The DeWalt DC500 2 gallon cordless/corded wet/dry vacuum comes with plenty of suction power that is packaged into a portable size that makes it well suited for the cleanup of almost any small project. With the five foot long hose and the on board tools, you can easily reach into tight spaces. Since it can function on battery power, you can take this where other vacuum cleaners can’t easily go.
Our test vacuum cleaner arrived in a DeWALT Retail cardboard box. Inside the box were the vacuum cleaner, 1-1/4″ hose, crevice tool, wide nozzle, and filter. No assembly was required other than to install the filter on the bottom of the vacuum motor and to insert the accessories into the proper locations in the on-board storage. It should be noted that while this can be a cordless vacuum, you are responsible to provide your own 12-18V DeWalt batteries and charger to make that happen. We would tend to think that if you already have a collection of DeWalt battery operated tools, then this vacuum will be a welcomed addition to your collection. For those of you that are just looking for a compact corded vacuum, this will also serve your purposes as well without having to invest in a battery and charger which are available separately.
The build quality of the DeWalt DC500 2 gallon cordless/corded vacuum is right on par with what we have come to expect. Even though the entire vacuum is made almost entirely out of yellow or black plastic, it has a pretty good heft to it considering its compact size. The lower tank is completely removable and comes with a drain so that if you do use it as a wet vacuum, it is easy to drain the tank without having to take the tank bottom off of the vacuum. There is an intake and exhaust hole on either side of the top of the unit and the hose will fit into each hole so that you can effectively use it not only has a vacuum, but also as a blower. In the center back of the vacuum is a hinged battery door that, when opened, gives a place to install a battery for cordless operation. We liked that you were not just locked into the 18V battery size but that any DeWalt battery from 12V up to 18V will work in the vacuum.
Next to the battery door is the on-board storage for the included tools and also a place to store the end of the hose. The hose is unique in that in its natural state, it is only about 20 inches long but when you pull on it, it will stretch out to 60 inches, making it easy to reach into places. When you let go of the hose, it again returns to its original size. There is a five-foot long attached power cord that has its own cord wrap which keeps it out of the way when not in use. We do wish the power cord was longer, though. DeWalt claims that the included filter has an efficiency to filter out particles as small as .3 microns or, to put it into a jobsite context, it will capture up to 99.97 percent of drywall dust. To help give you an idea of how small .3 microns really is, a human hair is around 100 microns thick. The HEPA rated filter is also washable with regular tap water.
DeWalt DC500 2 Gallon Vacuum Testing and Use
Our initial test results on the DeWALT DC500 Heavy Duty 2 Gallon Cordless/Corded Wet/Dry Vacuum are that it really sucks ss we tried it in numerous situations and found that it does exactly what it is supposed to do. We started off with doing some simple cleanup around one of the work benches and on the concrete floor below it. On the floor was sand, nails and some other pieces of trash from one of our projects. Needless to say, it had plenty of power to suck it all up. In one of our trucks, we decided that we would also use it to clean up the inside and we found that we could leave the vacuum on the floor in the front seat and reach the floor on the opposite side with out having to move it. This was thanks to the 5-foot extending hose which proved quite effective.
In our testing we noted that when we switched from 18V batteries to the 120V power, we did notice a very slight increase in the overall performance of the vacuum. We figured that perhaps this was due to our batteries not being fully charged so we made sure to test it with a freshly charged one and still found that the plugged in operation seemed to have just a tad more power. This was also evident by our noise level readings that found when plugged in the vacuum was about 2 dB louder than when on battery power. Don’t let this alarm you because in either case, we still found the sucking power to be sufficient for most clean-up jobs.
We went out on some job sites and let some contractor friends of ours give the DeWalt DC500 2 gallon cordless/corded vacuum a try for a while to see what kind of feedback we could get from them. What they told is us that, while there are larger size shop vacuums for doing sawdust collection and large scale cleanup, what they liked is that this vacuum is ideal for end of job clean up and punch list type work where the mess was more minimal and did not require a full size corded shop vacuum. Examples for what they used it for was when they were cleaning up after cutting small holes in sheet rock for retro-fit switch or receptacle installs, and cleaning up wood shavings after installing cabinets or door hardware. The only real complaint we got was that some of the guys wished the power cord was longer.
DeWalt DC500 2 Gallon Cordless/Corded Vacuum Conclusion
The DeWALT DC500 Heavy Duty 2 Gallon Cordless/Corded Wet/Dry Vacuum comes with plenty of suction power that is packaged into a portable size that makes it well suited for the cleanup of almost any small project. While some might be disappointed that it does not come with a battery or a charger, existing DeWalt tool owners won’t mind being able to pick this tool up for less. We think that most folks will find this vacuum cleaner handy to have around for simple chores. It should be noted that for big clean up, this is not a full size shop vacuum cleaner replacement, but rather a convenient portable solution that can handle smaller sized messes. For our Performance rating we gave the vacuum a 7/10 since it does well to clean up small projects and it comes with features that make it versatile. For our Value rating we gave the vacuum 5/10 since it does cost as much as some full size shop vacuums and some might find that the lack of any included batteries or charger may not justify the price.
