Unpopular opinion: dropping $280 on a HEPA vacuum for brush cleaning was a mistake

I see everyone on here raving about those expensive HEPA shop vacs for when you run a brush through a flue. I bought the StealthClean HEPA 12 last spring after my old rigid died. Cost me $280 at the local supply house in Denver. Honestly my old rigid with a simple bag and filter setup caught just as much soot. I ended up returning the StealthClean after two jobs because the suction was actually weaker. Has anyone else found that the standard vacs work fine if you just change the bags regularly?

3 comments

3 Comments

kelly9683d ago

My old rigid was doing fine too and I kept telling people the expensive ones were a waste. But after trying a buddies StealthClean on a tight job where my standard vac just wouldnt pull enough through the hose I totally changed my tune. You ever actually compare the air flow numbers on the box?

sullivan.piper3d ago

Those airflow numbers on the box are measured with an empty tank and a brand new filter @kelly968, not when you're actually pulling dust through 20 feet of hose. Your old Rigid might lose less suction under real load than the shiny StealthClean does when its filter starts loading up.

elizabethwhite3d agoMost Upvoted

Read a review from a guy in Ohio who tested a bunch of vacs with a manometer on actual dirty conditions. He found the Rigid held its suction way longer than the StealthClean once dust started building up in the filter. The StealthClean has some fancy HEPA media thats too dense, so it clogs fast and drops airflow quick. Meanwhile the standard Rigid bags and filters let more air through for a longer time even if they catch a bit less fine stuff. That lines up with what you saw on those two jobs.