# Cheap 12v Vacuum cleaner



## Tony G (2 Nov 2016)

Hi,

I'm still getting set up with all of my scrollsaw hobby equipment and came across this little hoover after hunting for a quiet vacuum cleaner to connect to my Hegner and to clean up the sawdust in my shed. It's a 12v wet/dry car vacuum cleaner which is ideal for me because I can run it off of my solar power station in my shed. It uses one of those car cigarette lighter plugs but I'm sure you can get adapters if you wanted to run it from the mains. Anyway I was pleasantly surprised as to how powerful it is and how quiet it is. 

According to my solar power monitor it uses approx 60w of power. Oh and the best thing of all is that it only costs about £8.50 delivered. Just thought I would share my find just in case there is anyone else in need of a quiet vacuum.


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## scrimper (2 Nov 2016)

To be honest I am surprised that at 12 volts and 60watts it is powerful enough as a dust extractor? But if it works well for you then fair enough.

I am in a minority here but I rarely use an extractor with my scrollsaw, I use them with my other machines but never felt the need with the scrollsaw.


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## Tony G (2 Nov 2016)

Got my scroll saw setup in my 8ft x 8ft shed which has 250w solar panels and 250Ah battery bank in it so it's perfect for me to help reduce my scroll saw dust and sanding dust. I'm just small scale using a few electric hand saws and a dremel.

The vacuum is powerful enough to suck up all of the sawdust as well as rubble the size of guinea pig food no problem so for a hobby vacuum I think it's perfect. There are 90w and 120w versions as well I do believe. My HOOVER vacumm is very loud and too painful on the ear drums in a confined space like my shed so the 60w vacuum with it's very low dB is perfect while I scroll saw.


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## Buffalo Chas (2 Nov 2016)

Hi Tony.

Your little vac appears to be one that I could probably use in my own shed. You didn't mention in your post where you purchased it. Could you post the suppliers name please.

Charley


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## Tony G (2 Nov 2016)

Hi,

I purchased it via eBay. Just search for a 12v vacuum cleaner + buy it now + lowest price first + UK only

I think the cheapest is about £8.50 which will be the yellow 60w version but I think there are some others similar which are stated as 90w and there is a grey coloured one which states it's 120w but that's a little more expensive at £9.94 ! Here's a link to the 120w version... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290749099119?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT


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## Claymore (2 Nov 2016)

If you make/buy yourself a mini cyclone fitted onto something like a plastic barrel it will bypass the actual vacuum cleaner and won't reduce the suction plus you won't need to keep emptying your vacuum as all the dust/chips etc will go straight into the plastic barrel. This will do the job http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Plastic-Dust- ... SwmmxW2R94

I have 2 cyclones set up and no dust goes into my shop vac and i only empty my plastic drums around 4 times as year!

Cheers
Brian


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## novocaine (3 Nov 2016)

for scrolling I think you'd be better off with a smaller cyclone, like a thimble and a coffee cup.


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## Tony G (3 Nov 2016)

Adding a cyclone is a little OTT I think. The 12v vacuum is basically just a small bucket with a suction motor on top, no filters to change/clean or bag changing, just undo 3 clips and empty. It also sucks up water and has an attachment that plugs into the top which then turns it into an inflation pump used for blowing up dingy's, camping beds, beach balls etc.


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## scrimper (3 Nov 2016)

Tony G":1k7m33vz said:


> Adding a cyclone is a little OTT I think. The 12v vacuum is basically just a small bucket with a suction motor on top, no filters to change/clean or bag changing, just undo 3 clips and empty. It also sucks up water and has an attachment that plugs into the top which then turns it into an inflation pump used for blowing up dingy's, camping beds, beach balls etc.



The reason people often use a second 'receptacle' is so that they can increase the capacity of dust collection, so you could have a smaller suction device (vac) collecting into a much larger container, as Brian says the waste does not go into the device (cleaner).


