Vacuum or Bissell Little Green Machine

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imported_jar2187

New member
Well I have a detail coming up in a few days and need to get something that will take the shampoo out of the carpets after I have scrubbed them. I was thinking about getting the bissell little green machine, but I really should get a new vacuum. The one I have now works but not as well as I would like it. So I am looking into a wet/dry vac. Does anyone know of a good one to get. The only thing I dont like about them is the hose size, to hard to manage around interior, What about attachments to do carpets, do them sell them? Anyhelp would be great thanks.
 
Here is a very popular choice around here.



http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/4-Gallon-Vac/index.htm



Lightweight, portable, efficient use of space and very powerful. Plus Home Depot carries a whole assortment of attachments if you want more.



It would be perfect for extracting the shampoo / water mixture from your carpeting. just remove the filter.



You can't go wrong with it. Or, you can get something a bit larger if you want. Craftsman also makes the same style vacuum cleaners.
 
That Ridgid model would, IMO beat a Little Green Machine (of which I've had a few). The only real diff between the LGM and a small wet/dry vac is that the LGM has a sprayer, but they don't work all that well anyhow (in my experience). A unit with heat would be a different story.



Even when I use my LGM-like Hoover unit on a pet mess, I just spray the cleaner on with something else and only use the unit to suck it up. IMO the Ridgid would be much better than what I use. If I weren't knee-deep in extractors (four :o ) and vacumes (won't even *admit* how many :rolleyes: :o ) I'd probably look into one.



A good wet/dry vac is something I wouldn't be without.



I have several of the big Craftsman wet/dry vacs. They're pretty big units, but you can use a smaller hose with a simple adaptor. They're nice an powerful, but pretty noisey. They sell a carpet cleaning kit for them that hooks up to the wet/dry vac and your faucet. It's not bad at all, better than most of the Bissel/Hoover units I've used.
 
I concur with Accumulator. The Bissell units fo upholstery are not really that great. I never use the uphostery attachment for the carpet cleaner because it doesn't extract that well. If it wasn't for the fact that it heats the water, I wouldn't bother with it at all. The wet/dry vac is definitely a better option. I have a Rigid but it's 2.5 HP, and I find it to be just a tad underpowered. I used my contractors and he had a 4 HP or something (can't remember for sure) and it was picking up stuff much better.
 
Yeah, get the most powerful unit they make in whatever size you decide on. You'll never have enough power when it comes to extracting liquids from carpet.



I never use the uphostery attachment for the carpet cleaner because it doesn't extract that well.
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Now that surprises me; I get *better* extraction with the smaller nozzles, on *all* my various extractors. :nixweiss Channeling the vacuum through the smaller nozzle seems to get more liquid. I even use the smaller nozzles on my Century when I need to dry household carpet extra fast. Heh heh, guess experiences really *do* vary! But the need for lots of power stays constant ;)
 
I want to get the most powerful wet/dry vac that I can get. I know the vacuums dont come anywhere near a good extractor but I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars. I just went through the above link to the Rigid website and found a 6.5 horsepower unit with a detachable blower (265 mph!) and a 16 gallon capacity. I know 16 gallons is alot but I really like the powerful motor and the blower accessory. Is this overkill? Will the 5 HP, 4 gallon model above perform just as good as the larger one?
 
Accumulator said:
If I weren't knee-deep in extractors (four :o ) and vacumes (won't even *admit* how many :rolleyes: :o )
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You're like my best friend! He and his wife (no kids) have 5 vacuums! Their latest one was that purple Dyson. He had to call me over before he used it so I can witness the test drive on brand new carpeting. It sucked up like a 10 lb. ball of lint!



I had the LGM, used it on one spot, realized what a piece of garbage it was and returned it. I'm eyeballing that Aztec mini extractor with the 112" lift and 60psi motor. Although I'd like a larger one, it's just too much money for me. The $585 range for the Aztec is still a bit steap. I'll have to set aside a few extra detailing sessions of income.



