Car Vac Recommendations

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Looking for a small car vac to vacuum out our vehicles. We have hardwood floors and only have a lightweight stick type vacuum for our house. Tired of feeding quarters at the car wash. Any recommendations?
 
Well if you have any cordless power tools then possibly a vacuum that uses one of their batteries. I have a Milwaukee M18 vacuum. And many Milwaukee M18 tools.

I have found in the past that you cannot pull enough power from the 12V cigarette lighter in a car to power a decent vacuum. Although I may not have tried recently.
 
I have a small Harbor Freight wet/dry vac. Love the thing for cleaning cars. The vacuum itself is small enough that I can put it anywhere while working and the implements are also small enough that they will fit almost anywhere in a vehicle. Another pro tip is it can run off of my inverter so I can use it pretty much anywhere - camper in the woods, car in the woods, etc. Does a great job keeping things clean!
 
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
https://vacumaid.com/product/garage-vac/


Pricey but oh lordy it works well and doesn't get in the way because it's wall mounted.


You're assuming he has a garage. I've got this Ridgid 3 gal. portable that is powerful but the hose and attachments are larger than I'd like making it hard to reach in tight places. Also the hose contracts annoyingly when you have a lot of suction.

[Linked Image]
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
https://vacumaid.com/product/garage-vac/


Pricey but oh lordy it works well and doesn't get in the way because it's wall mounted.


You're assuming he has a garage. I've got this Ridgid 3 gal. portable that is powerful but the hose and attachments are larger than I'd like making it hard to reach in tight places. Also the hose contracts annoyingly when you have a lot of suction.

[Linked Image]



Yep.

The only thing I don't like about W/D vac's is the filters and that they can be annoying if not impossible to have if the garage is narrow. My Vacumaid (given as a gift) uses a bag like a traditional household carpet vac and has a 25' ft hose w/air bleeder for narrow attachments. Yes it's a one-trick-pony being dry only but wall mounted is a huge plus for my narrow garage.
 
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Originally Posted by Donald
OP needs to say if 110V AC power is available.


Yes, I have access to AC power and would prefer a 110V AC vacuum. I saw the small wet/dry vac on Amazon. Does not look too bad. I will have to look at Harbor Freight this weekend and see what they have. I do not have a garage but a carport, so I try not to store anything other than a trash can and wash bucket there. Vac will be stored in the adding utility room.
 
I own this one and am very pleased with it.

We use it for the car, car-seats for the little ones and for cracks and other small areas where our robo-vac can't reach (e.g., stairs).

It's at a decent price at Walmart right now; however, it will likely be cheaper on Black Friday, if you can wait that long.:

Dyson V6 Walmart Link $120

It has a crevice tool and a other attachments to clean the whole car:

[Linked Image]
 
Originally Posted by Donald
Well if you have any cordless power tools then possibly a vacuum that uses one of their batteries. I have a Milwaukee M18 vacuum. And many Milwaukee M18 tools.

I have found in the past that you cannot pull enough power from the 12V cigarette lighter in a car to power a decent vacuum. Although I may not have tried recently.


Cordless is the only way to go. Cords and cars are a poor marriage................. always in the way and extension cords suck. I use this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...mpact-Vacuum-Tool-Only-0850-20/205482386

I already had M12 and M18 tools so it was a no brainer. Often come bundled in sets. Amazing suction and long life. Use the crevice tool mostly, great for tight spots, under seats, etc.

Makita, Dewalt, etc, all the others have similar.
 
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Not small, but maybe find a really old Kirby. Very cheap at Goodwills or Craigslist and I think parts are very interchangeable so it can be fixed easily...if it ever breaks.
 
Consider a buckethead shop vac at home depot. 21$ fits any 5 or.3.5 gallon bucket. 4.5 amps. Plenty of.power and the attachments of an interior carpet vaccum likely fit. I basically stopped using my full size shop vac
 
I like shop vac brand due to fact you can use (huge) dust bags in them as opposed to filters, sponges or just the cloth cover over the suction cage. All 3 of those seem to clock too quickly, or let too much dust blow out of the vac. Aftermarket bags are available in bulk on eBay or the likes too which is the way to go. The only problem with the bags is, one shot of liquid and they turn to mush, so you have to be mindful of that.
 
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