Vacuum Cleaner Recommendations

Just curious if anyone has a good recommendation for a vacuum cleaner they keep on their boat. And do you use a traditional, or wet/dry vacuum? I'm looking for something relatively compact.

Thanks!
Mike

If you haven't used one you don't know what your missing. Dyson V8

I use a small handheld canister vac with a cloth bag. Was made by Kenmore.
Like it so much I replaced bearings and a new hose.
Very compact but dont know if you buy anymore.

Other thing is an upright made by Hoover, best for rugs.
This one is super light weight. Does have attachments.
Not my picture, but looks like it.

Wet or dry , many uses besides a carpet cleaner.

We are currently experimenting with a corded Shark stick-vac. (Similar in concept to Gaston's Dyson, but we don't have all that much luck with battery-operated stuff.) Compact, comes apart to become even more compact, works like an upright or a hand-held... so far, seems OK in both modes. Decent filters, but no mention of the word HEPA in the manual.

Previously, we were using a larger Bissel lift-away. Very good for carpet in upright mode; not as good for anything in lift-away mode. HEPA filter. This one was great when we had the big dog aboard; now its just the cat, we'll have to see whether the Shark is good enough or not.

Both of these augmented by a wet/dry shop-vac, mostly for industrial chores.

-Chris

We replaced our built in vac with a Shark corded stick vac. Becareful with any cordless vacs in general, they have very short running cycles. Something in the 15-20 Min range as a max when new. Not near enough time for a thorough cleaning on a 40+ ft boat. Mind you I also vacuum the aft deck and the bridge as they're enclosed.
Back to the Shark. We NJ have used it for a full season. I'm the cleaner. I love it, I looked at Dyson and Shark the shark won. the cord is not an issue.
It breaks down to a hand unit for raised non floor areas.

I have a one of the small 2 gallon shop vacs and Lena has a Shark Lite, bag-less with a power head. We have a long haired dog so it gets quite the work out. The Shark has worked well and the cord is long enough that she only un/re-plugs once and the unit is small enough that it fits in one of the hanging lockers.

I have a small boat and little room for "extra" stuff. I had an upright that I kept in the dock box but after I replaced the carpet with teak and holly, I didn't need that any more. I had a small wet dry vac from Home Depot but it had wheels and it rolled off the dock into the river. I bought a small hand held 120 volt vacuum like they sell for cleaning cars, but it was pretty ineffective on something as big as a boat.


I remember back in my computer days having a nice canister vacuum/blower but when I looked them up, they are pretty expensive.


I went to a local thrift store and low and behold, there was a Hoover handheld canister vacuum for $6.00. It had seen a lot of use, but for $6, what could I lose? It works fine and the paper bags are available on the Internet (and possibly in stores as well). My wife is even satisfied with it.


So, my vote is for a hand held canister vacuum. Probably not if you have carpeting, but it's fine for everything else.


The Dyson V8 pictured above is probably good but we're talking $600 vs. $6. We bought a Dyson upright for the house a few years ago and it was unimpressive. No better than something from Walmart for $100.

I have a small Oreck for normal cleaning. It works pretty well and has a nice long cord.
https://www.amazon.com/Oreck-Compact-Canister-Vacuum-Cleaner/dp/B000AAJVC8

I also have a small shop vac for dirty or messy clean ups. I don't use it as often as the regular vac, but I think if I had to pick one it would be the small shop vac because it can do wet or dry, a regular vac can't.

Ken

Bucket head from HD. $20. WE also have an 80's era 12V corded dust buster lookalike which does a decent job.

Best we have ever used is a Dyson. Second the Home Depot bucket head for shopvac work.

gaston said:

If you haven't used one you don't know what your missing. Dyson V8

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This!

Although, we have the v6.

We've only ever had wood floors in our sailboats and thus vacuums were relegated to project status only. 19 years ago I purchased a Fein vacuum (Turbo?) when yet another Shop Vac failed in short order. It has provided amazing service over the years and is just now beginning to make some strange noises. I should note that my wife hates the Fein.
Maybe it is the size or the color but she refuses to use it! I think at the time I paid $200 for it...
When camping we bring along a little Dyson dc vac. It serves the purpose just fine.
Not sure if we will bring it along on the Tug.
Bruce

We bought a corded Shark and it works very well. Needs no bags so nothing to run out of. Home Depot 3 gal shop vac that has sucked more salt water, oil and crap over three years and still runs fine. Happy with them both. I thought the shop vac would die quickly with salt water

We have carpet and a dog, so hoover canister which you can wash out and has a special filter for trapping fine particles, we found the smaller more portable ones just don't pull up the dog hair easily and we vacuum daily. So all depends size of boat and application.

