PowerSmith PAVC101 10 Amp Ash Vacuum,Green / Black

11 reviews for PowerSmith PAVC101 10 Amp Ash Vacuum,Green / Black

1. 

   Rated 2 out of 5

   Edmonchuck – July 23, 2024

   The unit is nice, well built overall for the price. The metallic hose is a nice touch.

   However, the suction leaves a lot to be desired. The first time I turned this on, it was nice, but the within seconds the filter gauge showed almost clogged. I am the owner that shovels out the majority of the ash before any vacuum, and I also don’t vacuum any potential hot ash. I mainly use an ash vacuum to clean up any ash that falls off the shovel and onto the mantel. So, I barely can get a small film on the bottom of the canister before I can hear the motor struggling due to the clogged filter. Considering I rarely use the vacuum, and how I use it, it is no better than a shop vac which I already have. I am smart enough not to vacuum up hot ash.

   I also have 3 fireboxes, so having a vacuum work for a few seconds, only to spend 5 minutes cleaning it, seems like a great example of the law of diminishing returns. A good broom and a mop is faster for the floor, and you don’t have to have a pristine firebox considering I use them so often. My good cast iron shovel and broom set will have to do.

   A suggestion would be a system that keeps the ash in as much suspension and minimal hits the filter. That is, of course, on a more expensive system.

   If you REALLY need a spic and span firebox and only use your fireplace for ornamental fires one in a blue moon, sure. This product will do you just fine for the 1-2 times a year you would use it. If you don’t have a shop vac already, it does a good job in that regard so it may be worth your time. If this is primarily an ash vacuum, and you already have a shop vac, save your time and buy a paper filter for your machine. I’m sure if you’re a woodburner for heat, you already know about hot coals. You would have to go through a lot of paper filters to make up for the cost and storage of this unit.

   Just my 2 cents. I am returning this product as it is more a paperweight than useful.

2. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   plywood_chair – July 31, 2024

   Really quiet! And I sucked up the very finest of soot and there wasn’t a hint of material that escaped the vacuum. It’s a great tool for cleaning the fireplace that I use regularly. Note that the motor does seem to get pretty hot. I was worried I had sucked up some hot coals or something the first time I used it because the top of the motor felt so hot. I wouldn’t want to use it for extended lengths of time for that reason. Certainly not as my only vacuum. But great for the fireplace.

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   milan fekete – August 4, 2024

   all good

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Amazon Customer – August 19, 2024

   Great vacuum! Works very well. Gets the ash that gets stuck all around the grate and doesn’t make a mess in the house.

5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   F&D – September 7, 2024

   Our wood burning fireplace does not have an ash trap below the firebox floor, so in order to clean it out, we have to remove the ashes through the main doors. We burn a lot of wood during our six consecutive cold months and have to clean out the firebox almost every day. Our PowerSmith has made the job easier and saves time so we can get maximum use out of our fireplace when we need it to heat our great room and kitchen.

   The bulk of the ash is removed using a shovel and we use our PowerSmith for the remainder, as well as any ash that’s fallen out of the firebox on to the hearth or is clinging to the door gaskets. We will also use it while clearing out the bulk to keep the dust down as it’s dumped into our ash can.

   The canister has plenty of capacity for our needs and we are careful to avoid live embers, but when we have vacuumed them up, there’s never been an issue with burning the filter because we dump the ash into a galvanized steel trash can as soon as we are done. The noise level is no worse than a regular shop vac but the unit tends to get warm when running it for an extended period of time. It only stopped running once due to overheating, but putting it outside in the freezing temperatures for about ten minutes was sufficient for it to cool down and run again.

   Although the casters make it easy to move the unit around, the handle is convenient when it comes to picking the unit up to get it over the door threshold and the Velcro strip on the power cord makes it easy to keep it wrapped up and out of the way when it’s not in use.

6. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   AV – September 9, 2024

   Unlike some others, I vacuum up glowing embers out of my wood stove with this vac. Works amazing! I can get most of it empty before the heat sensor kicks out. I never let my woodstove go out all the way in the winter, so emptying it is a pain, this allows me to take out the light/white ash and of course I get glowing embers in at the same time. LOVE IT!

7. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Benjamin Soto – September 22, 2024

   Works great…use it to clean out my wood stove and it does a nice job. Good suction.

8. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Lynn Fraser – October 3, 2024

   This has a nice long vacuum hose and cord and onboard tool storage. The filter has a good design and I like that it’s washable . It has good suction . I also like the “full canister” feature.It comes with good accessories.I also bought the Pellet stove cleaninfpg accessory kit which works well.

9. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Ann Ebe – October 4, 2024

   I read every review before purchasing this ash vacuum, so I’m going to address every issue addressed in those reviews. If you are buying this to use on a pellet stove, you will definitely NEED TO BUY the PowerSmith PAAC302 Ash Vacuum Cleaning Kit. (It allows you to get into the small areas you won’t be able to navigate with the vacuum’s accessories. If you have a regular wood burning stove, or maybe even a more spacious pellet stove insert, you might want to wait and see if you need the accessories kit.

   PRO: Seriously good suction power. Even if you use the smaller accessories with the optional cleaning kit, it still maintains powerful suction.
   PRO: It is fairly quiet. Not much louder than a regular vacuum cleaner. Other reviewers complained it was too loud; they have obviously never used a shop vac. This is far quieter than a shop vac.
   PRO: Lightweight, but sturdy canister. It rolls around like a dream and has a handle on the top so you can pick it up and carry it very easily.
   PRO: The floor vacuum accessory is AMAZING. I was going to buy another vacuum to sweep up the pellet dust/ash that falls around my living room, but I do not need to. It has great suction on wood, ceramic tile, and vinyl flooring. I don’t have carpet flooring, but it has a switch so you can adjust for carpet.
   PRO: Dumping the canister is easy. YES – it is a messy process. You are dealing with messy ash. The cool part is that the bags that hold the 40 lbs of pellets slides over top of the canister opening. So take the vacuum outside, remove the filter (messy) and shake it out, put the empty plastic pellet bag over the top of the canister, turn it upside down, wait a few seconds for the ash to settle, then remove the canister.
   PRO: The cord is long enough for most needs. The hose is plastic, but strong enough not to be damaged from normal use.
   PRO: The unit sets up very easily. (Anyone can put it together.) The canister snaps are easy to use. The unit looks great.
   PRO: The price is a good value for this highly functional vacuum.

   NEUTRAL: The “full” indicator is too vague to really be helpful. (You’ll only see the red indicator when the vacuum is ON.) But I was able to do 2 full deep cleans, and 5 basic cleans, without having to dump the canister. (By the way, the vacuum will automatically shut off when it gets overheated from being too full.)

   NEUTRAL: The top of the vacuum will heat up. No, it will not BURN you to touch it. If the unit does overheat, you will have to let it cool off for about an hour. However, you should be able to accomplish a deep cleaning of the ash without it overheating. It doesn’t overheat under normal floor vacuuming operation. It only overheats and shuts off under prolonged heavy suction and ash filtering…and that just keeps you from burning out the motor. (DO NOT SUCK UP hot embers unless you want to burn a hole in your filter. Be smart and only use this once your ash is cooled or medium, but without embers. If you have a pellet stove, you’ll need to deep clean every few days anyways.)

   NEGATIVE: Someone reviewers mentioned they get a shock when using it. YEP — me, too. The manufacturer really needs to put a different plug on this thing. I suspect a 3-prong plug would eliminate the shock issue. (As for the shock, it is not going to hurt you or kill you — it’s a tad more than an static electricity zap, but it really is annoying.) Not everyone who owns this unit is reporting zaps, but it does do this on mine. If you GROUND yourself to the stove with one hand while vacuuming with the other, it eliminates the zap all together. If you clip an alligator clip to the metal on your stove, and the other clip to the metal canister snap, it reduces (but doesn’t eliminate) the zap. I will likely buy a 2-to-3 prong cheater/adapter (cheap and available at any home improvement store) to see if this works. I suspect having that extra ground will eliminate the problem.

   That’s it for the negatives. That zap is the only negative thing I have experienced and I can work around it. For all the PROS this vacuum offers, it is well worth the money. It has made pellet stove ownership far more enjoyable for me.

10. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    Deb – October 4, 2024

    I really like this Vac. much better suction than others I have tried and it does not release the dust back into the air like other vacs I’ve had. I have an older pellet stove, so it’s important that this has good suction to get to the areas more difficult to reach. Just be cautious NOT to vacuum hot pellets (may be obvious) But it has a fabric inside filter and WILL catch on fire! (and YES sadly I know from experience – lesson learned) but I bought a 2nd one and after a full season, still works as good as the 1st day. Very happy with it AND I would definitely (and have) recommended it to others!

11. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Kevin – October 15, 2024

    2nd unit as I added another stove to a shop building. Keep the filter clean and they will last quite well. Have had the original for 8 years and works just like the day it came out of the box.