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This is my honest review- all opinions below are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of any sponsor.

Hello everyone! Thanks for stopping by! I have been woodworking for many years, but have never made the plunge to equip my shop with a central dust collection unit. Instead, I have been relying on a few strategically placed Ridgid shop vacs to help me manage my wood chips and wood dust. In this post, I will be sharing a few thoughts on the Ridgid NXT 9 Gal. 18-Volt Cordless Wet/Dry Shop Vacuum (batteries sold separately).

Although this tool review is a recent opportunity, I have actually already been using this same shop vac for over a year in my normal workflow. I gladly accepted the opportunity to use and review another Ridgid 9 gallon cordless vacuum because of how valuable mine has already proven to be. If you already have Ridgid batteries or if you have ever wished your shop vac didn’t have a cord, then you will really enjoy this!

Right out of the box, this may be one of the easiest tool assemblies you will ever put together! The main unit comes assembled and all of the shop vac accessories are packed inside.

The only assembly required is turning the unit over and adding the feet. This is accomplished by simply turning the drum over, pushing/locking the wheels into place, and then attaching the feet to the drum.

This vacuum comes with a 1-layer standard filter for capturing general debris and works great for general purpose vacuum/dust collection. However, you can replace it with other filters for your particular needs: Fine Dust (VF5000), HEPA Media (VF6000), Wet (VF7000)

In addition to the Standard Filter, this unit includes 1-7/8 in. x 7 ft. Hose, 3 Extension Wands, Utility Nozzle, Wet Nozzle, & Car Nozzle. This vac is compatible with 1-7/8 in. accessories.

So the obvious awesome part of this CORDLESS 9-gallon vacuum is that it runs completely on battery power and has no cord! The best part is that it is compatible with all of my other RIDGID 18-Volt batteries and runs on either one or two batteries!

POWER:

This NXT CORDLESS 9-gallon boasts of 82 CFM which is a little more than the 76 CFM of the NXT corded 9-gallon vacuum. I will be honest and say that I do not have any way to measure CFM or whether this is true or not, but I will say that I have owned a previous model 9 gallon shop vac before, and this CORDLESS shop vac does not feel weak or seem any different. A larger shop vac like the Ridgid 14 gallon will obviously have more CFM and power, but compared to other 9-gallon shop vacs it definitely does not feel like it took any steps backward. I have used various battery-powered tools before that just don’t feel the same as a corded tool, but this shop vac is very comparable to a corded 9-gallon.

RUN TIME:

So how long does this shop vac run? Well, that depends on what capacity battery you are using. I have various Ridgid batteries with different capacities (9 Ah, 5 Ah, 4 Ah, etc.) so I chose my smaller 3 Ah batteries to do a run time test. Now, I can’t speak to any particular formula nor did I test with my larger batteries, but the vac stayed full power for about 17 and a half minutes with two 3 Ah batteries. I do remember hearing it weaken near the very end and had just enough time to think that it sounded like it was going to power off before it did. Meaning, the batteries didn’t seem to lose power continually throughout the whole run time and instead seemed to power off all at once.

Now, the important part to remember is that with larger capacity batteries, the run time will be even longer. Imagine how long it would be with two 9 Ah batteries! Truthfully, I never use my shop vac for more than a couple of minutes at a time, so I can’t remember any time in the last year where my job required more run time than my batteries could give it. This would obviously not be the case if I was needing to use a shop vac for cleaning up a huge mess or planning to use it all day long. In my opinion, the convenience of having no power cord outweighs the fact that I need to charge and keep up with batteries.

You can see how the accessories are stored in the feet and how the hose is stored on the head unit.

All in all, I have been very satisfied with the Ridgid NXT 9 Gal. 18-Volt Cordless Wet/Dry Shop Vacuum and can definitely recommend it. Feel free to ask any questions I may have not thought to include and I will do my best to answer!

PROS:

9 Gal. drum size holds more
Large carry handle
Hose and accessory storage makes the vacuum easy to move around
Compatible with my other RIDGID 18-Volt batteries
Can run using 1 battery but also accepts 2 for longer runtimes
Power is comparable to a 9-gallon shop vac with a plug!
More than sufficient run time for what I need

CONS:

Does not come with batteries. Would be nice if it did!
Wish it came with the soft bristle brush, but it doesn't. That is my favorite accessory
Obviously, it is not as powerful as my 14-gallon shop vac (but it doesn’t claim to be)
The hose is just a basic hose but works fine. I am spoiled and much prefer using the orange hoses on my other Ridgid vacs
I “think” the batteries drain when plugged in and not being used. I can’t say for sure. Sometimes I have left a battery in the shop vac and come back the next day and the battery was drained, and other times I have come back and the battery still has a charge. I have just made it a habit to remove my battery from the shop vac when I am finished since I am not sure why it does that sometimes, but I also try to remove my batteries from all my tools so that my kids can’t power them on :-)

Ridgid 9 Gallon Cordless 18V Wet/Dry Shop Vacuum