This is the Bucket Head vacuum, a wet/dry vac attachment that works with Home Depot’s 5 gallon buckets.
Sorry, it doesn’t come with a bucket, but sourcing one should be easy enough. It might be compatible with other buckets, but they mention Home Depot’s specifically.
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The vac comes with a 1-1/4″ x 4-foot hose and a filter. The power cord is on the short side, at 6 feet long. You can also use it as a blower.
I haven’t used this model, or anything like it before, but I’ve heard good things over the years.
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There are pros and cons to a design like this. On one hand, it’ll be compact and easily portable. On the other hand, buckets don’t come with wheels, and so you won’t be able to roll it anywhere.
It has a short power cord, meaning you don’t have a lot of cord to manage, but you also cannot stray far from an outlet without using an extension cord.
The Bucket Head is probably better suited for lighter duty cleanup tasks.
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Want something different? Shop-Vac makes something similar, the “Power-Lid,” and from the power draw specs it looks to be a little more powerful.
See Also(Shop Vac vac head via Amazon)
Grant
We bought 3 of these 2 years ago and the switches died in all 3 within a year. That being said, they’re great for sucking up gross liquid that you wouldn’t want to run through your expensive shop-vac. We probably use it most on coolant and metal chips.
William Adams
It makes sense until you start using it:
– top heavy, tends to flop over if you’re moving around much
– loud — even through 34db ear muffs I found in intolerable for use w/ a CNC — having only one speed exacerbated that
Otherwise it works well, and can begin to collapse a lightweight bucket, so get a sturdy one.
Troy Bataille
+1. I have one and can’t stand it. Top heavy. Lid doesn’t stay on. Short hose. Short power cord. Poor filtration.
anonymous
u can upgrade 2 a longer or larger diameter hose (shop vac bucket max only) 4 extra reach & more vacing efficiency (cfm is what really matters when dry vacing; water lift for wet pick-up)
I use the Shop Vac Bucket Max for auto detailing & the other for after kids’ bath-time clean-up
fred
When I looked last, the Home Depot (#35554) 5 gallon pails were made by Leaktite.
Leaktite makes and sells pails under their own name (#35555) and well as for others. I guess compatibility might depend on any difference in the lip configuration and diameter of the pail – although most of what you see look quite identical.
You might also add a bucket dolly to the mix – making the rig easier to move around – but it adds heavily to the cost:
https://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Guys-ACC_100-1-Professional-Bucket/dp/B00BJCN08M/
Stuart
I considered mentioning bucket dollies, but at that point, a small shop vacuum becomes more economical, and maybe even more convenient.
fred
Yep
As I said “adds heavily to the cost”
When you build something from parts it adds up:
$30 for the vacuum motor assembly
$30+- for the dolly
$3 for the bucket
Stuart
I saw. =)
I was more trying to convey why I didn’t mention it in the post.
Taras
Except for that price, your setup would be much more durable than an equivalently priced wet vac. Usually one of the first things to break on this little vacuums is the caster assembly.
fred
My response was meant to second your observation and mine.
For those who say it makes the bucket top heavy – outboard wheels on a dolly might help. Or you can add something dense to the bottom of the bucket to compensate – but soon it might be more trouble than its worth.
anonymous
u 4got 2 mention:
$25 for a 2 1/2″ diameter x 7′ long hose (fits Shop Vac Bucket Max; won’t fit HD Bucket Vac)
$35 for Cleanstream HEPA filter
up to $100 for accessories depending on intended use of vac
Jim Felt
fred. I’ve noticed in the past few years HD has changed bucket vendors at least once. Maybe twice. Weird that I looked but I noticed several different HD marked 5 gallon buckets didn’t stack well and so I looked to see why.
So, guys, who knows exactly what vintage of buckets will indeed fit this goofy thing.
Jerry
I can see this being useful in certain cases like cleanup of some sort of spill that could leave a permanent stench in a vacuum cleaner tank, or potentially hazardous materials You could just remove the vacuum unit, put a lid on the bucket, and it’s ready for disposal.
