12v corded vacuum cleaner recommendations, please

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We have a 12V vacuum cleaner on Avocet. It's handy, as it plugs into the cigar lighter socket and the lead is long enough to reach anywhere on the boat. However, it's a lousy, cheap design, and either can't suck up coarse, dense things like bits of gravel, whilst at the same time, will suck up dust, but with a very rudimentary filter on the outlet, tends to just redistribute it elsewhere round the boat.

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a personal favourite, please? Reading a few reviews, around the £50 mark, the Black & Decker PAD1200 Auto Flexi Car Vacuum seems to do well, but I think, has been discontinued. Its replacement doesn't seem as good. I'd be grateful for any other suggestions, please!
 
If you have some cordless tools, check if the manufacturer has a cordless vacuum in their range. We use the bosch power4all range and can use the same batteries for our vacuum, work light, jigsaw, drill, driver, skillsaw, glue gun, multitool, two sanders and as USB battery banks. With a fast charger and a decent array of batteries we never have to wait for a charge.
 
lektran said:
If you have some cordless tools, check if the manufacturer has a cordless vacuum in their range. We use the bosch power4all range and can use the same batteries for our vacuum, work light, jigsaw, drill, driver, skillsaw, glue gun, multitool, two sanders and as USB battery banks. With a fast charger and a decent array of batteries we never have to wait for a charge.
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+1
We standardised on Ryobi for same reason and their hand vac gets a lot of use on board. Much easier to have a couple of batteries that can be swapped around different tools.
 
Low voltage vacuum cleaners must always be a disappointment simply because we have become used to the one at home on 240v. They typically run about 1000 or more watts with 2 stage centrifugal compressor. There is no substitute for horsepower. I would suggest OP persevere with what he has but perhaps fit an outlet filter of some sort. ol'will
 
I thought the Erbauer cordless I bought from Screwfix was rubbish until I realised the filter comes apart and needs to be cleaned often. Now use it all the time and find it excellent as it uses the same battery as the drill.
 
I thought about this, having bought into Bosch 18v tools. I'm not sure they entirely deserve their old high reputation, but my use isn't very demanding so it doesn't matter much.

For under £80 there's a conventional handheld vacuum, but I don't think it's very powerful. If I was going to buy, and I've often been tempted for yacht, car, garage, etc, I believe I'd go for the bigger, 18v wet-and-dry vacuum they make...

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...it's twice the cost but it's twice the machine, and who wants a less-powerful vacuum cleaner? I like that it can suck up dirty water too.

I think the only reason I haven't bought one is that Screwfix sell a 240v version, far more powerful at a quarter the cost, and having sold the yacht I can't justify the battery version anymore.
 
I use a cheap Spear and Jackson. Agree with ol'will about the power but it does a decent job with food crumbs, locker bottoms and the mess I make drilling holes etc.

I don't keep rechargeable power tools on board but if or when I do then a standardised battery type with drills etc at 18V would be my choice.
 
I'm really not sure of the need for a vacuum cleaner that will remove gravel. Gravel on a boat (and more so on a yacht) seems a contradiction. If you are dragging gravel into the interior of a fibreglass yacht then you inhabit a different world to us.

We actually don't wear shoes on board and don't allow others to wear shoes either (though in bad weather we wear deck shoes that are deck shoes only) - but then we have a a 22 year old yacht with pristine decks and 10s of thousands on miles, primarily down in the Roaring Forties, under the twin keels. We climb the hills - and wear boots (that don't see the decks).

I'd suggest a re-appraisal of both foot wear and sailing in a quarry and then you can stick with a vacuum cleaner that can lift dust.

I'd have to repeat - a vacuum cleaner that can lift gravel might be acceptable in the aisles of a garden centre - but not on a yacht (that sails).

Jonathan
 
Neeves said:
I'm really not sure of the need for a vacuum cleaner that will remove gravel. Gravel on a boat (and more so on a yacht) seems a contradiction. If you are dragging gravel into the interior of a fibreglass yacht then you inhabit a different world to us.

We actually don't wear shoes on board and don't allow others to wear shoes either (though in bad weather we wear deck shoes that are deck shoes only) - but then we have a a 22 year old yacht with pristine decks and 10s of thousands on miles, primarily down in the Roaring Forties, under the twin keels. We climb the hills - and wear boots (that don't see the decks).

I'd suggest a re-appraisal of both foot wear and sailing in a quarry and then you can stick with a vacuum cleaner that can lift dust.

I'd have to repeat - a vacuum cleaner that can lift gravel might be acceptable in the aisles of a garden centre - but not on a yacht (that sails).

Jonathan
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I wonder how many still use a 12v corded on their boat and haven’t switched to a small 240v corded one (we had a small blue one with paper bags inside by a household domestic maker) or have switched to battery types by either Dyson ,gotech or options suggested using power tool batteries such as ryobi etc. if you must have a 12v corded though I would have thought Halfords,screwfix or toolstation might give a starting point but I do suspect whether anyone is actually buying them anymore having become wise to poor power of a 12v running at 5amps? Maybe they have become like a portable cd player?
 
A warning about Black and Decker. The battery pack for my 14.4v Dust Buster Flexi failed at 3 years . I really liked the machine a lot...when it worked. I believe it cost about £80. Black & Decker's spares partner quote £140 for a battery pack, but they are listed as "unavailable" in any case.

I'm not impressed. So I bought a Beldray cordless hoover..which is not quite the same animal..it's bigger and more hoovery for about £60 with batteries available at a reasonable price.
 
ashtead said:
I wonder how many still use a 12v corded on their boat and haven’t switched to a small 240v corded one (we had a small blue one with paper bags inside by a household domestic maker) or have switched to battery types by either Dyson ,gotech or options suggested using power tool batteries such as ryobi etc. if you must have a 12v corded though I would have thought Halfords,screwfix or toolstation might give a starting point but I do suspect whether anyone is actually buying them anymore having become wise to poor power of a 12v running at 5amps? Maybe they have become like a portable cd player?
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For deep cleaning we always take Henry to the boat, but for day to day stuff whilst cruising the 12v B&D is ample. We also have a Ryobi 18v one, but the nozzle is too big to get into nooks and crannies so it normally gets left at home.
 
Neeves said:
I'm really not sure of the need for a vacuum cleaner that will remove gravel. Gravel on a boat (and more so on a yacht) seems a contradiction. If you are dragging gravel into the interior of a fibreglass yacht then you inhabit a different world to us.

We actually don't wear shoes on board and don't allow others to wear shoes either (though in bad weather we wear deck shoes that are deck shoes only) - but then we have a a 22 year old yacht with pristine decks and 10s of thousands on miles, primarily down in the Roaring Forties, under the twin keels. We climb the hills - and wear boots (that don't see the decks).

I'd suggest a re-appraisal of both foot wear and sailing in a quarry and then you can stick with a vacuum cleaner that can lift dust.

I'd have to repeat - a vacuum cleaner that can lift gravel might be acceptable in the aisles of a garden centre - but not on a yacht (that sails).

Jonathan
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Even our home Dyson doesn't pick up gravel - we have to get the George out for that.
 
dolabriform said:
For deep cleaning we always take Henry to the boat, but for day to day stuff whilst cruising the 12v B&D is ample. We also have a Ryobi 18v one, but the nozzle is too big to get into nooks and crannies so it normally gets left at home.
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Agree entirely. We use an ancient version of one of these type 12v car vacuum from Halfords, very compact and fits behind sofa cushion. Works perfectly for regular tidy up when cruising, and never have issue of flat rechargeable battery.
When doing any work on board bring a more powerful cordless one from home.
 
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