CFM VS. WATER LIFT VS. AIR WATTS! What determines the best vac?

DanaDetailingPros

DanaDetailingPros

Active member
Joined
Aug 7, 2022
Messages
1,335
Reaction score
2
So some of you may know I went ahead and got the new made in US Adam's vacuum today on there 24% off sale. When I discovered my Rigid 5 hp has almost double the CFM I wanted to just call them and cancel my order!
But I just have been doing allot of research on all the different variables that determine which vacuum is best.
It actually has to do with a combination of CFM and Lift that work together to create the most efficient vacuum. Then there is Air Watts that come into the equation. Confusing right? Well I truly feel if Adam's made there new vacuum in the US from the ground up they did there homework. Right? I hope! The one thing that sold me the most was the size of the hose. Most industrial higher end commercial vacuums are all in 1.5 inch hoses. And consumer grade vacs are 1 7/8th inch hoses. So I'll be able to use my nice cushy 15 ft blue hose with it and not need any adapters like I did on my Rigid. Also I'm sure when using an adapter to a larger hose had allot to do with how the vac's CFM would change. The vacuum that really has impressive specs is the METROS! That's why there $600! Also FLEX @ $560 But when it comes down to it I even use my tiny DEWALT 20 volt vac on my own car because it's easy on the fly and gets in and out and does a great job! And I'm sure they factored in all this into that tiny little thing to get the most efficiency out of it. Either way I'm fine being the guinea pig and we will all know whether it's worth getting or not?
Adam's
View attachment 77195
Rigid
View attachment 77194

Worth checking out:
CFM vs LIFT - Mytee LLC
 
View attachment 77197
Only vac's with 1 1/2 inch hose are serious commercial vacs and start around the $550 mark. I like the smaller Tornado Task Force 10
But there not HEPA which is very important to me. So forget that one. The FLEX was the one I really wanted till I found out there hose is also 1 7/8" So I'm really hoping this one sucks as good or better than my RIGID otherwise I'm just going to drive to there Anaheim shop and return it. I'm surprised they don't advertise that it is 1 1/2 inch hose. Only way I knew was I called and spoke to the GM @ the Anaheim shop and he measured it for me. Told me they just came in last month. Main reason I want 1.5 is my Mr.Nozzle hose and also have a bunch of attachments for it.
View attachment 77198

Welcome to Tornado Industries
 
DanaDetailingPros said:
View attachment 77197
Only vac's with 1 1/2 inch hose are serious commercial vacs and start around the $550 mark.

But there not HEPA which is very important to me.
Click to expand...

You know a 2.5” hose hooks right into the Ridgid vac, right? It also has a Hepa filter. [I’m currently using a bag in mine]

c40d008a55ae0ef8b5a6c0fb399ba183.jpg

e8603891ea79a5916db63a1d07154eb8.jpg


Adam sure is charging alot for that little vacuum. Interested to hear about how it works.
 
Thanks Eldo, I have that same vac and I had no idea I could put a larger diameter hose on it. However, mine seems to clog up at the deflector inside, when I'm using a bag--or do you take the filter out when you are using a bag to give it more space? I always leave mine in.

Eldorado2k said:
Adam sure is charging alot for that little vacuum. Interested to hear about how it works.
Click to expand...

You know what's funny? Adams first came to the attention of forums maybe in the late 00's and he got written off as another place like Chemical Guys that was just private-labeling Warner's bulk products or something in that vein. I was just watching the TRC video with him from last week, and looked a few things up, and not only does he have a gazillion products, including all kinds of tools and garage equipment, like Griot's, somewhere along the way they bought B&B, which was a major blender for...well, all the detailing products companies that don't do their own mfg. And Adam sold the company a few years ago, not sure if he is working off his post-sale indenture or if he is going to remain long term, but it seems detailing has been berry berry good to him, it sounded like he has at least 3 houses, one in Idaho, one in CO where his company HQ is, and one in Scottsdale AZ where they have a satellite office.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Thanks Eldo, I have that same vac and I had no idea I could put a larger diameter hose on it. However, mine seems to clog up at the deflector inside, when I'm using a bag--or do you take the filter out when you are using a bag to give it more space? I always leave mine in.



