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How to Pick a Wet Vac?

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  • #1

    How to Pick a Wet Vac?

    Hey everyone,

    Have searched all over the net for details on a good vac, the problem seems to be that I'm in NZ. I really don't know what to look for in a good wet vac.

    Over here we don't have the rigid vacs everyone seems to use, Karcher vacs are easy to get but I'm not sure what specs to look for. They don't have HP ratings like you guys go by, only watt ratings. They also dont seem to give water lift ratings.

    Im really looking for something that will be suitable for cleaning the interior carpet and upholstery etc with APC or quickout or the likes.

    Any help would be great.

    PS Has anyone got/used a Karcher a2004 or NT27/1 for the above?
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: How to Pick a Wet Vac?

    I also saw today, a Shop Vac Classic 20 INOX - has anyone any experience with one of these?

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: How to Pick a Wet Vac?

      Sorry, I can't help much. But I bought a shopvac the other day from a local store here in Germany with 1600 watts and it came with an attachment called The Cyclone. It's a long, narrow, flat plastic piece that is supposed to create a very strong force of air inside it's small tube. It worked VERY very well. It made some great track marks in the carpet in the cargo area of my Porsche Cayenne.
      In any case, I would choose a vac with at least 1600 watts of power. 1400 and lower is not enough. Make sure you have a similar attachment that's able to clean the seats and floors well enough, like the Cyclone. Anything else will not really get the job done; neither will a regular household vacuum cleaner.
      Good luck!
      Composers shouldn't think too much, it interferes with their plagiarism. -- Howard Dietz

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      • #4
        Re: How to Pick a Wet Vac?

        First, you don't need a large tank or the most powerful engine. Consider the overall size of the vacuum - after all, you will have to move it around. Second, listen to them. ShopVac makes a line of quiet vacs. This is important because your ears are going to be close to the vacuum when it is running. Third, look for very flexible hoses and tools with narrow openings for cleaning crevices.
        Art Layton
        2009 Jetta TDI

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        • #5
          Re: How to Pick a Wet Vac?

          Yea seems we're pretty short on choice here, I can't find a lot other than whats mentioned.

          We have 3 karcher wet vacs at work, a 35L, 45L and a monster 70L vac. The 2 smaller ones have the same motors as do all of that series I think. They're only 1400 watts but do a good job I'm just not sure they would pull cleaners from upholstery very well. The big vac has twin motors of the above and would definitely do the job well but its huge and noisy.

          Its hard as well because most places wont let you try them. Do air watts or CFM or liters per min mean anything? Seems to be the only thing I can get to gauge performance.

          Oh I did find 1 thing for the karcher line, they have 88" of water lift, is that good?

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          • #6
            Re: How to Pick a Wet Vac?

            Originally posted by evan.f_nz View Post
            Yea seems we're pretty short on choice here, I can't find a lot other than whats mentioned.

            We have 3 karcher wet vacs at work, a 35L, 45L and a monster 70L vac. The 2 smaller ones have the same motors as do all of that series I think. They're only 1400 watts but do a good job I'm just not sure they would pull cleaners from upholstery very well. The big vac has twin motors of the above and would definitely do the job well but its huge and noisy.

            Its hard as well because most places wont let you try them. Do air watts or CFM or liters per min mean anything? Seems to be the only thing I can get to gauge performance.

            Oh I did find 1 thing for the karcher line, they have 88" of water lift, is that good?
            Yeah, the twin motor vac is probably much too large. 35 and 45L are very large. I think mine is 18 or 21L and is very much sufficient in doing the job for my 2 cars. I'm not a pro detailer, so I don't have a need for such large vacs.

            I'll see if I can dig up an ad for the one I have to give you an example. Do you have an Amazon site you can shop on that will ship to you in New Zealand? Cheers,
            Wes
            Composers shouldn't think too much, it interferes with their plagiarism. -- Howard Dietz

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            • #7
              Re: How to Pick a Wet Vac?

              what vac have you got? Yea those are way too big but the smaller 2 give me an idea of power, bearing in mind they're 10yrs old and have been used for plaster dust, and pumping water out of a massive pond regularly, they're not too bad and may do what I need. I just don't need the capacity of these.

              Would be good if you could find that ad, thanks for that. I'm not too keen on shipping from the states if I don't have to, wouldn't think it would be cheap.

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              • #8
                Re: How to Pick a Wet Vac?

                I've got a vac very similar to this one: http://www.amazon.de/Einhell-INOX-12...694943&sr=1-28

                Mine is a generic brand called "Budget," but it's basically the exact same thing as this one. In fact, I chose the one I bought over this one but as I said they're basically the same. Mine has 150 more watts, I think. I'm not sure. This one didn't have the attachment I wanted.
                Composers shouldn't think too much, it interferes with their plagiarism. -- Howard Dietz

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                • #9
                  Re: How to Pick a Wet Vac?

                  Looks similar to the ones i've seen here, have you used if on wet carpet and for the likes of helping to remove quick out and APC?

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: How to Pick a Wet Vac?

                    Yeah, works fine so far. I've only had the chance to use it once. The carpets weren't soaked nor were they very dirty, so I can't comment on its strength yet in getting that kind of stuff up. But it does very well.
                    There were times I thought it could very well pull the carpet off the floor of the car. If that gives you any idea of its power... Cheers
                    Composers shouldn't think too much, it interferes with their plagiarism. -- Howard Dietz

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                    • #11
                      Re: How to Pick a Wet Vac?

                      That sounds like just what I need, but I can't read german and the US amazon wont ship vacs here, I just tried.

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: How to Pick a Wet Vac?

                        Sorry about that. I've checked too, and it doesn't seem like too many places ship to NZ or Australia. If you can find a good idea of what you need, maybe you can find one locally.

                        The Karcher models are fairly top of the line. They're made in Germany and here they have models from 100 euro to 500 euro, so they're expensive. If you can afford one, find a Karcher with similar specs as the one in the link. I'll try and translate a little for you here:

                        Einhell Wet/Dry vacs are a great help in the shop, hobby room, or at work. This vac has a 36mm diameter hose with stainless stell holders, 4 wheels, carrying handle, hose attachments for 36mm diameter. Comes with 1 vacuum bag, 1 foam filter, 1 hose with a fail-safe regulator, 1 telescoping pole, 1 combo-attachment, 1 corner attachment. Water column (?) 1500mm and a 20L capacity. Size: Width 350mm, 500mm height, 350mm deep and weighs 7.2kg.
                        Technical data: 230V at 50Hz and provides 1250 watts of power.

                        Hope this helps.
                        Composers shouldn't think too much, it interferes with their plagiarism. -- Howard Dietz

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                        • #13
                          Re: How to Pick a Wet Vac?

                          Shame I can't ship one of those, they're 230v too. I know karcher vacs are good, (I also have a pressure washer from them) I'm just not sure if a consumer level wet vac will do. I can get one for NZ$200 which IMO is quite cheap. Would be willing to spend double that. The commercial vacs however are probably alot better, just trying to get some prices.

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                          • #14
                            Re: How to Pick a Wet Vac?

                            Get in touch with them here: http://www.einhell.com/englisch/engl...x?file=kontakt

                            They have Einhell in Australia. Let me know if that works out for you.
                            Composers shouldn't think too much, it interferes with their plagiarism. -- Howard Dietz

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: How to Pick a Wet Vac?

                              fullbirdmusic - thanks for all you're help, much appreciated! I have found a karcher model thats 1800w, so will most likely go for that, a mate of mine is meant be getting a steam extractor cheap too, so will be able to use that. Will let you know how I get on when I get a new vac, maybe useful to anyone else outside the states.

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