Hearth Vacuum Filter

[WarmGuy]

I have a regular old small shop vac that I use for cleaning up the hearth. I never use it for the ashes inside the firebox, and I only use it when things are not. I use it to clean up the ashes and duff that spill onto the hearth.

However, I've discovered that things near the fireplace and even farther away are getting a coating of soot/dust on them.

Any ideas for a filter that will keep this stuff from being sent into the air? I'd like to avoid the complication of a water bubbling system.

 

[begreen]

I use a small shop vac too. To stop the dust I have a disposable drywall bag in it over the intake. No dust in the house and it keeps the vac motor cleaner too.

 

[jtp10181]

Use a shop vac with either a drywall dust rater filter or even better a HEPA filter. At home depot they have standard, drywall, hepa, for most of the vacs they sell.

 

[Carl]

We have always had the problem of ash dust on our hearth and had tried our household vacumns for cleaning. These didn't seem to work very well and the fine ash can burn out the motors.

We are starting to burn wood on a regular basis again so invested in the dedicated loveless ash vac to leave on the hearth for whenever we need it. Got the quiet one for a little more and it is quiet. I would think it is a good investment if you are going to burn wood for a few years. Mostly used to clean the hearth and stove sill which could have some hot ashes on it. No more worries about burning the house down by having hot ash in the regular vacumn.

When I purchased the new stove a month or so ago I had to clean the old one to remove it. I used a shop vac for that but the ashes were just warm to the touch. After cleaning it I put the vac in the garage but when getting in bed I still wondered if it had any chance of catching fire so I got dressed again, went to the garage and moved the vac outside just in case. No problems but this new vac does take the worry out of vacumning the ash as there is always the chance of picking up a hot one. The new vac is a good investment for us but not cheap. Spreading the initial cost over several years makes its price look much better.

 

[WarmGuy]

Thanks, good info. I passed up a dedicated ash vacuum at a rummage sale once -- only $30! Too bad.

 

[WarmGuy]

The dry-wall filter is just what I need, but they don't make it for my size of vacuum cleaner. Any ideas on getting some of this paper or material so that I can make my own?

 

[gpcollen1]

You need to get a HEPA Filter for your vac. Just do not suck up and live coals at all or you will burn/melt a hole in it. If you cannot get a HEPA filter for yours, you may just need to upgrade your unit. The ash/dust is just too fine.