You know what's funny? Adams first came to the attention of forums maybe in the late 00's and he got written off as another place like Chemical Guys that was just private-labeling Warner's bulk products or something in that vein. I was just watching the TRC video with him from last week, and looked a few things up, and not only does he have a gazillion products, including all kinds of tools and garage equipment, like Griot's, somewhere along the way they bought B&B, which was a major blender for...well, all the detailing products companies that don't do their own mfg. And Adam sold the company a few years ago, not sure if he is working off his post-sale indenture or if he is going to remain long term, but it seems detailing has been berry berry good to him, it sounded like he has at least 3 houses, one in Idaho, one in CO where his company HQ is, and one in Scottsdale AZ where they have a satellite office.
Click to expand...

I have a bag + the filter on in mine and I’ve never had a problem with anything clogging at the deflector. I’ve used the hell out of it but I do try to be mindful of using it for stupid disgusting duties like large amounts of leaves in windshield cowls and similar heavy duty vacuuming which I still use my 14 gallon Ridgid for because I don’t want to cause that bag to rip unnecessarily.

But knowing how I am when it comes to pushing things to their limits + it being my 1st time using a bag in a Ridgid vac there’s a fair chance I’ll keep using it until it blows up in there 1 day, that’s why I keep a filter on inside and it even has a pool skimmer sock for extra protection just in case. Lol.
I do believe that little vacuum used to weigh alot less when I 1st bought it because lately every time I carry it out I find myself complaining about how much it weighs. That’s probably a clue regarding the bag but I think we can pack more in there.lol.

No issues with clogging, but what’s always kinda bugged me about this vacuum is how the inlet hole always seems to be a bit loose everytime I remove the hose. Are they all like that? Or why the heck doesn’t that ring stay tightened in the hole? Gets on my nerves having to be delicate everytime I have to unplug the hose. 1 day I’m gonna break it out of rage. Lol.

Reason I knew a 2.5” hose would fit in it is because the same Orange hose from the Detailing Kit fits the 2.5” hole in the 14 gallon Ridgid even though it’s technically called a 1.25” hose due to the size of the attachments it uses. [I think it actually measures 1.5” ID but I can’t remember the last time I checked it for sure] They’re both the same size on the side that attaches to the vac.
 
I just love the heck out of the hose I got from Mr. Nozzle. It is really rubbery and it has allot of stretch to it! I will use it on the new Adam's if it ends up being a winner. Either way I love my rigid and wasn't ever even considering getting anything to replace it till I saw that Adam's jobie.
 
DanaDetailingPros said:
I just love the heck out of the hose I got from Mr. Nozzle. It is really rubbery and it has allot of stretch to it! I will use it on the new Adam's if it ends up being a winner. Either way I love my rigid and wasn't ever even considering getting anything to replace it till I saw that Adam's jobie.
Click to expand...

There’s a way to hook up the Mr. Nozzle hose to the Ridgid though, right? I used to know a detailer that used those 1.5” Mr. Nozzle attachments with a Ridgid.
 
Yea they sold it with the hose. They knew exactly the right one and it fit's great! I will say this much,,,, If that Adam's I got isn't as great as the RIGID I'm dropping it off to them. I would ship it but now that I found out about there setup in Anaheim, I want to check it out. He told me they have a full blow detail/PPF shop there.
 
I frequently use my Tornador Velocity Vac system on customer cars, which led me to upgrade to a Flex VC44, and I absolutely love it. This system is designed for asbestos and drywall dust, achieving 99.97% efficiency at capturing particles as small as 0.3 microns. Most standard Ridgid units and others might only go down to 0.5 microns, but that's not sufficient for blocking bacteria and other pathogens that can be extracted with forced air, like with a Tornador.

I wanted to avoid inhaling any harmful substances. Additionally, the Flex VC44 is remarkably quiet. The sound of air being vacuumed into the hose is louder than the motor itself. It features 3-stage filtration, auto-blockage control, and comes with a 16ft antistatic hose as standard.

