BLACK+DECKER BDH9600CHV Dustbuster 9.6V Cordless Hand Vac

I normally wait a little longer to rate and item but I really like this. I actually bought this with low expectations based on some other reviews but I am very happy. I use it every day! I use it in the kitchen for crumbs mostly and around the rest of the house for just general dirt. It's also very handy to suck up bugs that make their way in. I have had no issue picking anything up EXCEPT pet hair that is on a couch. It does nothing for that, but that's not why I bought this, I have something else for that. It will get pet hair tumbleweeds though! I was also impressed when it picked up actual dust on a bookshelf. I just thought I would test it out on a shelf that had a thin layer of dust and it picked it up. I don't tend to use it for that purpose, seems like the rag is faster but I was impressed that it picked it up. It's very lightweight and isn't really all that loud. So far I have had no issues with the battery life or any other function. I'll update the review if anything goes downhill. Update 9/09/14: This is still going strong and I actually use it even more now. I use this at least three times a day just to clean up my little one's cracker mess! I also use it to clean the crumbs out of her high chair. It works really great on hard surfaces. Still super happy with this! Update 7/19/15: I am still so happy with this and it continues to work great. I use it everyday, and I'll admit I'm lazy about dumping it and I have not had to replace anything. I'm buying a second one for the basement. Update 10/28/15: Well this unit ended up loosing it's battery life just this past couple of weeks! It wouldn't stay on much more than a minute or so before it would start sounding really weak. I contacted amazon and they directed me to black & decker, they replied right away and sent me out a replacement unit. I haven't had the chance to set it up yet but I will keep the review updated with any changes. Overall I still love this unit and don't regret my purchase, I'm also happy with the great service from Black & Decker.

This is a defective product, and should have been recalled to replace the batteries with ones with an acceptable lifetime. It only took one year before they would no longer hold a charge long enough for more than a minute or two of use. By two years it was down to 20 seconds. If it is true that they should not be left on the charger continuously, then the charger should not be promoted as doubling as a storage mount: "Charging Stand/Wall Mount - One step charging and storage ". I suspect the battery still would have had a short life even without that. Throwing out a product after such a short period of use is an obscene waste of resources, as well as the consumers' money. If everyone bought these the landfills would be full of them. Another example of the cheap junk made by Black and Decker. Addendum: here's something I found in the B&D manual when looking to see if I could replace the battery: "The appliance can be left connected to the charger indefinitely." But that's exactly what causes the battery lifetime to be extremely short, since leaving Li-ion batteries charging continuously overheats and damages them. The B&D charger is too cheap to have an auto-shutoff to avoid this, or even a light to indicate when charging is complete. The above shows that they tell the consumer to do the very thing that causes the damage, which is either incompetent or calculating. They offered me a replacement which I turned down - who wants another one that will have to be thrown out a year later? And indeed the reviews of the new version show the same thing: a long list of consumer complaints that the battery no longer holds a charge after a short time in use. The charger bracket looks exactly the same at first glance, so did they bother addressing this problem, or did they just keep on the selling the same defective design? There must be hundreds of thousands if not millions of these in landfills by now. Well done Black and Decker!

This isn't your "fathers" dustbuster! It's powerful, filters well and if properly charged before the first use, will run 12-15 minutes continuously. The biggie to remember with any ni-cad battery powered device is that the batteries will develop a "memory" based upon how long they were used before recharging. If you only use it for a few minutes each time and then put it back in the charger, the batteries are going to start only lasting for a few minutes. The best thing you can do is use it for a total accumulated time of 12-15 minutes before putting it back on the charging stand. Black and Decker would do well to incorporate a "smart" charger into this device (much like their Dewalt brand of hand tool charging stations) that would not allow the batteries to develop a memory. I use this primarily in my hobby area so am sucking up metal shavings, broken pieces of wood, bits of cardboard and other particles that aren't actually "dirt" and it does an excellent job. Do be aware it exhausts out the back and so as you swing it around, it can blow light objects that are still on the outside around. I always have small pieces of foam left from rebuilding a wrecked airplane and it will throw them all around the room if I'm not careful where the front is pointed. Now I make sure to pick the foam up first and heavier objects later on. If it lasts for a few years (it comes with a manufacturers two year warranty), it will be money well spent and I'll buy whatever the current version is at that time. B&D invented the dustbuster and they've continuously improved it over the years and this is no exception. Update 09/25/2014: Through my own clumsiness, managed to break the dust bowl and was pleased to find that you can actually buy replacements parts for this and many other small B&D appliances. Sure, shipping cost more than the item ($3.68 + $4.95) but beats buying a whole new machine. With most brands these days, you break something, you need a whole new product and I hate throwing away perfectly good items.

