Milwaukee is coming out with a new M12 cordless hand vacuum early this year, model 0850-20. The new vac looks like a household DustBuster, but is designed for rough and tough jobsite cleanup tasks.
Features include a high performance 34 CFM motor, up to 29 minutes of runtime with a 4.0Ah XC Li-ion battery pack, reusable pleated filter, lock-on switch for reduced hand fatigue, and a large clear viewing window that makes it easy to know when it’s time to empty the canister or clean the filter.
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Plus, it comes with an extension wand, a crevice nozzle, and a wide utility nozzle.
Need a different attachment? Milwaukee’s compact M12 vacuum features a universal 1-1/4″ connection port.
The extension wand and separate nozzles mean you can clean dust, debris, or a mess from the floor without bending over too much. The product photo shows a worker hunched over a little bit, but a little extra reach is definitely better than nothing.
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Even the 20 oz. collection canister looks well thought out, with its clear viewing window. This means you don’t have to open the vac mid-cleanup to check on the fill-up progress.
Availability: January 2015
Street Price: $59
More Info(via Milwaukee)
Thanks Glenn for the heads-up!
First Thoughts
Can you tell that I’m a little excited about Milwaukee’s new M12 compact cordless vacuum? Cleaning up after a project is always a drag, especially if I have to pull out a full-size dust collector to clean up a very small mess.
I am very much interested in this design. It looks a little awkward at the front, but I guess that was necessary to increase the size of the dust containment canister. Milwaukee hasn’t mentioned the vacuum’s canister volume, but it will probably be on-par with other handheld compact cordless vacs.
I’m thinking that the vac will look and maybe feel a little weird with an XC battery pack. It will run for up to 29 minutes on a 4.0Ah battery, and so that suggests it should run for up to 14 minutes, maybe a little longer, when powered by a 2.0Ah battery pack.
If the runtime doesn’t sound impressive to you, consider that a Dyson cordless vac will run for about 15 minutes on a full charge. Even if you factor in the cost of a battery and charger, this vac will cost you less than a Dyson.
If you need greater capacity, check out the Dewalt 20V Max cordless vac that I reviewed earlier in the year. That Dewalt model provides a good amount of suction – for a cordless vac – and can be powered by 20V Max or 18V batteries, and there’s also an AC power cord.
This post was originally published on December 18th, 2014, and republished on January 6th, 2015. The original post was taken down by request, as official specs and features were still in the process of being finalized.
fred
I’m enthusiastic too.
As long as the price being not too steep – I can see my ex-compatriots having one on each truck just for quick cleanup jobs – where pulling out one of the bigger Fein vacuums would be overkill. I’m not quite sure that the pictured use (cleaning up drywall debris – would be my choice of use – but I guess they wanted to show how capable it is.
SawdustTX
I have been waiting for this! Thanks for the info!
Very excited to add this to my cleanup arsenal – I have the M18 vac and M18 Blower/inflator. Other items I’m still hoping for from Milwaukee – an M18 mini-compressor for inflating tires and a super hi intensity LED “Q-Beam”.
KenZ
I’ve got the Ryobi 18V inflator, and surprisingly it works pretty darn well. It takes a while to top off my van’s 80psi tires of course; really slows down at those pressures for that size. The programmability of it is nice so that you can set it and walk away to do something else, then come back later and switch to the next tire.
So if Milwaukee does a system like that, I’ll bet it’ll be a winner.
Pete
Ah yes! Let’s all demand a tire inflator! I NEED one! Milwaukee you MUST make one!
KenZ
Interesting. I’ve got the Makita 18V version, and we use it as our primary vac in the house for day to day clean up. It, like this one, has too short of an extension stem though… just sayin’. The clear window on this one is brilliant. I can’t see getting it though, as I highly doubt the power or runtime will match an 18V system. If I didn’t already have a system… I’d still opt for 18V. Does need a side by side comparison though for performance.
Brandon
$59 – dynamitetool co. ?.. Seems a little fishy though as it is not available yet so who knows when it would ship.I do not have any personal experience with this company but I would be leery as I have read negative reviews.
As for the vacuum itself it looks very handy. I never thought small cleanups could get any easier than with my 5 yr old 18v milwaukee cordless vac, but this m12 sucker will work great. One thing I would have liked to have seen on it is the ability to use the flexible hose from the 18v. But maybe this thing doesnt have enough suction. Either way I will be getting one to compliment my other m12 tools.
PS. Toolguyd is a Great web site. Thank you for your reviews and tool sale announements.
fred
Dynamite tool has a bricks and mortar store near McArthur Airport on Long Island. I’ve bought from the store when working in that area – but know less about their online policies. My ex compatriots bought some Freud Pergo blades from them – and told me that they had the best prices and delivered promptly.
