Wow – I still can’t get over my shock. This Bissell MultiClean wet/dry “garage and auto vacuum cleaner” (2035M) – essentially a small shop vac – is marketed very differently from all other shop vacs than I have ever seen before.
It’s advertised differently from all of the many wet/dry vacuums from Shop-Vac, Vacmaster, Craftsman, Stanley, Ridgid, Workshop, and Dewalt.
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Here’s the part that shocked me, and maybe you should be sitting down for this. Here’s a shop vacuum where the brand is advertising it with respect to electric power draw – 11 amps. There’s no BS “peak horsepower” rating, anywhere!
On the other hand, Bissell is a vacuum and cleaning tool company but not really a shop vacuum company, and so maybe they don’t know that the trend is to give consumers seemingly arbitrary horsepower numbers.
The Bissell MultiClean is currently on sale alongside other models such as the their “Garage Pro” wall-mounted vacuum.
It features a 6 gallon capacity, 11 amp motor, and an “auto tool kit” with storage bag. Given them 6 gallon tank, this is a fairly compact vacuum, which I suppose fills its roles nicely as a garage and auto cleaning vac.
The “specialized auto tool kit” includes a crevice tool, precision blowing and suction tool, precision wet suction tool, upholstery brush, and combination detailing and inflation nozzle.
This vac comes with a “premium 6.5-foot hose,” extending stainless steel wand, and floor nozzle. It has a 19-foot power cord.
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There’s a similar-spec’ed PowerClean vac with plastic extension wands, “standard 4.5″ hose,” and without the auto-cleaning accessory kit, but it seems like a big downgrade for very little savings.
I cannot find any details on the hose size (1-1/4″??) or filter setup (foam? bag?).
This looks to be an interesting small car/shop vac option, and it can also serve as a blower.
Bissell says the blower function can be used for “clearing dirt and debris from porches, garages, and doorways,” and it also comes with convenient inflation accessories for use with air mattresses and toys. By “toys,” they mean low pressure inflatable pool accessories and the like, and not sports balls or similar.
Sale Price: $125
Discussion
Unsurprisingly, some of the customer questions ask for peak HP values, unaware that such figures won’t really mean anything. In reality, while shop vacuum peak horsepower specs and marketing claims can be useful for comparing products from a single brand or product line, the values they give you are often meaningless in brand-to-brand comparisons.
Current draw (amps/amperage) doesn’t describe suction power or vacuum performance either, but it’s a useful spec to know – certainly more so than “peak HP.”
But, Bissell also doesn’t describe the filter configuration or options, or hose size, or what makes the “standard 4.5-foot” hose from one model different from the “premium 6.5-foot” hose included with this model.
On Amazon, they vaguely describe this Bissell MultiClean vacuum as having “2-stage filtration designed to help extend the life of the filter and provide easier cleaning,” while on Bissell’s product page they list the filtration spec as “1 stage.”
The telescoping wand also seems like a nice feature, compared to traditional snap-together plastic wands. This seems like a nicely kitted and conveniently designed shop vacuum. Just be aware that it’s a 6-gallon vac.
User reviews seem to be very positive, and the negative ones tend to reflect more on user expectations than the vacuum itself. For instance, one reviewer complains that the vacuum clogs when trying to vacuum up leaves from a trampoline outdoors, and another complains that it tips over when they pull it by the hose.
At least one reviewer commented on this vac being quieter than other like-sized shop vacuums, but there are no official noise ratings for objective comparison.
rob
I have a wall mounted Vac Master (for many years now) and love it. I changed out the hose on it to a 20′ high quality one recommended by many car detailers but other than that it’s been great. I can clean up the garage or clean the cars and it is out of the way. I’ve dedicated my old shop vac to cleaning out my Traeger grill.
So while this isn’t a review on the posted model-I am a big fan of mounting the vac permanently in the garage if it’s an option. Free up space and it’s always ready when you need it!
Evan
Mind sharing the hose you ended up swapping out with? Thanks!
rob
Sorry I missed this before but the Cen Tec system on Amazon
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00FGL81UY/
fred
We’ve had several Bissell products scattered about several houses and they worked well when new – but none of them lasted more than a few years. The worst was a Big Green Machine that was repaired first under warranty – worked OK – was put away and then leaked/wouldn’t pump liquid when brought out again less than 1 year later. Repair folks told me that the cost for service would be a poor investment. We’ve not had great luck with Hoover (TTI) products either – that seem to work well when new – but don’t hold up. For domestic use – we switched over to Miele (unfortunately much more costly) – and so far they have held up. Meanwhile – for shop/garage – I’ll stay with my old Feins. Of course my experience is based on only a small sample – and Bissell products seem to get decent reviews. Too bad this one is made in China – not in Michigan (Bissell’s home) – but that may not be practical for a machine at a $125 price-point
Jim Felt
I’ve an American made big wheel/small wheel Dewalt from maybe 2000? It’s my favorite debris and actual dried leaf vac. Sadly long out of production. I even had a painter use it to vacuum a 3K sq. Ft. loft ceiling so as not to need to walnut blast it. (I wanted the aged beam look).
My Fein and Milwaukee’s are quieter and more refined but I’ll bet they don’t last as long…
Tim E.
