Geoff

Looking for any good recommendations for a portable vacuum for cleaning out the vehicle. Shopvacs and other similar products are out the question since I don't have a garage to store it in. Need something powerful enough to do a good job and small enough to clean those "hard to reach areas".

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

young

this one looks good, but it's expensive... $180

griot's vacuum


i'd also like to know if anyone has any recs for a portable/small car vacuum...

darkLCD

I bought a cheap dust buster looking vacuum from PepBoys that was on sale for $10 that plugs into the cigarette lighter...hehehe Surprisingly, it does a decent job and has one attachment for those tight places. Interestingly enough, the attachment worked great in those extremely hard to reach places. I wouldn't say it does as well of a job as those vac's at the car wash places, but for $10 it wasn't bad. It has a washable filter. I was pretty surprised when I was cleaning out the filter how much dirt it picked up that was hidden inside the black mats. My mats were clean, no visible signs of dirt or particles. I'll get by on this $10 vacuum until I find something better.

Geoff

It's looks like it would [more than] do the job, but for $180 it better clean the car for me.

I think the most I would want to spend is somewhere in the $30-50 neighborhood.

Buellwinkle

Go you your local department store like Sears and look for the Shark. It's a very small vacuum cleaner that plugs into 110v. This thing sucks as hard as a large shopvac, it's truly amazing. I want to get one for my daughter but she wanted cordless which dies half way through the cleaning.

360_iti

Any new product other than the $180 Metro vacuum as mentioned on post #2 above ?
I've been using my house vacuum but it doesn't do very well on tight corners.
Any other special tools that you might recommend? Thanks.

TOGWT

What your'e paying for is the quality and performance of the machine-

Specification:
Metropolitan Vac N’ Blo™ Vacuum / Blower Unit
Peak Motor Power: 4.0 HP
Power Requirements- 11.25Amps, 110-120 volts
Single-phase, 50-60 Hz VAC
Vacuum Power: 95-inch water gauge static lift*
Blower: 145,000SCFM @ 28,000FPM
Dimensions-17" h x 18" L x 13" w
Weight-18 LBS
Warranty- 3 year limited
Vacuum hose- 10-feet x 11/4-inch ID Spray hose- 10-feet x ¼ -inch ID

* Vacuum is measured by the amount of lift stated in ins.wg. Horsepower (HP) is the amount of motor power and the Amp rating is the amount of power drawn.

I do understand its a lot of dosh but if you can I would seriously consider it. I put of buying one and went through many "cheap" vacuums until I brought a Vac "n Blow well worth it IMO

SA Detailer

Craftsman Clean N Carry® 4 gal. Wet-Dry Vac with 5.0 Peak hp from Sears is the best vacuum I ever used. The suction on this thing is incredable.

Greg@DI

I'm sorry to say it again but I really agree with TOGWT on the Metro Vac n' Blo being very good. Its a fantastic machine that you'll have for years. Extremely powerful and easy to use with tons of great attachments. I use it personally and professionally because its so strong and durable. Let me know if you have any questions about these great vaccums.

Greg @ Detailed Image

Musikmann

The vacuums offered by Griot's and Detailed Image look like the same unit to me. If not, I'd like to see them compared and contrasted. In any event, I have had my eye on a unit like those.

For what it's worth, I bought a Shop Vac Brute with their car accessory kit, and it does a pretty good job (5 gallon wet/dry, 9.0 amp, 4.5 Peak HP). I had another reason for buying a wet/dry because sometimes I get water in my basement. I think for everything, I paid about $80 US; the unit from Wal Mart, and since they did not have the car accessories, I ordered those from Shop Vac.

Thanks,
Musikmann

SUNILP

A good wet dry canister is Fein vacuums. Made in Italy. Very quite. Not like the regular Shop Vac's where you have to wear ear muffs.

Musikmann

Thank you sunman, you are correct - Shop Vacs are pretty loud. They make some other models that are supposed to be quiet, but I have never heard them, and do not remember what they name them. I will do a Google on these Feins.

SUNILP

I got mine recently and love it. It's a lot more money than a Shop Vac but more powerful and has more features...... kinda like a benz.

360_iti

Ouch. Something that I didn't really want to hear
I was hoping there were nozzles and crevice tools that we could buy separately and use them on a not so expensive vacuum.

TOGWT

Why you need a vacuum that really sucks?

Extraction also allows the ability to remove cleaning residues due to its high suction power (100-inch water gauge +). Rinsed fabrics look and smell cleaner and resist soiling better. I know ‘lesser’ machines may give the appearance of a clean interior, but in reality, the soil is being migrated the bottom of the carpet, this dampened soil will cause mould / mildew formation as the suction lift on lesser machines is pretty much non-existent

{Knowledge; don't ever stop learning; [always keeping an open mind]

Ted1941

You guys know how peak HP on Vac's is found, it's the stall point at which the motor is stopped (burning up), peak HP isn't a good way to measure the worth of a vac, suction is and oddly you don't see that addressed unless it's a user commenting and then it's only a personal opinion not a tested fact. In another forum a plumber stated that the shop vac Brute sucked a 3 inch bolt out of a drain, I would say that pretty good or at least it something to base a decision on.