Soot vacs?

[wicat3]

Hey guys I was going to post this in the oil section but figured it is a tool in a sense so why not post it here, Im sure ill get a better answer here then in the oil section lol. Anyway Im getting into a busy time for me. I do alot of oil side work and I was thinking it might be a good idea to get a quality vacuum and something that wont break my bank while doing the side work. I have a cheap shop vac that I use here and there but I hate the thought of having an issue with it when at a customers home. At my house its one thing but somebodys elses would be real bad to me.

I did a look around and some of the soot vacs that I found are close to 500 or so. So I kept searching and it seems a few that I found are some that look like there for fireplaces and I was wondering would they work good for cleaning a boiler or warm air furnace?

Heres a few that I found:

http://www.amazon.com/PowerSmith-PAV...ds=soot+vacuum

http://www.amazon.com/Austin-Baccus-...ds=soot+vacuum

http://www.amazon.com/5-8-Gallon-Ash...ds=soot+vacuum

http://www.northlineexpress.com/fire...acuum-400.html

http://www.homedepot.com/Appliances-...&storeId=10051

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...&storeId=10051

[ascj]

I don't see how you have been getting away with a cheap shop vac. But apparently you see the need for a better vacuum. So why would you go with another cheap vacuum. Buy a Sootmaster and be done with it.

I couldn't even imagine doing oil work again, without one.

[meplumber]

wicat, We have been buying them from Sid Harvey's. Theirs are a rebranded SootMasters without the cost. I think that you have Sid's in CT don't you? The difference in buying from someone like Sid's and buying it online is getting some help with warranty issues and replacement parts.

Good Luck

[wicat3]

i see sid harveys has them I just havent priced them out. My problem is I dont know if I can justify paying something like 500 bucks for a vacuum that I wont use all the time. I have been able to get away because most of the time when I was doing the side work I was working for an oil company and had everything on my truck. I dont work for a company like that anymore so to get a soot vac I would have to buy one. My house was pretty clean when I service it so my shop vac does a decent job at picking it up but thats just my house.

[Nytefog]

If you really have to use the shop vac can't you vent the exhaust from the vac to the outdoors? I've seen someone stick a shop vac into a pile of nice fluffy dark soot and it just shot out of the shop vac lol! The house had a fine layer of black dust every where. I felt bad but it was pretty funny.

[DD931]

I just got done with a dandy of a Sooted up boiler. Only had to dump my vacuum and bang the soot off the filter of my 40 dollar shop-vac 3 times but the entire soot removal took me about 5 hours. Just wondering if this high quality soot master vacuum is worth it. Like what does it do better than a cheap vac like I have been using? I'm all for making these nightmare calls easier. Our small shop gets a plugged hx about every other week in the heating season.

[STEVEusaPA]

More importantly, why is your hex plugging so frequently, if at all? Sounds like a severe lack of combustible air. I've seen this in auto body shops & woodworking shops--places with lots of dust/powerful dust collection.
What kind of heater/burner? You may need to get a combustion air intake kit to bring in fresh air for combustion. And get the heating unit properly tuned.

[HVAC_Marc]

I use a Ridgid vac, the 5 gallon version. I bought my original vac 13 years ago and have thousands of oil cleanings go through it. I've only replaced filters and the hoses. I did so man C&Ts that the narrow plastic end of the hose wore down to the wide end. It's noisy but the muffler attachment works pretty well.

Anyone know where to get a soot snake? The one I had a long time ago was flexible corrugated steel about 4 feet or so long. One end fit inside the shop vac hose. I think it may have been a Sid Harvey brand?

[EMETH]

Hey guys I was going to post this in the oil section but figured it is a tool in a sense so why not post it here, Im sure ill get a better answer here then in the oil section lol. Anyway Im getting into a busy time for me. I do alot of oil side work and I was thinking it might be a good idea to get a quality vacuum and something that wont break my bank while doing the side work. I have a cheap shop vac that I use here and there but I hate the thought of having an issue with it when at a customers home. At my house its one thing but somebodys elses would be real bad to me.

I did a look around and some of the soot vacs that I found are close to 500 or so. So I kept searching and it seems a few that I found are some that look like there for fireplaces and I was wondering would they work good for cleaning a boiler or warm air furnace?

