Love ours. Even upgraded to the whisper series. It’s nothing special in terms of a cordless vac, nothing to complain about either. What sets it apart is the fact that I have a dozen batteries ready to rock at any time.
Eh, it’s definitely quieter which is a plus for dogs or napping kids, but it’s not like I notice a major difference in power or anything.
I’m no vacuum expert. We were happy with the original, but when part of our original broke, after some back and forth with Ryobi, they sent us the whisper model in its entirety, rather than just replace the broken part from our original, which we would have been happy with.
So is it worth the upgrade? Probably not, to the average Joe like me, but it’s been nice for the QoL upgrades they made.
Hope that helps!
As an American home owner, I have a lot of Ryobi cordless tools, so when we shopped for our first stick vac I thought it made sense to get theirs to share the batteries.
Nearly a year later I've had it with the stupid thing. Performance is adequate at best on hard floors and downright embarrassing on carpet.
Nearly ever seal and gasket on the stick portions and the canister have torn or failed. I've kept it limping a long with 3D printed TPU seals.
Now the brush head is having electrical issues.
RYOBI has been out of EVERY part for months and tell me every time I ask they don't have an ETA and try to order later.
Lesson learned. Avoid these things like the plague.
The cordless market is so saturated it's overwhelming. Id like something that can be adapted to use Ryobi batteries, but it's not a deal breaker.
Any suggestions where to start my research? What brands actually have good performance, reliability, and parts availability? Sub $500 preferred, but willing to flex a bit
It was great for about a month, even if it had lackluster performance. Maybe the other low tier models are magically better, but engineering/design and support are so poor.
Coming from someone deep in the Ryobi ecosystem, avoid their stick vacs at all cost.
i personally liked the new [Ryobi 18v pet vacuum from bunnings](https://www.bunnings.co.nz/ryobi-18v-one-hp-bl-stick-vac-with-dual-roller-kit-r18xsv9pet142_p0372183), however it may not be for you.
**pros:**
\-quite affordable for a 2 battery kit compared to dyson
\-good suction
\-2 hepa filter included in the box, new filters sold at bunnings
\-double roller (1 softroller + 1 brush) and mini powered roller included
**cons:**
\-no charging dock in NZ, however it comes with charger in the USA model
\-no mechanism to easily push dirt out from the cannister
\-little bit heavier than the dyson, especially with the battery on it
\-no self cleaning dock either
I know bunnings isn't usually a place for people to go to for house vacuums but if you own Ryobi tools or looking for different options this may one to consider?
I also see Shark vacuums are similarly priced with a self cleaning dock as well, maybe have a look into those
Tbh Bunnings mostly have entry lvl brand for stick vacuums and plug in wet n dry vacs.
Ryobi have been killing it in the last few years with their high performance (HP) lineup though which is why this one is pretty decent for the cost
It’s really good value if you consider that it comes with 2 batteries and new ones are easily interchangeable and easy to replace then it’s a good option
I question how fixable these Ryobi Stick Vacs are - there are very few teardown videos (mostly older models) and aftermarket spare parts, unlike DeWalt but DeWalt doesn't make home vacs (they make shop vacs, which I have the DCV501LN which is excellent).
Family has the R18XSV9 Pet Stick vacuum with the R18XSV3-FH3 beater bar/motorised head unit. After about (less) than 2 years, the head's hose tore from repeated flexing. Pretty poor quality hose really. Couldn't tape it as the Y shaped plastic encasing made it inaccessible.
Even worse, there is no official replacement for the hose, and Ryobi claims the head is a consumable (which is why there are no spare parts for it apart from the rotating brushes). A new replacement head is 1/4 the price of the vacuum, which is really stupid when one of the cheapest parts of the head is prone to early failure, leaving the head unusable.
I quite like the replaceable batteries, but I wouldn't quite recommend them to anyone. Perhaps I'd change my mind if more fix-it videos come about or Ryobi starts providing more spare parts and instructions to replace parts.
I am glad that when I was shopping for a shop vac, I did not go for the RHV18X and went with the DCV501LN instead.
I'm pretty dazzled with my Ryobi pet vac. Nothing to adjust when going from hardwood to deep shag area rugs and it takes up so little space. Literally no dog smell exhausts from it either. For a third the price this thing is superior to my Miele pet canister and includes a light which the nearly $700 vac didn't have.
amhemel
