It seems as though everybody wants to sell cordless (battery powered) home equipment.  Finding tethered (equipment with a cord) is becoming increasingly difficult.  It’s not clear if this is a result of the demise of department stores, or if there is an actual trend towards cordless equipment, and having a novel piece of hardware to use and talk about.  Either way cordless equipment certainly fills a market niche.  Whether this niche remains as profitable as it currently is, we’ll just have to wait and see.

For vacuum cleaning machines there are a number of variables that will affect the acceptance of battery driven machines over tethered machines.  The most obvious consideration is that of our old friend ‘power’.  Will a battery driven machine have sufficient ‘power’ to be useful in the home, or will it be more trouble than it is worth.

The answer from all manufacturer’s building cordless machines is an astounding yes.  Their machines perform just as well, if not better, than their existing models.  Well, of course they do…  or do they?

Perhaps the greatest challenge facing all manufacturers is that of ‘run time’.  Run time is the amount of time a vacuum can maintain a sufficient airflow so as to remove floor contaminants.  The takeaway key is maintaining sufficient airflow.  A battery that is running down is unable to provide sufficient volts and current to keep the vacuum power plant running at speed.

Everyone is familiar with having to replace batteries in flashlights.  A similar problem exists with cordless machines and their batteries.  Although replacing a machine’s battery is not always needed, the principal is the same of having to stop and recharge a battery when it runs low.

Manufacturers have addressed this problem on two fronts.  The first is to find a battery that has as much capacity as possible without it being too awkward and heavy.  The second is finding a motor that uses less power to operate and still provides the same airflow for a length of time that is acceptable.

A battery can hold a charge, and pump ions and electrons through it’s chemistry for only so long.  When the battery has run low and its internal chemical reactions are exhausted, the battery is labelled ‘dead’.

A dead battery, while still able to pump some electrons through an external path, can only do so at a decreasing rate.  The quantity and availability of electrons essentially govern it’s useful life.  Without the internal movement of ions, the battery pump simply won’t work and the motor on the vacuum will not turn.

Cordless vacuums are typically lighter in weight than their tethered cousins.  As such they are generally safer to operate in situations where there are delicate objects, or precarious footing.  Stairs are a great example of when a cordless vacuum makes great sense.  Other situations that require quick surface cleaning, where undoing a cord and re-wrapping a cord would take too much time, is another good use scenario.

Generally speaking, cordless vacuums are a good solution for hard surfaced floors with many obstacles.  Kitchens and toddlers seem to be a good mix with cordless vacuums.  Because of the run time and lower airway volume characteristics, surface dirt is a good match for cordless vacuums.

The style of vacuum is another consideration.  If there are counter top spills, then an upright cordless is probably not the first choice of a vacuum to use.  A hand-held style that is not too bulky is a better choice of a vacuum.  The same is true on a kitchen floor.  A hand-held style is probably not the right choice for floor cleanup.  A stick vacuum is a better style for a kitchen application.

There are some manufacturers who have designated their cordless machines as being well suited for animal hair, litter, and food spills.  Many have designed the vacuum with a power head to provide a brush action for hair removal and for launching litter into the vacuum airway.  Some of these designs do a reasonable job of removing pet-associated dirt from floors and other surfaces.  However, some do not perform well at all.

Unfortunately, the problem may be a shared problem.  Partly a design problem with the vacuum, and partly a surface texture problem.  Animal hair is notorious for becoming intertwined in fabrics and very difficult to remove.  Also, cat litter comes in a variety of shapes sizes and weights.  Many cordless stick vacuums have great difficulty moving litter from the floor all the way to the waste receptacle.

If you are going to be using a cordless vacuum for animal cleanup, try testing the machine first.  Or, have a good return policy in the event it doesn’t perform as you expect.

[ENGINEERING NOTE ==>] When performing your testing do your best to simulate the same floor surface and dirt type that you have at home.  Also, be sure to have some dirt in the waste receptacle to simulate, as best as possible, a real world cleaning situation.

They types of cleaning jobs that a cordless vacuum is not intended to handle are those that require extended run times and mixed weight floor contaminants.  A portable cordless vacuum has a limited run time.  So, extended cleaning jobs are not well suited to this type of vacuum.  Likewise, cleaning jobs that have heavier dirt or sand associated with them are equally not well suited for a portable vacuum cleaner.

When vacuuming out the car, it can be expected that there will be a significant amount of sand.  One should also expect that the sand will be found in small crevices and hard to reach areas.  This type of cleaning is well suited to the gas station vacuum.

