I am an handyman & do a lot of different jobs. Most are in peoples homes. I carry a 6ga shop vac and this little one. most of the time i just take this little one in. it is quick and easy for small jobs.

The vacuum works very well, surprisingly powerful even on the battery. I bought an accessory kit that doubles the utility of the vacuum. Got the extension tubes and floor brush, so now it works great for a quick sweep of the floor.

I have had this vac for almost a year now and really like it a lot. Most of the complaints I have read seem like user error or trying to do something it was not designed for. I use mine on the job quite a bit and don't have many complaints at all. If you are going to use a battery, PLEASE, use an 18v. I have gotten 15-20 minutes on average with a good and fully charged battery. Make sure your filter is clean. The filter is a very fine filter and catches a lot of very fine dust and WILL clog on a short amount of time, especially with concrete and drywall dust. Buy an extra filter so you can rinse one out and let it dry while you use the other. I don't understand the comment about this vac having less suction than a "dust buster". May you had the hose hooked up to the wrong end of the vac, I don't know. I know that I have good results as long as you do as I listed. Even if you use the cord, CLEAN YOUR FILTER OFTEN. That should be a rule of thumb for any vacuum if you want to get the most out of it. The cord is short, but I think DeWalt did this so that you have the cord option but don't have so much cord that it becomes cumbersome. If you use it as intended, you will be satisfied with this vac.

We've been using these at work for about 6 years now with good results and few problems (one bad circuit board). We almost always run them off 18v batteries, and they run about 20 min to a charge. They are not a shop vac in my opinion - they are a battery powered vacuum for shop use. It has decent suction, but nothing like the other regular shop vacs we use. Good for light - medium duty projects. The only issues I have is the crevice tool doesn't fit on the hose real snug and is prone to fall of during constant use, and the design of the hose itself drives me up the wall as it is always pinching my forearms while it is extending and collapsing. All in all a good product, just a little bit high-priced for what you get. But hey, that's DeWalt for you.

Pros- has a real filter
good size
works on batteries
solidly built

Cons-
suction is not all that much
cord a bit short
can't tell if there is a battery inside W/O opening it up
I had a Shop Vac 1x1 for a few years and used it almost every day that little tiny vac had some serious power. But it had a cheesy piece of paper as a filter. it could come off and blow dust around. So I got this. It does not have the power of the much smaller vac. but it will pick up most stuff and is reasonably powerful, but not great.

I Just Got one a few weeks ago and love it. I use my 14.4 battery from my drill and it last about 10 min . I have three boy's and use it on a daily bases at least once a day but usually more then that. Like one time the kid over ran the sink and I used it to clean up the water that was every were. If you have kids it is a must for them small mishaps. I am amazed at the suction it works great and I Love it!

The unit does not have much power and the cord is too short. Not worth the money! Could have purchased a small unit with more power @ less cost. Would not buy again.

If you own 12V-18V DeWalt tools, this vacuum is great. I do a lot of woodworking and the thing is essential. Keeping my tools free of sawdust and wood chips has been made extremely easy. Keeping my table saw's miter gauge slot and rip fence free of the dust and chips has made my work much more efficient and accurate. Definately worth the $$$$.

One caution... As I said if you already own 12V-18V DeWalt tools the vacuum is great. If you don't, I'm not sure that I'd buy the vacuum because it does not come with it's own batteries or a charger.

I haven't used the vacuum much, but it seems to have pretty good suction. I was a little disappointed in the design for storage of the cord and the accessory vacuum ends. The design is little more than a clumsy full-sized shop vac.

This is a great vaccuum! I have used it ever since we got tile throughout our house, it's got great suction power!

First the vacuum is good, it's powerful enough to clean up what you would expect it to. My only complaint is that it is a little loud, but I guess that is the price that must be paid for power in a small container and why there are earplugs. One of the main reasons I bought this however is because I have been told by some of my professional friends that in order to get the longest use out of the very expensive batteries, that you must use them on a somewhat regular basis. Being an average homeowner do-it-yourself guy, this is not practical with the standard tools - but it is with a vacuum. It works great for cleaning out my truck.

This looks like a powerful little shop vac, and the looks and brand name fooled me into thinking it is, but in fact it literally has far less power than an off-brand hand-held dust buster vac. The only 2 advantages of this item are it's a wet and dry vac, and it's both battery and AC cord powered. You would think that would make it very convenient, but if you for example take it out to your car and try to vacuum the floor you will be very disappointed to find out it's not powerful enough to completely suck up the small dirt and pebbles that accumulate in a typical car mat during the week without making 20 passes with the vac, and in no more than 5 minutes the battery will already have run out and you won't have had a chance to clean more than a third of the floor surface of your car thoroughly. The combination of lack of sucking power and extremely fast draining battery makes this thing barely useful and very frustrating. You will really get a better tool and save $50 to $70 by buying almost any hand-held mini vacuum. Only buy this if you need a weak-powered vac that can suck water when necessary and run both on a power cord and very briefly on a battery. Otherwise this thing is embarassingly useless and takes up a fair amount of space in a closet and is way overpriced for what it offers.

