Customer Reviews

Black & Decker CHV1568 15.6 -Volt Cyclonic-Action Cordless DustBuster with AccuREACH

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

Don't buy this! There's a better one to buy. We owned two Dustbuster CHV1400 14.4 volt for years. They work well but we finally wore the batteries out. So, we bought two of these 15.6 volt Cyclonic CHV1568 Dustbusters two months ago. They have a design flaw that makes them not NEAR as good as the CHV1400. I'm on Amazon tonight to buy two CHV1400, because they work FAR better than the CHV1568.

Here's the flaw. In the CHV1568, the filter gets CLOGGED ALL THE TIME. The moment it gets clogged, the suction gets weak. We use these twice a day and we have to clean the filter every day. It's a mess, has to be done outside because dust gets everywhere. But, if you don't, they lose most of the suction. The filter is slightly different than the filter in the CHV1400. In the CHV1400, the filter doesn't get filled nearly as often, and when it does, there is still a reasonable amount of suction.

Also, there's another defect. The CHV1568 has a fairly wide mouth but inside, that mouth narrows. That gets clogged up too, with pieces of paper, all kinds of things.

In summary, I'm on Amazon tonight buying two new Dustbusters to replace the CHV1568s. I'll either get the CHV1400, or I may try the CHV1500. After being so satisfied for years with the CHV1400, I'm getting rid of these two CHV1568s.

Got this when the discontinued previous model 15.6 volt dustbuster (which was great) got cracked plastic housing after years of use. Even tho this one supposedly has same power the suction is FAR weaker. The old one could suck up loose change, anything from between car seats, this one can't even pick up loose bits of paper right underneath it.

I thought it was defective, returned for another one-- same weak suction.

Also the pull-out nozzle has no locking mechanism so you can't reach in any crevices with it, it just pushes right back inside. It's too weak to vacuum anything but loose dust anyway.

Poor engineering-- looks like they never bothered to try it before putting into production .

Couldn't ask for a better hand vac; however, it uses the VF08 replacement filter. I've searched for one high and low since I got this for Christmas, but they're not even available at the Black and Decker site. The lady at B&D just told me to keep calling and they'd have them eventually. I use this a lot, so I hope it's soon!

I'm on my third 15.6-volt DustBuster. they are guaranteed for two years, and that is just about exactly when the battery stops holding a charge. When new, the vacuum will run at least 10 minutes on a full charge. After 24 months, you're lucky to get 3 or 4 minutes on a full charge. I can't locate a good price on a replacement battery. Although, even if I could, it's nearly impossible to get at and remove the battery pack, and Black and Decker customer support tells you they can't help. They recommend taking it to a service center where they will gladly remove the battery for you. I did that, and the service center had a good laugh.

I've looked around at the website, and I don't see any reference to replacement batteries. It's obvious Black and Decker intends these vacuums to perform for two years and then be tossed in the trash. They ought to just get us to subscribe to the DustBuster Club -- for a $25 annual membership fee, they'll send a new vacuum every 24 months. Our ancestors will find pockets of decomposing DustBusters buried in land fills under their houses.

This is by far the best dustbuster I have used. It picked up all the dirt and gravel from the car, the carpeted stairs were clean in no time, dog hair was all picked up. All in the same charge with no notice of losing any power. Maybe previous posters didn't do the initial 24hr charge before using?

It's very easy to empty. The filter is not a big deal to clean. The cover comes off easily and goes back on easily.

The power button stays on so you don't have to hold it while using it.

Their is an edge piece that slides out to get into grooves like between car seats. It's attached so it won't get lost.

It's attractive, as dustbusters go. Blue with silver and a cloudy dirt compartment so you can see if it needs to be emptied but not too clear.

I'm very happy with it and would highly recommend it.

This has to be among the most poorly designed DustBusters ever produced. For starters, the filter becomes clogged easily, reducing its suction power, and overwhelming the internal filter (located on the underside). This causes dust to vent from the bottom, fouling the underside of the vacuum and the attachment tray. The lever on the side of the device, which is supposed to help keep the main filter clear, does nothing so far as I can tell. Also, there is an extension tube at the mouth of the device (a crevice tool of sorts), that after a few weeks of use became impossible to extend, as the housing into which the tool stores, became fouled with sand and other debris. No amount of force (or cleaning) seems of any use now (I can only pull out the tool about one inch from the housing). Finally, why is B&D still using inferior NiCad batteries?

DustButer may be the best selling hand vacuum made, but right now B&D appears to be out of ideas, and has resorted to useless options in an effort to keep up its sales numbers.

Your money is better spent on another brand.

what all the complaints are about. I almost DIDN't buy this because of all the negative posts... glad I did. I find nothing wrong with this vacuum and everything right... its fantastic and ten times stronger than my previous DB... battery life is longer too... so point being, you never know who hires who to come to these sites and post trash about a competitors product... be smart, look for plain, realistic type language and read the specs... this ones a keeper in my book... and no i dont work for B&D... i'm a clothing designer in nyc with a messy apt... cheers!

i have a battery Dyson downstairs and liked its power and convenience so i decided to put another hand vac upstairs. I didn't want to pay the Dyson price again so i thought the B&D CHV 1568 A looked about right. Not. My issues with it are as follows.
1. it'll chase little gravel nuggets all over but won't pick them up. For example, cleaning out the car floor mats... Dyson picks up everything ... the B&D gets about 80 % and chases the rest.
2. the on-off switch is so poorly designed that wet or slippery hands cannot operate it
3. for ease of use the unit needs to be about 18 inches long to reach the floor. The B&D has an extendable snout that does this but the snout has no detent and retracts during use ... what idiot thought that up
4. yes, you could duct tape the snout out but then the unit won't fit on the charging station without modifying that as well.

at that point i gave up and gave the unit away.

This looses suction as soon as a small amount of dirt gets into the filter. It's got a lot of power, but that doesn't help when the filter is clogged and it won't work. There are much better dustbusters out there, don't buy this one.

I've had this device for about three weeks now -- it was bought to supplement my Miele vaccuum cleaner, for upholstery, area rugs (which the Miele tries to swallow, whole) and stairs. The problem? It can take me two days to tackle one task, because the power charge -- even new out of the box -- is so poor. The first time I used it, I had charged it for 48 hours. The charge lasted 12 minutes. If I leave it for 10 plus hours, the charge never lasts longer than 10 minutes. I suppose it could be useful if all you're going to do is grab it off the power, blast at some crumbs you've just noticed, at replace it. But even to clean out my sofa once a week takes longer than this device can manage on a single charge.

I'm giving this an extra star because of all the handy little tools that come with it. (The AccuReach feature isn't all it's cracked up to be -- as soon as it hits the floor, it promptly retracts...) If the charge lasted longer, this would be powerful enough to handle the minor jobs I would like to be able to tackle without having to haul the vacuum cleaner out, hook it up, etc. (I live in an apartment; that's a big hassle.) I didn't notice any of the clogging problems that others reported, although I do notice that gunk clings to the filter, making for an occasionally messy cleanup.

All in all, poor value for money unless you like paying a premium price for a device able to tackle only the spot jobs.