When you’re busy in the kitchen, or when your kids and pets get busy while you’re in the kitchen, it’s a great relief to have a decent general-purpose compact handheld vacuum cleaner. This BLACK+DECKER BDH2000PL Lithium Swivel vac is exactly that, and customers who’ve bought it tend to rave about how much use they get out of it.
How good (or otherwise) a cordless hand vac is can only be inferred from the technical specs and the published manufacturer’s details. That’s why I dug into hundreds of online reviews from verified purchasers of the BDH2000PL model, to bring you an accurate picture of what it’s like to actually have this neat little cleaning tool in your own kitchen.
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Summary
- Product name: BLACK+DECKER BDH2000PL
- Cord Type: Cordless
- Bag Type: Bagless
- Floor Type: Multi Floor
- Product Dimensions: 18 x 6.9 x 6.8 inches
- Item Weight: 3.79 pounds
- Shipping Weight: 3.79 pounds
- Manufacturer: BLACK+DECKER
- Item Model Number: BDH2000PL
- Battery: Lithium ion
- Customer Reviews: 4.2 of 5 Stars
Highlight Benefits
Compact design – Built to be used in tight spaces, and stored in even tighter ones, this BDH2000PL unit measures just 18 inches long and can easily be carried in a car or kept in a kitchen.
Pivoting nozzle – The unique pivoting nozzle on the BDH2000PL gives you leverage when you’re reaching for tough spots to hit, as well as helping to focus suction power on narrow spots.
On-board tools – The Lithium Pivot comes with a standard complement of accessories that have been permanently affixed to the nozzle, so they never get lost and are always ready for use.
3-stage filtration – The BDH2000PL’s 3-stage filtration system catches small items at the first barrier, before they get sucked down into the tank. The second and third filters ensure the air that gets pushed through is almost allergen-free.
User Experiences
Buyers who’ve verified their purchases are almost indecently eager to share their impressions with the public on Amazon. The BDH2000PL has a whopping 7,000-plus verified reviews, and it was my task to wade into them and come back with some useful info about how this unit performs and to – hopefully – help you decide whether to take the plunge and buy one of your very own.
Ergonomics
This Lithium Swivel vac is nothing but ergonomics. Designed to have a single sweeping line for a profile, the handle seems to melt into the body, where the motor is situated. Beyond that, a swivel-enabled nozzle extends for less than 12 inches to a narrowly tapered point. Grab the tab at the tip of that nozzle, and you have a crevice tool that telescopes out for an extra few inches. This extends the vac’s range at the same time it grants access to the tricky spots normal vacuums have a hard time with.
One slight downside to the BDH2000PL’s design is that its handle is, after all, situated all the way to the back of the unit. That puts about 100-percent of the vacuum’s weight forward of your hand. For a heavier unit, that would be a problem, but the BDH2000PL only weighs about 3.79 pounds, so for brief periods it shouldn’t be an issue.
Attachments
As noted above, the BDH2000PL comes with a standard-issue crevice tool that telescopes out of the front slot of the swivel nozzle. There’s also a brush mounted on the underside of the nozzle that’s just perfect for abrading tough bits of pet fur and the occasional colony of dead flies on the windowsill.
Many users expressed immense satisfaction with the arrangement of the BDH2000PL’s accessories. One typical reviewer noted:
“The built in accessories were a great idea as I’m sure many of us misplace these things over time, however the pivoting brush should have been placed on the top rather than on the bottom – reason being it rubs agains surface being vacuumed even when it is collapsed. This causes the bristles to get ruined – mine already look like a 3 month old toothbrush. The extender nozzle is great though – really gets in those tight places.”
Suction Power
The BDH2000PL uses a tough little cyclone motor that’s ganged to a powerful lithium ion battery. This delivers significant suction power all on its own. To power that up even more, the air flow through the front end is ducted through a relatively tight nozzle intake, which focuses almost all of this vacuum’s suction force on about an inch-wide strip that powers up dirt, grit and the occasional pile of Cheerios your toddler left between the cushions of your couch.
Users like the power the BDH2000PL has to offer. According to two completely typical reviewers:
“Thank goodness that B&D finally came out with this lithium powered model! It has the rubber flap to keep debris from falling back out, and a charging stand that automatically makes contact and can be wall mounted. It is more powerful, runs much longer, all while being smaller & lighter.”
And
“The suction was so powerful, I even used it to suck up all the dust that collects on my nightstand and table tops. Literally used it all the time.”
Battery Performance
Buyers of the BDH2000PL seem to have a generally positive impression of the unit’s lithium ion battery. That’s not surprising, given that the technology used in it is so advanced, you might get in trouble if you sold it to China. Charge times are generally reported as short, while the vacuum seems to keep its cells topped off for extended standby times off the charger, say in the trunk of your car during a road trip.
One satisfied customer wrote of her Lithium Swivel vac:
“The battery charge duration is great, the unit seems to have great power and suction and it is hugely more convenient than dragging out the vacuum cleaner.”
Ease of Cleaning
It’s fairly easy to service and maintain this Lithium Swivel vacuum. Emptying out the bagless unit is as easy as popping off the see-through plastic tank and dumping the contents into the trash. A quick rinse and air dry gets it ready to be popped back on, where it clicks right down into place.
The BDH2000PL’s three-stage filtration system is a bit more complicated to keep clean. Filters One and Two come away easily enough, though the third filter can be challenging. As is common with this style of handheld cordless vacuum, the filters can only come off after the tank has been removed, so be ready to do that after every use of the vacuum.
One user said of changing the filters:
“You will learn to clean the filter and empty the dirt compartment regularly. Easy to empty the dirt compartment but also to easy to forget to clean the filter which takes some time to do. A sign filter needs cleaning is you will notice that the motor runs faster then normal. Imagine running the vacuum and then place your hand over the intake of the vacuum, motor speeds up. B&D claims this vacuum has cyclonic action to distribute the dirt all around the pleated filter which it does pretty well with small dirt particles but big stuff will stack up on top of the filter right where all the dirt comes in and not distribute around the filter so you really need to empty the filter chamber then. You may need a slim object like a screw driver to dislodge the big junk in front of the filter.”
Specifications
INSERT TABLE
Conclusion for BLACK+DECKER BDH2000PL
The BDH2000PL is close to the top of the line for BLACK+DECKER handhelds, so this one can get pricey with the attachments. Still, the cost doesn’t exceed $100 anywhere online, and this can make a great going-away present for an 18-year-old on the way to college.
The BDH2000PL manages a surprising amount of power in a 3+-pound package, which seems to have taken quite a few reviewers by surprise. The motor is a little overbuilt, and the cyclonic action works really well with the swivel nozzle to focus power on the spot to be cleaned. All in all, a lot of rabbits were pulled out of the hat to get the most out of this design, power-wise.
The BDH2000PL is as ergonomically designed as a Star Trek phaser. It’s sleek, it’s comfortable, and nobody seems to have complained about its basic design. Almost all of the weight lies forward of your hand, but this is mostly made up for with the even more ergonomic swivel tip.
From the sleek design to the reasonable price point, the BLACK+DECKER BDH2000PL model handheld vacuum cleaner is an all-around good choice for dealing with life’s miscellaneous messes. There are cheaper models, and there are bulkier powerhouses, but the BDH2000PL manages to strike a decent balance between these qualities.