This tool was refurbished, the hinge was broke and canister wouldn't seal, I ordered a new hinge from dewalt and tool isn't cracked up to my exceptions, wouldn't recomend this one, doesn't suck well at all

I do use this vaccuum a lot. It is a nice portable wet/dry vac. Loud like your average shop vac and especially for its size.Has good pull for a small vac.Wet/Dry is a really nice feature. Problem areas are short battery life even w/ 18V XRP and a bit of a pain to do filter cleaning and emptying of the dust bin/bucket.. Could these problem areas be overcome, probably not.The unit is pretty powerful for a small vaccuum so it eats the battery.I end up plugging it in if I'm using it for more than 10 min or I have a second battery on standby. Cleaning the waste bin is just one of the "chores" of having a small shop vac.I have made the mistake of having a lot of dust/grime/dirt in the bin and vaccuuming up a bunch of water and forgetting about it.There was a "cake" in the bin that required some time to clean well.Replacement filters are on the spendy side.Mine is a few years old.I do regularily clean the filter with another old bag house vac. As one reviewer previously stated: "Excellent for it's intended application" <-- I couldn't agree more!!

I have to say that although it is heavy on batteries - Around 10-12 mins, this is a great hand held vac. Much more power than hand helds, and the portable pwoer means it is useful around the house.

I purchased this vacuum on Jan 12, 2007. The next day I tried to use it around the garage, It was very hard to use since due to my aching back, it did not have an extension. I did not feel like cleaning with my back bent (not good). Also, when I did plug the unit, the suction was the worst I've seen, I thought because it was made by DeWalt, it would be very strong as the readers suggested. I returned the unit the next day for a full refund. Now, I will be buying a Shopvac ( model 587-25-00) from Amazon.

We purchased this to vacuum ash from around our wood stove. We did not expect it to pick up much else because of its size. If any of the attachements are used, the suction is diffused to the point of non-existance. Even without any attachments, the suction leaves a lot to be desired. The DeWalt leaves what the Hoover picks up without effort. We have used this only when plugged in. We did not yet test with the battery even though we are a DeWalt house so have a lot of 18v charged and available.

We are going to invoke the 30 day satisfaction guaranty and return the vacuum. Its dissapointing since we are so happy with our other DeWalt tools.

Great little vac for the price. Does what it is set to do and more...suction is very ggod both for water and dust. Tried on my pick up and did wonder.
No regret, good buy!

What else can I say, this is the best shopvac I've owned. Mostly because of it's size and convenience. It is so easy to just grap this thing to vac up those messes that previously would have "waited till later". The power of this thing isn't the same as a full size shopvac, but I never expected it to be. The only improvement I'd make to this item, and the reason I'm only giving it 4 stars instead of 5, is that it should have a built in charger for the battery. Seems like that would be simple enough to add.

All the accessories stays in place. Very easy to use. However, there is very little power on the blower. The vacuum works really well with lots of suction power. It uses battery very quickly, so make sure to have a spare around.

I looked for a long time for just the right portable vacuum, and finally decided to go with the Dewalt. I love how light it is, I love how quiet it is and most important it has very good suction. Suction is actually on the top of my list. I can't believe how crappy the suction is on many of the vacuums I looked at and how loud so many of them are. I purchased a loud and crappy suction vacuum that went in the garbage after I bought the Dewalt. I don't think this vacuum is going to replace anyone's dust collector, but for smaller messes, vacuuming your vehicle, vacuuming your steps carpet, cleaning up after using your circular saw, vacuuming your furniture, etc this is a great fit. I have a dog that sheds and the hair is all over my vehicle and house. That hair is so hard to clean up, but this does a great job.

My only complaint is I wish the wide nozzle stayed on a little better. Right where it slides on the hose is where you grip, and it is easy to push and pull the attachment loose.

Had this guy for about 8 months now and it works real well. It has plenty of power on the batteries for small jobs. I used it to change out around 12 lock sets on interior doors that needed some chisel work on the latch and it made it real nice to just vac up all the chips and move on to the next. Filter is real easy to clean; just knock or wash it off. I even used it to clean up a spilt coffee at one of the places I was doing work at. It did a great job as a wet vac. Plumbers may even think about using it to suck the water out of toilets when doing a removal or change out. It would be a handy size for that.
If you own the batteries and charger already, go for it. If not, just go buy a small shop vac. I love mine mainly because I had four 18 volt batteries already.

This Vac has a cord and runs on batterys, How much more would it cost to make it charge the battery? For me the whole idea is to carry less stuff around.

I bought the Dewalt DC500 two years ago and have been very happy with its performance. I already owned several cordless Dewalt tools, so I had the 18 volt batteries and chargers.

I use it both in the shop and around the house for the immediate pick-up jobs, especially when I don't feel like dragging out the shop vac and cord. The abililty to take it wherever you don't have an outlet is a real plus. It has good suction for a portable vacuum. I would recommend it to anyone.

