Up until now I have always used a shop vac to clean up after sawing or drilling. As I move to ballasting and then cleaning (dusting) sceniced areas I am thinking that I want something without a hose, and to have the ability to easily reclaim items that are sucked up.
When used in conjunction with the shop vac would a dustbuster or the Woodland Scenics Model-Vac be the better choice? I know I can get the Miniature Vacuum Kit for the shop vac but that doesn't eliminate the hose.
Rick
I've used a real Dustbuster on my modules, and it's great. You can fully disassemble it to get just about anything out. And to clean it. I have no complaint, and recommend it highly.
You probably don't want it to actually touch your layout, just to "hover". That's true of just about any vacuum system--you don't want to damage what you're cleaning.
If you find out you don't like it for layout cleaning, it still does a great job of other little stuff.
Ed
Mine looks like this:
Vacuum_DC by Edmund, on Flickr
As you say, one big advantage is to suck up lost parts and sift through the detritus to find the errant brake wheel or such. A piece of white paper on an old baking sheet for the sifting and exploring.
I like it so much I bought two more for around the house.
Good Luck, Ed
My wife bought me the Mini Shop Vac attachment for cleaning my layout and I used it for about a month then went looking for a longer hose. I found the same tubing at a local home improvement store. I bought a 10’ piece of hose and that has worked great for many many years.The light weight hose with all the Mini Vac adapters has worked out great for years.
I tried the Dustbuster but it never would cut the mustard always going back to the Shop Vac.Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California Turned 84 in July, aging is definitely not for wimps.
gmpullman Mine looks like this: Vacuum_DC by Edmund, on Flickr
Mine, too. It doesn't plug in to charge--it sits on a plugged-in base, so you just pick it up.
I agree that the hose will tend to get in the way of things on the railroad.
On the other hand it is a lot lighter and much more maneuverabl.
I use a Eureka mini-mite with the hobby attachment, the others just don't give me the suction I need. You can use a resalable bag with it if you need too or use hosery (thats what I do).
I used a Metro-Vac with the optional toner filter and the small attachments kit. This is a bit like a Foredom tool for pickup; there is a small hose but it is relatively easy to work, and the nozzles can be very small and soft.
In some cases I have found it advantageous to use a small compressed-air gun in one hand and a larger vacuum nozzle poised to ingest the resulting cloud. "Vacuum" cleaners use wind induced by differential pressure, and vacuum is limited in the differential pressure it can develop, just as with train brakes. Even a tiny needle tip can flow substantial pressure of air, and hence impinging velocity, to convince dust to leave at MY chosen speed (and be sucked up en masse up above...)
Thanks for the replies. Nobody has mentioned the Woodland Scenics Model-Vac. Has anyone tried it?
hbgatsf Thanks for the replies. Nobody has mentioned the Woodland Scenics Model-Vac. Has anyone tried it? Rick
I realize this item was not included in the OP, but I hope nobody minds my mentioning it just because when he ran a new one, he already having made up his mind it was a foobie, the fella at 'Chadwick Railway' on youtube just did an honest appraisal of the Dapol vacuum car and was literally dismayed at how much crud he didn't know existed on his pike, and was grudgingly approving of how much of it the Dapol snagged in one short sweep.
Just a FYI.
For those that have the Dustbuster, have you experienced the issue of the batteries only lasting a year or two? That seems to be a common knock on them but it could be due to people not understanding lithium technology and incorrectly charging them.
I have found tutorials on replacing the batteries so this may not be a deal killer.
hbgatsf For those that have the Dustbuster, have you experienced the issue of the batteries only lasting a year or two? That seems to be a common knock on them but it could be due to people not understanding lithium technology and incorrectly charging them. I have found tutorials on replacing the batteries so this may not be a deal killer. Rick
The Model-Vac is only intended to pick up light dust or static-grass ingredients like those in the Woodland Scenics 'Field System'. It would be of borderline utility even for lighter ballast without a nozzle so small as to be tedious to work with one hand. It would also need to be run off external DC to be useful for extended cleaning, in which case a USB-powered vac running off cellphone recharge batteries would be a wiser choice. Note that the Model Vac sucks all the accumulated material up against its screen at the top, the opposite of 'never loses suction', and fine dust goes right through the motor and out, likely close to where you breathe as you use it.
The Dapol car uses a rather crudely designed plug-in rotor for its 'hoovering' functionality; it does not even have a smooth volute inlet curve up to the fan blades. That, and the fact that anything picked up has to go through the fan, makes it dubious as a general-purpose vacuum, although it should work well cleaning the area between the rails, for which I think it has been optimized.
I think the grinding discs do negative good: at least a Bright Boy scrubs grooves in the railhead longitudinally rather than as arcs.
And they missed a sure bet by not providing an Allen-style weighted pad behind the sprung grinder -- either moistened as on a CMX car or rough-side-down Masonite or strips as in the original. That dinky sponge and fluff do very little!
I continue to think there ought to be a market for a scale rail-grinding train that actually implements full multiple-grit lapping of railhead surfaces as it runs.
Replacing the batteries on some of the cordless vacs (I'm talking to you Shark Vac)costs almost as much as buying a new one.
azrail Replacing the batteries on some of the cordless vacs (I'm talking to you Shark Vac)costs almost as much as buying a new one.
