Today, it seems like you can’t turn on a TV without seeing some DIY or Home Improvement program. These type of shows have been inspiring and empowering homeowners of every skill level to pick up a hammer and a drill to add their own personal touches to their homes. After the work has been completed, there is the dubious task of cleaning up. Ryobi has found a way to make clean up a little easier with their Ryobi Devour Sweeper. Let’s take a look at the Ryobi Devour Sweeper Review.
Ryobi Devour Sweeper Review Overview
Anyone who has had to clean up after a job is done for the day, knows you have basically three options to choose from, a shop vac, a broom or a vacuum. Whether it is in the shop, in a barn, or in a house, dirt, dust, and debris will need to be picked up. Now there is another option, the Ryobi Devour 18V Cordless Debris Sweeper. Think of it as a cross between a vacuum and a broom.
Not only has Ryobi made this task a little easier, and quicker, but fun as well.
Ryobi Devour Sweeper Review Features
The Devour has been well thought out in its design features. There are dual rotating brushes at the front of the unit for sweeping up large and small debris, including nails, screws, wood scraps, sawdust and even small toy cars. These brushes rotate from the outside of the unit to the middle, cleaning a full 21″. Since these brushes rotate beyond the body of the unit, it allows you to clean right up to walls and into corners.
There are two knobs placed on the outside edge of the sweeper called the bristle deflectors. These allow you to raise or lower the bristles for optimal cleaning. To lower the bristles press the deflectors down. This will give you better results when sweeping in corners and edges. Pull the deflectors up for general cleaning.
The Ryobi Devour 18V Cordless Debris Sweeper can be easily turned on and off by a foot actuated power switch. When the Devour is running on a high capacity Ryobi 18 Volt battery, you can get up to as much as 2 hours run time.
There is a single rear wheel that can be adjusted for use over various terrains. Turn the lever to smooth surfaces for floors like cement. On the rough surfaces setting, the Devour was even quite effective on indoor/outdoor carpet, but I doubt that is what Ryobi had in mind by a rough surface.
The Devour has two integrated LED headlights that allow you to see while you are cleaning in darker areas. These lights come on automatically when the unit is powered on.
The Ryobi Devour 18V Cordless Debris Sweeper has a smokey transparent tub for holding all of the items it picks up. It is easily removed with a flip of a latch. The tub is 4.5 gallons in size, but I doubt it will hold that much.
Some of my favorite features with the Ryobi Devour 18V Cordless Debris Sweeper are the adjustable, pivoting handle and rubber feet. These allow for proper operating height and convenient storage. Weighing in at just over 17 lbs, this sweeper can be easily stored on the wall with very little effort.
Ryobi Devour Sweeper Review Performance
I have to say, the first time I caught a glimpse of the Ryobi Devour, I thought it was a complete gimmick. I couldn’t imagine any value in a unit like that. Then I got one in my hands and tried it out. I was completely surprised at how effortless it was to push around and how well it was picking up the debris in my shop.
My shop sees a lot of woodworking activities and quite a bit of the time has large amounts of sawdust and small scrap pieces laying on the floor. I usually let it go until I can’t stand it anymore. That is when production comes to a grinding halt and I clean. Sometimes it takes me an hour or more to get the shop back in working order. Since I’ve had the Devour in the shop, I have been able to stop for about five minutes, pick up a large bulk of my mess on the floor with the Devour and then get right back to work.
I’ve been so impressed with this unit that when I had a buddy come over the other day, I made him try it out. I had him in mind for this unit particularly because he has a pole barn with a cement floor. It’s much larger than my basement workshop and I know this would cut his clean up time dramatically. He was just as impressed as I was. He even commented on how nice this would be for his pole barn.
Now, don’t go away from this article thinking the Devour can pick up every last piece of dust from your floors. It is called a debris sweeper for a reason. It does a great job on debris and a pretty good job on dust. Since this unit doesn’t have a built-in vacuum for suction, it has to rely only on the sweeping action of the brushes. So, don’t throw out your shop vac just yet.
Ryobi Devour Sweeper Review Value
The Ryobi Devour 18V Cordless Debris Sweeper does not come with a battery or charger and sells for right around $139 at The Home Depot. If you already have the Ryobi ONE+ batteries and charger, this unit is a nice add-on to your Ryobi tools. If you don’t, you will have to see what other tools that Ryobi produces so you can make the decision whether or not you want to make the leap into their battery platform. But I am guessing, once you see all of the different offerings Ryobi has, you may be taking a trip to your local Home Depot.
Ryobi Devour Sweeper Review Final Thoughts
Lightweight, easy, effective and fun to use. These are the words that come to mind when I think of the Ryobi Devour 18V Cordless Debris Sweeper. If you remember, I mentioned I let my buddy try this sweeper out and that I had him in mind because of his pole barn. Well, I hate to say it but, I didn’t let him leave with it. It is staying right here with me. I have a sneaky suspicion he may be getting one in the near future as well.
