Vacuum Cleaner - Wet/Dry for DIY use

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DIY USE
hoping for some black friday deals
i have looked at a few wet/dry vacuum cleaners
replacing an old Henry - Dry , which is now smelling burning, and i could change motor - BUT
I would like
WET & DRY - replaced a couple af radiators over the weekend , and a wet vacuum cleaner may have been usefull, if it did not all go so well, I seem to have an issue with plumbing leaking.
able to work without a Bag, some seem to be ok with this - Guild 30L from Argos @£100 - waiting to see if they have a Black Friday deal
Blower function ,
Power take off - not essentail , but nice maybe - although i see its litd to about 1300-1600W, and i only have a sander and mitre saw on mains - rest are cordless

I have looked at a few reviews and youtube

All my tools are Dewalt

Karcher WD4 or WD5
Guild 30L from Argos - seems to have most of what i want BUT no reviews or youtube vids
Toolstaion - Wessex - uses bags and seem expenses
Screwfix - Titan , not happy with the reviews
and loads of others , wicks, clarks etc etc

anyone have some experience for DIY or even trade use

Budget is all over the place , maybe upto £150 ish , although the cheaper the better (but I only want to buy once) and i dont want loads of expensive bags

Jobs used in past
- cleaning up the loft boarding - which i will be doing again , when i re-insulate the loft
- General garage cleaning
- MDF, cutting and sanding
- Plywood, cutting and sanding
- Cars
- Channelling plaster work, with grinder , leaving on , in an enclosed space to gather the dust - this is where the henry may have had an issue
- Clening up all the brick/plaster dust
- cleaning tools, workmate, horses, mitre saw and various other stuff , so a being able to Blow off the tools, is a must

WET
- just incase , i need to remove a radiator and can lock off and then use to drain the radiator , rather than rags, black bags
- Washing machine , removing filter always leave a wet mess

anyway, look forward to any suggestions . experience
 
Last edited:
Thanks for that, first quick look, scrwewfix etc , says , no blow function, and have to use a bag for dry , 1050W
i'll look further into it and see what others recommend

Do you use the charles ???
 
- Guild 30L from Argos @£100 - waiting to see if they have a Black Friday deal
I've got the guild 30L without PTO (look at that model for a pile of reviews).
It's been great - I've used it to get rid of a centurys worth of coal dust, broken slate and plaster from my loft and a couple of lath and plaster walls that I've taken down.
It just keeps sucking.
The bags that come with it are good, but relatively difficult to get hold of.
I've bought odd bags here and there, that don't quite fit, but do the job.
However, it's best to empty the bags before they are too full - they can end up jammed in tightly, and you can't pull them straight out upwards, due to the fittings through the can, with the risk of a ripped bag!
 
I've got the below and been faultless for years.
No bag
Power take off (works really well) I have a multiplug plugged into it so can hook it up to multiple tools
 
Very happy with my Wickes wet and dry ... now £53 (ouch) was only £30 in December 2018.

Used to suck and blow out my hot tub lines.
Ditto the touring caravan when winterising.
Plus other odd jobs around the house / plumbing spillages / changing cisterns etc.,.

Water does collect in the flexible tube convolutions so needs great care if mucky stuff not to drip where not wanted.

Has basic cloth filter 'bags' for dry work to protect the motor and a thin foam one for wet work.

However, I seriously doubt it will be up to all you want to (ab)use it for.
 
Have you tried without bags
Sorry, no. Only for liquid use.

I've got the below and been faultless for years.
No bag
Same OEM as the Guild! :)

image29.png


...and to add, it was under £70 when I bought it a couple of years ago. Not the £85 today!
 
Do you use the charles ???
Yes I have him.

Works well in wet mode, and yes you should have a bag (but not for wet work!), but I know people who use it without. For wood chips and suchlike I use it with a cyclone collector, so very little goes into the vacuum.

No blow.

I just thought it may be useful to use the accessories with Henry.

Curiously, it's much noisier than an Henry despite the motor/hat looking like its the same
 
Nilfisk aero 26-21, can be used with or without bags, good pto, suck/blow, nice long hose and cable, and crucially really good suction, wet or dry. Easily takes in small pieces of brick and plaster. Lightweight. No hepa filter but equivalent I would say.

Blup
 
thanks , have not come across that make, will look into now

The Vacmaster , i contacted via email, and its NOT going onto any deals - shame
I was going to get the Wet/dry filter £19.99 and some bags and the cleaner - if they had done a decent deal, i probably would have purchased today , now i can take my time

went on chat with Karcher , as the WD4 is on offer and WD5 should be on offer tomorrow, see what price that is
 
Nilfisk aero 26-21, can be used with or without bags, good pto, suck/blow, nice long hose and cable, and crucially really good suction, wet or dry. Easily takes in small pieces of brick and plaster. Lightweight. No hepa filter but equivalent I would say.

Blup

Nilfisk make some really good units.

Mine are Festool but I would consider Nilfisk.

I vaguely recall recommending @JobAndKnock recommending VTuff vacuums

 
thanks , have not come across that make, will look into now
We have a couple of Nilfisk at work - professional quality, but a good step-up in price over the likes of Guild.
Very nice machines though.
 
We have a couple of Nilfisk at work - professional quality, but a good step-up in price over the likes of Guild.
Very nice machines though.

They are however one of the firms that offer things like anti-static hoses at a price that is significantly lower than the likes of Festool.
 
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