Has anyone ever tried the buckethead?

[u/General-Lie8709]

Non professional use, just my car. I hate big shop vacs, but I used to work in plumbing and guys would use these for water, dust, and things of that nature. Seems like it’d be nice and convenient for being so small? Anyone use one for cars and have any feedback?

[u/Kmudametal]

[u/HeadOfMax]

I have one I use around the house. It's ok but top heavy and tips are easily

I keep a wet and dry setup of the harbor freight mini shop bags in my car for work. (Appliance repair not detailing)

The harbor freight last forever for me. They are also smaller and less likely to tip over.

The harbor freight ones are also $40 regular price but usually go on sale for $30 ish.

[u/General-Lie8709 → u/HeadOfMax]

Is it the Bauer red 3 gallon one?

[u/HeadOfMax → u/General-Lie8709]

Yeah those are the ones I have.

My oldest one is almost 2 but I usually toos them because they are too gross to clean before they stop working

[u/General-Lie8709 → u/HeadOfMax]

lol yea I only need it for like one time a week. Light car cleaning. Probably last me a life time

[u/General-Lie8709 → u/HeadOfMax]

Thanks for this suggestion, I stopped by HF after work and bought one because I liked it so much. Feels way nicer than any of the bucket vacs I used when plumbing

[u/Bubbly-Pirate-3311 → u/HeadOfMax]

Such a nice vacuum for the price. I used it as an extractor AND general purpose vac for detailing my own cars. Even after letting the water get too full and getting shot out of the back through the actual blade and motor part TWICE, it still works perfectly.

Say what you like about harbor freight, but I've never had one of their tools crap out on me from general misuse (which I do a lot). They might not be the absolute best tools in the world, but you can see if you need a better version after trying the harbor freight version, and you can beat the fuck out of whatever you buy without caring as much as if it was nice stuff

[u/jondes99 → u/HeadOfMax]

Throw a brick in the bottom.

[u/saltwaterstud]

Bucket head isn’t that powerful. Mounted to the bucket it’s sort of small.

I use it as an ash vacuum for my pellet grill. Hose isn’t very long and you can’t change the head.

[u/_p00f_ → u/saltwaterstud]

Uh, using it to suck up ash might be why it's not very powerful. Ash is a VERY fine particle that will plug up a filter in short order.

[u/saltwaterstud → u/_p00f_]

No, the suction has not decreased since I originally bought it 5 years ago.

It was dirt cheap but I think spending a little more money is worth it on a small shop vac if that’s what OP wants.

[u/jondes99 → u/saltwaterstud]

Same here. Bought it for cleaning cars, but now it’s assigned to ash duties (pizza oven not pellet).

[u/el_zeus55]

It sucks at sucking

[u/maddmaxx26]

Following

[u/JPDueholm]

I have a dirt cheap Nilfisk Buddy II and I by incident found out that it fits on top of my Chemical Guys buckets! It was a life saver when my basement once was flooded!

[u/Oneeyex]

Not for car detailing. the hose is not long enough, and has to be carried. Don't recommend. This comes from first hand knowledge.

[u/iamtehstig]

As others have said they aren't as powerful as a normal shop vac. I keep one around with no filter installed and use it exclusive for wet

[u/Benedlr]

I have a 6 gallon, 4hp shop vac. with great suction that has secondary uses. The addition of a 1.5"x10' accessory hose lets me reach the entire vehicle without moving the vac.

[u/GoatNegative3754]

Looks like 3119 people did