Dustless Technologies MU405 Cougar Ash Vacuum, Black
by Dustless Technologies
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List Price: Our Price: $234.96 You Save: $24.04 (9%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $209.00 (click here) Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Dustless Technologies MU405 Cougar Ash Vacuum, Black
Customer Review: Works as advertised
Summary: 4 Stars
Works as advertised...seems so simple a concept yet often is not achieved!
Previously utilized a shop vac with the fine dust filter to clean our pellet stove and everytime there would be a fine dust mist in the air...not so with the Cougar. We have used the product for about a month now and it does a great job of cleaning. No ash in the air and quiet operation.
Agree with several other reviewers, the tools should come with the vac and should have a place to store them on the unit. The other not so friendly item is getting the metal tube tool in and out of the coupling when you switch tools...PITA!
Piece of mind knowing if there is a left over ember you are not likely to burn your house down due to your vac catching on fire.
Note, the additional tools, the tube with rubber fitting is specific to pellet stoves and used to clean out the chambers.
Customer Review: What to do with all the ashes...
Summary: 4 Stars
I got a Wood pellet insert for my Fireplace 2 years ago and with oil prices being what they are I have actually recouped the costs sooner than expected. The one pain had been the daily cleanings, mostly because I was dusting off the ashes with a 1.5" stiff bristle brush into the catch tray. I got the Cougar Ash Vac in the hopes of making this a less tedious chore and was pleasantly surprised with how quick the job became and really surprised by the capacity of the vac, making disposal of the ashes far less frequent (once a month instead of once a week). It's not perfect, being pretty loud and easily clogged by pellets and bigger clinkers but still so worth it.
Now if I can just figure out what to do with the ashes...
Customer Review: Good vacuum
Summary: 4 Stars
Solidly built and well constructed. My main criticism is that it does not come with any tools. Although I ordered the tools at the same time as I ordered the vacuum, they were shipped separately and I was billed for two shipments.
The manual is also a bit limited and it left me with some questions. For example, how long can I expect a filter set (expensive) to last. How can I tell when I need to empty the vacuum (very dirty job - you want to do this as seldom as possible).
Customer Review: Great for cleaning pellet stoves
Summary: 3 Stars
If you have a pellet stove, this vacuum is an absolute must. I don't really see the benefit of using it for a fireplace, though; we have a wood-burning furnace and continue to use a shovel to clean it out. The crimped nozzle design and the idea of vacuuming with the nozzle against the firebrick to only pick up ash and leave solids behind sounds good, in THEORY. The problem is that the solids quickly build up around the nozzle from the suction and any particles too large to fit inside the nozzle get stuck there the second you lift the nozzle to position it elsewhere. This design would work if there was perhaps a screen fitted over the nozzle to prevent this from happening.
To clean a pellet stove, though, it is absolutely ideal. Pellets are small enough to get picked up by the nozzle without any problems. Also, as anyone with a pellet stove knows, these stoves are a real nightmare to clean by hand because of the many parts involved that need to be cleaned on a regular basis - not only do you have an ashpan to empty, you have to clean a burnpot, air inlet chambers, heat exchanger tubes, etc. It used to take me over an hour to try and clean this with a brush and small shovel, and it always made a huge mesh. This vacuum has really simplified this chore and made it a breeze!
Customer Review: Ok...but doesn't reflect its name
Summary: 3 Stars
Yes as others have said this vacuum is very noisy. Assembly is easy and it does not take up a lot of room. You MUST follow the instructions for vacuuming. It does not work like your home vacuum. The nozzle is a small diameter and intended to pick up only ash. I was hoping for more suction, but I am not totally disappointed. It is saving my home vacuum and keeps my husband happy as I am not using his shop vacuum.