Neothin - I have that 6.5hp 265mph blower vacuum from Craftsman. It's beast and a real workhorse for me. It works great as an extractor. You can go a notch down if you want and still be fine with suction power. But like Accumulator said, there is never too much power when it comes to suction.
 
I recently bought a LGCM and to some degree I'm regretting it. I got the one with the heat. If not for the heat and the fact that I got it for $75, I probably wouldn't have bought it. My wet/dry vac definitely has more suction. The LGCM works as evidenced by the black water in the recovery tank, but a good shop vac is definitely a more versatile tool.
 
Most vacs will have more suction than the LGM. I have the one with heat and the Ridgid 4 hp 5 gallon vac. I wish the Ridgid had an attachment with a thinner suction opening. The thinner it is, the better it will extract moisture. Has anyone 'modded' their Ridgid this way???
 
I really love my rigid 4050, the suction is unreal. I have the LGCM, and I keep finding myself extracting more with my vac. Not to mention IMO the LGCM is not that durable by no means.
 
Bluesbrekr said:
I wish the Ridgid had an attachment with a thinner suction opening. The thinner it is, the better it will extract moisture. Has anyone 'modded' their Ridgid this way???
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Haven't modded a Ridgid, but can't you just neck it down with some kind of adapter and use a smaller hose with a different nozzle?
 
Neothin said:
I want to get the most powerful wet/dry vac that I can get. I know the vacuums dont come anywhere near a good extractor but I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars. I just went through the above link to the Rigid website and found a 6.5 horsepower unit with a detachable blower (265 mph!) and a 16 gallon capacity. I know 16 gallons is alot but I really like the powerful motor and the blower accessory. Is this overkill? Will the 5 HP, 4 gallon model above perform just as good as the larger one?
Click to expand...





Don't get fooled by horsepower ratings on vacs. The more important indicator of power is Amperage. All the HP in the world doesn't mean squat if you don't have a source of energy to supply it --- i.e. you're only getting as much energy/power as what you have the vac plugged into. The HP ratings are peak performances and potential capability in product tests.



That being said , I own both vacs and prefer the smaller one for portability ; the larger for capacity (home workshop). I've used both for detailing and have found that the smaller suits my needs just fine.
 
Bluesbrekr said:
Most vacs will have more suction than the LGM. I have the one with heat and the Ridgid 4 hp 5 gallon vac. I wish the Ridgid had an attachment with a thinner suction opening. The thinner it is, the better it will extract moisture. Has anyone 'modded' their Ridgid this way???
Click to expand...



If I'm reading you correctly, why don't you use a smaller attachment?



On my Craftsman, I have a 2 inch hose with an adapter that accepts 1.25 inch attachments. I can get into tighter spots and the suction seems more powerful.
 
The larger vac that I want is 12.0 amps and 320 "air watts" whatever that is. The 4 gallon is 9.0 amps and 235 air watts. Better in every category except weight/size.
 
Spilchy said:
You're like my best friend! He and his wife (no kids) have 5 vacuums! Their latest one was that purple Dyson. He had to call me over before he used it so I can witness the test drive on brand new carpeting. It sucked up like a 10 lb. ball of lint!
Click to expand...



Wait a minnit...when he was done it had a 10 lb. ball of lint in it...or there was a 10 lb. ball of lint on the floor that he sucked up?? :shocked
 
Neothin said:
The larger vac that I want is 12.0 amps and 320 "air watts" whatever that is. The 4 gallon is 9.0 amps and 235 air watts. Better in every category except weight/size.
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Yeah , there is noticeably more power in the larger vac . For me , though , not enough to warrant the amount of space it takes up on mobile jobs.

At home , I go with the big sucker.

They're both good tools.



By the way , when I bought the 12 amp at Home Depot (about 2 months ago), it came with a free toolbag that's just the perfect size for a PC and accessories. You'll have to look for it because they had the vac packaged w/ and w/out the bag.
 
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