It's on the pricey side but definitely worth the investment. Chris Metcalf, The Flex representative and a friend who lives nearby, sold me a never-used demo model when the newer versions were released.

Here's a great combo to use if you're looking into detailing interiors.

original.jpg
 
Eldorado2k said:
I have a bag + the filter on in mine and I’ve never had a problem with anything clogging at the deflector. I’ve used the hell out of it but I do try to be mindful of using it for stupid disgusting duties like large amounts of leaves in windshield cowls and similar heavy duty vacuuming which I still use my 14 gallon Ridgid for
Click to expand...

Um...I always use mine for stupid disgusting duties because I got rid of my big shop vac, I guess that explains my problem.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Um...I always use mine for stupid disgusting duties because I got rid of my big shop vac, I guess that explains my problem.
Click to expand...

I looked inside one of the ends of my orange hose yesterday and found a hairpin I had recently vacuumed lodged in there turned sideways causing it to latch onto a fairly huge ball of dust, dirt, & hair. Felt good to free it up and clear it out.

And there you go, quit using it for crazy stuff. It’s fairly small from the hose [although it comes with a 1 7/8” hose, although I wouldn’t be surprised if you use a different smaller diameter hose with it. The tank is pretty small too especially considering the filter hovers right on top of whatever debris you vacuum up [if you’re not using a bag]

I’m honestly not sure I’d rate it as high as most people do if it wasn’t for the bag setup, because without it sort of seems like it’d be extra messy to clean out, not to mention it probably needs cleaning alot more frequently than the 14 gallon vac which can literally be left alone for months if you’d like. But performance wise I’ve got no complaints and the small size is more of a pro than a con.
 
Because I wind up keeping my vac in the basement I got tired of lugging the 18 or 20 gallon one up and down the stairs, and so I donated it to someone else and got the smaller Ridgid. I do use the hose that came with it, but I tend to vacuum up leaves and gravel out of my garage, hence my problems.
 
TTQ B4U said:
I frequently use my Tornador Velocity Vac system on customer cars, which led me to upgrade to a Flex VC44, and I absolutely love it. This system is designed for asbestos and drywall dust, achieving 99.97% efficiency at capturing particles as small as 0.3 microns. Most standard Ridgid units and others might only go down to 0.5 microns, but that's not sufficient for blocking bacteria and other pathogens that can be extracted with forced air, like with a Tornador.

I wanted to avoid inhaling any harmful substances. Additionally, the Flex VC44 is remarkably quiet. The sound of air being vacuumed into the hose is louder than the motor itself. It features 3-stage filtration, auto-blockage control, and comes with a 16ft antistatic hose as standard.

It's on the pricey side but definitely worth the investment. Chris Metcalf, The Flex representative and a friend who lives nearby, sold me a never-used demo model when the newer versions were released.

Here's a great combo to use if you're looking into detailing interiors.

original.jpg
Click to expand...

I bought there upgraded adapter and it's a game changer when you do use the VV:
View attachment 77202
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Because I wind up keeping my vac in the basement I got tired of lugging the 18 or 20 gallon one up and down the stairs, and so I donated it to someone else and got the smaller Ridgid. I do use the hose that came with it, but I tend to vacuum up leaves and gravel out of my garage, hence my problems.
Click to expand...

Yea I know exactly what you mean about getting tired of lugging it around, that’s why I finally got myself the small one. I’m glad I kept my big one though + that 2.5” hose is unstoppable and really lets you go full throttle when you feel like cleaning up some gnarly stuff.

I’m surprised you use the original black hose that came with it. You’ve never been tempted to upgrade to the detailers kit that has the 10’ orange hose and attachments? It’s worth it especially if you can find it on sale. The only thing it’s missing is a soft horsehair brush, but you can find that on your own to vacuum dashboards & stuff. The so called soft brush provided in the kit isn’t soft enough to be using on most consoles especially ones with piano black trim or woodgrain.
 
I actually have a smaller Eureka that I use on cars, I generally use the shop vacs for "gnarlier" stuff.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top