0960-20 M12 wet/dry vacuum

The 0960-20 is a 12 volt cordless vacuum cleaner manufactured by Milwaukee

The tool has brushless electric motor powered by a M12 battery. According to Milwaukee it provides up to 40% more suction than 18 volt competitors but does not specify which competitors. This likely compared to vacuums which use a less efficient brushed motor.

The suction power seems to come at the cost of battery run time. The vacuum can run for 14 minutes at the high setting and 26 minutes at the low setting. Most tools are bundled with low capacity batteries, but when sold as a kit this one comes with a 6.0 Ah battery which is the highest capacity available in the M12 battery system. With other lower capacity batteries the run time is much less.

The vacuum  has a HEPA filter and can be used to suck up wet and dry debris which is stored in a 1.6 gallon (7.2 liter) dust collection bin

Milwaukee advertises this vacuum as being particularly quiet with 87 dB of noise.

Milwaukee does not specify the weight on their website.

Exterior

Although advertised as a very compact vacuum cleaner it is one of the larger devices that uses the M12 batteries. The vacuum is made out of red plastic and the lower one third is black.

The vacuum is box shaped with straight sides and tapered corners. The straight sides allow it to be stacked and stored efficiently. On the top is a black plastic handle that can fold out to carry the machine with one hand.

Behind the handle, on top is the power switch with a row of four red LEDs next to it that act as a battery charge indicator. Milwaukee calls this the "fuel gauge".

On the front there are two plastic black latches that open up the the top to access a storage compartment where the hose and nozzle attachments are stored.

The black flexible hose is 5 foot (1.5 meter) long and is attached inside the storage compartment. To use it the only the end of the hose has to be taken out. The base remains connected to the vacuum.

The hose can be detached and attached to the air outlet on the side of the vacuum to use it as a blowing device.

The battery is inserted on the left side upside down in the storage compartment.

Operation

The machine is activated with the power switch on top. It is marked with the symbols II, O, I which indicate full power, off and low power.

Before using the vacuum the storage compartment has to be opened up to pull out the hose.

The black bottom of the body is the dust collection box and can be detached to empty it. It also provides access to the filter for cleaning and replacement. The filter is of the same type as other larger Milwaukee vacuums.

It is also possible to use an optional fleece dust bag for fine dust.

Included accessories

Variants

• 0960-21 with 6.0 Ah battery and charger.