleaning tool, but I am.