Blythe
I’ve used one, and they are good for the nasty tasks you don’t want to put a nicer vacuum in. Including but not limited to crawl space work, sucking up stink bugs, undesirable liquids/flooding-you get the idea. They are loud, but at this price point it doesn’t bother me. If you are sucking a lot of liquid from a place with poor access- it’s a lot easier to carry a 5 gal bucket full of liquid than the bottom half of a shop vac
Tim
You can run like 6 of these together and make a super vacuum…
Patrick H.
Tim Taylor? More power?
suspecterrain
Not really, i don’t believe. Hose resistance limits airflow & suction more than any other factor. These units are likely built with ~6 amp vac motors so you might run 3 on a single 20 amp circuit in series little minimal performance gain (6 units would make little to no difference). The “in series” scenario would only increase lift; while a set-up “in parallel” would require you to junction several hose into a larger diameter collection hose or by duct taping together the individual collection hoses into one mass. Not a very super vacuum unless purpose for a particular and specific application. Under either scenario it would certainly not be very mobile.
These appear little more than disposable units useful only in disposable situations.
Nathan
a cheap 4 gallon shop vac is how much now? same basic capabilities – probably more so – with wheels – more cord – etc.
your 5 gal bucket with that on it won’t hold 5 gallons.
Based on some reviews it will last longer too and has options for more standard filters, and accessories. so maybe go that route.
Now speaking of home depot and stuff they carry – in the shop vac aisle they have a version of a dust cyclone box now – goes on a bucket – attached with hose to some shop vac device. It’s cheaper than others but I wonder if it works as good as the Oneida Dust Deputy. Which I think I will buy
Tim
The Dustopper. I haven’t had mine long, but I love the thing so far. I never wanted to pay for the Oneida one(just a bit too much for what you got), plus it made the bucket so tall it wouldn’t fit anywhere I wanted to use it.
Bolt
I think I’m going to have to pick one of those dust stoppers. The low profile seems like it would work better for where I want to use a dust separator. It’s also a plus that it comes with an extra hose.
Tim
I’m using mine connected to a dedicated vac under my miter saw. The only real issue I had was the 5 gallon bucket wants to get tippy since it doesn’t weigh anything and the hoses all connect at the top. I just threw a rock in it and called it done.
Jim P.
I use it to get the last bit of water out of toilets when I change them. Works well for that. Did ok on dust pickup. Decided to just make it a dedicated toilet water removal tool
Bill
I thought about using a small, very old Sears vac just for this purpose a couple of years ago, but I was concerned more about the potential of the atomization of the waste water and it being exhausted into the surrounding air. You would really need good filtration at the exhaust port to avoid this and so I felt the risk outweighed the benefit.
Russ
Yeah, it will exhaust atomized stuff. I was sucking out a sink someone had used an acid based declogger in. Bad lung function for several days.
I’m a plumber. Always carry a small wet vac to clear toilets before removing them or clear sink lines to try to avoid snaking. Works some of the time.
MichaelHammer
Emptying toilets and traps is exactly what I use it for. Works very well and no more drips through people’s homes. Hosing out a five gallon bucket is way easier than cleaning a shop vac. That’s it, that’s its sole purpose, use it for five minutes, clean it for five minutes then back to the shop until the next renovation. BTW it has been compatible with every five gallon bucket I have put it on.
KeithInKC
I use https://www.homedepot.com/p/Oatey-LiquiLock-Gel-31419/202882917 for toilets. Stuff works like a champ and I don’t have to risk splashes, which can be horrifying in a flipper house. No power needed either.
Greg
That is neat!! Never knew. Thanks
Bill
Wow, never heard of the stuff but the reviews on it sound very promising. In fact I didn’t see any claims of poor performance on this. I don’t change toilets very often but I’ll try to remember this for the next time.
Dan Paul Nguyen
I use one of these bucket vacs in a non-traditional/non-shop type of environment: I keep it as a quick-spill cleanup tool for doing water changes in an aquarium.