Brandon
@fred Thank you for the feedback on dynamite. I will probably order this vacuum from them now. You never know how to decipher reviews on the internet. Usually, the only time people even post a review is if they have had a negative experience. People(me included) hardly ever take the time to post about a transaction/delivery that went smoothly, or a positive experience.
Just 2 days ago I had an online order mixup with toolnut.com and I had to contact them over the phone, (ughh). But I was pleasantly surprised by their overly friendly and prompt customer service and issue was quickly resolved.
SawdustTX
hmm – good point about using the M18 vac flex hose. It might actually fit, since I bet that crevice tool is the same one the M18 vac uses. The flex hose might fit on the end of the extension.
Nathan
Oh, nice. Considering they are showing it picking up drywall debris, i wonder how well the filter will hold up to something like that… and how much of it it retains. If it ends up blowing out a lot of the fine dust i can’t see any advantage over sweeping for that specific use case, but for a lot of other use cases it would be really handy.
Definitely something i’ll buy if it’s not over-the-top expensive.
Matt
I keep wondering if I should have gone with M12 rather than Bosch… the Bosch 12v vac was announced months ago, and still does not seem to be available.
Pete
I switched a couple month ago, couldn’t be happier. I love the larger line of tools as well as the much better warranty.
Blake Paine
I agree. I love my Bosch 18v gear, but I wish they would get their act together on releasing products in the states. I’ve been waiting for the 12v VAC 120.
Also, does anyone have any insight on the Bosch GAS18V-LI vacuum? Looks like another product not actively sold in the US, but Amazon has it available to ship for a hefty price.
http://www.amazon.com/GAS18V-LI-Professional-Extractor-Handheld-Cleaner/dp/B00KGQAN3C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419011471&sr=8-1&keywords=bosch+cordless+vacuum
I have the Dewalt 18/20v and am very disappointed with it’s suction/power. Maybe because it’s running on old 18V bats? I won’t by 20v Dewalt just for my vacuum. I’d rather buy one the the above Bosch vacs to stick with my current lineup.
Moze
I have the Bosch.
Here are a couple of videos I did of it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xneKd0vwKRA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wke2ZLH-11c
I’m really happy with it, although I did order the Milwaukee 12v as well. Saw it and had to have it. 🙂
Del
My cordless mini-vac with integrated battery is on its last legs. Looks like this will fit the bill as a replacement.
Mike N
Have you ever reviewed the Makita?
ken
I’m curious on the comparison between the Milwaukee 18V Toolbox vacuum and this tool. I have the majority of my tools in the 12 V line, 4 V18 tools and one M18 with 2 XC batteries. The M12 completes 95 percent of my duties. I was thinking about getting the M18 vacuum. Anyone have one and likes/dislikes with it? Thanks.
glenn
We use an M18 vac and also an M12 hammervac for cleanups after doing A/C installs.The hammervac with the optional crevice tool is good for gyprock dust etc (drywall for the guys in the USA) as well as its intended use.
The 18v vac however is a far more powerful thing. We use it to cleanup after core drilling on internal brick walls. It will basically pick up whatever will fit through the crevice nozzle, brick and mortar bits included.
I have not tested exact runtime but with a 3.0ah battery it gets @ 7-8 mins or so. With the 4.0ah it has enough runtime to clean a 4dr sedan including boot so @ 10-11 minutes.
The only downsides in my opinion are its size and that it is very noisy.
I will certainly be buying this new 12v vac though, just the addition of a wand alone makes it a winner for me.
Mizzourob
Now how about the long awaited M12 digital camera that was on the original roadmap for the lineup?
https://www.facebook.com/Coptool/photos/pb.107170809721.-2207520000.1418930554./10152661919184722/
Jason
I doubt we will ever see a 12 digital camera. It might have made sense back then, but with the amount of smartphones out now its hard to justify for Milwaukee to bring the camera to market.
Stuart
Ryobi came out with a Tek4 digital camera, and I don’t think it sold very well.
Digital camera technology changes so dramatically over short periods of times. As Jason said, smartphones are hard to compete with, as are the many “tough” digital cameras available today.
Jason
The whole Tek4 lineup has been replaced by the Ryobi phone works system. The tools with that system are to replace the diagnostic tools from the old Tek4 lineup. I think Ryobi is still making some Tek4 screwdrivers that’s about it.
OnTheWeb
Wouldn’t be bad to have in the kit if it can handle drywall dust.