Overall, I found this tool to be quite effective for small to medium-sized clean-up jobs where dragging out a full-size Shop-Vac would be a hassle. Initally, the power was a bit lacking, but this was more a product of some rather elderly 12V batteries than any fault of the vacuum itself. With some fresh batteries, the performance and run-time is more than adequate.

If you are already a DeWalt cordless user, this is a worthwhile addition to the workbench. But without the DeWalt batteries already on hand, there are probably other, better alternatives out there.

DeWalt has produced an effective tool that performs better than expected. They aren't exactly doing us a favor, since I'm sure DeWalt's profit margin on batteries is high and this is a good way, in the long run, to sell more of them. I purchased one DC500 and it burned out after about two years of use, which is why I awarded four stars for what would otherwise be a solid 5. I immediately purchased another vacuum since it is used daily. We have twin 2 year old girls at home, and this vacuum is used not only for cleaning home projects and the car, but for cleaning up the high-chairs quickly and easily. The tool is available with a battery and charger, but the price then is high. If you have any DeWalt cordless tools and several batteries laying around, at $99.00 this tool is a bargain that will save a lot of time.

I was not a current Dewalt user and should have been more careful. The cost of the batteries and charger which are not included didn't make it worth my while. If you need to be away from traditional power sources it's worth the investment, but the cost of the batteries could buy a lot of extenstion cord. If you own the batteries already, it might make a nice addition to your home or garage. I'm returning it.

I was in need of a portable Vac and the DC 500 does the job. I am very satisfied with the quality and it is what I expected from Dewalt.
I am using with 12 volt battery and will probably move up to the 18 volt for additional time on the job.

The light weight is a plus as well as good suction and a nice extending hose. To run on the battery is good for only about 5-10 minutes. That's o/k for occasional clean up and with the cord available it's a nice machine.

My recent purchase of the Dewalt cordless vacuum was money well spent. If you currently own any Dewalt products then you already have the battery and charger. I would recommend that you use the 18v battery. I use this at work and at home for general clean ups. It's so nice not to have to search for an electrical outlet.

It is great for vacuuming out your car, boat or RV. While it does not take the place of a wet/dry vacuum, it does come in handy for those quick clean ups. If you don't have Dewalt products already, I might not recommend buying the battery and charger along with the vacuum. That would be too pricey for the use.

All in all, it works as advertised and could be an excellent addition to any household.

love the cord or cordless feature. pretty good power for light to medium duty vac & blower work, Glad I got it.

I'M DISAPPOINTED IN MY VAC, IT SAYS CORDLESS, BUT DID NOT COME WITH BATTERY BACK-UP, DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD TO ORDER THAT EXTRA.
CORDLESS TOOLS SHOULD ALWAY COME WITH A BATTERY, THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT CORDLESS!

Good points:

Battery and cord
Well built
Powerful for size
Compact
Easy to empty and clean

Bad points:

Narrow hose clogs with large items
Limited battery life

Overall I would recommend.

Handyman

NYC

Have used this itme quite a few times since it arrived. Love it. Easy to carry, to the job has plenty of suction both pluged in or on battery. It's not a replacement for your big vac, but for small quick clean ups it suits the job. Cutting plaster walls and sheetrock can be messy. This little vac. is up to the job of keeping dirt and dust down. Don't expect hours of run time on batteries, but if you have several charged up you can clean for a while. Great for the car, and getting water out of a clogged sink (this is when the battery came in handy, no threat getting a 115v zap.)
The Dewalt DC500 is a great addition to your portable tools. I goes where you go.

Very handly tool for small clean up jobs. Great suction for its size. Is compatable with other 1-1/4" accessories as from Home Depot or Sears if needed.

Opposite end is good for blowing light debris into a more confined area. Very light in weight even with a battery.

Do not expect the power of one battery to last all day so have another battery(s)on hand if you are a neat-nick.

Does not have a shoulder strap but has clip hoops if you buy your own.

You should have an extension cord handy as it has a 6'cord. This is a great little vac for job site, auto, home and don't be afraid to use on your computer keyboard and CPU if that is in a dusty environment (with care of course).

Outdoors people will find it handy with the battery(s) for quick tent clean up or as a fireplace bellows without passing out blowing.

If you do not need the versatility and expense of corded/cordless, it is not for you. After all, it was designed just for that versatility and the price is not unfair, considering.

If you do not already have Dewalt batteries, the price will be more in order to accomodate the battery power but if you need/want the cordless feature, and a small, cordless, wet/dry, vac/blower for small jobs this thing is great. If you need more power you will have to buy something bigger or less versatility.

Dewalt could have thrown in a shoulder strap. (Had to find something bad)...

...Oh yeah, wife thought I was nuts for paying a hundred bucks for this, until she used it. She loves it and after remindinding her of her intial response, I finally, did get an apology out of her...That does carry some weight too...It reduces the pain of bla, bla, bla.

She read my review and laughed about my posting her thoughts with her just saying...OK OK...