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## Buffalo Chas (3 Nov 2016)

Thanks for the link Tony. Knowing nothing about electrics, how can I convert the vac from using the 12v cigarette lighter power unit to a mains operated unit using an adapter.

Charley


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## Claymore (3 Nov 2016)

what about a 12v car battery with trickle charger? they used to sell adaptors years ago for people using CB radios in their homes which were mobile CB's from trucks/cars wonder if one of those would work?
Like yourself Charley I know nowt about electrics but some of the other guys on here are leccy wizards.
There are a few videos of these vacs on Youtube to give you an idea of how good they work......they do look like they would be handy for a cheap way of shifting scrolling dust if you don't want to have a full sized noisier shop vac.... they are cheap enough to buy and experiment with so I will get one and see what I can come up with...probably go for the 120w one for bit more oooooomff and make a mini cyclone.


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## Tony G (4 Nov 2016)

I'm looking into it at the moment and will get back to you on that. You will need a 12v mains power adapter which you can get quite cheaply but I don't think the continuous AMP rating is high enough on the regular ones. Most regular 12v adapters are rated at about 600ma to 1.2A but according to my power monitor the vacuum is using about 5A continuous. Also the 120watt vacuum will probably use a little bit more but I will check that in a day or two because I have also ordered the 120w version to test. I will see how many amps it uses and then find the appropriate adapter.

Just to give you an idea of what you would need for the 120w vacuum cleaner... you need a 10A adapter ( 5A for the 60w vacuum ) 

Here's is a link to the adapter needed, but hold off until I get my 120w version just so I can double check it is actually 120w and not just an exaggeration ... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/162241001955?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT


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## linkshouse (4 Nov 2016)

Tony I'd be interested to hear how the 120W version compares to the 60W version in use. In particular how they compare noise wise.

I'm definitely going to get one of these as I tend to not use my shop vac for my scrollsaw as it is so noisy.

I'm already sorted for power as I use an old car radio for music in my workshop and power that from a leisure battery constantly trickle charged with an intelligent charger (all recovered from my old campervan).

As to current you're right it should be 10A for the 120W unit. For those that want to know the current is given by dividing the watts by the volts so 120/12 = 10 similarly the 60W one would be 5A from 60/12 = 5.

Phill


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## novocaine (4 Nov 2016)

PC power supply will give you 12v at around 17a.  

if your doing that, make yourself a little power break out so you can have 5v and 3.3v too, for a nice little bench top power supply. 

don't run it off a battery with a trickle charger, it's very very ghetto and can be quite dangerous especially if your drawing a large current.


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## John Brown (4 Nov 2016)

I don't understand how it works if there are no filters.


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## novocaine (4 Nov 2016)

video here, there is a filter over the fan inlet inside the bucket, not much of one, but a filter non the less. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LBzA1hjryk


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## Tony G (4 Nov 2016)

John Brown":1ofp3yip said:


> I don't understand how it works if there are no filters.



Watch this YouTube clip and at 1 min 53sec it will show you the inside of the bucket. There is no real filter, just a dust cloth. In the second YouTube clip at 5min 30sec it shows you someone sucking up a big puddle from the back of his car !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggQnMAvLOUk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvZz9zFtu5U


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## Buffalo Chas (4 Nov 2016)

Can you explain how to connect the PC power supply to the vac please Novocaine. 
Like Brian I will probably go for the 120w option.

Charley.


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## Claymore (4 Nov 2016)

I ordered a 120w one today and will then experiment with fittings etc, if it isn't upto the job then its ok for the car so nothing lost at that price.
There is definitely a market for a very quiet/powerful/compact dust extractor/vacuum cleaner for use on scroll saws and it seems it would be very low tech but so far no'one sells one.... have you seen the Scroll-Nado videos on youtube (see here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9S4DxHiVhY) it seems a bit of a faff sticking pipes all over? surely there is a simpler design or maybe it will need us scroll saw users to invent one? if you designed one that worked well you could be a rich man/woman.
I will be interested to see how good the dust extraction is on my new EX30 when it arrives next week as it apparently has a clear plastic doodah under the series of holes on the table linked to a 65mm extraction port so the dust drops down the holes and is sucked away.

