Rant: Spent $150 on a soot vacuum that barely works

I saw everyone raving about that small portable soot vacuum from the online supply shop, so I bought one back in March. First job I used it on, it clogged after 10 minutes of sweeping a clay liner. Tried cleaning the filter and it lost half its suction. Should've just stuck with my old shop vac and a fine filter bag. Anyone else find those portable units are more trouble than they're worth?

2 comments

2 Comments

simon_chen6d ago

Man I bought that same blue one for $160 back in February and it died on my third job. The little plastic latch that holds the canister shut snapped off when I was trying to empty it. Now I just use my old 5 gallon Ridgid with a HEPA bag stuffed in there and it works way better for half the price. Those portable units are total garbage for anything more than a tiny residential job.

amy3025d ago

Gotta push back on you here @simon_chen, I've been running that exact blue unit for almost a year now doing water damage cleanup and it's been solid. Yeah the plastic latch feels cheap but you just have to be careful when you pop it open, mine hasn't broken yet. The real trick is using the proper dust bags in it instead of relying on the filter alone, that makes a huge difference in suction and longevity. Plus the portability for getting into tight crawlspaces is way better than lugging a 5 gallon Ridgid around.