Black and Decker Flex

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Tyler -

I have one too. I love (most) of the attachments, and it has good suction. BUT......the darn thing has a very short runtime before it has to be recharged...for 21 hours! And....make sure you take the center filter out now and then and vacuum the air intake thoroughly, or it will lose suction. It's definitely not non-maintenance.

This machine is B&D's attempt at a bagless handheld/hose-attached unit, but I think it needs some work. Longer runtime, better bagless filtering and shorter recharge time would be a big improvement.

I DO like the convenience of the size of the tools and the places that you can fit that flip-up brush tool - in small areas of the car, in narrow spaces around the house, etc. It's a great tool.
 
I got one too....

I plugged it in yesterday. I just got done using for the first time =) I too like the attachments, but the run time is rather short, though it does say in the book after about 5 charges run time will improve. I got about 15 or so min so far.
The suction is very good to for a rechargable vac, that is untill the chage starts to drop, and even then its decent for a few more minutes.
 
I think...

it would be neat if they made a corded version. Even though it would probably completely ruin the point of it, but I think that would be great to have for the cars and quick pick-ups. Right now I have a Dirt Devil Cone Vac which is just junk, and one of the red and white Black and Deckers with the slide out crevice tool, and that is actually pretty decent. But I might look in to getting one of these
 
Chase -
I agree that a corded version would be a good idea, because it has some good features, but that short runtime is a pain. And, my experience has been that the runtime does NOT improve over time. It still needs frequent, LONG recharges. I say....put a cord on it, dammit! Otherwise....good features, fun to use, great for small jobs.
 
I too think a corded model is the way to go, or at the very least offer both for customers who INSIST on a cord. For a long time now, Black & Decker wanted to be the innovator of everything cordless, it just isn't practical in some applications (like a cordless lawn mower). Also, they tend to obsolete parts very quickly. When the battery craps out in this flex, 5 will get you 10 B&D won't have a replacement anymore. How is the battery pack to remove in this unit? Do you have to take the whole thing apart?
 
I have seen seen these on the shelves at the store, but guess I didn't look close enough to realize it was cordless.

Still think they are kind of neat looking.
 
Hey... I think you have convinced me to get one! I didn't get myself anything for Christmas this year, so I think this would fit the bill perfectly!

I do wish it had a mini-power nozzle, longer run time, and truly cyclonic bagless action, but if I don't like it, I can always return it.
 
Hey guys.... Just got back from Wal-mart... 60 dollars later, the Flex followed me home, inspired by this post. I love the blue LED charging light... I can't wait to use this on the ottoman, loveseat, by the litter box, the refrigerator grill, the bed, the bathroom, the car.... I think it will be great if it works well!
 
Bobby -

I love that blue charging light, too. When it is plugged in in my bedroom at night, it creates this pretty blue glow throughout the room. A nice decorating side-effect...
 
Man, I don't want to wait for it to fully charge to play with it!

I like that the hose can be detached from the plastic wand and the attachments inserted right onto it. I also like the way the door opens... kind of like a front load washing machine!

A few things could be improved though... I wish there was a battery level/charging indicator so you knew how full the battery is.... the pretty blue light just tells you if it's plugged in or not, which is pretty obvious anyway.

It seems that it was meant to be used with the hose detached.... must be very hard to use with the hose still clipped on... would have to hold it at a weird angle.

I'm so glad this post inspired me to buy one, I didn't have any cordless "dustbuster" type vacuums, and sometimes you just need one for quick jobs. I don't think for the kind of vacuum this is that I would need the charge to last more than 15 minutes, it's just made for quick pick ups... if I need longer, I can use a canister or upright with a hose.

I wonder why the dustin brush doesn't have bristles all the way around? Maybe because they would interfere with the "flip" part.

I wonder how well that flilter clicking knob works?
 
Here's an interesting report by the British version of the American Consumer Reports magazine (Which? Magazine)...gives a nice little comparison of the UK's 220 volt versions of the Flexi and the Dyson handheld.



 
Eurekaprince (Brian?) I have seen that video before and liked it but thought she could have gone into a little more detail.

I just used it for the first time. The suction isn't tremendous, but for small jobs it should be adequete. I don't think it would do well in a car, and a mini power nozzle would do much better on pet hair than the rubber fingered thing they give you would be.

I used it in the corners of the bathroom floor, on the refrigerator grill, on the a/c filter cover vent, on the bed (with a cat there's always some manner of debris making its way into the bed), and to clean my beauitful Hunter Century fan which is with me all night every night and gathers a tremendous amount of fine dust. It did a surperb job with all tasks I've thrown at it, but there was a noticable drop in suction after I'd vacuumed the fine dust for a bit. I cleaned the filter which wasn't easy and that seemed to restore some of the suction.

All in all a fun vacuum that kind of fills a niche

Oh yeah, and battery life could be longer. I wish black and decker would get their act together and listen to their customers about making something with a longer battery life or corded as an option. However, when I vacuum my small apartment with even one of the big real vacuums, even if I use the attachments and go on bare floors, I only have the cleaner running for 10 minutes total.... so the 10 minute battery life of this thing should be more than sufficient. This needs a motorized mini nozzle, a longer battery life and filterless cyclonic action in order to blow the Dyson hand vac out of the water!
 
I just bought one at Goodwill

Is this new, or has it been out a while? It was charged, and it blew a nice cloud of dust when I turned it on. It was in the box, but no manual. How do I clean the filters? It's pretty cool, but I don't want to use it until I'm sure I'm not going to blow it up because of dirty filters.
 
I found the manual online

and took the filter out. It was pretty caked so I cleaned it and am waiting for it to dry before reassembling. I think it will be great for cleaning computer keyboards and inside of my jukeboxes. Wish it had a longer runtime, and didn't take so long to charge.
 
Joe -

I think you will notice a BIG difference in suction now that you have cleaned out the filter. I was shocked at how much better mine picked up after a cleaning. However....be aware....you will have to do that frequently, even IF you don't use the machine often. It's just a high maintenance thing. And, of course, there's the long recharge time......
 

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