Update to my review. I do like the device, but after just over a year it has quit charging fully. It was hanging in our broom closet and I thought that maybe it just wasn't making contact so I put it on a flat surface but had the same result. So it is a cheap device made cheaply. I should have known not to buy filters for it...anybody want to buy some filters? I have had Black & Decker brand Dustbuster products for as long as I can remember. They are reliable, solid performing and long lasting. I purchased this device to replace my old Dustbuster, which I think was a little under 10 years old. This is a powerful vacuum for the type of device, and it works particularly well at scarfing up the stink bugs and lady bird beetles that take up residence in our home this time of year without having to get to close. (Yes, I know they are harmless, but my anxiety laughs at your puny logic). The crevice tool and brush attachments are very useful, and combined with the powerful suction, this was a great purchase. This vacuum is an excellent value for the price, which I have found to be true of most, if not all Black and Decker products. One star deduction for the wobbly design. If I set this thing down anywhere, it will roll over and fall. So far it has managed not to leap from a height sufficient to cause damage, but it has hit the floor more times than I would like. So, if you are mindful of this limitation you may not think it is a big deal - and it really isn't...but not quite 5-star.

One more time I update my review. It is quite possible that the recharging problem that many people have with this device is based on 2 different things. First, the "On-Off" symbols are that Egyptian type cryptic 0 or I. Worse, You might think that when the 0 is showing that the device is turned on. Not so. It is then that the device is turned off. And of course if you have replaced your device to the charging hook when the batteries have gone you may not realise that it is still turned on. The device will not charge when the on-off switch is left in the On position. And again, the On position is when the I, and not the O is showing. Geez. Please spend 5 cents more and go back to using more obvious markers, or better yet, actual language words. Please. 2ndly. if you like myself are not too hip on hanging your charging hook on the wall you may find that you also have a charging problem. That is because gravity holds the device in place over the charging tips on the hook which contact the charging points on the vacuum. Yep, it could get very complicated. I had my charging hook sitting on the floor and the device on top. I am thinking that this often did not make for a good charging situation. That and the fact that my device was often not turned off as I attempted to charge it. My initial use of the vaccum was pretty decent, but I also (as you already know) experienced an endless amount of charging problems. I finally got angry and contacted Black and Decker. I sent an amazing coherant and not profane email to their support office and within a work day I was answered back with the notice that I was being sent a replacement unit free of charge. That is pretty good in my book and was worth a lot in terms of my feelings towards B&D after this experience. Because of these details I am raising my rating on the 9600 to 4 stars.

Update 9/9/16: I boxed my juiceless DustBuster and let it sit for a few months because I was annoyed that I would have to pay more than $10 shipping to return it to a Black & Decker Factory Service Center. Then, the day came when we took a road trip that took us through a city that had a Factory Service Center. The return was easy and I received a new DustBuster a few days later. I was disappointed with the first one; however, the warranty was honored and I hope the second one lasts as long as my old red & white model did. I upped the stars from 1 to 4 to reflect a satisfactory warranty experience and because I like it when it works. ___________________________________________________ Update 3/17/16: I've had this model just 6 months and now, suddenly, it has almost no power. Such a disappointment! My previous DustBuster lasted several years and had a better charge at the end when I decided to replace it. This device is a total waste of money if the battery is going to die in 6 months. Reduced rating from 4 stars to 1 star. ___________________________________________________ I currently have an older model 9.6v red and white Dustbuster (model #CHV9608), but the battery is losing steam. So, I purchased this new model (model #BDH9600CHV) to replace it. In comparison, they are both about the same length. The new model is 4 and 11/16 inches wide. The debris bowl on the older model is partially obscured by a white front panel and is more opaque so you can’t see the exact pieces of the debris. My only issue about this new model is that the face of the debris bowl, though tinted, is completely transparent and you can see every hair and speck of debris inside – kind of gross, especially since my device is hanging next to a refrigerator. The old model had a light to indicate that the device was seated correctly in the charger. The new one doesn’t have this, but it seems to slide into place effortlessly, so no light is necessary. The old model had a built-in extension that I found useful on rare occasion; the new model does not have this. There are two small accessories, which are nice, but there is no place on the device or charger to store them. I’ve put the brush accessory on the Dustbuster; the other accessory will be lost among the Legos. Overall, I like this new model. It looks nice (except for the transparent debris bowl), fits my space, has sufficient power, and is priced well. I recommend it.

