Re: Aqua Vac - bag or filter needed?

[Dave Baker]

Subject: Aqua Vac - bag or filter needed?

>From: "John Stumbles" postmaster@[127.0.0.1] >Date: 19/07/03 12:07 GMT Daylight Time >Message-id: > >I've acquired an Aqua Vac (sadly discarded by its ungrateful former owners) >which seems to work fine (though it's a bit noisy ... I said IT SEEMS TO >WORK FINE THOUGH IT'S A BIT NOISY :-) > >One query: should it have a bag or filter around the sort of cage with the >float ball bit that hangs down from the motor? >

Yes.

Dave Baker - Puma Race Engines

"How's life Norm?" "Not for the squeamish, Coach" (Cheers, 1982)

[John Stumbles]

Thanks.

What sort is it? My other wet & dry vac has a foam rubber roll which is used on its own for wet and optionally with a paper filter for dry; or you can get a wet & dry filter (where the material is folded as in an automotive air filter.

-- John Stumbles

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

-+ Which Tyler: leader of the pedants' revolt.

[Dave Plowman]

I've got a Rowenta, and it has a sort of heavy duty foam filter round the motor intake, which is easily removable for use with water only.

As has the Rowenta.

[Martin]

The ones I've used (about 10-15 years back) had a filter similar to a car air filter but with a plastic or metal cap on one end, there's usually a clip composed of two springs and bent piece of wire to hold it in place (high tech stuff eh!).

[Richard Savage]

Hi John,

I have an Aqua Vac and I think the answer to your question is perhaps! I use it without a filter when clearing water from drains etc and with a filter when clearing dry material. Do want the part number of the dry filter (assuming that the snails in my shed haven't eaten the box)? It is a concertina thing made of stiff thick-ish paper.

BTW does yours have perforations in the plastic top allowing air to be sucked over the motor by a (metal) fan? Beware of this area breaking. I find the Aqua Vac very top heavy and one day reached out to catch it as it was falling over (whilst running), the perforations broke and I fed my right forefinger into the motor fan, shaving off about 2 or 3 mm of the tip below the nail! I have kept the Aqua Vac despite my wife's protests because of its very powerful suction. However it now sports a very smart metal fan guard (from a PC) over the motor fan. Beware!

Richard

[wanderer]

Do you have model details? I'm guessing a bit, coz mine's in the garage and it's too hot to plod over there. If it's got a cream body with beige colour top, yours is the same as mine, I think AV 17 or 20, something around that size.

Yes it does have a internal filter bag. It's a stiffish fabric thing, and just sits inside the collecting base, so that the plastic cage around the water ball sits down inside it. You should be able to get them from pretty much any domestic spares shop, although you may need to order them, as the model is quite elderly now! If you don't, you'll end up blowing all the dust straight back into the air again.

Mine has done many years service in the garage/workshop, I use the 2" hose with the planer and table saw, only trouble is you will need to empty it fairly frequently.

[John Stumbles]

OK, I think I'll make another filter out of a bit of geotex: I can't be doing with separate dry-only filters, and the geotex does almost as good a job except with very fine powdery dust, and you can just wash it out. And it's practically free (since I have half a large roll of the stuff left over from a job). Now I'm sure I have an offcut that's just the right size ... in the shed ... somewhere ... ...

Thanks, I'll watch out for that

cheers

-- John Stumbles

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

-+ procrastinate now!

[Simon Avery]

Hello John

Aye. I got a couple of vaxen which display same properties.

Yes and no. The vax uses the same design;

For wet use: Insert upper float section. (Can fill it with warm soapy water and affix a tube to act as a shampooer, if you have the right head). Lower section fills with water and when motor noise changes, the ball has risen and it's full.

For dry use: Remove upper section, fit paper bag to where the hose enters. Sometimes another filter used at motor end.

I keep ours for shampooing or emergency use. Downright superb for drying out a load of carpets at one of our offices after a pipe burst over the weekend a month ago.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I have an aquavac and it came with a filter for dry use, and nothing for wet use.

I don't thik you ned one if you use it for wet.

Which is all I use mine for. The paper filter clooged instantly on plaster dust, and I have 4 other vacum cleanres thanks to 'er indoors' love affair with Dysons, and mine with the cheapest most powerful thing with a washable bag inside I can get..;)