Black & Decker Platinum 20V Hand Vac Review BDH2000L

Not too long ago we checked out the Flex2000FL from Black and Decker which is part of their Platinum series.  Currently Black and Decker has three vacuums in this series all with a little bit of a twist.  The Flex has a detachable nozzle which makes this great for high spots and your automobile.  The other two vacuums are more of a traditional Dust Buster with a fixed nozzle.  One is the BDH2000L, which we will be reviewing here and the other is the BDH2000SL with a removable battery.

If you have kids or have friends like Dan, you know how quickly things can become messy.  When you have a little mess here and there, it’s a pain to drag out a heavy vacuum.  That’s where the 20V vacuum comes in handy.  This unit has a built in 20V rechargeable battery that powers the vacuum, so you don’t have to mess with cords or even a heavy vacuum.  In fact this unit only weighs 2.89 lbs.  When I think of hand held vacuums, I think of the older Dust Busters or my old Craftsman 18V hand held vacuum.  While both were good and did what they were supposed to, they don’t even come close to the new generation of the Platinum.

Besides the weight, one of the biggest improvements I see is the suction power on these units.  After using this unit for about a month, it pretty much picks up anything.  The only thing that stops it is the size of the vacuum opening.  So dirt, cereal, Spaghettios, unwanted chicken chunks (for some reason I always find that on my floor after my kids eat chicken) and any other common unwanted items in your house.   We have carpet in the bedrooms and this even does great on the carpet.  Now don’t expect it to pick up embedded pet hair, but it will pick up clumps that are on top.

Black and Decker implemented a couple cool features to this vacuum such as the flip up brush.  I really don’t use this much, but it’s nice to have.  Another cool feature is the extended nozzle.  As you can see the nozzle is a hard plastic, not like the flexible nozzle on the Flex200FL.  As you can see by the pictures you can extend this hard plastic to double its length which is a huge help.  Not that it will allow you to stand up and vacuum, but it does make it much easier for higher places like a ceiling fan or making it so you don’t have to bend over so far when cleaning.  Another item is the rotating nozzle which is great for hard to reach spots.  I don’t really adjust that much, but it is a nice option to have.

The dirt storage container is see through, so you know when you are getting full.  Just press the button and you can easily empty the waste into your garbage can.  One thing I do each time I empty the waste is clean off the filter.  While it’s a washable filter, I haven’t run it under water yet.  The filter does come out easily to clean the dirt off and help with the suction of the unit.  Speaking of suction this vacuum uses a triple layer, cyclonic action filtration which helps keep dirt off the filter.  If you have used an older model, you know when the filter gets dirty, the suction and battery life decrease.

My only complaint with this unit is the charging station.  The charging station is very nice and reminds me of a Mac computer where you don’t have to plug the power cord into the computer.  The same applies here.  Yes, you have to plug the charger into the wall, but when you put the vacuum on the charger, it is like a magnet and you don’t always have to put the unit on the same way.  So in that aspect this charging station is great.  There are two things I wish were different.  First, I wish you could mount this charging system to a wall. Second is the angle you have to put this unit on the charger.  A mounting option would be nice because you always have more wall space then floor or counter space.  As you can see by the pictures below, when the unit is on the charging station it sits on an angle.  I know my set up is a little unique compared to others, but we have ours on the floor behind the couch because we don’t have a lot of room.  Taking the vacuum off the charger is easy, just lift up.  However when I set it back into the charger, it’s a little hard because of the angle design.  Again I am sure that is just my set up, but it would be nice if it sat on the charger at a 90° angle.  I know the wall mount and the angle are two small cons in my situation, but thought I would mention them.  When the vacuum is sitting on the charger, you will either see a blinking blue light or solid blue light.  If the light is blinking, it is charging.  A solid light means it’s fully charged.

The vacuum comes with a no hassle 30 day return policy and a 3 year limited warranty.

Overall this is a huge improvement over the last generation of hand held vacuums.  This unit is lightweight and easy to maneuver around furniture.  It’s great for carpet and hard floors.  The easy empty system and washable filter make it easy to clean and maintain.  If you are looking into getting a new hand held vacuum, the Black and Decker Platinum series has a couple nice ones to offer and definitely worth a look.