Opinions on the Milwaukee M12 vacuum

[i6pwr]

I did see a thread last year on this, but curious if the new M12 vac is as good as the M18. I don't have any M18 tools yet so was hoping to capitalize on the M12 version as I have the ratchet already.

This will be mainly for vehicle cleaning and small garage clean ups. I also have the 20V Dewalt tools but hear the M12 is more compact and more powerful.

All input appreciated.

 

[Vercingetorix]

Battery life and hose are short. Attachments commonly available do not seem to fit, had to order brush from Milwaukee and extra hose from a vacuum cleaner store. Other than that I love it.

 

[Rand]

which m12 vac?
the dustbuster i liked until I got my dewalt mini vac (.5gal)
the new 1.6?gal m12 seems promising.
the 14min on high with 6ah battery seems to promise strong suction.

 

[i6pwr]

Sorry, I was looking at the dustbuster style due to it's smaller form factor, but the new wet/dry isn't too big to keep in the vehicle for vacations....so starting to lean towards the wet/dry M12.

What did you like more about the DeWalt?

Beach sand plays a factor here also....

 

[Rand]

well the m12 dustbuster sucks(not literally) even compared to the ryobi version
the ryobi has a screen followed by the pleated filter.
The m12 is much harder to clean.

My dewalt has the .5gallon so its also somewhat painful to clean (no screen prefilter)
but it also has 2-3x the suction of the m12 dustbuster.

both are ok you dont know how bad or good yours is until you use other brands/models.
but I wouldnt buy them again vs newer stuff or any that has a prefilter to keep the big junk out of the filter pleats.

I would probably go with a 2-3gallon model vs the .5 dewalt needs dumping often and its messy with junk stuck in the gore-tex filter.
needs more room for the crud to settle and not get sucked into filter.. that being said its pretty handy.

 

[D60]

The dustbuster is horrible

The relatively new "boom box" wet/dry, ie the 0960-20 is surprisingly good IMO. It's literally a slightly smaller version of the M18 0880-20 with slightly less power and capacity....but the gap in performance is much much smaller than you'd think from 18V to 12V

The only problem I've had with the M12 is my hose broke. I need to warranty it I guess but I have a contact at Milwaukee and may see if they'll just ship me a new hose....seems dumb to return the whole vac

Anyway I reco the 0960