Brian


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## Tony G (5 Nov 2016)

Well the so called 120w vacuum arrived this morning and as suspected it's NOT 120w as stated in their advert, it ONLY 75w so I'll be sending it back. I did say to hold off purchasing the 120w until I check it out. Anyway I'm very disappointed that they exaggerated the power of this one.


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## scrimper (5 Nov 2016)

My late friend and myself built a dust extraction system for his small workshop by placing it outside. It was basically I large tall wooden box with a motor unit on top obviously we made it weatherproof but the advantages were that because it was outside it was quiet (in the workshop) It had a huge container and did not need emptying very often also all the dust was outside rather than in the workshop this was especially good when it came to emptying the unit.

I have a similar one outside my workshop (in a covered area) which collects from my planer/thicknesser it is connected up via 2" guttering pipes and works very well. It's just a wooden box with an old cylinder vac motor on top. 

If you make your own collector devices you have the advantage that they can be made any size or shape to fit your workshop rather than a bulky round vac like a Numatic Henry.
(Not running down Henry by the way they are excellent UK made machines)


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## Tony G (5 Nov 2016)

These 12v vacuums are not the same size as the Henry's and Hetty's, these are much smaller measuring only 20cm diameter and 24cm high and are very quiet but powerful enough to suck up your sawdust from what you are working, even if it is only 75w. Not quite your industrial vacuum but good enough for cleaning my scroll saw dust.


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## scrimper (5 Nov 2016)

Tony G":19c474xg said:


> These 12v vacuums are not the same size as the Henry's and Hetty's,



I do understand that, I was just proffering an alternative.


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## Tony G (11 Nov 2016)

Well I returned the FAKE 120w 12v vacuum cleaner which was actually only 75w. Hate it when sellers exaggerate :x 

But I did purchase one of these adapters so I have the option of using it with my mains electric if I want... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/391476474694?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT


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## Claymore (11 Nov 2016)

Tony I have been using my 12v vac today and it worked ok most of the time until late in the afternoon when it stopped 8-( It wasn`t warm but i did remove the filter earlier in the day and I think I have knackered it with too much dust lol will give it another go tomorrow as up until then it was doing a fine job.
I also got the mains lead for mine and if the vac can`t be fixed then it will do for something else. I think I will try my vac through my cyclone so the dust bypasses the vac so nochance of clogging the motor.


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## Tony G (11 Nov 2016)

Claymore":1gi6woxp said:


> Tony I have been using my 12v vac today and it worked ok most of the time until late in the afternoon when it stopped 8-( It wasn`t warm but i did remove the filter earlier in the day and I think I have knackered it with too much dust lol will give it another go tomorrow as up until then it was doing a fine job.
> I also got the mains lead for mine and if the vac can`t be fixed then it will do for something else. I think I will try my vac through my cyclone so the dust bypasses the vac so nochance of clogging the motor.




I do believe you should only use it for 20 minutes MAX at a time and then let it rest for a couple. That's what it said in the manual anyway. I turn mine off every time I stop my scroll saw when I move my blade to start a new internal cut, seems to do a good job for me that way and it doesn't stop or cut out.


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## Buffalo Chas (12 Nov 2016)

Brian when you purchased the mains adapter for your 12v vac, did you get the 5amp or 10amp version. I am thinking of ordering one and there is a difference of about 8 quid.

Charley


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## Tony G (13 Nov 2016)

Buffalo Chas":pb8mdi51 said:


> Brian when you purchased the mains adapter for your 12v vac, did you get the 5amp or 10amp version. I am thinking of ordering one and there is a difference of about 8 quid.
> 
> Charley



I posted a link to a 5A mains adapter a couple of posts back ( actually it's a 7A ) but will work fine for this vac.

Brian... why did you removed the filter cloth ?


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