VacmasterProfessional - Professional Wet/Dry , 5 Gallon, Beast Series, 5.5 HP 1-7/8" Hose Jobsite Vac (VFB511B0201), Black

What a sucking impressive vacuum, it’s compact, has very impressive suction, and is priced very fairly for the real world experience you get!

Needed a more powerful garage vac for a simple dust collection system using a Dust Stopper Pro, my current Shop Vac was just not enough at 4.5 HP. Also, space was an issue, so the smaller the unit the better. Found the Vacmaster Pro "Beast" 5 gal. 5.5 peak (no mention of running HP.). Easy setup, and very powerful suction, made my dust collector work as it should and fit where I wanted it. Even with a 30' hose I already had, it works really well. Exhaust defuser helps keeps the noise down a bit. Wheels look cheap but work fine. Oversized on/off switch very functional. The latches securing the motor head to the bottom can don't snap down tight and leave the latches just a little loose, but this does not seem to create a problem and makes for easy detachment. One desired improvement is that the hose could be more flexible and a bit longer, but no big deal. attachments are well made and useful. TIP, I cut down a Shop Vac paper pre-filter and installed over the Beast's filter to catch dust and small particles, works really well and seemingly does not affect vacuum strength at all. This will keep the unit's filter cleaner longer and much easier to clean. This also precludes me from using the large cumbersome, fold out paper filter included with the unit. I am very pleased with this unit and can recommend "The Beast" if you need a smaller, powerful vacuum

I decided I wanted to get serious about detailing my car and that meant getting a good shop vac. I started out looking at the usual suspects with he tub style shop vacs and honestly I discounted the "hand held" style. After reading ton of reviews and watching a ton of videos, I changed my mind and boy am I glad I did.- This things sucks! And I mean that in the best way. The suction power is amazing. I had 4 years of dirt and sand in my cars carpets and this thing got it all out. Even after I thought it had gotten everything I dumped the canister and went over the car one more time. Tons more came out.- The attachments are excellent. Everything you need for detailing a car is right there. The crevice tool and the car nozzle do 90% of the work. Keep in mind this is a suction only vacuum. No rotating brushes, just pure sucking power.- The cord is long and so is the hose. I couldn't quite get both sides of the back seat of my civic with the hose but getting past half way was no problem even with it sitting outside. You won't have a "dead zone" in the middle you cant reach easily.- If you need to do a lot of water work, this might not be the right one. Without wheels, you will be doing all the work to move this around once it is filled with water. But that doesnt mean it cant handle it. I soaked my floor mats and then used this to clean them while wet to get even more dirt out and had no issue. It takes about a minute to switch from being a dry only to a wet dry.If you are looking for a car vac, stop looking. This is what you want. If you want an easy to move shop vac for cleaning dusty areas, this is great. The only thing I would not use it for is large (2-4 gallon) liquid jobs and thats just because it will get heavy fast. It will do the job, it just won't be easy.Highly recommended.

I had been looking at all of the shop vac manufacturers, e.g. Shop Vac, Vacmaster, Stanleu, Rigid, etc., I was not familiar with Vacmaster and the Beast. My requirements were: 1. power; 2. price; 3. portability/maneuverability; and, 4. reliability, in that order. So after looking over the reviews and going to YouTube, I decided get out of my comfort zone and give Vacmaster a chance, the price point was nice and I am sucker for the "5.5 Peak HP" marketing since it seems to be used consistently by all the manufacturers. It was delivered early (good job Amazon) and when I opened it and got into the initial assembly and whatnot, I was just struck by the material quality, especially the vacuum hose. Pleasant surprise no.1 was the vacuum hose. I am used to cheap plastic vacuum hoses that feel flimsy and end up with me spending more money on duct tape than I did on the vacuum. Not here, the hose is heave and dense and this will be a strange adjective, but it is supple. It is just a really nice quality material hose. Everything else was up to snuff and reflects that is is a well manufactured product. They included a vacuum bag as a gift so I set it up to run dry with the bag and the dust filter. It came with noise dampening contraption that I decided to wait before using so that I could hear it "raw" and then hear it "suppressed," I was anticipating needing my ear protection when it was running. Pleasant surprise no. 2 was just how quiet it was without the suppressor gadget in place. I have a Bissell Bing and it is so much louder and more obnoxious than the Beast, I am talking magnitudes of difference in noise. The Beast can be run without hearing protection COMFORTABLY, there isn't any discomfort from the noise. So I am very happy with my decision so far, and yes it has some awesome suction. I won't be able to assess its reliability until I have used it a few months, but initial impressions are good.I had to knock a star off my initial review because the first pleasant surprise, i.e. the hose, didn't hold up as expected. The marketing materials promote the blower functionality of this cleaner, (which is good and no complaints) but after having used it a couple of days I swapped the hose around to use the blower function and after about 5-10minutes, the hose separated from the connector on the end of the hose that was not attached to the vacuum clear, but is the end where you suck in or blow everything out. Inspecting the hose and the connector, I could see that hose could be "screwed" back on, and with a little heavy duty glue, I should be back up and running. But stll, I loved that hose when I first opened the box...