Tried a soot-eating vacuum bag for the first time and it clogged in 3 minutes

I had this cheap shop vac I've been using for years for cleanouts, and I thought I'd try one of those HEPA bags that claim to handle fine soot. Big mistake. It choked up almost right away, and I spent more time unclogging it than I did actually cleaning the flue. Got any go-to setups for thick creosote jobs? I'm thinking of just switching to a bucket setup next time.

2 comments

2 Comments

nelson.gavin13d ago

Honestly, had the exact same headache with those bags. Total waste of time.

thea_knight13d ago

Right? And it's like once you notice one thing that's designed poorly, you start seeing it everywhere. Every single brand thinks they need their own gimmick closure system or weird zipper pull, @nelson.gavin, like it's a competition to see who can make the most annoying packaging. It's all part of that whole "we need to stand out on the shelf" culture but nobody stops to think if it actually works for the person using it. Just give me a normal bag with a normal zipper, it's not hard.