I’ll back up that experience Fred. It’s unfortunate that Bissell and Hoover in my experience lately (more with their specialized cleaning implements like the crosswave, floormate, spinwave, and such) have had longevity issues, and are treated so much like throwaway products. My parents still have a probably 12+ year old Hoover Floormate that is still working great, whereas I’ve gone through 4 units in the last 10 years. I’m on my second Crosswave in 5 years (I use it less than the floormate), and through various models of Hoover and Bissell carpet washers that I’ve either kept or handed off, I’m on my third in 10 years, and the ones I’ve passed on haven’t fared any better. I want to buy a new vacuum or floor cleaner or whatever because technology changes and features improve, not because they just don’t last pass a handful of years.
Even repairing yourself is rarely economical, the replacement motor unit for my last floormate wasn’t even available at the time, and was listed at 3/4 of the cost of a whole new unit. I actually got a new unit for less than the cost of the motor when Amazon had a deal. Maybe something else will fail on this one and I can pillage parts from the old one. The manufacturers also seem to like to make incremental but compatibility-breaking updates by the time your second unit bites the dust, so you can’t easily get a third one and have more parts you can cannibalize (if you are lucky enough to be able to store the old ones for the off chance you need parts). Some parts you just can’t even get; my first floormate failure was the wire cable that pulled the solution plunger either stretched or came loose from the end crimp or something, of course not far outside warranty, and they didn’t even have that part available to replace it, had to buy a whole new unit.
The expectation seems to be you buy a $100ish vacuum, floor cleaner, whatever and get warranty+1 year out of it, then are “perfectly fine” buying another, and that’s just how they’re made and how it is, your floor cleaning equipment costs $50 a year equivalent forever as you replace things.
I started out right after my parents switched to Miele for their vacuum, they’ve had theirs now nearly 20 years and haven’t had any trouble with it. I’ve had my Miele almost 10 years, and same, haven’t had a single issue with it. Sticker shock up front, but I fully expect to get another 20-30 years out of mine, and the local family-owned vacuum shop still has parts for extremely old Mieles available to do repairs if something does break, so you aren’t stuck buying another vacuum.
Albert
I’m sticking with Ridgid and ignoring their HP ratings. They are quiet, inexpensive, the attachments store on board and the bags and filters are easy to get. I’ve also been using a 1st generation Fein Turbo II for the past 23 years but still have no place to store the attachments.
Jared
I think of Ridgid as the default shop vac. This one looks pretty good though – for it’s intended purpose at least.
Koko The Talking Ape
Which Ridgid models would you recommend?
MI Dad
Ridgid vacs are unnecessarily loud. Almost painfully so.
fred
My first shop vacuum was a Craftsman 32 gallon made by Emerson. It was very loud even when I added an accessory exhaust muffler. Its over 50 years old and still works – but is relegated to a corner in a shed.
When I bought my first Fein over 20 year ago – the noise level was like night and day.
Emerson used to make most of the stationary power tools for Sears – but when they were thrown over for Taiwanese OEMS – Emerson aligned themselves with Home Depot. While most of the Ridgid brand power tools are now made by TTI under license. But Emerson still makes the good but noisy Ridgid brand vacuums – that are the descendants of my old Craftsman.
Frank D
I am sorry, but Ridgid shop vacs are nowhere near quiet. Their noise levels vary, some of the most expensive ones seem quieter than the cheap end; but out of the 4 I have owned and many more models I have used while helping others, not a single one is quiet enough to use without hearing protection. Some are so loud, that I have no idea why ridgid would even want to put their name on them.
Albert
I recommend the $99 model that is currently on sale:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/buy-only-when-on-sale/308343494
If it not on sale, I recommend buying according to your needs.
George
If that extension tube is anything like my Miele canister vac, it’s a godsend for tall people. I can actually vacuum standing up with the Miele. Using my Rigid shop vac — a good vacuum in my estimation — long vacuum times can really wear on my back.
And if I’m missing a Rigid accessory that does the same thing, please, for the love of my back, let me know.
Saulac
The extension tube looks very similar to Milwaukee M18 backpack vacuum (which is dry vac. only). I use it as house vacuum. Really like the feature as the tube can be adjusted to fit small rooms…The down side it it is pretty heavy. The whole vacuum is a bit too heavy.
Tom D
Here’s the potential brilliant move – 11 amps vs 6.5 peak horses – clearly 11 is bigger and so it’s obviously better!
This may spark a standoff/reach type of marketing battle.
MI Dad
From the Amazon customer questions, RE: the filter(s)
Q: Can you replace the filter with a hepa filter?
A: No, this machine has it’s own filtration system specific to the model. The filter bag and frame assembly is part number 1613112 and the foam filter with frame is 1613118.
PW
Like others, I’ve had nothing but disappointment from Bissell branded products. I can’t stand vacuums that lose suction, break down, or shed crappy parts over a short few year period.
I’ve found it’s better to cough up a few more bucks and get a decent product that lasts a decade+.
For shop vacs, I’ll stick with Ridgid if/until the above no longer applies.
RCWARD
I’ll just stick to the major players when it comes to Shop Vac’s
Plain grainy
I’m having different results with Bissell products than others are here. I have to give every product a 5 star rating. The large rug scrubbers have been 10 stars over the years. Seems the product reviews seem positive.
Jimmie
Years ago, we had a Sears wet-dry vac that had a carpet cleaning attachment complete with a motorized scrubber and a sprayer. Don’t remember if it was Craftsman-branded or Kenmore, probably the former. I wish modern wet-dry vacs had a similar attachment.