Pro-Team Backpack Vacuums. Oreck and Hoover also make good backpack models. Most commercial house cleaners use backpack vacuums. They cost a bit more, although not more than Dyson, but the ability to handle steps, blinds, furniture, ceiling fans and the advantage of wearing them is why we like them. Most have very long cords too,

I have used one of these Hoover cordless vacs at home for several years and love it. I recently brought one to the boat and I am very happy with it. Can buy them for less than $80 at Costco, Walmart, etc.

Cheers, Bill

Thanks for all the great ideas everyone!

Bucket wet/dry for the engine room and a Dyson for the rest of the boat. My wife shopped a lot before she settled on the Dyson and she is very happy with it.

Makita cordless, uses the same batteries as my portable drill. Pretty much like a "dust buster" but ok for general cleanup. No inverter on board and I don't want to get out my generator to run AC so it makes do.

We have a Home Depot bucket head down in the engine room for sucking up bilge water etc. For the main cabin we use a Milwaukee 9v fuel dust buster type vacuum with the extra large battery. It is super handy and fast, although probably wouldn't be the best for getting pet hair out of shag carpet (we have neither). We liked it so much we bought one for our house, that we keep in the kitchen.
For big projects I bring the Fein Turbo 2 shop vac from home, but I don't keep it on the boat.

This discussion sucks

Shop-vac for the boat chores, a Dyson Animal for the carpets loaded with pet hairs and yes it does suck them up!

Montenido said:

I have used one of these Hoover cordless vacs at home for several years and love it. I recently brought one to the boat and I am very happy with it. Can buy them for less than $80 at Costco, Walmart, etc.

Cheers, Bill

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We have one of these too, plus a second battery back. Works really well for the floors and stairs.

And I have a bucket-head exclusively for wet messy stuff, plus a mini shop vac for my construction messes.

Separate vacuum cleaners makes for a happy marriage.

Do boats ever use a central vacuum like some motorhomes? And is there any reason to have a "house" vacuum if you don't have carpet ?

Nopistn said:

Do boats ever use a central vacuum like some motorhomes? And is there any reason to have a "house" vacuum if you don't have carpet ?

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I have a central vacuum in the boat, was made for RV and boats, Was given to me as freebie.
It works well, except this. The hose is too long and wants to tangle up.
What I did was shorten the hose almost in half. And I plan to install another inlet in the forward cabin.
I found a vacuum hose of 14 feet or less is manageable. Before I shortened the hose, I never used the central vac as it was a painful bulky thing.
With enough vacuum inlets, and a shorter hose, I will actually want to use the central vac.

Then the thing is what do you do with the hose? I stuff it behind the sofa.

sdowney717 said:

I have a central vacuum in the boat, was made for RV and boats, Was given to me as freebie.
It works well, except this. The hose is too long and wants to tangle up.
What I did was shorten the hose almost in half. And I plan to install another inlet in the forward cabin.
I found a vacuum hose of 12 feet or less is manageable. Before I shortened the hose, I never used the central vac as it was a painful bulky thing.

Then the thing is what do you do with the hose? I stuff it behind the sofa.

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Can you vacuum the bilge with it?

Nopistn said:

Can you vacuum the bilge with it?

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No, it is only for dry stuff. If I clean a wet bilge, I use a wet vac.

My central boat vac uses a bag and is rectangular shape with a front panel door.
At my prior marina, a lady gave to me since she had no use for it, her new boat had a built in vacuum. Otherwise I would not have bought such a thing.

Here it is. Has a good suction. A standard paper bag will work on this, you do not need to buy their bags.
Walvac Stow-A-Vac 545 | CentralVacuumDirect.com

I moved the inlet valve to a remote location from the vac, drilled hole in top and run hose straight up and over. I plan to add a second inlet.
And it is mounted behind a door panel low down and does not vent into the cabin, it vents behind the panel which is a 12 foot long space under the side deck, that way it is quieter and does not heat up the boat.

Nopistn said:

Do boats ever use a central vacuum like some motorhomes? And is there any reason to have a "house" vacuum if you don't have carpet ?

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Yes, we have one on larger boat. However, in many ways, the backpack unit is still quicker and less trouble. With central vacuum you still have to move the hose from room to room. With a backpack, which apparently no one else here uses, you can go from space to space up to 50' without any break, including steps. Reduces vacuuming time by about 60%.

+1 on the Dyson, we have a V6 with carpet attachment. We thought about a corded Shark, but decided that we wanted a vacuum that could be used on the water without firing up the genny. Plenty of battery to take care of our whole boat including the cockpit and flybridge if you are efficient.

There really isn't room for a wet/dry on the boat, but I usually have one of the Home Depot vacuums in the truck if needed.

For those of you who have the HD Bucket Head, how do you like them? They seem to have some big limitations in my mind. The hose is short and the filter is just a bag. Also, they are not that powerful though the hose is small, so I wonder if they have enough suction.