If that’s not an option, then a tethered canister or torpedo vacuum with a crevice tool is your best bet for a successful cleaning job.  Remember to use a soft brush attachment on the dash ass the materials used in construction rub easily and leave marks hard to undo

Whole house spring cleaning is not a task for a portable cordless vacuum.  the same it true for carpet cleaning or rug cleaning.  Carpet cleaning is best accomplished with a tethered upright vacuum with no hose attachment and a power head directly attached to the vacuum power plant.  That style has the best airflow and waste receptacle design.

When performing computer maintenance, the best solution is to use a datavac that is tethered.  This design remains electrically grounded and will not allow the buildup of a static charge that could damage sensitive electronic components.  A cordless vacuum generates a significant static charge and is not recommended for use with or near electronic components.

So, how does one keep batteries at their peak charge and ready for action.  The most effective way is to place the batteries on a trickle charge.  Most manufacturers have a power supply that performs a trickle charge.  Simply put, a trickle charge is when the charger senses that the battery has dropped in voltage and the charger applies just a trickle of power to the battery to bring the battery back up to the desired voltage level.

Even if you don’t use your cordless vacuum the batteries are constantly being recharged by the power supply.  Lithiom Ion batteries have a particularly annoying defect in their chemistry that allows the battery to self-discharge.  They will self-discharge at about 5% per month if left without a trickle charger attached.  If left in a car or in a hot environment,  for every 18 degrees F raise in temperature that battery doubles the self discharge rate.

Even with a trickle charge batteries eventually will refuse to accept a charge.  Batteries can also fully discharge when in use and a fully discharged battery can dynamically reverse it’s polarity so that negative becomes positive and positive becomes negative.  When this happens the battery cannot be recharged and must be disposed of.

[ENGINEERS NOTE ==>]  If you are using a Lithium ion battery do not let it discharge to a point where the voltage in any cell drops to below 2.5 volts for a week or so.  Cell voltage at or below 2.5 volts will cause copper dendrites to form in the electrolyte of the battery and further discharge the battery – possibly causing a run-away discharge possibly resulting in a fire or explosion.

Hmmm. just how does one dispose of the new Lithium Ion batteries…

Unfortunately this type of battery cannot be thrown away in the trash.  There are far too many hazards to dumping old lithium ion batteries into the trash bin.  A Lithium battery is full of hazardous chemicals like Cobalt, manganese, and other metals.  Lithium ion batteries also contain lithium salts and the ever-present plastics that house the batteries and provide internal structure.  They also contain arsenic, cadmium, lead, and copper.

These batteries are the antithesis of ‘green’.  They are toxic in all sorts of ways.  Yet, they are intrinsic to the success of cordless tools and vacuums due to their weight.

A whopping 95% of all lithium batteries somehow find their way to the landfills.  Of course we won’t see the effects of this hazardous waste for a decade or so, but it is coming our way to a water well near you.  Also of concern are airborne particulates ranging from 2.5 micrometer to 10 micrometer.  These particles come from batteries that are incinerated or are ground up under the tracks of a bulldozer at the landfill.  Hydroflouric acid is a natural by-product of lithium Ion battery decay.  A surprising amount of hydroflouric acid is released in a gaseous state at the rate of up to 200MG per rated watt of power.

So, be certain to send your batteries to your local recycle center that is certified to handle Lithium based chemistry batteries.

A typical run time for a battery powered vacuum is going to be about 12-18 minutes.  After this time the battery will need to be recharged before its next use.  In a home this is not too much of an inconvenience, but if there is a significant cleaning job to be done this will definitely hamper your style.  For commercial applications a 12-18 minute window simply is insufficient to get a job completed.

There are some strategies to cope with short run times.  Using multiple batteries is always an option, but this can become expensive and dragging along a set of batteries around a building can become a burden after a while.

Yes, cordless vacuum machines have their place in situations where using a power cord might be dangerous.  When vacuuming stairs or operating from a ladder, a non-tethered machine is a good choice.  If you are vacuuming near breakable items or in a public venue where a cord might present itself as a safety hazard, a portable cordless vacuum is a good idea.

Stick vacuum machines are very lightweight and the addition of a cord is a bit cumbersome.  For that style machine a battery-based machine is a good idea.  Also when working around children and spills or light surface dirt application a non-tethered machine seems to make good sense.

The difficulty with a corded vacuum is … well… ahem… it has a cord.

Is that really a disadvantage?  Corded machines have decades of engineering, real use testing/usage, and well engineered safeguards.  The power plants are nicely engineered with lots of airflow, and waste bags are often large and easy to handle.  They never run out of power and have nice long cords to cover an entire room.

There are many models to choose from and they have a model for just about any situation where cleaning is required.  When it’s time to get a new machine, one doesn’t have to be concerned that the battery will contribute to hazardous waste where you live.

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