Has anyone made a homemade hot ash vac?

[Wyowood]

I'm new to this website, and find it has a lot of great information!

Has anyone here built their own hot ash vacuum? I want to try to build one from a 55 gallon drum, mounted outside the house.

I have a Lopi woodstove in the basement, and it works pretty well. I have put a hole in the wall for a cold air feed from the outside to the stove chamber. This seems to really help when the laundry dryer is working and drawing a small vacuum in the house. (Maybe the outside source makes no difference at all, but after all that work and money I would never admit it!!)
It occurs to me that if I had a large vac outside the house, that the same duct (with a tee, etc.) that brings in fresh air could be used as a sort of remote vacuum system. Then I wouldn't need that thing inside, taking up room and distributing ash fines. Last year I used a shop vac for cleanup, but I was never comfortable with that, for obvious reasons.
I seem to recall quite a while ago seeing a kit to make a 55 gallon drum into a vacuum. It was just a cover, with the motor and filters, etc. However I can't find that any more for some reason.

Has anyone done this, and does anyone know where to get the blower etc.?
Thanks,
Jim

 

[jetsam]

One issue is that when the hose gets a raging fire going inside of it (bunch of coals jammed up, air being forced past rapidly) you have a 1000 degree pipe going through your combustible wall and over your interior floor. That's assuming you find a nice flexible shop vac hose that can handle flamethrower temperatures without melting.

If you cut out your wall and install a thimble and always disconnect the hose after use it's better, but do you know that everyone who uses it will always take the hose outside and away from the house?

You also need to treat the cannister like an open bonfire for the same reason, but that's an easier problem. (Maybe build a little cinder block doghouse for it, with the open side facing away from the house.)

I would not do it just based on the problems presented by the hose. It's one of those things that would probably be ok until the house burns down.

 

[Wyowood]

Good points. The "flamethrower" image is graphic!
One thing I can clarify is my term of "hot ash". No, I do not intend to vacuum lots of glowing coals. But during some cleanup there are occasional embers involved.
If I did this, I would NOT be using a plastic shop vac hose, but would get a suitable metal lined hose as is advertised with the small ash vacuums (which seem pretty expensive!)
The biggest intent is to suck out some of the ash and stuff in the air when I open the door of the stove. That's why I'd like a relatively high air volume. Then, to suck up the inevitable ash on the stone floor, etc. I'm simply tired of the shop vac in the family room.
The cold air feed wall penetration is short and straight, mostly through concrete, and could be easily inspected by removing the hose.
Again, I seem to remember seeing this type of kit, I just can't find it again.
Thanks,
Jim