I was doing my regular weekly home clean up and noticed that our bathroom’s air vent has a lot of dust bunnies on it.
Picking up my plug-in vacuum, I tried to find an outlet but could not. So I had to look for an extension cord.
Then it hit me, a cordless vacuum like this Pivot would have been a good tool to have for that instance.
With a cordless vacuum like this Black & Decker Pivot, you remove the extra step of finding an outlet.
It has a foldable nozzle and a brush attachment that make light work of dust.
The PHV1810 is one of the more affordable 18-volt handhelds available right now. If you buy this in Amazon, it’ll cost around $55. Other vacuums with a similar battery size and power can cost more.
It’s called the Pivot because the head can be folded thus reducing its storage footprint by half.
The Wire Cutter calls this the best handheld vac in their 2012 review, ahead of the Dyson DC44, DC35, Hoover Presto and the Dirt Devil Gator Series.
This cordless has 35 air watts which surprisingly is higher than the Dyson V6 at normal mode.
Features of the Black & Decker
- Powered by an 18-volt nickel cadmium battery
- Equipped with a pull out crevice and brush tool
- 17 minutes run time
- Foldable nozzle
- Washable filter
- Cyclonic filtration
- Translucent dirt bowl
- LED battery indicator
Pros
- Powerful suction
- Great for spot clean-ups
- Transparent dirt cup lets you know when it’s time to empty
- Affordable at under 50 dollars
- Decent 17 minute run time
- Easy to empty
- Decent sized dirt container
Cons
- No pet tool to remove pet hair on upholstery
- Long charging time
- Battery isn’t removable
- Loud
What to expect from the Black & Decker Pivot Vac?
Take note that because of the short opening of its head you’ll not be able to pick up anything bigger that a cereal and it doesn’t have any pet tool so this is limited to spot clean up tasks for spilled debris, it won’t be able to remove pet hair as effectively on upholstery or carpet compared to a vacuum with a brush roll or a pet hair attachment.
Attachments and accessories
Both attachments are integrated within the until – the crevice and brush tool.
Charging time
If you’re using this for the first time, charge the unit for at least 24 hours. Black and Decker does not specify charge times, their manual states to you need to “plug the appliance into the charger whenever power gets low”.
Filter clean up
There are two options in cleaning the filter, there’s the quick clean-up and the thorough method.
You’ll use the quick clean-up whenever the dirt cup gets full and you need to empty it.
This involves pushing the quick release latch that opens the container door, empty debris collected and close the door afterwards.
The thorough method will involve washing the filters. Rotate the nozzle forward then press the release latch located on the right side of the nozzle.
As you press the release latch slowly pull the dust container off, this will expose the filters.
Pull the pre-filter using the pull out handle on the end of it.
Filters are washable but needs to be replaced every 6 to 9 months.
Battery life
The Wire Cutter reports a 17 minute run time. Consumer reviews however were mixed with some reporting as little as a couple of minutes but most were generally satisfied reporting a run time of around 10 to 15 minutes.
Warranty
The Pivot comes with a 2-year warranty for whole unit.
Bare floor cleaning
The wide nozzle allows you to cover more area per pass but since it doesn’t have a long handle this is best used as a spot cleaner on floors.
It has strong suction so it gobbles up small debris like cereal, bread crumbs, dog/cat poop, etc.
It is equipped with a crevice and brush tool so this will be great in cleaning dust off your table, windows or vents.
If you want to see proof that this vacuum sucks (in a good way of course) watch this video I dug up the archives comparing this to a Dyson and Shark cordless in cleaning powder and wet kitty liter…
While the Shark faltered, the Pivot and Dyson performed quite well in this torture test. The Black and Decker Pivot even outperformed the Dyson in the pet litter test because it had a wider cleaning path.
Carpet cleaning
It doesn’t come with an attachment that’s equipped with a motorized brush so you are limited to cleaning loose debris on carpet.
If it’s embedded deep between the strands, you’ll need something with a brush roll for that purpose.
You can also use this inside your vehicle because it has a crevice and brush tool that’ll pick up dust and dirt on the floors and aircon vents…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIEfwz32xIA
Pet hair removal
Even without a pet hair attachment, the Pivot still scored high on consumer reports tests on pet hair.
But don’t expect too much out of if you’re cleaning upholstery because a brush roll or a dedicated pet hair remover is essential.
On bare floor and non-upholstered surfaces, removing pet hair won’t be much of a problem.
See it in action
A detailed review from Vacuum Wizard…
Promotional video from Black + Decker…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ea4ZC8kXnQ
A demonstration from QVC…
Product specifications
| Attachments | Pull out crevice tool and brush tool |
| Battery | 18-volt nickel cadmium |
| Charger | Plug in |
| Charging time | 24 hours (initial) |
| Battery life | 17 minutes |
| Net weight (with battery) | 3.9 pounds |
| Shipping weight | 4.6 pounds |
| Overall length | 16.0" |
| Battery indicator | Yes |
| Filter type | Washable |
| Dust capacity | 16.09 ounces |
| Power | 35 air watts |
| Voltage | 110v |
| Manufactured in | China |
| Warranty | 2 years |
Customer reviews
It has close to a thousand reviews in Amazon and consumers generally loved the suction power, saying it was great for quick pick-ups and run time was very decent, between 10 to 15 minutes on average.
Some would go as far as saying that this is the best handheld unit that they’ve used.
A number of them loved it so much that they even bought this as gifts to their friends and relatives. It was easy to empty dirt because all you have to do is press the release nozzle and the door opens.
There were complains however with the design of the foldable nozzle, several people complained that dirt collected has a tendency to fall out of the nozzle when you fold it back out and one suggested workaround for this is to empty it after every use.
Reviews from other sites
The Wire Cutter
Editors call this the best handheld vacuum, and voted this above the versatile but expensive Dyson DC44 because it was $300 cheaper and it had more suction power when compared to the DC44’s normal setting.
Black and Decker
It only received a 3 out of 5 stars rating. Consumers generally loved the power, foldable nozzle and portability but complained about the short run time and long charge times.
Where can I buy this?
You can buy this lightweight handheld from Amazon for less than $55 and it’ll be eligible to their free 2-day shipping if you join Prime.
Extended warranties are also available of up to 3 years if you want that extra peace of mind.
If you don’t mind spending a little bit more you can opt for the Pivot BDH2000PL that’s cost just a few bucks more. It has a Li-Ion battery that solves most of the issues this version has.
Conclusion
This product is great for spot cleaning tasks that call for something nimble and lightweight. You can use this to clean vents, keyboards, sofas, etc. and don’t let the small size fool you as this packs a punch.
It has more power than the Dyson V7 Trigger (in normal mode that is) that’s easily a few hundred dollars more expensive.
But of course don’t expect Dyson-level build quality and power at the high end.
The foldable nozzle allows reduces the storage space needed by half.
This is great to use inside cars because of it is compact, and the foldable nozzle allows you to reach more areas.
The biggest downside would be the battery. It has a Ni-Cad battery that will be prone to fading as early as 5 to 6 minutes into the cycle. If this is a concern then go with the newer Pivot that has the NiCad battery. It’ll be a bit more expensive but it will run longer.
Nozzle design has a design flaw according to some reviews. Dirt will tend to fall from the dirt cup if you don’t empty it.
So it’ll be best to empty it after each use.
This would be a great budget alternative for newer and more expensive $100++ handhelds.
It is a great bang for your buck because it has good power, a good sized dirt cut and around a 10-17 minute run time. It is a bit on the heavy side because of the NiCad battery.
