Reviews of Black and Decker VPX Cordless Hand Vacuum with Cyclonic Action

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I have several of the older Versapak battery power vacuums and consumer grade hand tools. The original battery powered hand vacuums used Nicads, then they were upgraded to the "gold" version which were NiMH batteries. These each used two drop in packs with a total of 6 sub C cells for a total of 7.4 volts. These worked well but the voltage was adequate but not over powering. The actual vacuums (original Versapak) were built using a hard injection molded plastic which meant if you dropped it the body or battery hold down would break.

The design is similar but the batteries are retained using a spring loaded clip on the battery.

What I really like is the the built-in narrow extension tool which allows the vacuum to get into narrow areas. The built-in feature is a real plus because accessories tend to get separated from tools like this. In addition, there is clip on crevice tool which snaps into the extending nose of the vacuum. It, along with a brush, are stored in the back side of the vacuum. Overall, the vacuum design is similar to older models but improved.

The best part of this battery powered hand vacuum is the use of Lithium Ion batteries. These are small 1300 milliamp hour A123 cells which are extremely rugged and good for a 1000 charges. Best of all is they hold their charge for months, not days or weeks which are typical of Nicads or NiMH cells. Nothing is more frustrating then wanting to use a battery powered tool and when you want to use it the battery pack needs to be recharged. The VPX charger takes longer than I like, but that's a normal consumer grade charger. It's a shame because these batteries can be quick charged in 15 minutes with a more powerful charger.

The motor is a brushed motor that takes time to break in, so a new motor needs to be used a bit to get the most out of it.

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Black & Decker VPX0320 Dual Port ChargerBlack & Decker VPX0111 7-Volt VPX Battery PackVpx Hand Vac

I was about to contact Black and Decker. Something has to be wrong. I fully charged the two batteries and inserted into the Vac. I ran it for 5 minutes, put the vac away, and ran it for 5 minutes a week later and the vac recharge light comes on. There are two expensive batteries fully charged, can they only run for two 5 minute intervals? If thats it, they should scrap this product.

Don winans

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I received this Black and Decker vacuum as a holiday gift. At first, I thought this was a good successor to a history of cheap, ineffective hand vacs. However, after two charges, the Black and Decker battery charger ceased working. While this product is still under warranty, I am now going through a painful back and forth about replacement of the charger that involves Black and Decker and DeWalt. I've searched for another charger to purchase, but I can only buy it in a package with other Black and Decker power tools. Why would I buy power tools that I can't power because of unreliable battery charging? I don't intend to buy more of this.

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I just got my Black & Decker VPX2102 VPX Lithium-Ion Hand Vac yesterday. I had done a lot of research online, and while the $50 cost was high, I liked not having to deal with Ni-Cd batteries.

I was VERY surprised to open the package and find that I still had to buy two VPX batteries and a charger. I came back to this product page, and verified there's nothing here (at this time) that says the batteries aren't included. Amazon's description ends mid-sentence with "Includes." Of the two reviews so far, one doesn't mentions the lack of batteries, and the other makes it sound like batteries are included (at least, to me).

So, I have to wait another week or so to actually try the Hand Vac. I can't comment on how good it is, but I can say it's quite expensive, and hope that others don't make the mistake I did.

I picked 2 stars because I had to choose something, and it seems well-built. If I get this vac working and really love it, I'll update the review to three stars, maaaaaybe four. I think I chose a solid product, but the cost and the "gotcha" factor are discouraging.

[ UPDATE 3/20/2009: ] The batteries arrived, seemingly in new condition. Like another reviewer, I'm getting about 10 minutes' vacuum time from each 5-hour charge. Each charge cycle has improved the time a little; I've gone through three cycles so far. There is almost no warning before the batteries are fully discharged. The vacuum speed falls from 100% to 95% for just a moment, then it shuts off.

I think a 14V, $100 hand vacuum (including battery costs) should run for at least 30 minutes on a 5-hour charge, so I'm going to try and get the batteries replaced under warrantee. Perhaps they were sitting on a shelf or in storage for too long. The manual does warn that storing the batteries without a charge can cause damage, and they arrived with no charge at all. For what it's worth, the glue on all the VPX packaging has been old enough to be brittle and too weak to hold paper and cardboard together during the unpacking process. Hopefully fresh batteries will perform much better.

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I just got the hand vac and at first I have to say I bought it because the first person who posted the review raved about it. Unfortunately, I will be returning it.

First off, Amazon didn't mention any where that the batteries and the charger were sold separately, but that's not the reason I'm returning this. Secondly, this hand vac doesn't stand out and really works similar to many others. The cyclonic action was not impressive as some others. Dirt and "stuff" still got caught on the filter and the suction slowed.

Thirdly, at 7volts(x2) it didn't seem like it totaled what a 14volt should The suction was no that impressive. Lastly, the on/off switch was pretty hard to work. My wife couldn't work it, and this was the real reason its being returned.