What type of vacume does eveyone use to clean there stove. I have a caugar ash vac but it doesn't have much suction. It works ok but I have to work at it.
Type of Vacume
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I have a 4.5hp shop vac and a hepa. Works great. Only draw back is I have to wait till the stove is cold to clean!
jay
jay
I have a 5 HP Rigid. Its 4.5 gallons. It has a good filter system. I paid $65 for it a Home Depot. Cant use it on hot ambers. Id waqit 30 minutes after it the stove goes out. Great suction. Its small enough/yet strong enough.
I have the cougar too. Suction is fine. Make sure your hose isn't plugged with something, a clunker, or pellet blocking the path of travel. My hose gets clogged a lot.
JB
JB
I also use a Rigid and yes like posted you have to wait for it to cool as well as clean it quite often but it does work fine. I also made up an adapter filtering down to use 1/2 inch clear tubing to vacuum out them hard to get places in the Big E. When I take the exhaust motor off to clean you can also can get to the vent pipe thus eliminating having to take the bottom cap off or using the leaf blower method.
Ridgid 6 Gallon Shop Vac With Hepa Filter and Micro Computer Attachments To Get Into The Tight Parts / Crevices Of The Stove All Purchased At Home Depot. 
JB said:
yea, the cougars are pretty bullet-proof! Like JB says, check the hose, but also make sure you check the bag filter inside the can...take it out and clean it our or replace it...it does eventually plug. My Cheetah we have just replaced the filter after a good 5 years or so of use.......but the hose does plug.
I also use the Cheetah ash vac too or maybe its a Cougar...not sure which it is.
Bought it a yard sale quite a while ago, it has a small dent in the side,
but who cares? It still works just fine.
So far, the only time my vac seems to lose some suction is if it gets
too full or a pellet got stuck in the hose.
Bought it a yard sale quite a while ago, it has a small dent in the side,
but who cares? It still works just fine.
So far, the only time my vac seems to lose some suction is if it gets
too full or a pellet got stuck in the hose.
I clean out my cougar after every cleaning of the stove. It still seems to lack good suction. I will look at the hose more closely. It does seem to be free od debree. Thanks for the info.
IHUNT said:
I have a Cheetah II. I find that you really have to clean the filter well or you'll suction.
Sometimes the metal hose will crack if you're not careful (or if the wife steps on it). About $30 to replace.
richkorn said:
I use a Craftsman shop vac and Hepa also, but I use a drywall dust collection bag as well. They're pretty cheap at HD. The bags catch most of everything, the Hepa is still clean after many cleanings. Maybe try the bags?
Mike -
I use a 6.5 Hp 'Shop Vac' located in the corner of the basement just below the stove which is on the main floor. I cut a 2 1/4 inch hole through the floor next to the hearth / stove and mounted a shop vac wand pipe which just sticks up 2 inches and is held in place with 2 hose clamps (one above floor and one below floor).
Next I installed a light switch next to it under the lip of the hearth with male and female plugs coming from it (which I tucked thru the floor into the basement thru a seperate 1/2 inch hole). I can now contol the shop vac from the hearth location upstairs with the noise downstairs.
When not cleaning the stove with it, I store the 1 1/4 " flex pipe in a box next to the stove and put a cap on the 2 1/4 inch port to cover it. (used a black ABS threaded cap with the threads filed down to fit snugly in the wand pipe end coming thru the floor). Just my poor man's centra vac. Use a drywall filter bag also. Sure nice having the noise in the basement (where I can barely hear it) and just the pure suction sound next to the stove for cleaning.
P.S. If I need my shop vac for another big job somewhere else, I can just unplug it in 15 secs and take it to where I need it.
Next I installed a light switch next to it under the lip of the hearth with male and female plugs coming from it (which I tucked thru the floor into the basement thru a seperate 1/2 inch hole). I can now contol the shop vac from the hearth location upstairs with the noise downstairs.
When not cleaning the stove with it, I store the 1 1/4 " flex pipe in a box next to the stove and put a cap on the 2 1/4 inch port to cover it. (used a black ABS threaded cap with the threads filed down to fit snugly in the wand pipe end coming thru the floor). Just my poor man's centra vac. Use a drywall filter bag also. Sure nice having the noise in the basement (where I can barely hear it) and just the pure suction sound next to the stove for cleaning.
P.S. If I need my shop vac for another big job somewhere else, I can just unplug it in 15 secs and take it to where I need it.
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