Cordless Vacuum Cleaner or BOSCH GAS18V-LI Professional Extractor Handheld Vacuum Cleaner (Bare Tool Solo)

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

The Little Vac That Could, June 6, 2015

Hummelgb (WEST PALM BEACH, FL, US) –

Verified Purchase(What’s this?)

This review is from: BOSCH GAS18V-LI Professional Extractor Handheld Vacuum Cleaner (Bare Tool Solo) (Kitchen)

The addage “You get what you pay for” is exemplified with this little vacuum. It has the reputed Bosch toughness and power beyond its class. Gone are the days when you pick up your hand vac and it feels cheap and ready to fail in your hand. If you already have the 18V batteries it’s a no-brainer. If you do not own and don’t plan to own other 18V Bosch tools, the battery cost could be a prohibitive deal breaker. I bought this for the car and found myself using it everywhere, it’s that efficient and easy to use. A small LED light actually serves a good purpose in dark corners and in the car when in a garage. My experience with the sellers from Korea was one of the best ones on Amazon. They packed the box protectively and send it with due diligence. Even though I paid a little extra for freight ($10), DHL had the package three days later at my door in the US. Do not let the distance involved discourage you from ordering this vacuum that is otherwise not for sale in the US. They might as well have mailed it from up the road.
The only minor downside I see is the difficulty in getting a battery level reading when it is inserted. It is readily obvious they could not engineer the battery placement with the battery meter facing out. The result is you have to squeeze your finger in between the battery and the vacuum to press the meter button and you can just see the level. Is it easier to just remove the battery and see? Probably!

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37 of 37 people found the following review helpful

My wife says it’s the best tool purchase I’ve ever made…but then again, July 30, 2015

E. Gifford –

Verified Purchase(What’s this?)

This review is from: BOSCH GAS18V-LI Professional Extractor Handheld Vacuum Cleaner (Bare Tool Solo) (Kitchen)

I originally purchased this vacuum in order to have a lightweight, portable vac to clean up the occasional plaster dust or sawdust created with small projects around the house. The kind where it hauling out the Festool vac is simply overkill. I pictured occasional use and a way to add function to my Bosch 18V cordless tool batteries. I think I’ve used it for that purpose maybe three times. My kids and my wife, on the other hand, use it all the time. It never even made it to my shop as a storage space, instead it sits in the hall closet for easy access. Simply put, it works unbelievably well. My 4 year old son uses it to do his chore of vacuuming the dog hair off the stairs every couple of days. My 1 1/2 year old daughter likes to use it to suck up the stray cheerio and the dog hair dust balls that collect in under the toe kicks in the kitchen. My wife likes to use it all over the house. Suffice it to say, when anyone in the house doesn’t feel like pulling out the Dyson and plugging it in, this Bosch vac gets called into duty. The dust bin does fill up quickly (we have two large dogs) but a quick dump in the trash can an it’s off and running again. My wife calls this the best tool purchase I’ve ever made (because she likes it and because it’s light enough for the kids to use for some simple chores – my son likes it because it’s a Bosch like most of dad’s tools). My only hesitation was the lack of replacement filters when I bought it, but Amazon now even carries those. Bosch, if you’re reading this, you really should bring it to the US market direct. If you’re on the fence about buying this, don’t be. Buy it, you won’t regret it.

Update, 08 Sep 2015
Well, I perhaps spoke too soon.
1) About 6-7 weeks ago, the motor started to make a horrendous sound. Looking at it, the nut holding the fan onto the motor axle had come loose. This meant it would the fan would intermittently spin / not spin and make a horrendous racket in the process (not to mention make it not work). I had to clip the plastic cage out around the middle to access the nut and tighten it to make it work again perhaps a little Loctite thread-locker would be in order, Bosch?
2) The back side of the top latching slot on the canister broke off two weeks ago. In hindsight, it’s a pretty weak design with a very thin web of plastic acting as a latch to hold the canister to the motor housing Without the ability for the canister to latch to the motor housing, the thing now sits in the closet unused (could be remedied with some duct tape, but seriously, I shouldn’t have to duct tape together a 6-month-old Bosch tool together to make it work.)

Overall, when it works, it works great. Nothing like it for quick easy and effective cleanup while making use of the Bosch tool batteries I already owned. But with the recent issues that basically amount to fundamental flaws in design or process control in manufacturing (maybe the nut was supposed to have some thread-locker?), I’d be very hesitant to recommend it now. Without it being a official US market product, I’m probably stuck with an item Bosch won’t back.

Update:
Contacted Bosch US customer support, as suspected, will not support it because it’s not a US market product. They gave me contacts in Bosch Korea, first person indicated they don’t work in customer support anymore. The other contact provided no response, dead end. Parts are available online, but only online retailers based in Europe where the shipping costs more than the part and total about 1/2 the price of the entire unit from Amazon. Very disappointed, given all the Bosch tools I own – different divisions have serious variations in quality standards.

