Shop vacuum for cold ash recommendation

[dboone]

Can any of you recommend a good, small & cheap shop vac for vacuuming cold ash around the stove. Home Depot has one for about $30 and Wal Mart for about $25. Both are in the 1-2 gallon range which should be fine for me. The HD one had a bad review from somebody with a pellet stove. Of course the ability to vacuum ash and not blow dust everywhere is very imporant. I would like it very small so I can hide it behind the couch. I do intend to empty this ash into a safe place EVERYTIME I use it just in case I happen to catch a hot ember.

 

[Hogwildz]

Can any of you recommend a good, small & cheap shop vac for vacuuming cold ash around the stove. Home Depot has one for about $30 and Wal Mart for about $25. Both are in the 1-2 gallon range which should be fine for me. The HD one had a bad review from somebody with a pellet stove. Of course the ability to vacuum ash and not blow dust everywhere is very imporant. I would like it very small so I can hide it behind the couch. I do intend to empty this ash into a safe place EVERYTIME I use it just in case I happen to catch a hot ember.

I have a larger Rigid brand I think I got from HD, its a 5 or 6 gallon, but works well and does not blow ash all over the place.

 

[CTburning]

Any of them will work but you might want to get a better filter, one that is for drywall and finer particles. Besides you should only be cleaning the firebox like that a couple of times a year at most. A fire prefers a little "dirt" around it to insulate the coals after it dies down. The only time I vacumn any of my stoves is when they were going to sit for more than a couple of days. The fire will burn better with a little ash on the bottom.

 

[greythorn3]

i got the craftsman one it works good

 

[fraxinus]

Don't know about the other brands, but in the case of ShopVac the smallest size for which you can buy a fine particle filter bag is 5 gallons. I've used one for several years with good results - no fine ash sprayed everywhere. On sale, 5 gallon ShopVacs can still be found for around $35-40.

 

[thinkxingu]

Hi There,
I have two of these Shop-Vacs (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8477890) and they work super for vacuuming out my stove/fireplace. They have a cloth that goes over the filter, so there is no discharge. I do have to clean the filter off every other use, though, since ashes (like drywall dust) stick to the filter.

I think I paid $15 or $20 for them, and they're tiny.

S

 

[Shari]

To each his own, but there are vacuum's specifically designed for this purpose (Cheetah).

Personally, I won't use a vacuum. What would you do if you got a small, hot coal, lodged in the tubing and then put the unit away (example, behind your couch)? Couches make great tinder.

Shari

 

[Highbeam]

Yes, the risk is high for a fire despite your best intentions. That is, IF, you actually suck out the firebox. If you are only sucking up the hearth then you are really only sucking up dust and the risk is much smaller. I have sucked ash and dust with a regular old shop-vac and even a regular pleated paper filter doesn't make a mess. One time though, the filter fell off in the shop-vac so no filtering was happening and THAT made some dust.

 

[gpcollen1]

It is not necessarily the shop vac but the FILTER. You need a HEPA filter to be sure you do not shoot dust/ash all over the place. Most vacs do not come with one, but you can purchase the filter separately.

BTW, my HEPA filter cost me about $35.

 

[Slow1]

For the dust/dirt that collects around the stove at load time I simply use a dust buster. Easy to grab for a quick cleanup. If there is any sign of any embers popping out during a load then I just wait a while before cleaning up then do it. Embers don't last all that long on the hearth pad - 15 minutes seems quite safe to me for the invisible ones. IF I can see them when they fall out I either toss them back in or smash with my gloves to put them out. Never had a problem with ash blowing about, but I haven't had ash spill out yet either.

Never vacuumed inside my stove except the old one before moving it and it had been cold for a couple months by that time so my shopvac did a fine job of that.

 

[firefighterjake]

If you're just vacuuming up the dust and ash from around the stove (vs. vacuuming inside the firebox) I think any make/model would work as long as it had a good filter on it . . . just make sure you're not sucking up any potential embers or coals. I would be very wary . . . that said, I often do this on my weekly cleaning of the stove.

 

[dboone]

I will using it 95% of the time to clean up spillage on the outside of the stove. Maybe vacuum the inside at the end of the year. I don't really see the point of vacuuming the inside. It is to burn wood, not eat off of. I will be VERY, VERY careful of what I am vacuuming. I will probably have a rule with myself that I don't vacuum up ash, bark, etc until it has been a couple hours since I last opened the stove door.

 

[TreePapa]

My fireplace prolly makes more mess than any woodstove (at least, any modern stove - Franklins don't count). Most of the time, I just sweep the hearth w/ the (well worn) hearth broom from the FP tool set. From time to time, I do vac the hearth; I just use our regular, household vacuum or the dust buster (depending on how much crud, mainly from the firewood) is on the floor.

Once a year I will actually vacuum out the FP. After it has been cold for a good, long time (weeks) and I have removed the majority of the ash w/ the hearth shovel. I use my old crappy shop vac with the cheap paper filter. I figger the ash dust is no more harmful than any of the other dust I vacuum up w/ the shop vac, and I'm too cheap to buy a HEPA vac (let alone the expensive filters).

Peace,
- Sequoia

 

[GaryS]

Lowe's smaller one mentioned above works fine. It comes with an optional paper filter bag that holds the dust really well. It's portable so you can move it around easily. I made a shallow, wide wood box that slides under by stoves lip. It's big enough to catch all the bark and dust from my wood. I don't get near as much mess anymore. Ashes are always another story. I've been thinking of building an ash vac out of a small barrell and buying a fire-proof filter to mount in it. I could then use a normal shop vac to suck air through the barrel.

 

[Slow1]

Lowe's smaller one mentioned above works fine. It comes with an optional paper filter bag that holds the dust really well. It's portable so you can move it around easily. I made a shallow, wide wood box that slides under by stoves lip. It's big enough to catch all the bark and dust from my wood. I don't get near as much mess anymore. Ashes are always another story. I've been thinking of building an ash vac out of a small barrell and buying a fire-proof filter to mount in it. I could then use a normal shop vac to suck air through the barrel.

You know those water filters they have for drywall work? I've wondered if some variation of one of those would be good for hot ashes.. still need fireproof hose from hot box to the bucket, but it is a thought eh?

 

[LLigetfa]

I have a small whisk and dustpan that I use to clean up around the stove. I am very careful not to sweep up into the dustpan right after loading the stove for fear of picking up an ember. I do my cleanup before loading and I dump the contents into the stove. If I have a mess after loading, I will sweep it toward the middle of the hearth and leave it there until the next loading.

 

[savageactor7]

We have one of these Shop Vac's fraxinus mentions they do a decent job. Pretty sure we got it at Lowes. We only use it on the stove sometime in may...like was previously mentioned stoves are more efficient operating with a couple of inches of ash in them.

 

[kenny chaos]

I use this unique gadget called a hearth broom and ash shovel for cleaning around the stove.
Nix the useless technology.

 

[LLigetfa]

Another option is an Emer ash vacuum add-on to your existing vacuum cleaner. It is all metal and connects to your regular vac. This way the ashes go into the metal container and don't go into the regular vac. You can put the metal container out on a non-flammable surface and have peace of mind.

http://www.emerusa.com/emerashvacuum.aspx