Jimmie
The runtime suggests the motor rates around 140W. Shame the motor doesn’t have two modes: 140W in DC mode and, say, 500W in AC mode.
Any idea what replacement filters will cost and whether they’ll offer different kinds of filters depending on the job?
Jimmie
Gah. I thought this was 18V. At 12V, the runtime specs suggest a 100W motor. Anyway, a dual mode portable vac would be great to have.
glenn
This is a must have for me. It suits exactly what I need it for. I will be grabbing one as soon as it’s available.
With the M12 circular saw set for release here in Australia in February, all I need now is an M12 brushless grinder, fan, inflator (a la Ryobi’s version which is great by the way) as well as a 12v dc only charger and I will have everything I need for work in the one battery platform!
Pete
A m12 brushless grinder would be sweet!
rx9
A die grinder, maybe. An angle grinder, likely not.
jason. w
I have the ryobi dirtdevil and its great. I can only imagine how much better this would be
Trent
I have the Makita 18V version and it works great. Makita has a 12V version as well, but why bother with such a short run time.
glenn
So 29 minutes is not enough?
rx9
Vacuums require a lot of power. At 12v, my biggest fear is that this thing will be super weak.
Kurt
I wonder if Milwaukee ever considering running parallel batteries to make more powerful tools, such as an M12 angle grinder, practical. The additional weight in this kind of tool would not be a major factor, and they get to sell more batteries. Plus, it would look cool LOL.
Stuart
The ergonomics would probably be prohibitive. There wouldn’t be a point of using two compact batteries in parallel, since a single XC battery would be better. Most users would probably prefer to use an 18V tool than an M12 tool with (2) XC batteries sticking out the back.
NERemodeling
even if it could work, i would imagine that Makita holds some sort of patent on dual battery designs
Stuart
Why would you think that? They’re not the first to design tools that work with two parallel battery packs. Right now, Festool also has a 2-battery saw, and some older Black & Decker tools worked with 2 battery packs.
John
International Tool has had a pre-order page up on this for about a week now. States availability as 9 Jan. at $59.
http://www.internationaltool.com/milwaukee-0850-20-m12-compact-vacuum
Pablo
Man, a longer or second extension tube would’ve been nice. My back hurts looking at the picture of the guy hunched over trying to reach the ground.
NERemodeling
I have the makita 18v xlc02zw i love the thing. it is so nice to no have to drag out a corded vac for smaller jobs. i would imagine that milwaukee wouldnt put it out if if was underpowered.. i dont know the cfm on my makita but i would imagine this is close
the runtime is not an issue at all, the makita runs about 15 min on a 1.5ah, 30 min on a 3ah and 40 min on a 4ah i use it with 3ah and the 30 minutes has never been a problem always more than enough. lets be honest, if you have a big enough mess where you need to be vacuuming for more than 30 minutes you should probably drag out the corded vac.
Matthew
I think this would be great for small jobs in finished homes. Hanging shelves, mirrors, etc. also think I love this for vehicle clean-up. A flex hose option would be welcomed by me.
Carlos
I would love to see the airwatt rating on this, I just got the http://www.blackanddecker.com/power-tools/BDH2000PL.aspx rated at 35 airwatts.
I’ve only used it a couple of times but I like it so far.
Tyler
Is there a fuel guage on this thing?
rx9
There is likely going to be one.
Joseph C
I love this thing!!! It’s perfect for small jobs where you don’t have a full vac out, (I use a Festool Midi,) where you are away from a power outlet, or, especially, when there is a little bit of debris and you’ve already put your main vac away.
If I could add a feature, though, it would be an option for using it as a small blower for cleaning off tools.
Thanks for the tip Stuart!!!
Joseph C
I’ve been using this thing for a while now and, though I still appreciate its convenience, I’m less in love.
The small filter clogs very quickly. The motor continues to make lots of noise, but it all of a sudden seems incapable of picking anything up until cleaned! I’ve realized that I am going to need to blow out the filter with compressed air between every use or two.
Norske Div
Ridgid x4 wet dry vac is the best of all. Really powerful and it has a 1 7/8 pickup hose. I use it as my primary and best of all it sells for $49! All my other tools are M12 but the ridgid vac blows away the competition. The Dewalt is nice but has about half the suction strength. The ridgid does eat batteries quick though.
http://www.amazon.com/Ridgid-18-Volt-Cordless-Vacuum-Tool-Only/dp/B00NXGYHPW
John Blair
Review 1 year in: This thing is awful. I don’t use it, it wont hardly pick up anything…. I ended up buying a dewalt 20v max Vac instead and even though its much bigger my wife and I will use it every time before this Milwaukee piece of junk.