Rant: Spent $80 on a knockoff soot vacuum and it failed on the third job

Tbh I figured a cheaper version would do the same thing as the good ones. Now I'm cleaning soot off a customer's driveway because it blew a seal mid-sweep. Anyone else have a tool that ended up costing more in cleanup than the savings?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_harper29d ago

Swap out that seal before you use it again. I learned the hard way that knockoffs skip the quality control step, so you gotta check every gasket and hose clamp before the first job. Also, vacuuming soot with a cheap unit is never worth it. Get a real soot vac or rent one from a local shop for the heavy stuff. Soot gets everywhere and sticks to everything, so one mistake costs way more than the $80 you saved. Did you try patching the seal with high temp silicone as a temporary fix?

cora51829d ago

Most cheap vacs work fine if you empty them before they get too full. High temp silicone as a patch is asking for a bigger problem down the road, better to just run it busted until the new seal shows up.

knight.felix29d ago

@the_harper nailed it, high temp silicone is a lifesaver for a quick patch but it's only buying you time.