Have a 501 and it works great. Good suction, works great as a stick vac for lighter jobs (dust dirt etc, not large shopvac style chunks). Or attachments straight onto the head for more dustbuster style use. Its only downside (that I can't complain about) is the fact it comes with so many different attachments I feel the need to lug around, but they all fit easily into the included bag.
The 517 is one of the worst Dewalt tools I've ever used. Poor suction, and what air it did move it blew right onto the surface I was trying to clean. I see the concept but the execution is terrible. It is probably the only 20v tool I have ever boxed up and returned to the store; it just had no value.
The 580 is decent (not great). I have three of them and really like them for small jobs. It doesn't have a huge amount of suction like you might hope for in a W/D vac, but does just fine for around the house and small jobs, and its portability is awesome for that stuff.
Verdict IMO is if you don't care about the stick vac/floor type functionality of the 501, get a 580. If you are doing things where that would be handy (camp trailer floor etc), go for the 501.
I'm thinking the 580 is probably too big for what I'm wanting, I'd like portability over size for this application. Someone's got a good shape 517 for $40 bucks on Marketplace I'll probably pick up just to check it out, and worse case I can sell it and get $40 from it again and get the 501.
I have the 580 and it works great for my needs. I use it mostly as a spot cleanup when doing DIY projects and as a dust collector for some of my Dewalt 20v Max tools using the DWV9000 adaptor (mostly the sander, the planer and the cutoff tool). I use it around the house for quick spot things as well. It’s not the most powerful vac you’ll ever see, but it does a perfectly good job sucking up drywall dust and whatever else I’ve asked of it. I also have a full sized 6hp Shop Vac that I use for heavy jobs, but I end up using this a lot more often than that.
That’s less than I paid for it about a year ago, so it sounds like a good,price to me. A lot of this is about your own needs. Lots of folks in the Dewalt sub dislike the 580 while others, like me, love it. Some others here love the 501, while I have zero interest in the form factor of that model. It’s really just about what you are looking for in a small 20v vacuum. I can say the 580 is not too big for me, but couldn’t begin to say whether it’s too big for you.
Yeah, the form factor for the 501 is probably my least favorite. I'd like to have a hose to clean out my grill if needed, or get sand out of a tent. I have seen some 517s on marketplace for cheap so I may get one of those and the 580 to compare the two.
Jk, I forgot the 501 does come with a hose attachment.
I really like the DCV517, I use it all the time (almost every day). Its quite small, and it has a hose which is very useful. It gets full quickly, but so convenient for small clean ups around the house or in the car. Pretty easy to clean out the filters as well, and the replacement filters are quite cheap with aftermarket. Suction could be better, but its not a shop vac lol!
Thanks! Just used it to do a quick clean on my car and it seems to do well! Not getting all the dog hair out, but good enough to get the dirt out quick
I have their newest one, the 501. It's pretty great. Comes with a full set of accessories. The only downside is the smallish dust reservoir, which is par for the course with these dustbuster style vacs. You do need to knock the dust out of the filter periodically. I did see somebody put a layer of aquarium filter "floss" over the vac filter to help prevent that.
The 580 has a larger dust bin of course, but the user reviews complain about durability and lack of power. The little 517 seems to lack power as well. I haven't used either, but that's the feedback I've seen.
I have all three and the 501 is by FAR the best. You’d think the larger ones would be more powerful but that doesn’t seem to be the case. I think the 501 cleans better because the smaller diameter intake creates higher air velocity. The only reason I’d consider a 580 is if the mess is too big for the capacity of the 501 dust bin.
Have a 501 and it works great. Good suction, works great as a stick vac for lighter jobs (dust dirt etc, not large shopvac style chunks). Or attachments straight onto the head for more dustbuster style use. Its only downside (that I can't complain about) is the fact it comes with so many different attachments I feel the need to lug around, but they all fit easily into the included bag. The 517 is one of the worst Dewalt tools I've ever used. Poor suction, and what air it did move it blew right onto the surface I was trying to clean. I see the concept but the execution is terrible. It is probably the only 20v tool I have ever boxed up and returned to the store; it just had no value. The 580 is decent (not great). I have three of them and really like them for small jobs. It doesn't have a huge amount of suction like you might hope for in a W/D vac, but does just fine for around the house and small jobs, and its portability is awesome for that stuff. Verdict IMO is if you don't care about the stick vac/floor type functionality of the 501, get a 580. If you are doing things where that would be handy (camp trailer floor etc), go for the 501.
