Several top self-propelled battery mowers, made by Greenworks, Ryobi, and Ego, score higher than the top-rated gas model, also a Honda. Several other highly rated self-propelled battery mowers—so named because the battery, not the user, powers the wheels—perform on a par with comparably rated self-propelled hyper tough tools gas models. The good news is that the vac’s slowness is compensated by its extended run time. On a fully charged 5Ah 20-volt battery, we got about 36 minutes of run time; this is staggering compared with run times of some other cordless vacs we tested—one of which only lasted 9 minutes.
So when blockages happened here, they were a little more difficult to clear. We preferred how the Milwaukee hose entered straight into the canister (but using the Milwaukee vac with the accessory lid closed forces a right turn on the hose anyway). Senior staff writer Tim Heffernan has recently been using the HD1200 and is impressed with its versatility as a compact option for multiple spaces within his Queens co-op apartment. He has highlighted it easily cleans up damp and dry dirt, pumice stones, perlite, wet pine needles, cat litter and any random bike maintenance crud spilled on the balcony.
Cleaning up high—like if you’re sucking cobwebs off a garage window—is less of a problem with the DeWalt vac because you can just hold it. Although Ridgid vacs come in other sizes (many of them great), we think the 12-gallon size offers the best balance of capacity and mobility. It’s usually competitive on price, too, both within the Ridgid lineup and against similar models from other brands. At a little over 17 pounds, this vac is more manageable on stairs than some larger, more powerful, also-popular versions. There is a wide dry nozzle, a wet nozzle, and a small crevice nozzle (for corners and detail work). Other models might come with more options, but I’ve found that they just tend to get in the way or lost over time.
Therefore, it should be safe to use Ridgid 18V batteries with an adapter on Hyper Tough 20V MAX power tools. But you might consider disassembly your Ridgid 18V battery to ensure that there is an over discharge protection circuit. There are plenty of other wet/dry vacuums available, most notably from Shop-Vac, a company so well known for its wet/dry vacuums that its name has become synonymous with all wet/dry vacs. In most ways, hyper tough tools Shop-Vac models are going to deliver the same thing as the Ridgid vacs. However, on the 12-gallon model, the accessories are bunched at the upper rear of the vac, instead of stored on each caster, and we’ve found they get knocked off much easier this way. The Shop-Vacs models’ availability is also a little more scattered, so you may not be able to get one in an emergency at a place that is as convenient as Home Depot.
We also have a recommendation for a more compact, cordless model for smaller messes. Every model’s Overall Score in CR’s ratings incorporates all of that performance data with predicted reliability and owner satisfaction ratings. We compile those ratings from our latest member surveys, leveraging data on more than 36,500 lawn mowers and tractors that members purchased between 2013 and 2023.
However, for minor renovation work around the house or for vacuuming out the car, this model is a nice choice. I spent 10 years in construction, building high-end homes in the Boston area. Ninety percent of the time, that meant pushing around a wet/dry vac, also known casually as a “shop vac” (though that’s also a brand name). I’ve vacuumed up nails, water, sawdust, insulation, spilled coffee, dumped-over bags of concrete, puddles of paint, and plenty more. That experience taught me a lot about the methods, techniques, and occasional limitations of a wet/dry vac in the field.