Handheld Vacuum Face-Off: Abusive Lab Test

Picture 1: Black & Decker FHV1200 Flex

Picture 2: Dyson DC31

Picture 3: Makita BCL180W

When Black & Decker released the original Dustbuster 30 years ago, the company essentially created the mass-market handheld vacuum cleaner. Today, cordless hand vacs use advanced batteries and motors to pull with more power than ever. We took three new models—including Black & Decker’s latest Dustbuster successor, and one that uses a power-tool battery—and pitted them against a gantlet of spilled snacks and workshop detritus.

The Tests

In The House

We vacuumed up after a staged Super Bowl bash—popcorn and Doritos crushed into 20 square inches of carpet.

Black & Decker: Crushed food clogged the hose, which had a tendency to regurgitate crumbs out the nozzle. Gross.

Dyson: Smaller crumbs were no problem, but some larger kernels got jammed in the nozzle (it was nothing a pencil poke couldn’t clear out).

Makita: No jams, and no problems. The Makita gulped down whole kernels and large chip shards with ease. It filled, dumped and did it again as fast as we could twist off the 650-milliliter container.

Winner: Makita, by a mile

In The Shop

To simulate a workshop cleanup, we pitted the vacs against a mound of sawdust, screws, tacks and flat washers.

Black & Decker: Smaller particles swept through the hose easily, but an odd static-cling effect made it difficult to dump the sawdust.

Dyson: The cyclonic sucking hit its prime when swirling up the dust and hardware. Even the heaviest screws shot straight up the hatch.

Makita: The vac ingested our nuts and bolts with ease, but its opaque plastic shell made it difficult to tell when the canister was full.

Winner: Dyson

Battery Life

To test the tools’ stamina, we measured charge time and total chamber loads per charge.

Black & Decker: Although the Nickel-Cd battery pack took 21 hours to charge, it sucked just four fills of its 503-ml tank.

Dyson: A 3.5-hour charge on its 22.2-volt lithium-ion battery sucked and dumped 341 ml’s worth of gunk an impressive 52 times.

Makita: Use of a standard Makita power-tool battery and charger ensured long life (59 loads) and a quick charge (just 15 minutes).

Winner: Makita

Bottom Line

The Makita’s long-lasting battery and imperviousness to clogs helped it pull off a first-place finish. And while the Dyson came in a close second, the B&D’s clog-prone hose made it a distant third.