Ridgid 12 Gallon NXT Wet/Dry Vac vs Ridgid 9 Gallon 18V Cordless NXT Wet/Dry Vac
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Quick take: The Ridgid 9 Gallon 18V Cordless NXT Wet/Dry Vac costs $10 less.
| Spec | Ridgid 12 Gallon NXT Wet/Dry Vac | Ridgid 9 Gallon 18V Cordless NXT Wet/Dry Vac |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ~$109 | ~$99 |
| Type | Wet-Dry Shop Vac | Wet-Dry Shop Vac |
| Suction | 5 HP | 82 CFM |
| Battery | Corded | 69 min |
| Navigation | — | — |
| Filtration | VF4000 cartridge filter, tool-free Qwik Lock swap | VF4000 General Debris Filter |
| Cordless | No | Yes |
| Bagged | No | No |
| Noise | — | — |
| Dustbin | 12 gal | 9 gal |
| Water tank | — | — |
| Self-empty dock | No | No |
| Auto mop washing | No | No |
| Hot water washing | No | No |
| Obstacle avoidance | No | No |
| Carpet detection | No | No |
| Auto mop lifting | No | No |
| Multi-floor mapping | No | No |
| App control | No | No |
| Dimensions | — | — |
| Weight | 22 lbs | — |
| Warranty | Lifetime | Lifetime |
Pros & cons
Ridgid 12 Gallon NXT Wet/Dry Vac
- ✓Strong suction and airflow for a mid-size unit — ranked second only to DeWalt by professional testers
- ✓Tool-free Qwik Lock filter swap
- ✓Built-in drain spigot for easy water removal
- ✓Full lifetime warranty on the vac body
- ✓Affordable relative to its performance class
- ✗15-foot cord is shorter than the 20-foot cords on Ridgid's larger NXT models
- ✗Water lift trails premium competitors like DeWalt and Bauer
- ✗HEPA-rated filter is sold separately, not included
- ✗Independently measured at 88 dBA in use — a genuinely loud machine
- ✗Better suited to dry debris than heavy wet cleanup
Ridgid 9 Gallon 18V Cordless NXT Wet/Dry Vac
- ✓Compatible with Ridgid's existing 18V Octane battery lineup — no separate battery ecosystem to buy into
- ✓Dual battery ports extend runtime without hot-swapping mid-job
- ✓A real 9-gallon tank, not a scaled-down handheld
- ✓Professional reviewer of the predecessor model found no significant drawbacks and praised its wet pickup speed
- ✓Casters and blower port carried over from the corded NXT lineup
- ✗Sold as a bare tool — battery and charger add significant cost on top of the tool price
- ✗No built-in drain spigot, unlike the corded 12/14/16-gallon models
- ✗No published noise rating
- ✗Runtime depends heavily on how many batteries you run at once
- ✗The battery/charger warranty is separate from the vac's warranty and requires its own registration