Thanks for pointing that out. I did a search for batteries and while you can bring a dustbuster back to life by replacing them it is hardly worth it given the cost.
Maybe my best option is to get the kit for the shop vac.
hbgatsfFor those that have the Dustbuster, have you experienced the issue of the batteries only lasting a year or two?
Mine are Black & Decker brand. The first one I bought as an "open box" returned item from Amazon at half price. That one is ten years old and still going strong although I dropped it and broke the hinge on the dirt chamber. The second-third and fourth, as shown in my photo in an earlier post, are also over five years old. One of them is showing signs of losing battery capacity, after running for more than 8 or 10 minutes it begins to slow down but recovers fairly quickly when set into the charger. I use this one at the caboose and it sits in an unheated area (12 °F presently) or can be over 90° on hot days in summer.
hbgatsfThat seems to be a common knock on them but it could be due to people not understanding lithium technology and incorrectly charging them.
I may not completely understand lithium technology (had an uncle on lithium once, though) but when I'm done vacuuming I park the thing back on its charging cradle and forget about it until the next time I use it.
Just like hammers, vacuums come in all sizes and types and a single one isn't ideal for every job. My mini-micro attachment set was marketed by AC-Delco (?) maybe car dealers sold these for vacuuming out ash trays and air conditioner louvers on the dash?
Delco_vac-attach-front by Edmund, on Flickr
Delco_vac-attach-back by Edmund, on Flickr
Yes, it is handy for small, intricate cleaning tasks but I sure don't want to drag it out and set it up every time I drill a hole in the benchwork to "Hoover" some wood chips up.
Delco_vac-attach by Edmund, on Flickr
The B&D cordless vacs have a handy, pull out crevice extension that is useful for "concentrated" vacuuming around the layout in general. Choices and options.
gmpullman Mine are Black & Decker brand. The first one I bought as an "open box" returned item from Amazon at half price. That one is ten years old and still going strong
Mine are Black & Decker brand. The first one I bought as an "open box" returned item from Amazon at half price. That one is ten years old and still going strong
At ten years old it probably had NiCad batteries.
gmpullman The second-third and fourth, as shown in my photo in an earlier post, are also over five years old. One of them is showing signs of losing battery capacity, after running for more than 8 or 10 minutes it begins to slow down but recovers fairly quickly when set into the charger. I use this one at the caboose and it sits in an unheated area (12 °F presently) or can be over 90° on hot days in summer.
The second-third and fourth, as shown in my photo in an earlier post, are also over five years old. One of them is showing signs of losing battery capacity, after running for more than 8 or 10 minutes it begins to slow down but recovers fairly quickly when set into the charger. I use this one at the caboose and it sits in an unheated area (12 °F presently) or can be over 90° on hot days in summer.
I don't know when Black and Decker moved to lithium. Your newer ones could be NiCad or lithium. Lithium batteries last the longest when stored at something less than fully charged. Iphones now use a charging cycle that tries to minimize the amount of time the phone is at 100% charge in order to maximize life of the battery. Somehow it analyzes typical usage times and slows the charge down to match it.
I know nothing of the "smartness" of your base charger. It could shut off at something less than 100% or not worry about it. I suspect the latter.
Anyway, 5 years is better than the 18 months some report. My shop vac is 30 years old though and still going strong.
hbgatsfAt ten years old it probably had NiCad batteries.
Cheers, Ed
gmpullman hbgatsf At ten years old it probably had NiCad batteries. About this item Dustbowl capacity 15 ounces; Lithium technology for strong suction and fade free power Exclusive pivoting nozzle means huge power in a compact size A high performance motor provides superior suction capability. Replacement Filters : PFV110 The cyclonic action spins dust and debris away from the filter keeping suction power strong 3 stage filtration system. Charge only at ambient temperatures between 50°F (10°C) and 104°F (40°C) Cheers, Ed
hbgatsf At ten years old it probably had NiCad batteries.
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/7517853-black-decker-smartech-technology/
BLACK+DECKER has been pushing the limits of vacuum technology since it invented the Dustbuster® vacuum, the world’s first cordless handheld vacuum in 1979. The innovation continued in 2013 when the brand launched its Lithium Ion cordless vacuums.
A good way to kill most NiCad batteries early is to park them on a dumb charger when not in use. I think you will usually see some mention in the manual to disconnect the appliance from the charger after it has reached full nominal charge.
Of course, there were generations of Dustbuster-style vacuums with wall-mountable docks that had integral charging contacts, supplied by 'vampire' wall warts that were always on...
Look up the physics behind the 'memory effect' to get some idea of the best charge and discharge strategy for NiCads. The pravda years ago was that when you observed the rapid exhaustion problem starting, you deep-cycled the thing a few times -- let it run until completely dead, then charged it up fully. To my knowledge there is no comparable issue of dendrites in lithium rechargeables that would not produce some kind of battery fire...
I have still not quite figured out what is best for various eras of what used to be Li-ion batteries; my understanding (possibly defective) is that the 'better' appliances include charging-management 'chips' that regulate the charging when the device is continuously plugged in.