Ryobi Wet and Dry Workshop VC20HDRG

Worked well while it was working – I purchased this approx Dec 2019. Was used as a general purpose vacuum cleaner (mainly carpet) in my studio, and for dust extraction connected to power tools in my garage (sawdust). Used once on a flooded area. Over about 6 months and a total of maybe 4 or 5 hours use it suddenly stopped working. I was given a shop credit by Bunnings (the Ryobi… Read more

exclusive Australian distributor) which was good but I spent a little extra, deciding to try a Karcher vac which I'm so far finding although 17 litres tends to outperform the Ryobi in every other criteria. That said, I may have just been unlucky with this particular unit. PROS Cheap to buy $99 Did the job (until broke down) Easy to empty Decent capacity Like the stainless steel container CONS The head of the cleaner was quite small Short lead (1.8 metres) Seems really noisy for a vac, measured at about 95 dB Not sure of reliability after it broke down Rather bulky for it's capacity

Bloody Yousless! – What The Hell? Keeps falling over. Tube is not flexible enough. Too cheap! Bought this for about $170 at bunnings. I used my friends vacuum from the warehouse which was less and everything worked better. The vacuum is too light when pulling across the floor which always makes it fall over which is a pain. The tube just doesn't allow me to turn the handle around easily which is also a pain. Waste of $170 Yousless!  Show details

Very Powerful , but room for improvements – I appreciate the models of all appliances do change , as the one pictured is an earlier model VC20HD , this review is for for the VC20HDRG which has also been superceded by the Ryobi RVC-1220I-G currently available at September 2018. I have only used the dry part of the VC20HDRG vacuum . I haven't had the need to use the wet function, yet. … Read more

When I first got this vacuum as a Christmas gift , I could finally put my little $40 cheapy from Godfreys away. And like a kid with new toy at Christmas, I couldn't wait to try it out. Once I got it all set up & switched on and wheeling it around my workshop, the first thing that happened was one of the swivel wheels fell off. I could have gone the whole laborious process of getting a replacement through its warranty , but just one drop of super glue saved all that hassle, and its been great ever since.

The suction on this is like WOW ! I am a leatherworker and I leave bits of leather all over the place and it picks up small trimmings of leather like it was scrap paper. It has a very impressive filtering system, like an air filter for a truck . Motor not too heavy and bags are easy to change. It takes me a few weeks or more for me to change the bag ( this will vary ) as its so much larger than a regular bag . Even when the bag looks pretty full, the suction never lets up, and the bags are easy to find, so that part is all good.

However, the downside of this vacuum is that the tubes and the attachments are plastic, and a bit flimsy , and as some parts of my workshop are carpeted it generates a huge amount of static, so I'm forever disconnecting the tubes to suck up all the attracted debris from the other tubes. So perhaps Ryobi can use static free and stronger plastic, or metal tubes, although that would increase the price. I do like the easy storage of the tubes & hose in slots just above the wheels, and the easy way of winding up the nice long power cord. By the time I've got it all neatly stored, it looks like R2D2 with vacuum hose coming out is its head :) Apart from some changes that are necessary , and perhaps now incorporated in the newer model , its is otherwise a good workshop vacuum cleaner.

Very good – I basically got it for the wet vac capability and it does that very well. Not that quiet, but I couldn't care less about that. Bit limited in the range of heads available for it, but otherwise its fine. Follows you around on a hard floor well, I dont have any carpets to try that on.  Show details

Was expecting better – Needs more suction and a better head I use it in my home and another head to do carpets would of been a great addition Show details

This product is great for what I need – Just got this and have used it 4 times, in the garage and cleaning the car. It has great suction and has a great filter. I did like the Ryobi product registration very easy to do and is nice to see that it comes with decent warranty. So far no complains for the price is great to have in the tool shed.  Show details

appalling suction power large container- for what? – very poor suction , both vacuum heads inappropriate regretted not returning .Paid $250 I tried different filter bags and cloth filter protector bag after a few minutes vacuuming, whatever, leaves, dust, styrofoam beads etc filter was clogged and needed to be cleared buttons on top started to fuse under protective waterproof plastic 95% of… Read more

job was opening vaccuum and cleaning filter rarely collected more than 4 cups full of dust in each session -worthless

perfect highly recommend – Very happy with the performance and the suction, I have pets so vacuuming up fur is a must, and this vacuum works better then any other ones I tried in the past, there's been many,its fairly light easy to life and move around the house, I vacuum the entire house every morning, including lino in bathroom etc highly recommend .  Show details

Bits break off hard to empty – The grey plastic clips that secure the motor onto the stainless bin break off easily so you have to pick it up from the base. Also loses suction fast on concrete and plaster dust. The unit is loud pyshing 100db but suction is at best average. Works well on just wet suction  Show details

Ryobi vacuum – I purchased a 20 litre ryobi vacuum just to clean up after renovation work etc, after using it a couple of times I noticed the motor got loud, to the point where I have to wear ear muffs and look like a muppet. The vacuum sucks the dirt up okay but also seems to blow dust back out of it. The filter is pathetic as well. I've owned a lot of ryobi… Read more

power tools, to be honest they are okay at the start but as soon as you get them to do a bit of work they break. I only use them as DIY. I've decided to start paying a little more but buy better quality that will last especially on the days when you really need it

poor quality – use it to vacuum the whole split-level house. vacuum won't pull over the cord and tends to topple over stopping the suction for a while. have to go over carpet 2-3 times to clean, and on tiles you have to actually raise the head to get some of the crud.  Show details

Poor suction – Whilst a reasonably sturdy vacuum for worship use It has very poor suction and on about par with a cheap domestic vacuum cleaner . For Workshop use you need plenty of power and the Ryobi doesn't measure up. Also it is very disappointing Ryobi don't manufacture washable / reusable filters for this model as is the case with some other brands. Overall looks good but not much substance underneath - would not recommend buying.

Excellent value for $ and works well – I had a flooding emergency due to a blockage in the laundry tub and water ran over the tiled floor and onto the lounge room carpet. I tried to obtain a carpet cleaner to remove the water but had absolutely no luck in sourcing one. Peter from Bunnings in Chatswood recommended that I try a wet vac to see if that worked so after a little… Read more

investigation, I raced out and bought the Ryobi. While technically it isn't really designed for this task, it performed way beyond my expectations and sucked out a LOT of water. Granted I spent a lot of time kneeling and using a very short hose attachment and a great deal of pressure on the floor but it saved the carpet and I now have it on hand if I ever flood the laundry again (which is rather likely unfortunately). So end result is that for the money I spent, I am very happy with the product and would recommend it to anyone looking to buy a wet/dry vac.

Great buy @ $85.00 – I didn't want to spent a fortune on a wet & dry vacuum cleaner for the shed, Carol @ Bunnings suggested the Ryobi wet & dry vac for $85. Wow, what a beauty, it cleaned the concrete floor in the shed very well. I have not tried it a dust extractor as yet but I very soon will. I now have another Ryobi product & very happy.  Show reply

Good Value for the money – I bought this as a cheap workshop vac to help on a reno we were doing. It also doubled as a dust extractor for my bosch orbital sanders, good fit no messing around with adaptors. I use it for cleaning up plaster dust/concrete at work site. It works very well has not missed a beat with all the plaster dust it has sucked up. It works the best on… Read more

flat surfaces like concrete and tiles. Not so good on carpet but it is a workshop vac so I would nto expect it to work well on carpet. cheap, works, easy to use and clean does not work well on carpet, needs longer hose