Vacuum purchase opinions

[magnus]

I have a cheap 2 gallon Craftsman wet/dry shop vacuum for cleaning my personal vehicles. It does an acceptable job at cleaning what can be seen in the interior of the car.

My thinking is to get something a little more dedicated, and has some definite suction ability. I would also like something with some tools to get in a variety of places. A HEPA filter would be nice, but is optional.

Are there some suggestions out there? I would like several suggestions that I can then research and make my decision.

Thanks for the help!

[Rick]

Well first off if your unsatisfied with the suction on your current vaccum have you replaced the filter? My 5 gal hadn't ever had it changed in a few years since I got it and I did, the suction at least doubled.

Mine just came from Home depot. The attachments it came with serve my purposes well. They have lots of other optional attachments you can purchase as well. One feature I've found in mine I like (think it's a black and decker btw) is that it doubles as a leaf blower. I don't think this would be too uncommon of a feature umong different brands, but it's really convenient to be able to put the hose on the exhaust port and have a high speed blower which you can use for blowing water out of door sills and all those tiny little engine nooks when cleaning them.

[nx80v]

I'm a big fan of Miele canister vacuum, it's a little pricey but it's worth every single penny. Super quiet, my cat won't run away from it even it's on full power. I've also got the CarClean Set Plus which comes with a mini TurboBrush, perfect tool for cleaning up the pet hairs and food debris. Don't have to get the high end model, series 200 or series 300 is good enough for the job and can do a really good job in your house as well.

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Cheers

[magnus]

Thanks for the feedback so far! I've never heard of the Miele before, though I've seen one but didn't know what it was.

Does anyone have an opinion on the Euro-Pro Shark vacuum? One of the models claims to be 1.5 times more suctions and 40% quieter than average vacuum.

[Jimmy Buffit]

I just recently acquired the Fein Mini turbo from Coastal Tool. It is made for the woodworking industry. It is very quiet, and has 90" waterlift, which is almost as much as my extractor!

Again, a little pricey, but worth a look. I ordered the 16' hose extension, now I have twenty-six feet
of flexibility. Pretty cool!

Jim

[TOGWT]

Quote: One of the models claims to be 1.5 times more suctions and 40% quieter than average vacuum.and 40% quieter than average vacuum.

~ One man’s opinion / observations ~

I’ve always loved the marketing hype “Our models has XX times more suctions and 40% quieter than average vacuum”. As very few vacuum vendors state suction power in inches water gauge, but instead quote HP (motor size) or Amps (electrical current drawn)

The vacuum I use is a Metropolitan Vac N’ Blo™ Vacuum / Blower Unit
Power Requirements- (11.25Amps, 110-120 volts
Single-phase, 50-60 Hz VAC
Vacuum: 95-inch water gauge static lift
Blower: 145,000SCFM @ 28,000FPM
Dimensions: 15-iches long and 7-inch diameter
Approx$- 180

~Hope this helps ~

Knowledge unshared is experience wasted
justadumbarchitect / so I question everything/ Jon

[gb387]

Originally posted by magnus
Thanks for the feedback so far! I've never heard of the Miele before, though I've seen one but didn't know what it was.

Does anyone have an opinion on the Euro-Pro Shark vacuum? One of the models claims to be 1.5 times more suctions and 40% quieter than average vacuum.

I have a hand held Euro-Pro Shark (if that is what you are talking about) works very well but I think the filter tends to clog up fast. I will say that the filter is very easy to clean so its not to big of a problem. Overall I like it has lots of power great for the car, but its far from quiet.

[Superior Shine]

I 'd tell you about my vacuum but it *****! Get it? LOL!
Sorry about that!

[Lost Pup]

I have had a Sears Craftsman Vac for years and it takes a true beating and continues to work. It is a 16 Gallon model with a plastic tub and a 2" hose. I think I paid $60 for it on Sale.

I use a "Mr. Nozzle" vacuum kit which has a nice flexible long hose and various tools.





The vac is loud but I usually wear foam earplugs and with the 15 foot hose you can keep it a few feet away from the car while using it. The hose can reach the entire car without moving the vac around.

I also picked up a Shop Vac Micro Vac Kit from Walmart. Its get into the cracks and crevices like you would not believe. The vac really screams with this on so I use an old coupling that I drilled some holes in to allow some bypass air to the vac when I use these.

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[orange monkeyee]

I use a Ridgid professional series to **** the **** out of my family's cars. This thing eats whatever will fit down the hose so you have to check the tub before you dump it otherwise you'll probably be dumping good pens, pencils, change, small tools and such. This vaccuum really *****, it has the balls of the big 16 and 20 gallon vaccuums but is really easy to carry and tote around. I leave mine in the trunk of my little Honda Accord. Oh, and this vacccuum is good for an occasional wet carpet treatment ( where I dump a gallon of steaming hot soap water on my cars interior to get out the winter crud that builds up)

ridgid.com/

they're fairly cheap... they run about 80 bucks at the Home Depot and are great around the house and workplace.

hit me up with a pm if you have questions or whatever

[magnus]

they're fairly cheap... they run about 80 bucks at the Home Depot and are great around the house and workplace

Thanks for the info. I am actually planning on doing exactly that. A new Home Depot is opening locally near the end of this month. I'm hoping that they'll have a grand opening sale of some sort and grab one of these.

Compared with all the other vacuums mentioned here and on the Autopia website, the Ridgid has the best bang for the buck.

[Acuracl99]

Originally posted by Jimmy Buffit
I just recently acquired the Fein Mini turbo from Coastal Tool. It is made for the woodworking industry. It is very quiet, and has 90" waterlift, which is almost as much as my extractor!

Again, a little pricey, but worth a look. I ordered the 16' hose extension, now I have twenty-six feet
of flexibility. Pretty cool!

Jim

Same, its alittle pricey, but once you hear the noise difference between the fein and the cheaper models around its well worth the price difference.

[orange monkeyee]

The Ridgid is rather noisey, but with the 2nd stage dust filter attached it sounds about like the normal household vaccuum. I think you'll love having the ability to **** up anything that fits in the hose ... when i clean under seats I reach under and pull anything i can grab out, then stick the vac hose there and it eats the rest of the stuff. It also makes for a killer house mopping system. Just get a bucket of soapy hot water and you need to make a floor attachent with a scrubbing head of some kind. I used an old electrolux floor attachent wand and duct taped the end of it so as to hold suction.

End result? I can take a nasty kitchen floor, throw soapy water on it, and vaccuum it up and have a clean kitchen mopped and vaccuumed floor in 5 minutes.
I thought I'd share my household advice with you .

[tgara]

We have a whole house vacuum in our basement. It's a high-end Beam unit and can **** a golfball through a garden hose! I had the installer add two additional outlets in the garage as the house was being built, and I use these instead of hauling around a dumb shop vac. I got a 30-foot hose dedicated for the garage, plus a bunch of attachments, and can take it anywhere in my garage or driveway. This setup is WAY better than a shop vac. No noise, no dust, and greater suction. An excellent way to go if you can do it.

[magnus]

I got it!

Thank you all for your help!

I went to the Home Depot opening this weekend, and received 10% off my purchase.

I ended up purchasing the RIDGID vacuum, as well as the car detail kit.

RIDGID 4 Gallon, 5 HP Vacuum
ridgid.com
homedepot.com Car Detailing Accessory Kit
homedepot.com/No RIDGID link

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Although I haven't opened and had a chance to try it, I am pleased that it comes with a noise-reduction filter that is supposed to repress 25% of the noise.

I think I'll be fairly happy with my purchase. Thanks again for all your help, advice, and suggestions!