Ridgid WD0319 Review

The Ridgid WD0319 is a singular machine. It forgoes many design considerations that earned its competitors' accolades. However, it put all its eggs into the airflow and suction basket, and as such, we could not simply disregard it as a poorly designed machine. Is the Ridgid easy to store? No. Does it have a streamlined design? Absolutely not. Does it have a prolonged battery life? Not even close. But — and this is a significant but — this vacuum eats sawdust like the hose's end is the event horizon of a black hole.

Performance Comparison

Dry Work

The dry work evaluation rendered mixed results for the Ridgid WD0319. This model's wide diameter hose, combined with the high airflow and suction, makes it great at grabbing light materials or those with a lot of surface area. As such, this vac did very well at taking up sawdust, washers, and bolts. It did so-so at pulling a 100-gram calibration weight and smaller machine bolts. It couldn't take up the small but dense lag screws at all.

As you might imagine, this machine's unique characteristics make it particularly well suited to dust collection. No kidding, this sucker gobbled up 9 cups of sawdust in a mere 8 seconds. The average for the group is 15 seconds! Unfortunately, this machine is a bit of a one-trick pony, evident in the subsequent crevice test. The bulbous crevice tool could only penetrate our test slot 5 ¾ inches, though its suction had a reach of an additional ⅝ inch, which is top-notch.

Wet Work

The wet work tests hammered home just how different this machine performs compared to its peers. In this metric, we look at how well the devices will move water uphill, how well they can clean up wet sawdust, as well as their ability to remove liquids from a linoleum floor. We also looked at how much of a known quantity of water the vac can pull from a wet carpet. Finally, we measure the suction of each machine with a water lift gauge.

The Ridgid dominated the entire class in wet sawdust cleanup and the suction tests. No other model even came close. The second-best performer in this test is the Bosch GAS18V-3, with more than double the time. However, the machine's performance fell off sharply in all other sub-metrics. Regardless, its execution of the sawdust and suction tasks was so exceptional that its wet work score was well above average for the class.

Battery

Battery life is a key metric and one that shouldn't be taken lightly if you have prolonged work in mind for your wet/dry vac. To put it bluntly, the WD0319 is one short-lived machine. We take a freshly charged battery and plug it into the vacuum to test this. We then run the machine on a healthy diet of air until the charge runs down and the machine shuts off. The interval between a fully charged battery and a dead one is the runtime.

So, what was the Ridgid's runtime? A pitiful 15 minutes. Dividing the runtime by the battery's amp-hour rating for comparison to other models, we find that it's just 3 minutes and 45 seconds. To give you some perspective, the class average is almost 6 minutes. Yowzers!

Convenience

The convenience metric is essentially an assessment of how easy — or hard — it is to use the vacuum. While the Ridgid didn't crush this evaluation, it didn't flop it either. What holds the machine back from a higher score is its size and noise. Because this model foregoes any attempt to provide storage for its hose, it has much larger outer dimensions than its competitors. Additionally, at 83 dBa, it's way the heck louder than the competition.

It's not all bad news for the WD0319, though. The machine is relatively light at 8 lbs, 3 oz, similar to the Ryobi P3240. Additionally, the hose is just about average in length, stretching from 27 to 92 inches, and it is resistant to being crushed by a folding to the side when weighted.

Should You Buy the Ridgid WD0319?

The Ridgid outperformed almost every single other model in terms of sawdust collection and is one of the more affordable options we tested. If you frequently find yourself in need of a quick and powerful way to take care of dusty messes, you can't go wrong with the Ridgid. Just keep in mind that you need to have adequate space to store the bulky machine and may have to change/charge the battery often. However, if you want more of an all-around machine, you may want to look elsewhere.

What Other Cordless Wet Dry Vacuums Should You Consider?

The Ridgid is a fantastic vacuum for specific situations, but if its limitations are dealbreakers for you, there are some good alternatives to consider. The Kobalt KWDV 0124B-03 falls in a similar price range, has better overall performance than the Ridgid in most metrics, except for battery life, which was similar. The Craftsman CMCV002B is a highly versatile machine that may be better for the average household. It does not have any particular specialty but is suitable for people who need efficient sucking power in various situations. It excels in battery life and has a more compact design than most.