So what kind of vacuum cleaner do you have? in the house? for the shop/stove?

[rowerwet]

I use a Rainbow E2 I got off of ebay, couldn't be happier.
I use a cheap shop vac in my garage to pick up wood chips etc.

 

[Gamalot]

I don't use one for the stove but last year I bought one for the wife to ride around in the house. Got her a Dyson DC 14 Animal and boy does she love that thing.

This is probably the fourth or fith machine we have had and with out any doubt the absolute best of them all. Our last ORECK was pure junk along side of this Dyson.

Shop vac is a medium size Rigid and works fine out there.

Gary

 

[bsruther]

X2 on the Dyson. I bought the wife one about a year ago and she loves it. I use it around the stove to pick up wood chips, but I don't like to suck up ashes with it. I think I'd have to clean the filter more often if I used it for ashes. I don't like to use the shop-vac for ashes either because they seem to get through the filter.
I wish I could find a cordless vacuum with a hepa filter or something to make cleanup easier.

 

[Adabiviak]

Central vacuum system - the only way to go.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I have a Kirby for the house and a small wet/dry for the shop. I have a small hand brush and dust pan for the hearth area. I'd hate to pull a hot coal into either vacuum.

 

[ansehnlich1]

Central vacuum system - the only way to go.

x2

no comparison.

big vacumm action, haul hose wherever I want, huge canister in garage, with filter, empty every so often....

SWEET!

 

[myzamboni]

Roomba 550 for the house (Master BR is wall to wall carpet and area rug in the livingroom). I go to work and the floor is dirty. I come home and the floor is clean.


Shop Vac for the garage

 

[lobsta1]

For the shop I have a 3 hp dust collector with double 1 micron bags that's connected all over the shop with 6" pvc pipe. Also have
a 12 gal Sears shop vac with the fine drywall dust bag inside. For the house, the Admiral has an assortment of cheap vacuum
cleaners. As far as I'm concerned, they don't suck.
Al

 

[billb3]

central vac for the house here, too.

Have a orange shop vac in the garage for the garage and car.

 

[DAKSY]

Got a 22-year-old Kirby that I can't kill that I use when I need to vacuum...
The GHf has a Dyson & loves it...
Big ole Sears 22 gal shop vac for the big messes & a
little Stinger for on-the-job quickie pick-ups...
Was gonna to the central vac thingie, but it wasn't in the budget...

 

[bsruther]

In the garage I just open the doors and clean everything out with a leaf blower.

 

[gpcollen1]

Wife has a new Dyson for the house and I have a shop vac - medium size from Lowes - for the garage and ash duties. Have to buy the HEPA filter at $30 a pop so do not vac up hot coals.

 

[kenny chaos]

Hey Ladies- Nobody else use a leafblower? Took me awhile to figure out I needed to start on the second floor.

 

[WES999]

I was using a 2.0 HP shop vac for everything, not real impressive, average suction, PITA to clean, and so noisy I have to wear ear muff when using.

I just picked up a used Dyson DC 07 ( older model I found on CL for $25 bucks), only used it a few times but so far I like it.

 

[Gooserider]

The house came with an older, rather underpowered central vac system - no power at head, and it doesn't suck... We also have a Kirby, and a Sears shop vac, plus a couple of assorted "Dust Busters" (also don't suck) and other miscellaneous semi-suckers...

Gooserider

 

[bsruther]

The house came with an older, rather underpowered central vac system - no power at head, and it doesn't suck... We also have a Kirby, and a Sears shop vac, plus a couple of assorted "Dust Busters" (also don't suck) and other miscellaneous semi-suckers...

Gooserider

I would think that if you put a new sucker on your central suck system that it would really suck.

 

[Tudorman]

I went through more cheap vacuums than I care to mention. I was looking at a Dyson, but I couldn't swallow the price. My research led me to a Eureka "Boss" Smart Vac, which I bought refurbed off Amazon. Best $300 vacuum I've used, and it only cost $100. It's a bag style with a HEPA filter. It's the first vac I've owned that I'd buy another if this one broke. I get bags and filters off Ebay. I really like the ability to disengage the beater bar so it doesn't burn the carpet when using the hose. Biggest drawbacks are the short hose and accessory storage. The dust brush always falls off.

http://www.amazon.com/Refurbished-E...9?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1231388699&sr=1-9

 

[Gooserider]

We could, but it would still leave the hassle of getting power out to the head (not available in the current setup) and I don't think it would be that much of an improvement over the existing Kirby we already have - so why bother...

Gooserider

 

[sleepie]

rainbow--it pushes everything through water---no hot ashes

 

[eba1225]

Kirby for the house and a shop vac for the shop and garage.

 

[Burn1]

Kirby for the house.
Love-less ash vac for the stove.
el-Cheapo mini shop vac in the garage.

 

[Beanscoot]

A fifteen year old Kenmore (do you have those in the USA? They are a department store brand from Eaton's in Canada) for the house, a 25 year old one for the basement. I can find bags at the Salvation Army store for these for cheap.

I guess they make good shop vacs now, but I'm still used to the crappy ones that blow all the fine dust into the air, with a tremendous roar.

So for shop use, I just sweep up the most of the mess, then vacuum with the old household vacuum.

A friend had an amusing story about vacuuming around the fireplace. This was one of his chores as a teenager, but one time he sucked up a live ember. Well the air blast fanned it into life inside the vacuum, and in a very short time the vacuum was completely on fire. Oops!

 

[pdboilermaker]

A Dyson "The Ball" great sweeper, replaced another great sweeper called a SEBO, probably liked the SEBO better, sucked as well, much lighter, very quiet

 

[Gooserider]

A fifteen year old Kenmore (do you have those in the USA? They are a department store brand from Eaton's in Canada) for the house, a 25 year old one for the basement. I can find bags at the Salvation Army store for these for cheap.

I guess they make good shop vacs now, but I'm still used to the crappy ones that blow all the fine dust into the air, with a tremendous roar.

So for shop use, I just sweep up the most of the mess, then vacuum with the old household vacuum.

A friend had an amusing story about vacuuming around the fireplace. This was one of his chores as a teenager, but one time he sucked up a live ember. Well the air blast fanned it into life inside the vacuum, and in a very short time the vacuum was completely on fire. Oops!

Interesting - in the US, Kenmore is the "house brand" name for the Sears Roebuck and Co. department store / mail order outfit (one of the oldest store chains in the country, played a significant role in the westward expansion of the US during the late 1800's...) Nowadays the brand is contract manufactured by many places depending on the product, often to slightly lower quality standards than the makers own branded products.

As to the vacuum incident, it isn't all that unusual, and is the BIG reason why we tell people on a regular basis not to vacuum around a stove unless it's been out for a LONG time...

Gooserider

 

[TreePapa]

With 3 cats in the house (no, this is not a CSN song) and hardwood floors, the most important vacuum we have is the B&D;Dustbuster. Constantly vacuuming up cat hair and cat food and cat litter, etc. I try not to use it near the fireplace unless the fire's been out for 48 hours or more.

Peace,
- Sequoia