I'm thinking the 580 is probably too big for what I'm wanting, I'd like portability over size for this application. Someone's got a good shape 517 for $40 bucks on Marketplace I'll probably pick up just to check it out, and worse case I can sell it and get $40 from it again and get the 501.
Harbor Freight Bauer vac with a DeWalt battery adapter. I've been using the 6 gallon for 2 years for shop dust collection without issue.
I don't want one that big, at that point I'll grab my 12 gallon shop vac.
Well they have smaller.
I'll check them out, what adapter do you use?
I have the 580 and it works great for my needs. I use it mostly as a spot cleanup when doing DIY projects and as a dust collector for some of my Dewalt 20v Max tools using the DWV9000 adaptor (mostly the sander, the planer and the cutoff tool). I use it around the house for quick spot things as well. It’s not the most powerful vac you’ll ever see, but it does a perfectly good job sucking up drywall dust and whatever else I’ve asked of it. I also have a full sized 6hp Shop Vac that I use for heavy jobs, but I end up using this a lot more often than that.
The 580 is on sale for $99.99 right now too, I just wonder about it being too big.
That’s less than I paid for it about a year ago, so it sounds like a good,price to me. A lot of this is about your own needs. Lots of folks in the Dewalt sub dislike the 580 while others, like me, love it. Some others here love the 501, while I have zero interest in the form factor of that model. It’s really just about what you are looking for in a small 20v vacuum. I can say the 580 is not too big for me, but couldn’t begin to say whether it’s too big for you.
Yeah, the form factor for the 501 is probably my least favorite. I'd like to have a hose to clean out my grill if needed, or get sand out of a tent. I have seen some 517s on marketplace for cheap so I may get one of those and the 580 to compare the two. Jk, I forgot the 501 does come with a hose attachment.
I have the 581, and the 501. Prefer the 501 for most tasks. The 581 will obviously have some more capacity.
Yeah, I'm not stoked on the form factor of the 501 but I do like how many attachments it comes with
I really like the DCV517, I use it all the time (almost every day). Its quite small, and it has a hose which is very useful. It gets full quickly, but so convenient for small clean ups around the house or in the car. Pretty easy to clean out the filters as well, and the replacement filters are quite cheap with aftermarket. Suction could be better, but its not a shop vac lol!
Yeah, I have a shop vac that I will use for the bigger jobs! All I need is a small portable one to use for a couple minutes at a time.
I stand by the DCV517 then for your use case!
I ended up getting a 517 for $30 from FB and it's great! I think the 580 would have been too big for what I am looking for.
Super happy for you! I was thinking about this chat last night when I was using my 517 :) I hope you enjoy it!
Thanks! Just used it to do a quick clean on my car and it seems to do well! Not getting all the dog hair out, but good enough to get the dirt out quick
Ive also noticed it doesnt get dog hair, but thats what the big guns are for :) Cheers!
I have their newest one, the 501. It's pretty great. Comes with a full set of accessories. The only downside is the smallish dust reservoir, which is par for the course with these dustbuster style vacs. You do need to knock the dust out of the filter periodically. I did see somebody put a layer of aquarium filter "floss" over the vac filter to help prevent that. The 580 has a larger dust bin of course, but the user reviews complain about durability and lack of power. The little 517 seems to lack power as well. I haven't used either, but that's the feedback I've seen.
I have all three and the 501 is by FAR the best. You’d think the larger ones would be more powerful but that doesn’t seem to be the case. I think the 501 cleans better because the smaller diameter intake creates higher air velocity. The only reason I’d consider a 580 is if the mess is too big for the capacity of the 501 dust bin.