It’s compact enough and ‘fits in’ with all my other buckets and stuff that I keep for the hobby. I’ve also used it to do some draining out of the fish tank.
Eric
I use one as a wet only garage/outside vacuum. For that purpose, they are great!
BP
I use this to clean up spills in my beer keezer. Works great.
Farid
These are great for liquids. and low cost second shop vac for messy jobs as others have suggested. For dust and metal chips separator, there is a low cost alternative, such as this:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dustopper-High-Efficiency-Dust-Separator-12-in-dia-with-2-5-in-hose-36-in-long-HD12/302643445
Oneida makes a better efficiency one as well or can just buy the cyclone and built your own (available at Woodcraft) .
I built my own separator. It is great for prolong the life of my HEPA filter bags. I have also been know to inadvertently suck-up up a part or two when working around the bench and lathe. This makes it easier and less messy to retrieve the parts. This type is also quieter and little more efficient than the Dustopper.
Parts I used are :
https://smile.amazon.com/Goodqueen-Efficiency-Cyclone-Collector-Quality/dp/B07CJHMRQ5/
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07JVJZYKD/
Hose kit came from HD.
This is a video showing cart style fancy version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOfMXvn6A0Y&feature=youtu.be
Steve
You guys are killing me. Here I am minding my own business just browsing posts and now I have to have a Dustopper. Just ordered it from HD.
John
My in-laws keep a Bucket Head on their screen porch to suck up spiderwebs, bugs, dirt and crumbs. They like it because it’s lightweight and small enough to tuck away in a corner. When not vacuuming, my father-in-law uses the Homer bucket as a chipmunk trap, so he’s getting two uses out of the same tool.
Stanley
I’d think nearly everyone visiting the blog already has a shop vac of some kind. Making a bucket lid with fittings to put it in line with – and ahead – of the shop vac would almost do the same thing. It would need some sort of baffling, maybe simple filtration – very coarse foam, perhaps – and a fill indicator (a float on a stick that extends through the lid would probably do it).
Then “stuff” would be captured by the bucket and as long as you stopped before the “stuff” reached the vac intake connection on the modified lid, remove the modified lid, put on a plain one, done. A somewhat expensive disposable “stuff” container for your more expensive shop vac.
Gordon
A cyclone is far better than any filter material. Dustdeputy or a dustopper are pretty cheap and effective.
Josh
I use them to clean oil out of flooded hydraulic elevator pits. Theyre cheap, so you arent destroying an expensive unit, they work well as a wet vac, you can fill a 5gal bucket, then hand it off to your partner to dump without having to lift something obnoxiously heavy, and when it gets destroyed, you can run some simple green thru it and it is as good as new.
JoeM
I don’t think this is meant as a shop vac. I think it’s meant for small shop dust collection. The key is that short cord. It’s not SUPPOSED to move. It’s just meant to sit in a corner, by a plug, and that short hose either connects direct to some sort of dust collector outlet on a tool, or to some place you’ve got set up to sweep dust into, like that “Big Gulp” thing from a few weeks ago.
Maybe this is for on-the-spot setup purposes, where you intend to put a proper system in later, but you really need something to be in place while things get set up? But, I don’t think it is meant as a full-fledged Vacuum. Just a cheap temporary use thing.
ToolOfTheTrade
I bought one of these 10 or so years ago when I was in a pinch and it seemed like it made sense until I used it. Top heavy and awkward to move around. Performed poorly as a dry vac. Anything with a 1¼” hose is a waste of time for debris. Repurposed into auto fluids & liquid vac.
Derek
Good idea, Give it a 20′ retractable cord, and I’m sold.
JoeM
I like that idea. Though, at that point, “Version 2.0” might want a castor base added in the package, so its mobility is improved. You drop a bucket in the base, snap the lid down, and away you go, cord never dragging or in the way, because it’s retractable.
Leandro
anyone know where i can get that 90 degreased elbow that fits on top?