What's new

Vacuum dirt canisters

Bud

NE Ohio
Joined
Aug 31, 2007
Messages
125
Reaction score
1
Points
18
Location
NE Ohio
I had to clean out my vacs the other day. Hadn't been done for awhile as my helper always did it and he is no longer with me and I apparently forgot. Does anyone have an opinion on the canisters/catchers placed inside the vacs? Thanks
 

Earl Weiss

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 31, 2007
Messages
6,367
Reaction score
941
Points
113
All sorts of stuff out there. Depending on the size of the Vac you may be able to get a good size plastic tote / bucket at the local Big Box Store. That is what I have done.
 

PaulLovesJamie

rural 5 bay SS
Joined
Aug 30, 2007
Messages
1,320
Reaction score
229
Points
63
Location
Kutztown PA
I use the same ones as Randy.
Some of the dirt does go around the edges and still needs to be scooped out manually, but I would not consider running a vac without some sort of container to make cleaning it out easier.
Also completely agree, clean them out before they are full.
 

mjwalsh

6 bay SS w/laundromat
Joined
Sep 7, 2007
Messages
3,134
Reaction score
173
Points
63
Location
North Dakota
Just to add to the vac bin cleaning comments ... we have found that periodically putting the four bags in one of our heavy duty washing machines at our laundromat works like a charm for getting maximum performance. If there is any water sucked up & then dries caked on ... makes it a good idea to swap out our spare "ready to go" bags.
 

soapy

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2007
Messages
2,894
Reaction score
855
Points
113
Location
Rocky Mountains
I would always use a removable container. I cleaned 6 vacs yesterday in less than 15 minutes. I only clean mine about once per month. Most of my vacs use the vacuum filter bag with a large spring inside. When the vac turns on the spring gets compressed by the suction but when the vac shuts off the bag gets a shake when the spring returns the bag to the full extended position. Keeps the bag clean and working well with minimum effort.
 

MEP001

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 30, 2007
Messages
16,665
Reaction score
3,946
Points
113
Location
Texas
I've started emptying the vacs almost every day - I can't stand scraping nasty, stinky mud out of the cleanout tubs. They're usually dry but if I catch them right away when there's water in them I can just pour it out. I shake the bags down every week or so and change them all out in one vac about once a month, or right away if some jackass filled it with water and got the bags wet.

The rubber tubs from Hamel fit perfectly in the Industrial vacs, but I made the mistake once of replacing the full door gasket with just a gasket around the edge, and a lot of dust and small debris would get under the tub. I put solid gaskets back and the tub seals fine, takes many months for anything to collect under it.
 

Greg Pack

Wash Weenie
Joined
Sep 3, 2007
Messages
4,390
Reaction score
2,169
Points
113
Location
Hoover, Alabama
Twice a month for me. I like the tubs because on a windy day I can pull the tub out of the vac directly into a trash bag. I then carry it to the dumpster inside the bag and empty it out. It keeps the dust and light debris from flying away in the wind and makes the job much cleaner.

I wash my bags only when they get wet and start stinking up the joint.
 

Waxman

Super Moderator
Joined
Aug 31, 2007
Messages
6,046
Reaction score
1,685
Points
113
Location
Orange, MA
I also use the rubber one from Hamel Mfg ( GREAT people btw). They are awesome; I clean mine out once per week so it's not a terrible job to do. I also wash the catch basin in the bay and then spray liberally with Kleen Shine water-based vinyl dressing. That way, the rubber catch bin cleans up easier and it has a nice smell!!!!!!!
 

Bud

NE Ohio
Joined
Aug 31, 2007
Messages
125
Reaction score
1
Points
18
Location
NE Ohio
Thanks guys. It sounds like that will be what I am going to do. I should only need a couple times a month.
 

KleanRide

Active member
Joined
Jun 16, 2019
Messages
248
Reaction score
157
Points
43
Searched for this topic and this old thread seemed the most relevant. Does anyone know of a vac dirt canister that will fit the 94000 Coleman round vacs? Tried searching Coleman's online parts catalog but their website appears to be trapped in the dial-up internet era.
 

Randy

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Messages
5,858
Reaction score
2,207
Points
113
Check our Kleen rite they are now selling the Prospector dirt canister.

I saw the "Prospector dirt canister" I wonder how many they've sold, what joke. Who the hell has time to dig in that nasty crap for coins. I pull the Hamel tub out dump it and move on. We have to clean out vac's 3 times a week to keep the homeless out of them. My brother cleans his every day.
 

mjwalsh

6 bay SS w/laundromat
Joined
Sep 7, 2007
Messages
3,134
Reaction score
173
Points
63
Location
North Dakota
I saw the "Prospector dirt canister" I wonder how many they've sold, what joke. Who the hell has time to dig in that nasty crap for coins. I pull the Hamel tub out dump it and move on. We have to clean out vac's 3 times a week to keep the homeless out of them. My brother cleans his every day.
It has been awhile but I remember back in the late seventies & early eighties there was a retired person who I allowed to remove the dirt in our 4 vacuums. He would do it when the place was not busy. He was a close friend of the next door patriarch of a large body shop family so he tended to often be close to our facility's property anyway. He had a huge family & often one of his many grandsons would accompany him during their adventure in trash processing.

He had a tiny homemade trailer that he would use. He would dump the raw vacuum dirt with the debri onto the correct size mesh within the trailer. After driving on the street to & from his house a bit ... the dirt would settle to the bottom. Easy Peasy for him to get the coins & possibly rings or whatever after the jiggling on top of the mesh. The other debri would just go into the trash dumpster along with the dry dirt. Since he had a cover on the trailer there really was not much digging or too much of a dust hazard the way he did it.

Call him somewhat eccentric if you want to but ... he found this activity in his later years to be a worthwhile use of his time. He volunteered to assist me ... at the time I often was working too much alone ... so we did things a bit with each other like our first alarm system (late 70s) ... our first surveillance camera system (1982) ... we definitely could call each other friends along with some of his grandsons. He had an extremely large gathering at his eventual funeral ... he had stipulated to his family that I would be asked to be one of the pallbearers ... I was honored to accept. To this day I feel he was one of my early mentors. Before he retired he was one of the engineers involved with setting up the original TV stations in the western & central part of North Dakota. A lot of his expertise was somewhat outdated but it still was very helpful for my younger mind at the time. Don't laugh but I honestly can reflect back & say there was a mentoring part of him! It was no surprise when some of the top local TV personnel held high respect for him when I happened to visit with some of those at Chamber of Commerce Mixers or something similar!
 
Last edited:

Rfreeman

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 4, 2014
Messages
761
Reaction score
439
Points
63
Location
Ft. Worth
Searched for this topic and this old thread seemed the most relevant. Does anyone know of a vac dirt canister that will fit the 94000 Coleman round vacs? Tried searching Coleman's online parts catalog but their website appears to be trapped in the dial-up internet era.

Kleen rite sells one..i don't have the exact part# but I purchased 5 from them a couple months ago for a wash 2nd wash that is running Coleman round vacs
 
Top