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My old ash vacuum gave up the ghost halfway through a big cleanout
I was finishing a full sweep on a huge brick chimney in the old part of town last Thursday. The fireplace had not been touched in years, and I had a solid three buckets of fine soot and ash to deal with. I went to fire up my trusty 6-gallon ash vac, the one I've had for almost eight years, and it just made a sad whirring noise and died. No smoke, no smell, just done. I had to get creative fast. I ended up using heavy duty trash bags and a small hand dustpan to get it all out, which added a solid extra hour to the job. It was a mess, but I got it done. Has anyone else had a main piece of gear just quit on them in the middle of a job? What's your go-to backup plan?
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rowan_hayes1mo ago
A hand dustpan and contractor bags? That's the kind of fix that separates the pros from the weekend warriors. I've learned the hard way that the cheap backup is just as important as the fancy gear. A good stiff brush and a few heavy duty bags have saved me more times than I can count. It's a slow way to work, but it always beats standing there with a dead machine and a half finished job.
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fiona_webb3mo ago
That "creative fast" backup plan is exactly right. I keep a couple of those contractor grade bags and a cheap dustpan in every vehicle now, just in case.
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