Buy Dustless Technologies MU405R Cougar Ash Vacuum, Red

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List Price: $259.00
Sale Price: $249.95
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With a fat Amazon gift certificate burning a hole in my jammies, visions of a clean coal stove danced in my head. I had been lusting after one of these ash-vacs for years, and now finally, it would be mine...

Boy do I wish I had read a review like this one prior to purchasing this vacuum (which I will return tomorrow). Didn't even have to dirty it, reading the instructions was all it took. Unfortunately, it required getting in to my livingroom to figure this out, since in none of the online descriptions at various sites, including Amazon, did it mention that this unit is for FINE ASH ONLY. In other words, the steel nozzle opening, approximately the diameter of a nickel, is designed to admit fine powder ONLY, and even that in small bits with the nozzle pressed against the firebrick in a "small circular pattern", allowing the ash to "sift" into the hose incrementally. (The instructions went on to detail all the various ways the thing could get itself plugged up...)

HELLO! Has anyone out there ever heated with solid fuel full time? It would take all day to suck up ash in that manner, not to mention that burning wood/coal does not produce exclusively fine ash. For coal especially, clinkers the molten residue of trace minerals found in anthracite coal, are part of the bargain, and are produced in such abundance that it would render this tool effectively useless for coal burners.

In addition, though the hose is metal, intimating that the odd live coal is no biggie, the filter system in this thing is CLOTH ie. you can burn holes in it with live material. Then it leaks. Right.

I'll have my 200+ bucks back and suck my ash chamber out with my shop vac, thanks especially since the stuff would have to be cool anyway. (You can buy fine particle filters and bags at Home Depot). So much for my simplified stove cleaning fantasies...Oh well.

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You know I read and yes, re-read those other reviews prior to going out and purchasing mine. I on one hand was using my own personal vacuum (wind tunnel hoover) to pick up the ash that my fireplace insert pellet stove was producing and I clean mine everyday. Using a ordinary vacuum is insane to say the least and messy so I finally went out and looked at the vacuums and came to this one online at Amazon but I went to my local fireplace center and purchased it there to avoid shipping cost and they wanted nearly $270.00 for it but I got it at the same price as Amazon just no shipping Well I LOVE IT no mess not too loud (the dog barks at my regular vacuum) no dog barking at this one. The flexible tube I have no issue with as of yet it moves with ease and no cracking no problems, no mess I must tell you that it does not come with tools and I use and need the tools so I purchased them separetly well dont use your own vacuum tools they fit and why spend the $15.00 as you have no where to store them on the vacuum anyways. This vacuum is intended to pick up ash not the hard stuff that looks like volcanic stuff that sits in the pan just the ash and for us, no problem it does the job that my vacuum was dying over.

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I purchased this ash vacuum less than one month ago for use with a pellet stove. In that time, and with only light use, the "flexible" hose has cracked, the motor is making a funny noise as it winds down, and the suction is significantly decreased long before the canister needs emptying. I would never buy this again, and would recommend to anyone needing an ash vac to look elswhere.

Honest reviews on Dustless Technologies MU405R Cougar Ash Vacuum, Red

If you have a pellet stove, this vacuum is an absolute must. I don't really see the benefit of using it for a fireplace, though; we have a wood-burning furnace and continue to use a shovel to clean it out. The crimped nozzle design and the idea of vacuuming with the nozzle against the firebrick to only pick up ash and leave solids behind sounds good, in THEORY. The problem is that the solids quickly build up around the nozzle from the suction and any particles too large to fit inside the nozzle get stuck there the second you lift the nozzle to position it elsewhere. This design would work if there was perhaps a screen fitted over the nozzle to prevent this from happening.

To clean a pellet stove, though, it is absolutely ideal. Pellets are small enough to get picked up by the nozzle without any problems. Also, as anyone with a pellet stove knows, these stoves are a real nightmare to clean by hand because of the many parts involved that need to be cleaned on a regular basis not only do you have an ashpan to empty, you have to clean a burnpot, air inlet chambers, heat exchanger tubes, etc. It used to take me over an hour to try and clean this with a brush and small shovel, and it always made a huge mesh. This vacuum has really simplified this chore and made it a breeze!

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Solidly built and well constructed. My main criticism is that it does not come with any tools. Although I ordered the tools at the same time as I ordered the vacuum, they were shipped separately and I was billed for two shipments.

The manual is also a bit limited and it left me with some questions. For example, how long can I expect a filter set (expensive) to last. How can I tell when I need to empty the vacuum (very dirty job you want to do this as seldom as possible).