Milwaukee Vacuums

None of the Milwaukee vacuums here is meant for the living room. The Brookfield, Wisconsin toolmaker, founded in 1924 and owned since 2005 by Techtronic Industries (the group that also owns Ryobi and Hoover), builds vacuums as accessories to its battery platforms. The two covered below are bare tools, so the price only makes sense if M12 or M18 packs are already in the truck.

The M18 FUEL PACKOUT 2.5 Gallon Wet/Dry Vacuum ($189) is the serious one. Milwaukee rates it at 50 CFM and 47 inches of water lift, 87 dB(A), and about 30 minutes on high or 50-plus on low with an 8.0Ah HIGH OUTPUT pack. It locks onto PACKOUT cases and carts, has a blower port and a certified HEPA filter, and ships with a 6-foot hose and a power-tool adapter so it can collect dust from a sander or saw. Owners say it handles real jobsite debris rather than just drywall dust, and like how quiet it is; the complaints are the small tank and that a higher-airflow corded or premium cordless extractor still pulls harder.

The M12 Compact Vacuum ($159) is a handheld rated at 33 CFM and up to 29 minutes on an XC4.0 pack, with a reusable 42-pleat filter and a 5-year warranty. Milwaukee's product page now lists it as discontinued, and its successor is the M12 FUEL 1.6 Gallon Wet/Dry Vacuum at $149. Owners like the lock-on switch and the see-through canister, but report that the filter clogs quickly and needs frequent cleaning to keep suction up. If buying one now, check the seller's stock and return terms, and confirm that replacement filters are still easy to find.