Pros: - it vacuums up well - its cheap cons: -easily damaged if dropped -batter life is terrible -having to drain battery fully in between charges is a pain for 26$ it did what it was designed to do, and did it well for about 3 months. I dropped it about 3 feet onto a hardwood floor after a month and broke a small tab that keeps the grey front nozzle connected flush to the white handled base. it still works at full capacity, but is always in danger of falling apart and spilling all the contents I've previously vacuumed. its a pretty vulnerable design flaw that could have been prevented by beefing up the plastic thickness on the tab. DON'T DROP THIS THING! it did what i bought it for: it vacuumed up all the cat litter outside the litter box, it vacuumed stray kibble and any random dust bunnies on the floor quite well. However, the NiCad batter sucks! you have to run down the vacuum to zero battery before you can recharge in order to keep the battery life strong, and I have done this dutifully every charge, yet my vacuum's battery life is still substantially weaker then when i first bought 2 months ago. the last 15~minutes of the charge the vacuum can't pick up a thing, and must be left on until the battery runs out so I can recharge. I would not recommend this hand vac to anyone unless they only need it temporarily, due to the cheap 26$$. If anyone wanted a more reliable long term hand vac I would suggest buying at a higher price point to get a Li-ion battery so that you can begin recharging your hand vac as soon as your done vacuuming, so that it is always ready at full power.

I debated if I should buy the more expensive Dust Buster but decided to buy this one. Am I glad I did, this vacuum works great. The two attachments are nor integrated into the unit but must be installed when needed.... not a big deal. So far I've used this little vacuum all around my house saving me the hassle of dragging out my big canister vac. This little vac has plenty of pick up power, isn't that loud, is light weigh and easy to handle. As far as charging goes, I charged it for around twenty four hours after it arrived before using it. The instructions say to place it in the charging base after every use, I disagree. I have used this little guy for three days now for little jobs and have not recharged it yet. It has a NMHD battery and I don't want to give it a memory that would shorten the battery life..... I might be wrong but I don't think I am. Cleaning it couldn't be easier it pops open you pull out the filter [very simple] and dump it, I then use a damp paper towel to wipe it clean, very easy. Over all this little vac. performs well, I use it everyday to tidy up my ferrets cage, she can get a bit messy with her food. The plus side was the first time I started cleaning the cage she was so interested as to what this new thing was she wouldn't stop sniffing it... So I vacuumed her with the darn thing and she loved it, so it's a great ferret cleaning tool as well, I wouldn't use it on a cat but who knows it could work for that too.

Me encanto este producto, es súper practico. Pensé que por el hecho de ser recargable sería muy poco potente, pero para nada. No es pesado y gracias a sus complementos se facilita su uso. Excelente para recoger polvo, cabellos, migajas, etc. Tiempo de entrega menos al mencionado.

Après 6 mois d'usage les piles sont presque mortes. L'aspirateur est inutilisable. Malgré cette mauvaise expérience. J'ai acheté le modèle de 7.2 volts après avoir constaté que le transformateur du 9.6 volts était trop puissant (29 volts). J'ai alors changé le transfo du 7.2 volts, qui était de 16.4 volts, par un plus petit de 9 volts. Cela fait plus de deux ans déjà, et il fonctionne très bien aujourd'hui. Alors je vous suggère d'en faire autant. Le transfo d'origine est probablement valable pour un usage intensif, mais pour un usage occasionnel, faite le changement pour un transformateur de 12 volts (MESURÉ avec un multimètre), sinon le transformateur d'origine grillera les piles. Une fois par mois décharger les piles complètement pour les garder au top niveau. si les piles faiblissent, débrancher et rebrancher le transfo 10 fois de suite pour les raviver.

Tiene muy poca potencia, la compré para quitarle tierra muy fina que mis perritos dejan en su colchón, pero no aspira ni eso.

Good product for a short time. Battery will start to die after one year. You HAVE to keep it on the charger at all time. After a year it will only last for a couple minutes off the charger and loses vacuum power fast. If you use something like this often, DON'T buy this one. Spend a little more and buy one that has a cord or lithium battery as it will last you longer and put your money to better use. My next purchase will be one with a cord or lithium battery.

SUPER cheap and works REALLY, REALLY well. Very happy with the purchase! 5 stars **Update** I have had this about 6 months and it still works well, but only for about 2 minutes before starting to die. The battery is completely shot, and in not a very long time (like I said, 6 months). It used to run for a long time, but just recently it started becoming shorter and shorter and really quickly progressed to only running at full power for about 2 minutes.