Ash vacuum

MountainStoveGuy said:

One comment on loveless ash vacs, they work well, and very small hot coals are ok (at least from what i have teseted). the problem is the inlet to the vac is only 1" so you cant suck up chunks with out cloging it. Its rely good for pellet stoves, or a powder fine ash. Most stoves would be ok with it. but open firplaces dont burn complete enough. Overall a nice unit. I used it in the showroom for a season. It looked relativly good after abuse.

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We discussed a little about ash vacs on the ash pan thread, there good if you have ash only,

Here is a cut from the FAQ from there web site.

The nozzle gets clogged up and I can’t take out the ash. Or - I have to use my fingers to get the ash off the nozzle. Why?

The customer needs to put the crimped end of the nozzle directly onto the firebrick of the conventional stove or fireplace and move it back and forth or in a circular motion. This cleans a small area and then the nozzle is moved from the cleaned area to the ash surrounding it. The nozzle is kept right on the brick.
The ash is actually removed from the bottom and not the top. This helps the ash to move quickly along the hose and keeps the nozzle opening free and clear of debris. As the ash is being taken into the vacuum, larger pieces of wood or charcoal, etc. can be moved out of the way and left in the stove and burned at a later time.

Customers should never have to use their hands or fingers to remove particles stuck on the end of the nozzle. If you come across this situation – the customer is holding the nozzle above the ash and it is balling up on the end of the nozzle because all the ash is trying to go through at the same time.

This vacuum will only allow fine ash to travel through the nozzle and hose. Larger particles or materials are not meant to be removed with this vacuum.

Why can’t I take out large pieces?

The vacuum is designed to remove only ash. The larger pieces should be left in the stove or fireplace and burned at a later time.
Why is the hose so stiff?

The hose is a bit unwieldy because it is made to handle the possibility of warm coals and embers. It is flame retardant. It should be positioned so that the hose has a natural curve from the vacuum to the nozzle that is put inside of the stove or fireplace. The customer should not position the vacuum so that a kink forms in the hose or else it will cut off the suction. The motor is cooled by external air so if the nozzle does become clogged, it will not damage the motor.
I don’t have any suction.

Usually, the reason for poor suction is that the vacuum has been used and a crust of ash has formed on the outside of the primary filter and it cannot breathe properly. The customer assumes that the vacuum is then not working.
Cleaning procedure for filters - Remove the brass nipple and cap from the top of the lid and then raise the metal rod or "NOGGLE" approximately ½ inch and rock it from side to side so that the ash that has collected on the outside of the primary filter can be shaken off and suction will resume as before.

The nipple and cap must be screwed back into place, just finger tight. The vacuum needs to be maintained so the nipple and cap must be in place, when in operation.

If the customer has used the vacuum extensively and loses suction, the reason is usually that the secondary filter has become coated with very fine ash, to the point that it needs to be cleaned. This will usually happen after 60-80 gallons of ash has been collected by the vacuum.

To clean the secondary filter, the primary filter needs to be taken off and the secondary filter needs to be vacuumed off by another vacuum source, Usually a home vacuum. If there is any residual ash caught inside the two filters, this is a good time to take that out as well. The filters are held on by hose clamps that only require a flat blade screwdriver.

The Cheetah II is designed with the small cage part of the lid mounted on snap springs so when the vacuum is turned on the basket will rest against the cage and compress the springs. When the vacuum is turned off the springs snap back and clean the secondary filter without the customer ever being aware of it. This is why the customer can use it for such a great length of time without even needing to look at the secondary filter. This new design is extremely user friendly.


The customer has vacuumed up HOT COALS and/or LIVE EMBERS. This usually happens with pellet stoves. If pellets are not totally dead, the forced air from the vacuum will re-ignite them and they could come to rest against the side of the primary filter and scorch a hole through it. If unburned fines are removed from a pellet stove and they coat the primary filter and then a live pellet is pulled through the vacuum and it happens to come to rest against the filter, it will set the fines on fire and a large area of the filter will be scorched. In a conventional stove this same thing can happen if the embers are still burning and too many embers are removed without the insulation of dead ash.
Can I use this vacuum for other things?

No. This vacuum is only designed for ash. If it is used as a regular shop vacuum for materials that could be flammable and then used in a stove and live embers are removed, a fire could result.
How often should I change the filters?

Changing of the filters is determined by the use and care the are given. We recommend that the filters be changed after about 100 gallons of ash have gone through the vacuum.
How full can I fill the vacuum?

We recommend emptying the vacuum when the ash level is as high as the port on the side of the canister. When the ash gets this high, the customer will usually notice a slight reduction in suction because of the reduced

I use a Cheetah on my pellet stove. Other the noise (it is VERY loud), works like a charm and makes the weekly cleaning painless.

we use in all our service trucks and personal use
a metal Shop vac with a paper pleated filter and a Primary Dacron Can filter to trap the Heavy ash.
the Pleated filter get the small stuff.
link of discription of the filter. http://www.shopvac.com/detail.asp?id=171
We change the Dacron filter after about pellet stove 200 services. and the pleated filter about every 50

I use a cheetah. It is fantastic. You just make sure that the nozzle is pressed against the floor of the stove. It removes all of the ash and leaves the coals. No spilled ash, no dust.

I decided to go with a $40 Shop Vac. I don't plan on cleaning a hot stove and the possibility of sucking up hot coals from a pellet stove is small. I'll add a Dacron filter if need be.

Another good trick for Shop Vacs that use the paper pleated filter is to rub a coating of ash all over the filter. It plugs it up a little bit and stops the ash from going through. We did that for years on the shop vacs that we used to clean chimneys. Now we have vacs that have fine particulate filters available so we just use those instead.

Cheetah is good, Cougar is better, and not alot more money....I think wholesale is like $10-$15.00 more....Cougar is quieter. We use them in our service work as well.....have sucked many a live fire out of the burn pot with these babies! I know you arent supposed to, but our vacs contain mostly ash, very little pellets, and we empty them after every 2-3 cleanups....in my opinion, the best way to go...retail around $200 or so.

woudl you recommed them for a wood stove? I love it for clean up on a pellet, but its a PITA in a woodstove, at least the way i use it.