Customer Reviews

Shop-Vac 2850010 2.0-Peak HP Two-Stage Back Pack Vacuum

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have a couple shop vacs in the shop and garage so I'm familiar with their quality. I got this one to walk around the house and clean out the corners; along the side of the fridge; around the fireplace etc. Works great. Picks up little wood chunks around the fireplace just like a shop-vac should - not like an upright which requires major surgery when it breaths in such things. Not as noisy as an upright hoover. The fifty foot cord is more than enough and you really can walk around the house comfortably with the thing on your back. It uses throw-away bags and so far, I haven't been able to find a source (including the shop-vac web site). Assume those will be available soon.

Have owned this vac for a couple of years. The back-pack vac concept is great. You can cover territory faster than any other type; very efficient with a long cord. This model may not be the best execution of the concept. I recommend you look around at all the models before buying. COMFORT: those straps are pretty thin, and the hard plastic back hurts my spine and makes me sweat. HANDLING: because the hose attaches at the top of the canister, it swings around over your head, particularly if you lean over to pick something up. I have to wrap it around my forearm to keep it from flopping about. It picks up static electricity too. CLEANING: the convertible floor/rug tool does a good job but not outstanding, and requires repeated passes, particularly on rugs. Makes a squeaky sound on wood floors on the back stroke (?). FILTERS: these babies cost $5+ per filter, in packs of 5, plus shipping. Wow. On the other hand, they do a very good job keeping dust inside the canister. HOSE: the purportedly "heavy duty" hose breaks off near the wand and canister fittings every couple of months, shortening the hose by a couple of inches each time. I am down to 4' of hose, and it is not enough. Replacement is $38 plus shipping. VELCRO: The on/off switch hangs off the canister on a short dongle, and is velcro'd to the waist belt for convenience. It gets pretty warm during usage, and the Velcro adhesive gave way eventually, so I had to replace that. ATTACHMENTS: The attachments work reasonably well, but an adaptor is required to attach some to the wands. All fit into the waist band with elastic loops. The attachments regularly fall off the strap, because they are in the way of your swinging arms so you bump them. The elastic loops began to fray pretty quickly.

The Shop-Vac 285-00-10 Industrial Duty Back Pack Vacuum is the best vacuum I've ever owned and used. I've had canisters and uprights and even a small shop vacuum (which wasn't bad either) but my back pack vacuum tops them all. My experiences with Hoover and Kirby have always ended up with a vacuum "gone down." My small shop vac outdid these two brands and now my Back Pack vacuum has picked up where my small Shop Vac left off. I have five daughters, all with long hair, and picking up the hair from carpeting has always killed my other vacuums. I noticed the janitors in my work place using back pack vacuums and I saw the great results they got cleaning our offices, so I finally searched for one on the internet and was happy to find one reasonably priced. It does a fantastic job and I will never regret buying it. It is worh every penny.

Goodbye to dustcloths, brooms, dustpans! I use the wand with brush attachment for cobwebs/tables/windowsills, switch to the T-attachment for furniture, then wrap up with the floor attachment which works equally well for wood/tile floors and oriental rugs. Some people might find the backpack model cumbersome, but in my mind it beats lugging a canister around and having to move it every 5 feet (especially for steps!) I would not recommend it for wall-to-wall carpeting (we have wood floors so no problem there) or garage cleaning (that's what a 'real' shopvac is for.) For everything else, though, this device is wonderful... good power/noise ratio and power/weight ratio. One minor complaint is that the T-handle doesn't have an integrated dirt-loosening brush; I swapped it out with a more effective version from an old upright.

I got my vacuum yesterday and, of course, proceeded to clean my entire house. That was the best cleaning it has gotten in years and it took less than 30 minutes. This machine made the cleaning process easy, which also means it will get done more often. My house is over 3k sq ft and most of the floors are tiled. Dust Bunnies breed like rabbits. A regular vacuum is a hassle on hard floors. This vacuum is light and comfortable, the power cord reaches throughout the house, and I like being able to easily reach up and clean the ceiling, windowsills and furniture. At first, I thought it wasn't going to be powerful enough, but it picked up everything, even chunks of cat turds (I have a 20 yr old cat who misses the box occasionally). My only complaint is that the holes in the metal tubes are cut a bit crudely. Trying to release the tubes from one another when pressing the little button can result in some lost skin on your thumb. A little more precision in manufacturing would have eliminated the problem. I will smooth out the edges with a sander.

If I could rate this without stars I would. I have owned this vacuum for a couple of years and finally gave up on trying to like it. I have never given anything a negative review - but...

Shop-Vac 2850010 2.0-Peak HP Two-Stage Back Pack Vacuum

First the tube connections are hazardous to fingers and hands. I ended up filing down the bumps that hold each pipe to the next. I had to do something to be able to change out the accessories without drawing blood!

Not very good for home use - maybe fine for wide-open-spaces. I have broken or damaged more items by knocking them off of a shelf or table than imaginable with the "free-spirited hose". The hose is attached at the of the top of the canister by the users neck. When in use the swing of the hose seems to have a mind of its own and will end up moving in a way you are not expecting. Of course when you try to move it where you want it, it wont! I have a 1800SF home. This vacuum might work well if the only furniture I owned was one upholstered piece in each room. The swivel floor attachment sticks in awkward unusable positions with no apparent reason many times each time I use it - a real pain too. As well, it is not available with white attachments so if I am vacuuming against the wall I must be overly cautious not to mark up my light colored baseboards with black streaks from any attachment, but especially the crevasse tool.

I am not a fan of vacuuming in the first place. Before I got this THING I vacuumed once a week; after starting to use this THING it is pushing it for me to drag myself to vacuum once a month!

I was thinking about donating it to my church, but it would only do for vacuuming the sanctuary and social hall. Doing offices and classrooms would be out of the question because of the unruliness of the hose. I would never want to make anyone feel guilty about accidentally breaking something with this THING that would be beyond their control.

I have a traditional shopvac that I have been quite happy with for YEARS so I figured I would be happy with this one, but they really have a design problem with this THING! Rather than loosing the whole amount I paid for this THING and feel as if I flushed it all down the toilet I hope to get something for it in a garage sale. It is not good for much else.

I could use an extra star here, 6 stars for this bad boy! Love it!

i have travelled far and wide and one thing i do not want by my side is a vac i wish to put one on my back but here in stupid england you have to push and shove, if i had one on my back id walk through town and never look back, they would be stopping me in the street, were did you get that, not a chance not one to be had .had to bye a boreing d-so-. next time i need one i will fly to USA and be sure to make an impact they wont believe there eyes a vac that go,s on the back i wish.