Customer Reviews

Black & Decker V7210 7.2-Volt Double Action DustBuster Cordless Vac

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

This was wonderful - I loved the filter, but then the wall charger stopped working. Yes, I can charge batteries in the charger I happen to have for my cordless drill - but that's not the point. Black and Decker no longer carries replacements, so you are stuck trying to track one down from a service center. The nearest service center is not that near at all (and I live in a major CA city). I tried, without luck. Now that the charger does not work, it is not really that convenient. It is pretty new too.

Each time I would use this hand vac when someone was visiting, they would always comment on how strong of a suction this hand vac had. Everyone thought it was so amazing how well it picked up, and I agree. I also never realized how much of a convenience it would be to have the tools right onboard. That is a great feature that most hand vacs do not have. This is my only complaint: I had this hand vac for over two years and then the battery could no longer recharge. At first, I could get 15-20 minutes of vacuuming done at one time. But, slowly, the battery started to lose its ability to recharge until it wouldn't recharge at all. I could not find a replacement battery anywhere so I gave up and decided to get a new hand vac. The ONLY reason I didn't choose this same vacuum again is because I wanted to find a hand vac that had a battery that can be replaced.

What most people who buy cordless tools don't understand is this: battery life depends on a few things. 1) never leave the battery in the charging cradle full time. Doing so will not do the battery any good. After a full charge, remove the tool. Once a month you should allow the battery to fully discharge prior to recharging. When using the tool, try not (if possible) to run the battery down from a full charge quickly. This heats the battery up. Doing so damages them. Run the tool for a while then let it rest, thus cooling the battery down. Most rechargable batteries can be recharged up to 1000 times. Keep these few tips in mind and your cordless tools will last much longer.

While this is a good cordless vacuum, I would recommend the Versa Pack version (VP7240) instead of this model. They're identical vacs, but the Versa Pack uses the standard B&D battery pack system - so you can replace the batteries when they eventually die. We've had this model for about 12 months and the batteries hold a very small charge.

There's nothing handier for quick clean-ups than this small wonder. I especially like the inclusion of a crevice tool and upholstery brush. As a cat owner, I've found one of the most daunting tasks is cleaning cat hair off our feline's favorite chair. This DustBuster does it in a trice. It seemed to me if it could do that, it could do anything. I haven't tried anything yet, but the crevice tool located peanuts that a guest accidentally lost in our sofa. Maybe best of all is its ease of use - I can whip it out and clean up in the time it takes an unexpected visitor to walk from the curb to our front door. It's one of our favorite appliances.

My Dustbuster lasted a whole two years, but the last year it would only work for 3-4 minutes before the charge ran out. I found myself running like a maniac to quickly clean up a mess before the battery ran down. It also has low suction, so heavier things like sand don't get sucked up completely. This is one of several Black & Decker appliances I have been dissappointed with in the last few years. From the product lifespan, to the lack of customer service - they aren't the same company my parents loved. My mother had one of the earliest dustbusters which lasted 10 years, and charged like a champ. Oh well.

Instead, I recommend the Euro-Pro shark. I have had one for a while now, and love it. It has a very long cord, it's lightweight, and it has enough suction to pick up small children and pets! It cost a little more than the Black & Decker Dustbuster, and outperforms it completely. And if you can't rely on your hand vaccuum, then the price is irrelevant.

I have been extremely happy with this product. It has plenty of power, and is very heavy duty. The filtration system, which is a new innovation since that last dustbuster model, is a big plus--the waste can be emptied without actually removing the filter.
I have owned this product for a year, and I consider it to be an outstanding product.

I bought the Black and Decker 7.2 V Dustbuster primarily to clean up occasional ashes and bark chips in front of a fireplace and secondarily for picking up bits of dog hair from the carpet. Seems like pretty reasonable tasks for a portable vacuum, right? Well, the Dustbuster did a fine job for maybe 1 or 2 months before it began its downward slide to oblivion. Then with each additional use, both the duration and the intensity of the suction decreased until there was none and the battery no longer charged at all.

Unless you enjoy discarding small power tools after owning them a few months, DO NOT BUY THIS DUSTBUSTER.

Upon tossing the Dustbuster in the waste can, I recalled that in my workshop were four portable power hand tools with removable, recharable batteries. So if there are other small power tools that perform quite acceptably with 12 or 18 v batteries, why doesn't Porter-Cable or Bosch or DeWalt (or any of several other reputable power tool manufacturers) build a reasonably priced, effective portable vacuum?

In a catalog I received today, there was an entry for a "new" DeWalt multi-volt cordless/corded vacuum. Hurrah!! Here is to the demise and extinction of all small power tools that do not have removable, replaceable, and interchangable batteries.

Don't waste your money on this or any other "dustbuster" vaccum. This is the 3rd one I've owned, lukily it was a gift, so I didn't waste my money on it. The problem is that Black & Decker still uses NiCad batteries, which develop a memory if you don't completely discharge before you recharge (and when do you ever do that with a dustbuster?) The result is a vaccum that works OK for about 6 months, but then works for about 1-2 minutes before the battery goes dead. For a few pennies more they could use a NiMH battery pack, and maybe this thing would work. Until then, I reccoment a corded Dirt Devil Scorpion. Having to pull an extension cord is well work having a vaccum that actually works.

I too owned this particular model, and by pure chance, so did my neighbour. Mine stopped working after 6 months, in which I followed the directions and kept the unit clean. My neighbour's stopped working after 8 months. Instead of throwing them away, (there were no service centres nearby, and B&D's shipping charges were insane) I took my tester out to see where the trouble might lie. Much to my surprise, there was no power reaching the charging base of the Dustbuster, so I immediately focused my attention on the charging unit. I separated the wires from the charging base and put the tester to work. Sure enough, there was no power coming out of the charger! The verdict? It wasn't the BATTERIES after all, it was a defective charger. (just like the other reviewer said).

I did some more research on this, and found that there were several Dustbusters made (maybe hundreds?) that seem to have had faulty chargers. Why B&D never issued a national recall remains a mystery, but it makes perfect sense that maybe they didn't know about this issue? If they did, then they looked the other way, hoping that the problem wasn't too widespread. I remember the salesman at Sears saying that quite a few of these models came back for the exact same reason. (Dustbusters in Canada have a 2yr warranty) I think there was a quality control issue at their plant in China, and interestingly enough, the newer Dustbusters have a different charger on them. We shall see if this problem has been resolved, as I've just purchased another one (model CHV9600-see my review) and will take note of how long that one lasts me. My first Dustbuster purchased in 1990 lasted 8 years, and all models after that have given me trouble!