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Hummelgb August 6, 2016 At 12:42 pm

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

The Little Vac That Could, June 6, 2015

By

Hummelgb (WEST PALM BEACH, FL, US) –

Verified Purchase(What’s this?)

This review is from: BOSCH GAS18V-LI Professional Extractor Handheld Vacuum Cleaner (Bare Tool Solo) (Kitchen)

The addage “You get what you pay for” is exemplified with this little vacuum. It has the reputed Bosch toughness and power beyond its class. Gone are the days when you pick up your hand vac and it feels cheap and ready to fail in your hand. If you already have the 18V batteries it’s a no-brainer. If you do not own and don’t plan to own other 18V Bosch tools, the battery cost could be a prohibitive deal breaker. I bought this for the car and found myself using it everywhere, it’s that efficient and easy to use. A small LED light actually serves a good purpose in dark corners and in the car when in a garage. My experience with the sellers from Korea was one of the best ones on Amazon. They packed the box protectively and send it with due diligence. Even though I paid a little extra for freight ($10), DHL had the package three days later at my door in the US. Do not let the distance involved discourage you from ordering this vacuum that is otherwise not for sale in the US. They might as well have mailed it from up the road.
The only minor downside I see is the difficulty in getting a battery level reading when it is inserted. It is readily obvious they could not engineer the battery placement with the battery meter facing out. The result is you have to squeeze your finger in between the battery and the vacuum to press the meter button and you can just see the level. Is it easier to just remove the battery and see? Probably!

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E. Gifford August 6, 2016 At 12:08 pm

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful

My wife says it’s the best tool purchase I’ve ever made…but then again, July 30, 2015

By

E. Gifford –

Verified Purchase(What’s this?)

This review is from: BOSCH GAS18V-LI Professional Extractor Handheld Vacuum Cleaner (Bare Tool Solo) (Kitchen)

I originally purchased this vacuum in order to have a lightweight, portable vac to clean up the occasional plaster dust or sawdust created with small projects around the house. The kind where it hauling out the Festool vac is simply overkill. I pictured occasional use and a way to add function to my Bosch 18V cordless tool batteries. I think I’ve used it for that purpose maybe three times. My kids and my wife, on the other hand, use it all the time. It never even made it to my shop as a storage space, instead it sits in the hall closet for easy access. Simply put, it works unbelievably well. My 4 year old son uses it to do his chore of vacuuming the dog hair off the stairs every couple of days. My 1 1/2 year old daughter likes to use it to suck up the stray cheerio and the dog hair dust balls that collect in under the toe kicks in the kitchen. My wife likes to use it all over the house. Suffice it to say, when anyone in the house doesn’t feel like pulling out the Dyson and plugging it in, this Bosch vac gets called into duty. The dust bin does fill up quickly (we have two large dogs) but a quick dump in the trash can an it’s off and running again. My wife calls this the best tool purchase I’ve ever made (because she likes it and because it’s light enough for the kids to use for some simple chores – my son likes it because it’s a Bosch like most of dad’s tools). My only hesitation was the lack of replacement filters when I bought it, but Amazon now even carries those. Bosch, if you’re reading this, you really should bring it to the US market direct. If you’re on the fence about buying this, don’t be. Buy it, you won’t regret it.

Update, 08 Sep 2015
Well, I perhaps spoke too soon.
1) About 6-7 weeks ago, the motor started to make a horrendous sound. Looking at it, the nut holding the fan onto the motor axle had come loose. This meant it would the fan would intermittently spin / not spin and make a horrendous racket in the process (not to mention make it not work). I had to clip the plastic cage out around the middle to access the nut and tighten it to make it work again perhaps a little Loctite thread-locker would be in order, Bosch?
2) The back side of the top latching slot on the canister broke off two weeks ago. In hindsight, it’s a pretty weak design with a very thin web of plastic acting as a latch to hold the canister to the motor housing Without the ability for the canister to latch to the motor housing, the thing now sits in the closet unused (could be remedied with some duct tape, but seriously, I shouldn’t have to duct tape together a 6-month-old Bosch tool together to make it work.)

Overall, when it works, it works great. Nothing like it for quick easy and effective cleanup while making use of the Bosch tool batteries I already owned. But with the recent issues that basically amount to fundamental flaws in design or process control in manufacturing (maybe the nut was supposed to have some thread-locker?), I’d be very hesitant to recommend it now. Without it being a official US market product, I’m probably stuck with an item Bosch won’t back.

Update:
Contacted Bosch US customer support, as suspected, will not support it because it’s not a US market product. They gave me contacts in Bosch Korea, first person indicated they don’t work in customer support anymore. The other contact provided no response, dead end. Parts are available online, but only online retailers based in Europe where the shipping costs more than the part and total about 1/2 the price of the entire unit from Amazon. Very disappointed, given all the Bosch tools I own – different divisions have serious variations in quality standards.

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