You might want to check out the Koblenz AG-1200.

It's a bagless vacuum that traps all the dust and dirt in a water tank which you then just pour out the mud.
Might work just as well on soot.

Maybe more than you want to pay at around $400, but water filtration vacuums are as close to 100% effective


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[partime59]

if cost of sootmaster is too much, just get a longer hose and leave the shop vac outside. i think you can buy 25' lengths of any size,,,

[jtrammel]

I use a regular cheap shop vac (ACE hardware brand I think) I only run across a soothed up oil furnace once every year or 2 though. Most everything here is ng, lp, or heat pumps. There's still a few oil furnaces and boilers out there but they're few and far between and getting fewer every year thankfully. I leave the shop vac outside the crawl space, basement or what have you and duct tape 3/4" liquid tight conduit to the hose, fits into the chamber and flue pretty well and doesn't get clogged too much. I hate oil furnaces with a passion for one reason... The smell won't go away and gives me a headache.

[Al Gregory]

Dont laugh but this is what I use 99% of the time now. Most new oil stuff burns so clean its all I need. I have the soot master still but hardly ever use it.
This little vac is great it never makes a mess and will suck up anything.
http://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-0880...lwalkee+vacuum

[lytning]

I have that in the V28, probably had it for about 5 years. Love it.

Dont laugh but this is what I use 99% of the time now. Most new oil stuff burns so clean its all I need. I have the soot master still but hardly ever use it.
This little vac is great it never makes a mess and will suck up anything.
http://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-0880...lwalkee+vacuum

[Nytefog]

Dont laugh but this is what I use 99% of the time now. Most new oil stuff burns so clean its all I need. I have the soot master still but hardly ever use it.
This little vac is great it never makes a mess and will suck up anything.
http://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-0880...lwalkee+vacuum

I do also own the same Milwaukee wet/dry vacuum and love it. It is designed very well compared to others in the same category. I've never ever used it to suck up soot. I'd never trust that filter enough to put soot through it plus I don't want to make the vac dirty with soot and cause problems spreading soot around the house such as cleaning debris from carpet.

[earlburnermann]

I don't see how you have been getting away with a cheap shop vac. But apparently you see the need for a better vacuum. So why would you go with another cheap vacuum. Buy a Sootmaster and be done with it.

I couldn't even imagine doing oil work again, without one.

I would be afraid of soot damaging a house with a shop vac. Sootmaster is a good deal. You only buy one during your career. The motor is easily replaced if needed.

[wsm0807]

Sid Harvey makes a soot vac, nearly identical to a sootmaster but $150 cheaper

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[Al Gregory]

I do also own the same Milwaukee wet/dry vacuum and love it. It is designed very well compared to others in the same category. I've never ever used it to suck up soot. I'd never trust that filter enough to put soot through it plus I don't want to make the vac dirty with soot and cause problems spreading soot around the house such as cleaning debris from carpet.

Never had a problem I just dump the vac and bang out the filter

[Baloo2327]

I'm not familiar with a soot vac, so I don't know what makes them so special, but I do think a good vacuum is one of the most important tools to have. I use my on almost all my calls. I use a Fein Micro, model # 9-11-20 and love it. I have used it for the last 8 years or more without any issues. What I love about it is that it has a great bag system plus a hepa filter. It is also extremely quiet, ( I hate a noise ). I have used it to suck out many plugged heat exchangers without anything getting through the filters and the bag lasting for a couple of nasty jobs before pulling it out. Usually I can get a month out of a bag. I don't really loose suction when the bag fills up, its just the vacuum is starting to get heavy. Well worth the money.

[Chachi0323]

Wow I never knew they sold these for fireplaces thanks.

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Ps not sure it will work on oil burners!!

[jbg30]

Any of you soot suckers know if any of these vac's are explosion proof. Just remembered a story told to me by one of the counter guys at Grainger when I went to buy some new filters for my small Dayton vac.

Same vac that I use for everthing, one of the fitters in my local was vacuuming a boiler that was running rich for while, the fireball created supposedly gave him a free facial peel.

I can't remember if they have a certain filter to use, or to stop using the vac altogether for soot.